The sad truth about The Bachelor’s ‘virtual rose ceremonies’

A Bachelor elimination ceremony usually involves tears, plenty of hugs and a long limousine ride away from the mansion.

But not for Bel Colwell, who was the first girl to be sent home by Locky Gilbert during the ‘virtual rose ceremony’ on Thursday night’s episode.

The 25-year-old told Who magazine that being sent home during ‘love in lockdown’ was a bizarre and lonely experience.

‘I don’t recommend it to anyone… There’s a red rose just staring at you and then you just close the laptop,’ she said.

‘Obviously, it’s better to be with everyone because you can hug everyone goodbye and have a moment with Locky if you need it for that closure,’ she added.

Bel, who was at her home on the night she was sent packing, had only her producer to turn to for comfort after being abruptly cut off the Zoom call.

‘It was nice, he sat with me in the house afterwards and asked me if I was okay,’ she said.

At the end of Thursday’s episode, the series’ first-ever virtual rose ceremony saw each of the remaining ladies standing by a rose.

However, they could only pick it up if Locky called out their name.

After Bel failed to receive her rose, she waved goodbye to the other ladies before her screen abruptly blanked out.

Fans criticised the ceremony on Twitter, with one viewer pointing out how ‘weird’ it must have been for Bel to be dumped like that.

‘So Bel has a rose next to her but she can’t “accept” it? What a weird way to do it? Could they have not thought of anything else,’ another wrote.

Many viewers questioned if there could have been a better way to stage the eliminations, saying the Zoom format was ‘cringeworthy’ and ‘awkward’.

The Bachelor continues Wednesday at 7:30pm on Channel 10