Spoilers are ahead. The Bachelorette has a long, storied history of introducing viewers to the exact kind of men we hope to never, ever encounter in real life, from the guys who show up in very questionable costumes to the Yosefs and Luke Parkers of the world. Now, just moments into Katie Thurston’s season, a new kind of weirdo just dropped: Jeff the creepy RV Guy. Why do reality shows keep putting women in these situations, again?
It started weirdly, but innocuously enough: Several guys showed up on motorcycles, in trucks, or even in boxes, and 31-year-old Jeff Caravello opted to drive to the Hyatt Regency in New Mexico in an RV. But things got a lot more eerie when Caravello invited Thurston into the RV and gave her a “tour” of the space. She looked visibly uncomfortable as he threw around his dirty boxers and offered her a drink that he “promised” was “just iced tea.” At one point, he joked, “Don’t worry, I’m not gonna bring you in an RV, give you alcohol and show you the bedroom.” Comforting!
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Along with owning a truly unsettling recreational vehicle, Caravello works as a surgical skin salesman and describes himself as “an exceptional lover” in his Bachelorette bio. Nope!
“It’s never good when someone starts off by saying, ‘Don’t worry. I’m not going to murder you,’” Thurston told Refinery29. “So you’re like, ‘Okay, that’s a weird way to start. But let’s go in.’ I didn’t really know what to expect, and Jeff was fun with it. But, the connections just weren’t really there.” She added that the whole situation kind of had Breaking Bad vibes.
Twitter's reaction to the skin salesman and his RV was exactly what you'd expect:
Entering the RV of a skin salesman is the plot of at least three horror films. #TheBachelorette
— Bachelor Diversity Campaign (@bachdiversity) June 8, 2021
Live footage of my face the entire time Jeff was giving Katie a tour of her RV #TheBachelorette pic.twitter.com/AhCthbRpFl
— Brett S. Vergara (@BrettSVergara) June 8, 2021
❌ skin salesman
— Logan (@loganrenn) June 8, 2021
❌ lives in an RV
Tough look for my guy Buffalo Jeff #TheBachelorette pic.twitter.com/4YYFOfVJUp
“i can tell she really loves the RV”
— jel (@angelica_fio) June 8, 2021
katie looking around the RV:#TheBachelorette pic.twitter.com/9wEuXIvYPo
Thurston’s had a great attitude so far, but really, she shouldn’t have to. And for that matter, we shouldn’t have to entertain this, either. There’s something funny about the weird cat costumes and outlandish shticks, but The Bachelorette is supposed to be a fun, sometimes dramatic escape from reality. We see enough creepy guys in real life — do we really need to give them this kind of screen time, too?