Forget Ex on the Beach, it's all about Ex on the Bach.
Viewers were riveted (and cringing) during Monday night's episode of The Bachelor when contestant Victoria Fuller walked hand-in-hand with Peter Weber to what was supposed to be a fun concert during their one-on-one only to find her ex-boyfriend Chase Rice standing on the stage. Looking like a deer in headlights and clearly unsure of what to do, Victoria F. awkwardly danced with and kissed Peter as her country singer ex serenaded them. Talk about uncomfortable.
While it was definitely one of the most dramatic blasts from the pasts Bachelor Nation has seen, it was far from the first, as the franchise has a long history of contestants' exes popping up to stir up the drama—whether in person, over the phone or even via DM. C'mon, even the first two episodes of Peter's season were really all about his ex, Hannah Brown, right?
Even though we don't condone back-sliding, let's take a quick stroll down memory lane to look back on some of the most memorable appearances of exes on the show over the years...
The Bachelor, Season 24: Of course, the most recent example of an ex showing up is arguably the most entertaining/intriguing, both on and off the show, as the country crooner seems to have a different take on his relationship with Victoria F. than the one she detailed to Peter.
While she told the Bach they had dated pretty seriously right before she left for the show and that Chase didn't want her to go on ABC hit, the 34-year-old "Eyes On You" told the hosts on the Fitz in the Morning radio show, "We spent a night together in Charlotte. She's a cool chick—from what I know of her."
While musical guests rarely become integral to the show's storylines, usually just awkwardly singing a song in front of two people making out in the hopes of cracking any Billboard chart, Chase, who once competed on Survivor, was "really pissed" off by what ended up playing out.
"They've never brought somebody in and surprised the guest on the show," he explained, adding he had no idea she was going to be the woman on the date. "To do that to me, it's over the top; it's unnecessary. I didn't expect it. But at the end of the day, it happened. I don't know if it's the producers, or if they just got lucky as hell. I know what I think but I'll let everybody else figure out what they think. I was pissed. I was really pissed off to be honest...If there's anything I've ever wanted, it's to have nothing to do with the drama of that show."
The Bachelorette, Season 15: Sometimes an ex doesn't have to show up in the flesh to cast a shadow over a contestant's time on the show. Just ask Scott Andersen, who didn't even make it to the rose ceremony on the first night of Hannah Brown's season after her BFF Demi Burnett revealed she had received a DM informing her he had a girlfriend back home.
Too bad she didn't receive one about Jed Wyatt, the aspiring singer who would end up proposing to Hannah, also coming onto the show with a girlfriend, right?
The Bachelorette, Season 14: Given how popular the franchise has become, it's gone on to spawn its own cesspool of incestual dating, with many contestants dating each other once their seasons are over and they go from aspiring social media influencer to card-carrying member of Bachelor Nation. The perfect example of this? Becca Kufrin having to deal with the fact that one of her frontrunners (and future Bachelor) Colton Underwood had briefly dated her good friend/Bachelorette contender Tia Booth after they started chatting via DM.
While Tia initially told Becca she was cool with her dating her ex, she later returned and admitted it made her "sick" to think of them together as she still had feelings for the former NFL player, with Becca later sending him home. Colton and Tia then attempted to give their relationship another shot on Bachelor in Paradise, but after many, many tears they parted as friends, with Colton going on to become the Bachelor.
The Bachelor, Season 22: Before ultimately going on to be Arie Luyendyk Jr.'s (first) final pick, future Bachelorette Becca Kufrin was blindsided when her ex-boyfriend Ross randomly showed up in Peru with the hopes of winning her back/proposing to her.
Becca had previously talked about her ex, revealing they had dated on and off for seven years and described the relationship as "unhealthy," and she was not amused to open her hotel room door and find Ross standing there, greeting him with this: "No. What are you doing here? Ross...no. Like, no."
Clearly annoyed, uttering "what the f--k?," Becca doesn't invite him into her hotel room and kindly offers to "talk quickly." She then makes quick work of getting rid of Ross and shooting down his notions of an engagement. "This is you inserting yourself into my life more and that is not your place."
After the episode aired, Twitter was a little thirsty for Ross, a college football coach, with some even calling for him to be on the next season of the show.
