Does the "Bad News" Teased on 'Ready to Love: Last Resort' Have to Do with Joy Hutton?

One of the biggest criticisms for recent seasons of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette is that many of the contestants are still in their early to mid-20s and that they, therefore, aren't actually ready to find lasting love. 

The OWN series Ready to Love is unlike any other dating series that's currently on the air. It centers around 20 single men and women who are in their 30s and 40s who are successful in their careers but who aren't as lucky in love. 

The show focuses on men's perspectives, and the contestants all hail from the same city each season. For Season 3, the cast isolated together at a resort due to COVID-19 restrictions.

On the Dec. 18 episode, the teaser revealed that "bad news" was set to affect one of the contestants and that it could cause him or her to leave the resort for good. Many are now suspecting that it involves fan-favorite Joy Hutton. 

What happened to Joy on Ready to Love: Last Resort? 

At the end of the Dec. 18 episode, the teaser revealed that host Nephew Tommy Miles will sit the remaining contestants down for a serious discussion.

"Normally, when I gather you guys like this, we're talking about trying to find someone in your life," he said. "This is a little bit different. We got some bad news earlier today."

The episode ended right after Nephew Tommy's ominous words, leading many viewers to wonder about what exactly he's referring to. One popular theory is that it has to do with Joy Hutton, the 38-year-old consultant firm owner.

While the exact "bad news" on Ready to Love: Last Resort will be revealed on the Jan. 1 episode, fans do believe that it involves Joy Hutton. When Nephew Tommy announced that there was something serious that the cast needed to discuss, Joy was notably not in the room.

Before Season 3 began airing, Joy posted about the sudden death of her sister, Giana, in September of 2020. The 32-year-old was a graduate of Williams College, and she also had a Master's degree from Carnegie Mellon University.

Prior to her untimely passing, Giana had just been accepted to a program at George Washington University. 

"On 9/15/2020, I lost my sister unexpectedly after talking to her minutes before," Joy wrote on Instagram, in the first of her many posts about her late sister. "Even in her final moments, in true Giana fashion, she was doing for others. She was on her way to buy a wedding gift for a friend."

Joy then shared more about who her sister was. 

"And in her final words, she was still trying to be the boss of me and tell me how to live my life. She was so protective of her big sister as I was of her. Even though we were six years apart, our bond was unbreakable. This hurts so much. My life will never be the same without her. She was my other half," she continued in the caption of her post. I love you every day and now I will miss you every day."

A few weeks later, Joy posted about the memorial her family held for her sister. 

"On 10/1, we celebrated the life of my sister Giana..." she wrote, along with a slideshow of photos of her sister. "I am so grateful for the outpouring of love from her friends and colleagues. She was a walking beam of light. It's going to take a long time for me to have peace with her leaving this Earth. It still doesn't seem real. I will cherish the time and the memories we did have with one another," she concluded, before adding. "I love you Giana...forever."

If the "bad news" in question is related to Joy, there's every chance that she did leave the show to deal with the family tragedy. Because Season 3 filmed in isolation at a resort, it is unlikely that she could have returned after departing. 

All will be revealed as Season 3 progresses.  

Ready to Love: Last Resort airs on Fridays at 9 p.m. ET on OWN.