It can be hard to stand out on The Bachelorette.
But you don’t need The Bachelorette spoilers to tell you that Nashville-based country singer Jed Wyatt has managed to do exactly that this week.
Just not for the right reasons.
Unfortunately, Jed is making tabloid headlines for all the wrong reasons.
Last week, word got out that Jed had a girlfriend the entire time he was filming the show – and falling in love with Hannah Brown.
That news came straight from the source.
Jed’s ex-girlfriend, Haley Stevens (below) came forward and revealed that she had been in a relationship with Jed for several months when he took off for LA to woo Hannah.
"He came forward, basically said, ‘I’ve been talking to my mom about this, I just don’t think there’s any way we can go forward," Stevens said.
"I kind of see where this is going, and I don’t feel right not giving you the chance to walk away. I have to be upfront about it."
But Haley didn’t walk away, in part because Jed assured her that he was only in it for the clout.
On his first date with Hannah, Jed admitted that he initially tried out for the show solely because he believed the exposure would help his music career.
And it seems that’s the same story he told Stevens.
Haley — who is also a Nashville-based singer-songwriter — says that Jed was upfront with her three weeks into the relationship and told her that he was involved in the audition process.
He assured her it was solely a career move, and over the course of the next four months, their relationship became serious.
How serious?
Well, Haley has now shared the last text that she received from Jed before he boarded that fateful flight to Los Angeles (above).
"I love you! Don’t forget that. Everything is always working out," Wyatt wrote in a text revealed to Entertainment Tonight.
"It all adds up," he added.
"I love you! You’re such a light to me and to everyone you surround yourself with. I can’t wait for the whole world to know you Jed," Haley replied.
"You are so special and you are going to be so great! I’m all yours and I’m going to miss you like crazy," Haley continued.
"Go be an inspiration and a light," she adds, nauseatingly.
"I’ll be praying for you (and me) and your family everyday!"
Needless to say, these two were clearly more than just friends … and you have to wonder if Hannah knows about it.
Given Hannah’s hard-line stance against infidelity (at the start of the season, she unceremoniously booted a different cast member after learning he had a girlfriend back home), this would have been a big story under any circumstances.
But it’s particularly jaw-dropping in the context of what we just learned about Jed.
Here’s your warning that major Bachelorette spoilers lie ahead, so read no further if you don’t want to know how this season ends:
Spoiler master Reality Steve revealed this week that Hannah and Jed are engaged.
Yes, despite weeks of rumors that Tyler Cameron was the man to steal Hannah’s heart, we now know that Ms. Brown fell for Jed.
(No great surprise, considering how hard she swooned for his crooning on Monday night’s episode.)
That must’ve been a tough pill to swallow for Stevens.
Regardless, she says news of the (as yet unconfirmed) engagement did not factor into her decision to put Jed on blast.
"People were saying they were going to tell my story — me, real girl, real life — and I wasn’t going to have any control of that," she told ET.
"It didn’t seem fair that nobody was going to stand up for me here."
She added:
"Someone told me they love me, this is what’s best for them, I trusted in that. I could never have known that this is what the situation would be."
Pretty tough situation for everyone involved.
Except, Jed, of course.
Dude got the girl and the exposure he was looking for – although this debacle probably won’t do any favors for his image as a sensitive, soulful type.
How long until she gives him the boot and Jed joins the illustrious list of Alabama Hannah’s exes (below)? Stay tuned.
