Warning: The Bachelorette Season 21 spoilers ahead: As Bachelor Nation’s current villain, fans are confident that Jenn’s winner isn’t Sam M. on The Bachelorette Season 21. (At least they hope not.) But when does Sam M. go home? Viewers will have to wait a while.
Sam McKinney, a 27-year-old Contractor from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, is one of 25 contestants on The Bachelorette Season 21 with Jenn Tran. Though he was an early fan favorite after he received Jenn’s First Impression Rose—and first kiss—on night one, opinions soured on him after Sam M.’s feud with Devin Strader—a 28-year-old Freight Company Owner from Rosenberg, Texas, and Jenn’s other frontrunner—in Week 2.
Related: All The Bachelorette Season 21 spoilers, including Jenn’s winner
The feud continued on for Weeks 3, 4, and 5, as Sam M. and Devin butted heads over Devin’s behavior toward the other men in the Bachelor Mansion and whether he was there for the “right reasons.” Though Devin seemed to be enemy number one to The Bachelor Season 21 cast (Aaron Erb and Thomas Nguyen were also among his haters), he seemed like a fan favorite to fans who sympathized with him and appreciated his humor. Who fans seemed to have turned on, however, was Sam M. who went from fan favorite to villain for his drama with Devin.
Sam M.‘s villain status only got worse in Week 4 when he got his first one-on-one date with Jenn where they went bungee jumping off a skyscraper in Auckland, New Zealand. Though the the jump was no big deal to Sam M., Jenn, who confessed her extreme fear of heights, didn’t feel the same. In a confessional interview, Jenn criticized Sam M. for laughing at her and not comforting her during the date. Still, Jenn gave Sam a rose at the end of their one-on-one date. But what happened next?
When does Sam M. go home on The Bachelorette Season 21?
Jenn sent Sam M. home in Week 6 of The Bachelorette Season 21, along with Grant Ellis, a 30-year-old Day Trader from Newark, New Jersey, and Spencer Conley, a 30-year-old Pet Portrait Entrepreneur from Dallas, Texas. All three contestants were eliminated at the Rose Ceremony before Hometown Dates. They all also received one-on-one dates throughout the season and roses on those dates.
More: Meet The Bachelorette Season 21 cast
That means that Jenn’s final four were Devin Strader, a 28-year-old Freight Company Owner from Rosenberg, Texas; Marcus Shoberg, a 31-year-old Army Ranger Veteran from Cloquet, Minnesota; Jonathon Johnson, a 27-year-old Creative Director from Kansas City Missouri, and Jeremy Simon, a 29-year-old Real Estate Investor from Fairfield, Connecticut. Jeremy was sent home in fourth place; Jonathon was sent home in third place; Marcus was the runner-up; while Devin was Jenn’s winner.
Is Sam M. the next Bachelor for Season 29?
It’s not impossible for Sam M. to become the lead of The Bachelor Season 29. There have been several Bachelors who have been eliminated at the Rose Ceremony before Hometown Dates, including Season 23 Bachelor Colton Underwood was also eliminated at the rose ceremony before Hometown Dates on The Bachelorette Season 14 with Becca Kufrin. Jenn herself was also eliminated at the Rose Cereimony before Hometown Dates at The Bachelor Season 28 with Joey Graziadei and went on to become the Season 21 Bachelorette.
Season 26 Bachelor Clayton Echard was also eliminated far earlier than Sam M. and went on to become a lead. Clayton was sent home in eighth place on The Bachelorette Season 18. What could prevent Sam M. from becoming the next Bachelor is the public’s opinion of him and—more importantly—what he and his family have said about his edit on The Bachelorette Season 21 ever since his feud with Devin.
More: Which Bachelorette couples still together may surprise you
Sam M.’s ex-girlfriend Rayleigh—who he dated before and after going on The Bachelorette Season 21—claimed to Reality Steve in July 2024 that Sam M. called Jenn a “liar” once he returned from filming The Bachelorette and that Jenn’s winner, Devin, proved his negative opinion of her.
“The other thing was when he came back from filming, he told Rayleigh, he thought Jen was a liar. He said, Jen’s feelings are all over the place. And the person she picks at the end is going to prove that that’s what he told Rayleigh really told that to me,” Reality Steve wrote.
Sam M. also hinted at his drama with Jenn and The Bachelorette in a comment reposted by TikTok account ShesAllBach in July 2024, in which he criticized his edit on the show. “Most felt like that and rightfully so. I even felt like that. I was incredibly disheartening to be portrayed in that fashion. Hopefully at the tell all the truth will come out,” he wrote in a since-deleted comment in response to fans questioning his behavior on The Bachelorette. He continued in another comment, “Oh and legally I’m not allowed to speak on it… and now I’m figuring out why.”
Sam M.’s, relative, Olivia McKinney, also accused The Bachelorette of not accurately representing what happened on Jenn’s season. “I’m ready for @bacheloretteabc to show allllll the context they’ve left out,” she wrote.
Olivia could be referring to a controversial moment involving Devin that Reality Steve claimed was cut out of The Bachelorette Season 21 premiere. The site reported that, during a game of “Truth or Dare” on night one, Devin was asked to name a conspiracy theory he believed in, to which he allegedly responded, “I believe 9/11 was an inside job.”
The scene was cut out of The Bachelorette Season 21 premiere, presumably because Devin is Jenn’s winner. Reality Steve also reported that the whole cast, including Jenn, heard Devin’s comment, and the moment was among the real reasons that most of the cast had an issue with him during filming.
Olivia wasn’t the only family member to defend Sam M. on social media, according to more comments reposted by TikTok account Zachary Reality. Another of Sam M.’s relatives, Seth McKinney, also hinted at favoritism toward Devin on The Bachelorette Season 21 in an Instagram comment. “Crazy how they can cut out so much detail to make a person look shallow while making others look like a king,” Seth wrote. “He added in another comment, “crazy thing called producers and editing can make people see what they want not what actually happened.”
Sam M.’s other relative, Hannah, also accused the producers of strategic editing on The Bachelorette Season 21. “Let’s see all the footage @bacheloretteabc…. I’m waiting,” she wrote. When a fan criticized Hannah for not being there during filming, she responded, “I’m sorry that your family doesn’t defend you like we do ours.”
Another of Sam M.’s relatives, Susan McKinney, also shared a Facebook post in which she accused The Bachelorette of trying to “destroy” Sam M.’s character. “There is nothing real about ‘reality’ tv. To destroy someone’s character and manipulate the truth through editing is wrong on so many levels. Isn’t it interesting that the first night favorite is now being made into the villain?” she wrote. “There are several spoilers out there for who she chooses in the end that you can Google for yourself. Sam is a good guy regardless of how he is betrayed and I will no longer sit idly by and not speak up. Hey The Bachelorette it’s called free speech. At least mine is honest which is more than they can say.”
Jeff McKinney, Sam M.’s father, wrote on Facebook, “I choose my words wisely. I have sat idly by this week watching my son a complete wreck on how he was portrayed. Sam has (mostly) been the favorite with the first impression rose, etc. The spoiler was revealed and (in my opinion) the network had to paint Sam as this horrendous guy in order for Jenn not to look like a complete idiot.”
He continued, “Now I know why the network offers free counseling for 1 year after the show. I feel this episode was all fabricated with cut and paste sentences and scenes. Can’t change what he said and how he said it but they can change the scene, script and context and totally change the delivery. That’s the way I feel. Feel free to share this. #ISTANDWITHSAM.”
The Bachelorette airs on Mondays at 8 p.m. on ABC. Stream it on Hulu.
