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The Bachelor's Caelynn Miller-Keyes Isn't So Sure She Wants to Be the Bachelorette


Everyone who goes on The Bachelor has a so-called “journey,” but Caelynn Miller-Keyes’ was particularly up and down. From her ongoing tension with Hannah B. to the accusation that she’s not “here for the right reasons,” Caelynn was in the spotlight each week, whether it was warranted or not. One bright spot: Her conversation with Colton about her sexual assault was given the attention and sensitivity it deserved.

Through it all, the reigning Miss North Carolina was determined to not let the drama in the house overshadow her time there. “I’ve had a lot of heartbreak in my life, she told Glamour at the start of the season. “I would hate for that to happen again, but [you have to put] yourself out there.”

Unfortunately, Colton sent Caelynn home on Monday night. For someone who appeared to be a frontrunner, Colton’s quick dismissal didn’t make much sense to viewers—or Caelynn (as Glamour‘s Anna Moeslein pointed out in her recap). Now, months later, she says “I’m continuing to heal my heart.”

But is a stint on The Bachelorette in her future? After all, the other women in the house seemed convinced. Caelynn, however, isn’t sure she’s ready. Ahead of next week’s Bachelor: Women Tell All special, we asked her about that and more. Read on.

Glamour: At one point in the season, you visited Colton during a group date to apparently vouch for Cassie’s intentions. Knowing that she’s still on the show, are you glad you did?

Caelynn Miller-Keyes: Yes, I wanted to defend my best friend. I’ll defend my friends forever. I knew Colton had a connection with Cassie, and I was like, If it’s me at the end of this, I don’t want him to watch this season back and suddenly have regrets. I didn’t want him to be like, Oh, I sent someone home that could have been my person. I wanted to make sure he knew the truth.

Glamour: What’s your relationship like with Cassie now?

Caelynn: Cassie and I are very close. She’s my best friend. But she won’t reveal any details of the season to me, so I don’t know what happens.

Glamour: That has to be hard—to be best friends with someone who has a connection with Colton, too?

Caelynn: Yeah, it’s definitely hard. I don’t know. I’m happy that Colton dumped me before the fantasy suite because that would have been way more difficult to go through that. I’m happy that when he knew that he didn’t love me he dumped me, but it still doesn’t make it easy. The whole season Cassie and I were trying to navigate the waters of our friendship and figure it out when we were both falling for the same guy. It was difficult. Watching it back is still difficult.

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Glamour: How are you doing now?

Caelynn: I thought I had processed this breakup fully, but there are still emotions to hash out. I mean, I hope Colton finds his person, and I hope he’s happy. I want him to find that and to find love.

Glamour: What do you still need answers to?

Caelynn: My biggest question is: When did Colton know he didn’t want to be with me? Because a week prior, he told me he had been falling in love with me since Singapore. To hear that and then be dumped just a week later, I want to know what it was. Was it meeting my family and suddenly realizing he couldn’t fit in?



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Sexual Assault Survivors on 'The Bachelor' Sharing Caelynn Miller-Keyes' Story


The following article, based on this week’s episode of The Bachelor, could be triggering for anyone who’s experienced sexual assault. If you or someone you know need help, call RAINN’s hotline at 800-656-HOPE (4673).

On the surface, the fourth episode of Colton Underwood’s season of The Bachelor was entirely typical. There were two romantic one-on-one dates, a chaotic group date, a trip to a stunning location, and the usual “villain” drama. That all shifted, though, when contestant Caelynn Miller-Keyes opened up to Colton about being sexually assaulted in college. This was different from anything we’ve seen from the franchise before, and The Bachelor got this #MeToo moment right.

During her date with Colton, Caelynn shared every painful detail of her story as she described being drugged and assaulted at a party during her sophomore year of college. “I woke up the next morning completely naked in my bed and had no memory of the night before,” she says. “I had a small vision of a guy in my bed, and I just had this pit in my stomach that something really bad happened last night.” Caelynn says she later learned through a friend what had happened, and that another student allegedly lifted her skirt and took Snapchat photos. “It was horrible,” she says. Her assailant, she says, was expelled from school but faced no other charges.

Caelynn explained that she tried to get a rape kit but said she was turned away from the first hospital she visited. “The reporting process is a lot more difficult than people realize. I had no idea what to do,” she told People in a later interview. “I was completely stranded, I was completely alone. I didn’t even think it was possible to be turned away from a hospital. Thankfully, I had a good support system and people went to a second hospital with me and I was able to get a rape kit and speak to authorities and go through that process. But it’s a lot more difficult than it seems.” (In addition to Caelynn’s experience, there’s a noted backlog of untested rape kits across the country, which interferes with prosecuting perpetrators of rape and assault.)

Caelynn’s story matters for a lot of reasons—but in the context of The Bachelor, it hopefully marks a turning point for how the franchise will address issues of sexual assault going forward. After all, this show doesn’t have the best track record. In 2017 the spinoff series Bachelor in Paradise was steeped in controversy when a producer brought forward sexual assault allegations regarding two contestants, Corinne Olympios and DeMario Jackson. Much of the public discourse surrounding Olympios was full of slut-shaming, and while the series did attempt to clear the air with a televised conversation about consent led by host Chris Harrison, the entire situation left a bad taste in many viewers’ mouths.

Last year news broke that The Bachelorette contestant Lincoln Adim had been convicted of indecent assault and battery. Warner Bros., the studio behind the franchise, issued a statement saying the production was unaware of the charges when he was cast. But the show never addressed the controversy; Adim was excluded from the “Men Tell All” special.

