Why Was ‘Bachelor Pad’ Canceled? Inside the End of the Series After Chris Bukowski’s Discovery

Before there was Bachelor in Paradise, there was the short-lived Bachelor Pad. Despite the competition show’s popularity and addictiveness, it only lasted three seasons before being canceled by ABC in 2012 — and contestant Chris Bukowski is a big reason behind the network’s decision.

What Was the Show ‘Bachelor Pad’?

In a time long before Paradise and SugarBear Hair, castoffs from The Bachelor and The Bachelorette headed to the Pad in hopes of mingling with other sexy singles while competing for $250,000. Sounds fun, right? Well, not quite.

In order to actually win the grand prize, the contestants had to do quite a bit of lying and manipulating. Each week, the cast got smaller and smaller as someone had to be voted out of the house. It was crucial that the person you wanted to vote out wasn’t aware of your plan — hence the lying.

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In order to vote, each cast member had to go into a secluded “voting room” and drop the headshot of the person they wanted to go home into a wooden box.

However, the show didn’t last long. In March 2013, creator Mike Fleiss replied to a fan on X (previously Twitter) and admitted that it was “Not happening this summer…” The following year, Bachelor Pad was officially replaced by Bachelor in Paradise, which has since aired nine seasons. Season 10 is coming in 2025.

Why Was ‘Bachelor Pad’ Canceled?

In season 3 — aka the final season — Chris Harrison threw the biggest curveball in Bachelor Pad history during one episode when he enforced a new one-time rule. Instead of voting out one male and one female, the entire cast was to vote out one woman, and she would then be responsible for choosing the man who had to leave. This complicated things a great deal because player’s couldn’t simply vote out their biggest enemy in the house since they could then be brought down in return as well.

A majority of the cast — including former Bachelor and Bachelorette favorites like Michael Stagliano, Rachel Truehart, Ed Swiderski, and Jaclyn Swartz — plotted to vote out Erica Rose. The plan was that they were going to make Erica think Chris, who wasn’t well liked by the cast, was the one scheming against her, in hopes that she’d eliminate him.

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“Gaming-wise, it is a pretty unbelievable feat if we pull it off. It is devilish,” Michael said in the episode. “Not to toot my own horn, but I think I applied a stroke of genius [with this plan].” Little did he know, it was Chris who was the actual genius.

Throughout the episode, Michael’s plan appeared to be working and Erica Rose made it very clear that if she went home, she would vote out Chris. However, Chris decided to bring Erica into the voting room to show her that he wasn’t voting for her — something that had never happened on the show before.

“We are making Bachelor Pad history right now,” Chris said. And he did.

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Erica Rose ended up getting sent home and chose to eliminate Michael, who was easily one of the most popular guys in the house. Chris continued on with the show and later made it to the final two couples, but lost the grand prize to Nick Peterson.

After that, it was clear ABC couldn’t possibly bring this show back for another season. How could the format of the show stay the same when there was now a clear way to call someone out for their lies? They couldn’t, so they didn’t.

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“I’m a gamer and that was so much fun. It was scary… it literally changed the game,” Chris told Life & Style exclusively when we sat down with him at his Chicago restaurant, Bracket Room. “Do I regret [pulling Erica into the voting room]? No. Absolutely not. It was the best decision ever. Bachelor Pad can’t even happen now, they’d have to make a whole new show.”

Who Were the Winners of ‘Bachelor Pad’?

Season 1 of Bachelor Pad ended with David Good and Natalie Getz as the winners. In season 2, Holly Durst won alongside Michael (who later returned for season 3). In season 3, Nick was the sole winner.