Nick Viall

And I don't... I mean, we're going to get into, like, what we saw in season four because, to me, that is one of the... Like, we haven't really been talking about season four of Secret Lives because it's honestly been incredibly hard to watch because what I know about...

how they set up their lead versus what I saw on season four.

If this situation doesn't happen, if this video isn't released and they moved forward with the airing of Bachelorette, they set her up to fail.

It was always going to end with Taylor, Frankie, Paul hung out to dry because of how they introduced.

The baseline of being the lead of The Bachelor is you have to be ready.

Bare minimum.

They were so cautious back in the day that it was never ideal to name the runner-up the lead.

And sometimes they did it under certain circumstances, but it was never ideal because, again, the optics of the lead not presenting as ready to find love.

They couldn't go into after the final rose and have kind of their lead still be heartbroken over not ending up with the lead.

And then they wouldn't present as available for love.

And then you compare that to how...

The lead-in for Taylor Frankie Paul was season 10, where she's literally locking herself in the room and saying, I'm sick, I am not well, hooking up with her ex the night before.

Like, again, you know, when they would announce the lead, they would tell you to basically go hide.

They would say, be careful who you're seeing around, who you're taking pictures with.

This was about, like, they were trying to protect their lead.

They were trying to set them up for success.

And when you compare...

That, how that's always been to like what they did with Taylor, it seems incredibly reckless and negligent.

You have to be emotionally ready to take on one of the most physical and emotional and mentally exhausting periods of your life.

You also have to like be ready and wanting to find love.