"Reality Steve" Carbone, the most prominent and powerful Bachelor blogger, announced that he would be stepping back from his relationships and friendships with the contestants about whom he writes. Carbone's statement comes after numerous troubling allegations from Bachelor alumni who claimed that he had interacted with them inappropriately.
Steve Carbone, who goes by "Reality Steve," gained online fame for his Bachelor blogs early on in the franchise's history. As Carbone's notoriety grew, told her about an explicit sex dream he had about her. Kristina Schulman also revealed that Carbone had personally messaged her to comment about the men she was dating.
Carbone responded to Burnett and Schulman's accusations with public apologies on Instagram and Twitter, where he claimed that he had no idea that his actions were inappropriate. Burnett revealed that she did not feel comfortable rebuffing Carbone's advances at the time for fear that he would retaliate publicly. Contestants who are on the receiving end of an unfavorable report from Reality Steve often face profound professional and personal consequences, including lost job opportunities and online harassment. After his initial apologies were ill-received by fans, Carbone published a statement on his blog on April 29, announcing that he would be severing personal relationships with the contestants he writes about:
One of the things that I’ve learned from this situation is that going forward, I’m not gonna have any sort of personal relationship with these contestants... I need to draw clearer lines that these are people I’m reporting on not people I have relationships/friendships with... The power dynamic that I’m now aware of prevents genuine behavior, meaning, I can’t be sure if someone actually WANTS to talk to me or not.
Carbone wrote that he had personally apologized to Burnett and Schulman. He also claimed that he was working with a professional to address his problematic behavior and move forward in a constructive manner.
The conversation surrounding Carbone's inappropriate interactions with Bachelor alumni was sparked by Jess Ambrose and Bekah Martinez on their podcast Chatty Broads. Ambrose and Martinez questioned Carbone's often inaccurate reporting and discussed falsely reported that she cheated on then-fiancé Jordan Kimball, appeared on Chatty Broads to share their experiences.
Carbone's announcement that he will be setting new boundaries with Bachelor contestants comes at a moment of reckoning in the franchise. In addition to the racism controversies involving Chris Harrison and Rachael Kirkconnell, online harassment within Bachelor Nation has intensified. Rachel Lindsay stepped down as host of Bachelor Happy Hour and briefly left Instagram after she received racist hate following her interview with Harrison. Ashley Spivey, a former contestant who has been a proponent of social justice within the franchise, announced that she would no longer be covering The Bachelor with Carbone.
Source: RealitySteve, Chatty Broads