A little advice, Bachelor to Bachelor. Colton Underwood wasn’t impressed with season 24 of The Bachelor — and he’s placing the blame both on Peter Weber and the show’s producers.
“Since I was silenced this season and opted to not watch it, I can’t go into detail,” Underwood, 28, wrote via his Instagram Story on Friday, March 13, in response to a fan who asked if he watched the most recent season. “What I can say is I feel like it was way overproduced and both parties could have done a much better job (Peter and production). Peter could have stood up for himself and put his foot down when the TV show part of things started to control his relationships. Production could have helped guide him better. I spoke about how at some points you have to use your gut and trust them in my book with examples. I do feel very sorry for Pete.”
The 28-year-old pilot’s controversial season ended with him proposing to Hannah Ann Sluss after Madison Prewett left the set in Australia. One month later, the duo broke off their engagement after Weber admitted that he still had feelings for Prewett, 23.
During the After the Final Rose live episode on Tuesday, March 10, Weber and the foster parent recruiter reunited and decided to give their romance a second chance. However, two days later the pair announced that they had split.
“Madi and I have mutually decided to not pursue our relationship any further,” he wrote via Instagram on Thursday, March 12. “Believe me this was not easy for either of us to be ok with, but after a lot of honest conversations, we have agreed that this is what makes most sense for the two of us.”
Prewett added, “As Peter and I have decided to go our separate ways, I am confident that we will both move in the direction of our purpose and never forget that God has a plan in all things,” she wrote. “I will always love and respect him. I am convinced our paths were meant to cross and we are both better because they did.”
Underwood, for his part, met his girlfriend Cassie Randolph on season 23 of The Bachelor. He memorably jumped a fence and was chased by producers after Randolph, 24, left the show because she wasn’t ready for him to propose. Although the former football player gave Randolph his final rose, the couple decided to date instead of getting engaged.
The pair told Us Weekly in October 2019 that it was difficult transitioning from sharing their love lives with the public to having a relationship away from the spotlight.
“It was a lot of changes, for sure, because we went from these more simple, more normal lives and then all of a sudden, we film a show and then you’re thrown into craziness where everyone is very hyperaware of everything that goes on in your life and your relationship,” Randolph told Us at the time. “It was a little bit of a struggle at first, I think — like adjusting to everything. But I feel like now we’ve kind of gotten used to it and learned to balance everything a lot more.”
Underwood explained that communication is the key to making their highly publicized relationship work.
“I think you learn to communicate too,” Underwood, who is releasing his book The First Time: Finding Myself and Looking for Love on Reality TV on March 31, said at the time. “Just with whether it’s tabloids or someone speculating a certain thing or people reading into your body language, you know. You just learn how to communicate with each other and you’ll be on the same page with everything going on.”