A Bachelor Contestant Has Ties To Donald Trump & Reddit Has A Lot To Say About It

When Joey Graziadei made his debut on "The Bachelor," he had 32 gorgeous women competing for his heart, the most ever in the history of the ABC dating show. An endless parade of beauties poured out of the limos for the "Bachelor" mansion meet and greet, but contestant Marlena Haddad didn't come with a splashy intro. She kept things low-key, telling Graziadei she wanted to join the show only because he was the leading man. But Bachelor Nation sleuths leave no stone unturned, and they found out something about Haddad that caused a whole lot of ruckus on Reddit. 

After it was discovered that the 26-year-old beauty once worked as an aide for former president Donald Trump, a Reddit thread titled "One of Joey's girls is a Tr*mp aide" was born. Some commenters gave Haddad a pass and noted that her work at the White House was just a job. "To get in the industry, you have to work for whoever. I don't blame her," wrote u/mtvaot. "An opportunity is an opportunity," agreed u/LeFenardRoux.

But plenty of other commenters were put off by Haddad's political tie-in. "There are so many other republicans this woman could have been an aide for that would've done the same for her career without working for Trump. There are plenty of senators, house members, and committees and agencies she could have worked for. She chose to work at THIS White House," u/UssieKid wrote. Things got so heated in the thread that a moderator eventually turned comments off.

Marlena Haddad's bachelorette bio on ABC describes her as a finance writer from West Palm Beach, Florida, as well as a dog lover and hopeless romantic. "Her dream job is to be a parent," the bio reads. According to her profile on LinkedIn, Haddad worked in the White House as director of research and director of correspondence during Donald Trump's presidency in 2020 and 2021. She also appeared on Fox Business Network as a college associate while attending the University of Connecticut. 

In September 2020, Haddad posed next to President Trump in a group shot as his Oval Office staff gave him a thumbs up. "Congrats to the boss on the Nobel Peace nomination," she captioned the photo shared on Instagram. In November 2022, a year after leaving the White House, she posted a photo of herself lounging at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. Haddad is now a writer and analyst based in New York City, per her LinkedIn bio.

As for Joey Graziadei, it's safe to assume he didn't talk politics with Haddad during their limited time at the "Bachelor" cocktail party. She did get a rose on opening night, though, and fans think it's up to him to decide if her political past is an issue for him. "Maybe let Joey decide who he wants to date instead of having a melt down because you think someone's politics make them all these bad things," u/sleepingcow7 wrote in response to the outrage over Haddad's resume.