Why Are 'The Bachelor' Season 28 Women Hating on Maria? Fans Are Confused

Every season of The Bachelor has a villain and competitive narrative pushed by the producers, but there has never been a woman like Maria Georgas. Season 28 Bachelor Joey Graziadei hit it off with Maria from the very beginning, and their relationship has only grown stronger throughout each episode. But Maria has also been the center of conflict among the other women on the show, who seem to hate her.

While Bachelor Nation seems to unanimously be on Team Maria, the women in the house have bonded against her, trying to push her out and ruin her connection with Joey. But to all of us watching at home, it doesn’t make any sense! Why does everyone hate Maria?

The Bachelor is always an interesting study of interpersonal relationships. Season 28 started by placing 32 women in a house, all vying for one man’s heart. If it weren’t already enough for society to pit women against one another, The Bachelor adds in a competition for love to up the ante. Naturally, this format leads to cliques forming, bullying, and friendships predicated on facades.

From day one, women took issue with Maria, who always came off as cool and confident to Bachelor Nation fans watching from home. She’s comfortable in her sexuality and formed a strong connection with Joey off the bat through her authenticity. She isn't afraid to talk about her love of horror movies and goofy comedies like The Office. All of the drama came to a head when Sydney Gordon misinterpreted Maria’s encouragement of Madina Alam as condescension.

Maria and Madina cleared the air almost immediately, as Maria listened to how the other women felt. Sydney, however, wouldn’t drop the incident. This led to a dramatic 2-on-1 date with Joey in which he chose Maria, shocking Sydney’s friends, Lea Cayanan, Jess Edwards, Katelyn DeBecker, and Kelsey Anderson. Now, Lea and Jess are leading the pack against Maria, continuing the drama where Sydney left it.

As the drama continues, Lea even makes Maria cry and isn't sorry about it. Fans watching from home are disturbed by Lea’s behavior because it reminds them of being bullied in high school. They recognize that Maria’s confidence and genuine personality may have rubbed many women the wrong way.

That’s because many of the women who typically go on The Bachelor have influencer aspirations that feed into a loop of low self-confidence. Maria’s aware she isn't for everyone, but she’s OK with that, while the other “more submissive” women are rubbed the wrong way by Maria’s naturally charismatic personality.

Despite the on-screen hate towards Maria, the fans are fully on her side. Several Reddit threads have analyzed the negativity towards Maria to find ways that it mirrors reality. One thread, titled “Maria is not the bully here” shared by u/motheroffaeries points out how Maria’s story mirrors that of getting bullied in high school.

“As someone who was bullied in high school, I find it so triggering to watch this drama play out. I feel so deeply for Maria,” they wrote. “Watching her be ostracized for being different and outspoken is incredibly painful. Unless production is keeping something from us, I find the behavior of some of these women so unacceptable and immature.”

Other fans agreed and added that the women are “really trying to break her spirit and her connection.” But it’s not even just the fans who have an opinion.

Both Maria and Lea have shared Instagram posts and stories referencing the drama. While Maria calls for “peace, love, and positivity” towards everyone, Lea shared a snap of their shocked faces when Sydney went home with the original caption, “Last slide reaction when the math is not math-ing…” (via a Bachelorette Windmill story).

So some of the women may hate Maria, although our favorite girlies, Edwina and Kelsey T, are clearly on the right side of history.