Who Has Already Been Cut From Season 16 of The Bachelorette? An Investigation

Forty-two men entered, but 42 men did not stay. 

The first rose ceremony of the new quarantined season of The Bachelorette just took place on Sunday night, but contestants appear to have already been dropping like flies before filming even began, and before anyone even got to meet Clare Crawley. This was always likely to be the case—42 is simply too many contestants. Some men were alternates, and it makes sense that there would be a whole lot of alternates for a season where participation depends on a negative COVID-19 test. 

But what’s surprising about this development is the fact that the men who were originally announced as potentially being part of the cast have been freely announcing their departure on social media, meaning we’re getting a little sneak peek at who will be missing when the full cast is announced closer to the season premiere date. We also might have gotten a clue as to how many men did at least make it to the first rose ceremony, thanks to one of the rejected guys. 

Tien Yang, 36, posted a pic of himself with some friends on Instagram early this week, and a commenter said, “Really disappointed that you’re not going to be on Clare’s season. It would’ve been nice to see Asian representation in the bachelor pool.” 

Tien responded, writing “agreed, I’m rooting for Joe! I guess 1 of 32 slots is progress lol.” 

That likely means 36 year-old Joe is the only remaining cast member of Asian descent who made it to the first rose ceremony, and based on that comment from Tien, it appears that 32 men ended up meeting Clare on Sunday night, and an unknown number of them were then sent home after meeting her. 

ABC has not released or commented on the final cast, but here’s what we know about who’s out so far, thanks to a bit of Instagram sleuthing, plus a little regular Instagram viewing, since some of these guys were pretty obvious about it. 

Alex Brusiloff, 28, returned to Instagram on Tuesday to post a picture of his two dogs with a very telling caption: “At least these two won’t ghost me,” accompanied by a rose emoji and the hashtag #bachelorrejects. 

Thirty-one year-old Josh Elledge also returned to Instagram with a picture of himself barefoot while holding a suitcase in Minneapolis, and explained his return in his Instagram stories, per Bachelor Nation fan account @Bachdetective. 

“So thankful for everyone’s support throughout this crazy journey. At the last minute, I was chosen not to be a part of this season’s cast. I am choosing to focus on the things I can control and look towards the future. Some things are just not meant to be and I know there is a bigger purpose out there for me. Your messages and love mean the world to me.”

Another sign of a Bachelor contestant returned home is a public Instagram, since contestants make their accounts private during filming. 

Tyler Smith, 36, has made his Instagram public again, as has Peter Giannikopoulos, 32, AJ, 28, Dale Moss, 31, Chasen Nick, 31, Brendan Morais, 30, Zachary Jackson, 37, Montel Hill, 30, and Robby Stahl, 31. 

Robby also posted a picture of himself in a field with a gun on Wednesday. 

According to @Bachdetective, 26 year-old Ellis Matthews returned to Instagram and posted on his story, though his page remains private. 

That’s a total of 14 men who have returned to social media this week, and there will likely be more as filming for Clare’s season continues. 

Keep up with the entire list of men below before Clare’s season premieres on ABC!

Mike Tobin, 38, is from Calgary in Alberta, Canada.

Yosef Aborady is 29 and from Mobile, Alabama.

Blake Monar, 30, is from Rockport, Indiana.

Zac Clark is 36 and from Haddonfield, Pennsylvania.

Ivan Hall, 28, is from Dallas, Texas.

Garin Flowers, 34, is from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. 

Blake Moynes, 29, is from Burlington, Ontario, Canada.

Noah Erb is 25 and from Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Jay Smith is 39 and from Langhorne, Pennsylvania. 

Joe Park is 36 and from North Woodmere, New York.

Demar Jackson, 26, is from San Diego, California.

Jordan Chapman, 26, is from Southington, Connecticut. 

Page Pressley is 37 and from Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Jeremy Higgins is 40 and from Virginia Beach, Virginia.

Chris Conran, 27, is from St. Louis, Missouri.

Brandon Goss, 28, is from Cleveland, Ohio.

Karl Smith, 33, is from Miami, Florida.

Gary Briggs II, 29, is from Cleveland, Ohio.

Jordan Manier is a 30-year-old from Deerborn, Michigan.

Ben Smith, 29, is from Indianapolis, Indiana.

Riley Christian, 30, is from Detroit, Michigan.

Bennett Jordan is 37 and from Atlanta.

Kenny Braasch, 39, is from Oaklawn, Illinois.

Spencer Robertson, 30, is from La Jolla, California.

Ed Waisbrot is 36 and from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Uzoma Nwachukwu, 29, is from Dallas, Texas.

Tyler Cottrill, 27, is from Gassaway, West Virginia.

Jason Foster is a 31-year-old from Rutland, Vermont. His Instagram is currently public. 

Montel, 30, is from Hingham, Massachusetts. His Instagram is currently public. 

He’s 31 and from Walnut Creek, California. His Instagram is currently public.