Becca? Not down for that.
"I stand by my decision to not accept an unhealthy relationship back in my life," she tweeted. "I will never doubt or question that. #selflovemotherssssss."
Now, two years later, Becca is happily engaged to Garrett Yrigoyen, her final pick during her run as the Bachelorette.
The Bachelor, Season 20: While he didn't physically appear, JoJo Fletcher's ex-boyfriend made his presence known during the hometown dates episode, when JoJo arrived home to find a letter and flowers waiting for her on her doorstep.
Initially thinking they are from Ben Higgins, JoJo's mood shifts faster than if she had ice-cold water dumped on her when she opens the letter and realizes it's from her ex, Chad, who begins the letter by stating, "I 'm not writing this because you are on the show," when means he's totally writing it because she's on the show.
"I'm so mad," she said through tears, and we see portions of the multiple-page letter, including the sign-off, "I will always love you with all of my heart!" Naturally, that's when the Bachelor arrives for their date.
The Bachelorette, Season 13: Truly one of the most iconic moments in recent Bachelorette history, DeMario Jackson's reaction when one of his ex-girlfriends showed up during a group date. (He claims it was nothing more than a Tinder hook-up, though she had keys to his place?)
Rachel Lindsay had approximately negative-15 minutes to give DeMario, quickly sending him packing and expressing frustration with producers for blindsiding her on-cam. And that's why we love her.
The Bachelor, Season 17: Endlessly played up for maximum drama in the promos leading up to Sean Lowe's season, the big moment finally arrived when Desiree Hartsock's ex-boyfriend shows up on their date during her hometown visit and immediately gets in the Bachelor's face. Things get pretty tense, with the ex even putting his hands on Sean...until we learn it was a practical joke, with Des pranking Sean by hiring an actor to mess with him in retaliation for a joke he played on her earlier in the season.
But the last laugh was ultimately on her as her over-protective brother ended up sort of ruining her time in her hometown with Sean, who ultimately sent her home in that episode.
The Bachelorette, Season 8: A super-underrated moment came during Emily Maynard's season when the Bachelorette discovered all the way in week seven that Arie, one of her frontrunners who would ultimately be her runner-up, had actually dated one of her producers/closest friends Cassie Lambert over ten years ago., with neither party telling her about it until right before they were set to visit his hometown.
"Emily had no idea about this relationship when production began. But Cassie took it upon herself to tell Emily about it as soon as it became apparent that Emily was developing some serious feelings for Arie," Chris Harrison explained in a segment before we see Emily's reaction to the mini-bombshell.
"If he's OK with hiding that he even knows you, much less dated you, what the f--k else is he hiding?" the Bachelorette seethes. "He's a good actor."
Annoyed over not being informed of this earlier, claiming she feels like an "idiot," Emily and Arie then have an intense conversation over his perceived dishonesty (he maintains it didn't feel relevant because it was so long ago and a short relationship), ultimately hashing it out off-camera.
The Bachelorette, Season 10: In another infamous moment in the franchise's history, Bachelorette Ali Fedotowsky learns via a phone call from her Jessie Sulidis, her fellow contestant from Jake Pavelka's season of The Bachelor, that one of her suitors has a girlfriend back home. Oh, and then the girlfriend hopped on the phone to tell a shell-shocked Ali everything, including that she found out after he left for filming that he had been cheating on her and had another secret girlfriend.
The cheater in question? Iconic villain Justin "Rated R" Rego, an aspiring wrestler who literally hops over bushes, pushes the cameras, and attempts to hobble away (due to a cast on his foot) from a "pissed" Ali after she confronts him.
Equally as dramatic, though for a vastly different reason, another omnipresent ex ended up rocking Ali's season when her frontrunner (and let's be honest, intended final pick) Frank Neuschaefer admitted to Ali that he was still in love with his ex-girlfriend and dumped her in the fantasy suites episode. Oof.
Turns out that Frank ended up speaking to his ex, Nicole, after his hometown date, stopping in Chicago for a layover reconciliation before flying to Tahiti to break tings off with a devastated Ali. "The second I saw her, all the old feelings kinda came rushing back," he explains. "Ali, I'm sorry."
The Bachelor airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on ABC.