But Monday’s episode was poignant for many viewers, especially those who are sexual assault survivors—and there are likely many of them. According to RAINN, one out of every six American women (and three percent of men) have been the victims of an attempted or completed rape. What’s more, the vast majority of sexual assaults go unreported; out of every 1,000 sexual assaults, only 230 are ever reported to the police.

Anna, 25, a sexual assault survivor who asked Glamour to withhold her name for privacy reasons, said she “couldn’t breathe” while watching Caelynn tell her story. Like the Bachelor contestant, Anna woke up after a party with no memory of the previous night’s events but later had flashbacks of being assaulted by a coworker. “I never got a rape kit done, and I still have no solid conclusion as to what happened that night,” she says. “I fell into a deep depression for a couple years, but I’ve been able to slowly come out of it more recently.”



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On The Bachelor, Caelynn Miller-Keyes Opens Up About Being Sexually Assaulted in College


During her first solo date with Colton Underwood on tonight’s episode of The Bachelor, Caelynn Miller-Keyes opens up about being sexually assaulted in college. “It’s the most difficult thing in the world,” she tells him during their conversation. “It’s affected every single person in my life. It’s so painful.”

In an interview with People published before the episode aired, Caelynn said, “My life was flipped upside down. And even though I’ve moved on, it is something I will struggle with forever.”

The incident, Caelynn tells People, happened at a party during her sophomore year of college after her wine glass was drugged. “I woke up the next morning, and I was completely naked in my bed, and I knew that something bad had happened,” she says. A friend at the party alleged that one of the men there assaulted Caelynn. A second male, according to Caelynn’s other friend, lifted her dress in front of his fraternity brothers. “They watched and laughed and took photos and Snapchats. It was horrible,” Caelynn tells Colton on tonight’s episode.

“These situations happen when you’re safe,” she tells People. “They don’t necessarily happen when you’re walking down a dark alley. It’s when you’re comfortable and when you let your guard down.”

According to Caelynn, a hospital initially told her they wouldn’t do a rape kit unless she filed a police report. “At that point, these were friends of mine and I wasn’t entirely sure what had happened, so I wasn’t positive I wanted to file a police report. But later that night, I did, once I figured out what had really happened,” Caelynn says. “The reporting process is a lot more difficult than people realize. I had no idea what to do. I was completely stranded, I was completely alone. I didn’t even think it was possible to be turned away from a hospital. Thankfully, I had a good support system and people went to a second hospital with me and I was able to get a rape kit and speak to authorities and go through that process. But it’s a lot more difficult than it seems.”

By the time she visited the hospital again, Caelynn says enough time had elapsed that the results were inconclusive. Only one man from the situation was expelled from Caelynn’s college. The others faced no repercussions.

“Even though they got away with it, I’m happy that I still fought,” Caelynn says. “I can live with myself and know that at least I tried and I pushed and I went after justice.”

Bachelor fans—as well as Colton—quickly took to Twitter to commend Caelynn for speaking out. Below, just a few reactions:

Caelynn isn’t revealing the names of the men involved. “I’ve detached myself in a way from the perpetrators because I felt like that was the healthiest thing to do. I don’t want to have to keep reliving it. I was able to forgive the men,” she tells People. “And once you’re able to do that, you’re able to take that power back. I hope they’ve learned from that experience and that they never do it again.”

The Bachelor airs Monday nights at 8 P.M. ET on ABC.

If you’d like to speak to someone about sexual assault, don’t hesitate to reach out to RAINN’s hotline at 800.656.HOPE (4673).



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Caelynn Miller-Keyes on Colton Underwood and Her *Bachelor* Experience


Caelynn Miller-Keyes wasn’t sure she liked Colton Underwood at first. “I think [I was asked what I thought] the day after Bachelor in Paradise aired, and I said, ‘Uh, not really into him. I think he’s kind of a jerk,'” she told Glamour a few weeks before The Bachelor premiered. As the season progressed, though, her opinion changed, and she was able to open up to him about serious, more personal issues—like in tonight’s episode. In a watershed Bachelor moment, Caelynn revealed on her one-on-one date that she was sexually assaulted. “It’s the most difficult thing in the world,” she told him. “It’s affected every single person in my life. It’s so painful.”

People magazine published the story about Caelynn’s reveal before the episode aired. “My life was flipped upside down,” she tells the magazine. “And even though I’ve moved on, it is something I will struggle with forever.”

The incident happened during Caelynn’s sophomore year of college at a party. “These situations happen when you’re safe,” she tells People. “They don’t necessarily happen when you’re walking down a dark alley. It’s when you’re comfortable and when you let your guard down.”

Viewers took to Twitter in droves and commended Caelynn for speaking out—as did Colton on their actual date. “He’s a really great guy, and he’s really grown on me,” Caelynn tells Glamour.

Caelynn, who is the reigning Miss North Carolina, was the first girl Colton kissed in the house, and they’ve had a deep connection ever since. Of course, this only grew during tonight’s episode. She says she did “extensive research” on Colton beforehand and was drawn to his philanthropic efforts. “I was hospitalized as a child and given a 10% chance of ever walking again, and I love that he works with children’s hospitals,” she says.

As she advances further and further into this competition, Caelynn admits she’s worried about heartbreak, but she’s optimistic. “I’ve had a lot of heartbreak in my life, so I would hate for that to happen again, but [you have to put] yourself out there,” she says.

To learn more about Caelynn Miller-Keyes, follow her on Instagram here.

If you’d like to speak to someone about sexual assault, don’t hesitate to reach out to RAINN’s hotline at 800.656.HOPE (4673).





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