Have the 'Bachelor' franchise's roses wilted? Showrunners' exit is latest change to rock the reality TV dating series.

The Bachelor franchise has found itself at the center of ongoing turmoil off-camera. Behind the scenes, the long-running franchise is once again in pursuit of new leaders, amid allegations of workplace misconduct.

On March 14, Deadline reported that its showrunners and executive producers, Claire Freeland and Bennett Graebner, are leaving ABC’s long-running dating franchise after just two years, after allegations of "toxic" workplace conditions on the show.

The outlet spoke in February with a dozen current and former crew members, who said Freeland and Graebner had created a “hostile” work environment. The pair took over showrunner duties in 2023, after the show's creator, Mike Fleiss, left the franchise following a workplace misconduct investigation, and they were accused of running the franchise with “fear.”

A crew member told Deadline, “When Mike [Fleiss] left there was a sigh of relief. Never did we think that two [of the] people that would take over would make us wish that he was still here.” One crew member also referred to the “last two years, but particularly the last six months” as “hostile, toxic and horrible,” while another called the franchise a “dumpster fire right now.”

While Freeland and Graebner “don’t outrightly treat people poorly,” one source said they were “secretive and passive-aggressive” and they “know that they’re doing it to affect people.”

Additional sources revealed that Freeland and Graebner also behaved “passive-aggressively” toward senior members of the production team who have been working on the franchise for over 20 years. They reported that the pair’s “horrendous leadership” included “bizarre” behaviors, like sitting behind closed doors and only talking to each other while on set. Staffers were reportedly asked to wear name tags during the first night of filming Joey Graziadei’s season of The Bachelor because Freeland and Graebner didn’t care to get to know their crew.

Freeland and Graebner became showrunners alongside Jason Ehrlich, who oversaw The Golden Bachelor. Ehrlich left the franchise in 2024. News of Freeland and Graebner’s exit, meanwhile, comes weeks after it was announced that co-executive producers Michael Margolis, who is Freeland’s husband, and Keely Booth had resigned from the reality television dating franchise.

Freeland and Graebner’s lawyer, Michael Weinsten, has since denounced these allegations, telling Deadline that his clients are “well-respected professionals” who are “stunned and saddened” by what’s come to light.

But not every crew member is critical of Freeland and Graebner. Deadline also received eight testimonials from current staffers. One said the pair have been “nothing short of professional, fair, and kind.” Another referred to them as having brought “real positive change to the work environment and the Bachelor franchise.”

Yahoo Entertainment reached out for comment to ABC and Warner Bros., which produces the series, but did not immediately receive a response.

Freeland and Graebner’s exit is the latest change to the long-running franchise.

In February, ABC announced that it was “pausing” The Bachelorette and that Season 22, which would have premiered sometime in July, would not go into production. The spin-off has not been canceled and “will likely come back to the Disney-owned network in the future,” according to Deadline. While no definitive reason has been given as to why this cycle of the show will be skipped, some fans believe that it’s a result of the backlash surrounding the treatment of the star of Season 21, Jenn Tran, in 2024.

Criticism of those calling the shots behind the scenes hit a fever pitch after a particularly unsettling moment during ABC’s After the Final Rose, featuring Tran.

During the live taping of the finale, Tran was forced to watch footage of her engagement to Devin Strader, the recipient of her final rose, even though they were no longer together. The footage was aired after Strader joined Tran onstage to discuss where their relationship went wrong. The host Jesse Palmer asked Tran if she was ready to watch her engagement again, to which Tran repled, “Do I have a choice?”

As the footage rolled, a live-reaction camera appeared in the bottom-left corner of television screens across the nation that broadcast Tran’s tearful reaction. The decision to roll the footage was reportedly made by Freeland.

“Claire made that decision to put her in that position and air that proposal on live television,” a former producer told Deadline. “Producers were screaming at them in the booth to stop and were ignored. They said she was falling apart.”

Even Tran was surprised to learn The Bachelorette was going on hiatus.

“It was a surprise to me,” she told People. “The franchise has been going on for so long. Sometimes you hear things like why [shows go on pause]. I have no idea why and what's going on there. I really have no idea.”

This isn’t the first time The Bachelorette hasn’t aired during its usual spot. Season 16, which was originally scheduled to air in the summer of 2020, didn’t premiere until October of that year. Similarly, Season 18 premiered in October 2021. The spin-off also went on a brief hiatus from 2006 to 2007, the only time ABC has ever skipped a season of The Bachelorette until now.

The Bachelor also appears to be having its own challenges. Season 29 of The Bachelor premiered on Jan. 27 and is led by Grant Ellis, the second Black Bachelor, who competed on Tran’s season of The Bachelorette.

Fan interest in The Bachelor appears to be at an all-time low. Online, some have voiced their concerns surrounding whether he’s here for the right reasons, arguing that he’s “a player looking for fame.”

Ratingswise, Ellis’s season isn’t making a noteworthy impression. The Season 29 premiere attracted 2.7 million viewers, a 14% decrease on Graziadei’s debut a year earlier, according to Nielsen. The average number of viewers for Ellis’s season is about 2.4 million and is down nearly 1 million viewers compared to Graziadei’s season.

Suzana Somers, the data analyst behind the Instagram account Bachelor Data, which tracks Bachelor statistics like air time, contestants' social media follower growth and season length, also pointed out that Ellis’s season of The Bachelor is the shortest since 2010. For the last 14 years, every Bachelor has received an extra two weeks before heading into hometowns, when the remaining contestants bring the lead to meet their respective families. Ellis did not.

The Golden Bachelor, which premiered in 2023, and became the highest-rated debut for an unscripted ABC series in almost two years, has yet to find its lead for Season 2. Reality TV content creator Zachary Reality took to TikTok to share a Golden Bachelor casting call announcement on March 11. In the video, Zachary reiterates the call for “handsome, charismatic, charming” and “definitely single” senior men to apply for the lead in the upcoming season.

As of Tuesday, the Bachelor Nation website is also still accepting applications for “Senior Men and Women Looking for Love.” Senior women will be vetted for The Golden Bachelorette, the spin-off that premiered in 2024 with Joan Vassos.

Bachelor in Paradise, however, is a Bachelor franchise spin-off series that will return this summer after a brief hiatus in 2024. Scott Teti, who served as an executive producer on shows including ABC’s Claim to Fame and Bravo’s Summer House, was announced as the new showrunner of Bachelor in Paradise in January. A premiere date for the upcoming season has yet to be announced.