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10 Times Chad From 'The Bachelorette' Wasn't The Villain

by Chrissy Bobic

It's almost too easy to peg Chad Johnson as Season 12's villain of The Bachelorette, esopecially when he doesn't make it very easy to love him. But for all of Chad Johnson's faults, we have to admit that he's certainly driving the show at the current moment. It's easy to cast Chad from The Bachelorette as the bad guy, but there have been plenty of times so far this season when he's been able to show a side of him that wasn't about talking smack on the other guys, threatening people, or showing off his abs. The latter of which isn't really something fans are complaining about though.

To be honest, a lot of what Chad has to say on The Bachelorette may come off as cocky, which is kind of ugly, but when you think about it, some of those times he's just being honest. While there is plenty more to put in the "con" column of a list of pros and cons regarding Chad Johnson — remember: violence is never the answer — I have to give credit to the "pros" that he's entitled to. While he may not be the guy to get JoJo's final rose at the end of Season 12 of The Bachelorette, he may not even get beyond this week, he's already made a pretty huge impact on pretty much everyone and there are plenty of times he's proven to not always be the absolute worst guy.

1. When He Opened Up To JoJo About His Mom Passing Away

This was a moment in Episode 2, when we saw Chad get real for one of the first times, about something personal and important in his life, and it gave way to a real moment between him and JoJo. He didn't do it for attention or for camera time, but to actually give a part of himself to her, if only for a few minutes.

2. When His Instagram Showed His Love Affair With His Mini Pup

If you take one look at Chad Johnson's Instagram, you will see the puppy he bragged about to JoJo. You know, the one he inherited from his late mother and who he said he gets to come home to every night. After one look at the photos of the two of them and you can tell that it's no act, at least where little Pumpkin is concerned. Swoon.

3. When He Was Just Being Honest With His Proposal

The whole group date challenge thing in Episode 2 of The Bachelorette found some of the guys competing for the best marriage proposal to JoJo, and while the other guys did the usual stock speeches of love and adoration, Chad was basically like ,"Aye yo, marry me, k?" It may have fallen a little flat for the taste of everyone else involved, but he also wasn't lying to her about being hopelessly in love with her because, like all of the other guys, he still hardly knows her.

4. When He Was Able To Make Fun of Himself

A big running joke in Episode 2 of The Bachelorette was Chad's obsession with loading up on protein from all of the food trays that were set out for the guys. He may have been the only one eating (and eating, and face stuffing, and eating), but aren't those trays upon trays of food put out for a reason? Sorry if Chad is taking advantage of delicious meats, but someone's got to.

5. When He Was The Realest Contestant On The Bachelorette

One thing that has stood out about Chad on The Bachelorette has been his totally candid honesty. Sure, it often comes across as cocky or even rude — the threats are never acceptable — but you have to point out that he's saying some things we're all thinking. No one likes seeing him tear down the other guys in the house, but when they got into their sing-along sessions, writing original (and awful) songs for JoJo, he was smart to sit out because, like he has said, he's not going to claim to care so deeply about a woman he is just now getting to know, regardless of what any of them read about her online or saw of her on The Bachelor. Preach.

6. When All He Wanted Was To Have A Friend In The House

So far, Daniel has been Chad's only real friend in the house. Partly because Daniel also seems to not give a damn about what others think about him, but also likely because Daniel isn't really much competition for Chad. But in this clip, we see Daniel first comparing Chad to Hitler, then Donald Trump, and somehow asking him to "dial it down" to Mussolini. And Chad's just trying to chomp on a sweet potato and some lettuce like, "WTF if this dude even talking about?"

7. When He Proved That He's Legit Funny

The whole meat schtick likely started out as Chad just wanting to snack and take advantage of the free food situation, but as the night went on, it was totally obvious that he could see the attention it was getting him. And rightfully so. Any guy who can stuff his face and get in some funny chews as JoJo is walking in to hand out roses is alright in my book.

8. When He Showed What A Good Brother He Is

If you take a quick look at Chad Johnson's Instagram, you might find the requisite shirtless poses and some funny clips from The Bachelorette, but you'll also find the scattered photos of his sister, a relationship he obviously cherishes a lot, which says a lot of Chad's character in general. He can put on a good game on The Bachelorette all he wants, but when it comes down to it, he may not be as much of a villain as we're giving him credit for.

9. When He Revealed To The World That He Served In The Marines

After posting a photo of his old uniform and dog tags on Instagram, Chad added a caption about his time spent as a Marine and himself in general:

"I've served my country, I've lived a long life. For the last three years of my life, when I wasn't at work, I spent nearly every waking moment spending time with and taking care of my mother who was dying of liver cancer. I was sleeping next to her with my head on her chest when she passed. So maybe I'm a bit cocky, but you know what.. I think it's hilarious, and so did my mother."

10. When He Said What Everyone Was Already Thinking

You can totally be all about JoJo and there to get to know her and win her over without claiming to already be falling in love after week 1 of The Bachelorette. Which Chad is obviously trying to prove, and what even the most diehard Bachelor and Bachelorette fans have to admit to. It's an awesome fairytale for two people to find love on either show and it obviously happens for real, but those song writing sessions in Episode 2? Please, no.