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Warning: The Bachelorette Season 21 spoilers ahead. He went from fan favorite to villain, but could Sam M. be the next Bachelor for Season 29? It’s not impossible, even with his behind-the-scenes drama on The Bachelorette Season 21.
Sam McKinney, a 27-year-old Contractor from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, is one of 25 contestants on The Bachelorette Season 21 with Jenn Tran. He was an early fan favorite from the premiere after he received Jenn’s First Impress Rose—and got her first kiss—on night one. Things took a turn for the worse in Episode 2 when Sam M. started to feud with another of Jenn’s frontrunners, Devin Strader, a 28-year-old Freight Company Owner from Rosenberg, Texas.
Related: All The Bachelorette Season 21 spoilers, including Jenn’s winner
Fans continued to turn on Sam M. after his first One-on-One Date with Jenn in Week 4 when Jenn criticized Sam M. in her confessional interview for laughing at her and not comforting her more on the day part of their date, which involved bungee jumping from a skyscraper in Auckland, New Zealand. While Sam M.’s time on The Bachelorette Season 21 didn’t last forever—spoiler alert: he was sent home two episodes later—fans are still wondering whether there’s a chance he could become the next Bachelor after Season 28’s Joey Graziadei, especially with the lack of options from Jenn’s Bachelorette Season. We break down Sam M.’s chances of becoming the next Bachelor ahead.
Is Sam M. the next Bachelor?
It’s possible for Sam M. to be the next Bachelor for Season 29, however, it’s unlikely. Jenn sent Sam M. home on The Bachelor Season 21 in Week 6 before Hometown Dates, according to Reality Steve. Of the recent Bachelor and Bachelorette leads, several were eliminated before Hometown Dates including Season 15 Bachelorette Hannah Brown (who went home in seventh place on The Bachelor Season 23 with Colton Underwood) and, of course, Season 21 Bachelorette Jenn Tran (who went home in Week 7 on The Bachelor Season 28 with Joey Graziadei).
More: Meet The Bachelorette Season 21 cast
There have also been several Bachelors and Bachelorettes who went home way earlier than Sam on The Bachelorette Season 21, including Season 26 Bachelor Clayton Echard (who was eliminated in eighth place on The Bachelorette Season 18 with Michelle Young) and Season 17 Bachelorette Katie Thurston (who was eliminated in 10th place on The Bachelor Season 25 with Matt James.)
While Sam M.’s pre-Hometown Dates elimination doesn’t put him out of the running to become the next Bachelor for Season 29, what could is his and his family’s outspokenness against The Bachelorette’s producers and editing, which makes it unlikely (though not impossible) for the franchise to cast him again for The Bachelor or Bachelor in Paradise.
More: Which Bachelorette couples still together may surprise you
Sam M.’s ex-girlfriend Rayleigh—who he dated before and after going on The Bachelorette Season 21—claimed to Reality Steve in July 2024 that Sam M. called Jenn a “liar” once he returned from filming The Bachelorette and that—SPOILER—Jenn’s winner, Devin, proved his negative opinion of her.
“The other thing was when he came back from filming, he told Rayleigh, he thought Jen was a liar. He said, Jen’s feelings are all over the place. And the person she picks at the end is going to prove that that’s what he told Rayleigh really told that to me,” Reality Steve wrote.
Sam M. also hinted at his drama with Jenn and The Bachelorette in a comment reposted by TikTok account ShesAllBach in July 2024, in which he criticized his edit on the show. “Most felt like that and rightfully so. I even felt like that. I was incredibly disheartening to be portrayed in that fashion. Hopefully at the tell all the truth will come out,” he wrote in a since-deleted comment in response to fans questioning his behavior on The Bachelorette. He continued in another comment, “Oh and legally I’m not allowed to speak on it… and now I’m figuring out why.”
Sam M.’s, relative, Olivia McKinney, also accused The Bachelorette of not accurately representing what happened on Jenn’s season. “I’m ready for @bacheloretteabc to show allllll the context they’ve left out,” she wrote.
Olivia could be referring to a controversial moment involving Devin that Reality Steve claimed was cut out of The Bachelorette Season 21 premiere. The site reported that, during a game of “Truth or Dare” on night one, Devin was asked to name a conspiracy theory he believed in, to which he allegedly responded, “I believe 9/11 was an inside job.”
The scene was cut out of The Bachelorette Season 21 premiere, presumably because Devin is Jenn’s winner. Reality Steve also reported that the whole cast, including Jenn, heard Devin’s comment, and the moment was among the real reasons that most of the cast had an issue with him during filming.
Olivia wasn’t the only family member to defend Sam M. on social media, according to more comments reposted by TikTok account Zachary Reality. Another of Sam M.’s relatives, Seth McKinney, also hinted at favoritism toward Devin on The Bachelorette Season 21 in an Instagram comment. “Crazy how they can cut out so much detail to make a person look shallow while making others look like a king,” Seth wrote. “He added in another comment, “crazy thing called producers and editing can make people see what they want not what actually happened.”
Sam M.’s other relative, Hannah, also accused the producers of strategic editing on The Bachelorette Season 21. “Let’s see all the footage @bacheloretteabc…. I’m waiting,” she wrote. When a fan criticized Hannah for not being there during filming, she responded, “I’m sorry that your family doesn’t defend you like we do ours.”
Another of Sam M.’s relatives, Susan McKinney, also shared a Facebook post in which she accused The Bachelorette of trying to “destroy” Sam M.’s character. “There is nothing real about ‘reality’ tv. To destroy someone’s character and manipulate the truth through editing is wrong on so many levels. Isn’t it interesting that the first night favorite is now being made into the villain?” she wrote. “There are several spoilers out there for who she chooses in the end that you can Google for yourself. Sam is a good guy regardless of how he is betrayed and I will no longer sit idly by and not speak up. Hey The Bachelorette it’s called free speech. At least mine is honest which is more than they can say.”
Jeff McKinney, Sam M.’s father, wrote on Facebook, “I choose my words wisely. I have sat idly by this week watching my son a complete wreck on how he was portrayed. Sam has (mostly) been the favorite with the first impression rose, etc. The spoiler was revealed and (in my opinion) the network had to paint Sam as this horrendous guy in order for Jenn not to look like a complete idiot.”
He continued, “Now I know why the network offers free counseling for 1 year after the show. I feel this episode was all fabricated with cut and paste sentences and scenes. Can’t change what he said and how he said it but they can change the scene, script and context and totally change the delivery. That’s the way I feel. Feel free to share this. #ISTANDWITHSAM.”
Still, while it’s rare for a Bachelor or a Bachelorette villain to become the next lead, it isn’t impossible. Nick Viall was the Bachelor for Season 21 after his villain edits on The Bachelorette Season 10 with Andi Dorfman and Season 11 with Kaitlyn Bristowe, where he was the runner-up on both. Season 15 Bachelorette Hannah Brown was also arguably a villain—or at least a controversial contestant—when she starred on The Bachelor Season 23 with Colton Underwood and feuded with her former pageant queen rival, Caelynn Miller-Keyes.
The Bachelor is also more likely than the Bachelorette to cast a non-fan-favorite as its lead, as seen with Season 27’s Zach Shallcross, Season 26’s Clayton Echard, Season 24’s Peter Weber, and Season 23’s Colton Underwood. So while Sam M.’s less-than-stellar likability may not prevent him from becoming the next Bachelor for Season 29, his feud with the network might.
The Bachelorette airs on Mondays at 8 p.m. on ABC. Stream it on Hulu.
