'The Bachelorette': Who Is Yosef Aborady?

For once, Chris Harrison's biannual pronouncement that an upcoming Bachelor or Bachelorette season is "the most dramatic ever" might actually be true. Clare Crawley's season of The Bachelorette hasn't even premiered yet (Oct. 13 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC!), but it's already mired in some especially juicy controversy. In a nutshell: After COVID-19 shut down filming in the spring, Crawley and her suitors returned for just three rose ceremonies before she decided to go all-in on one contestant (spoilers here, if you must know), prompting ABC to bring in Tayshia Adams to finish out the rest of the season as the titular bachelorette—because it would be a shame to let the assembled Blakes, Jordans, and Tylers go to waste.

Of course, with great reality TV drama comes great reality TV villains, and this completely bonkers season of The Bachelorette promises to deliver on both counts. By all accounts, the biggest pot-stirrer of the group (Chris Harrison's words, not mine) will be Yosef Aborady, a medical device salesman and model. Here's everything we know so far about his villain edit, from heated altercations with Crawley to his alleged abrupt removal from the show.

Who is Yosef Aborady?

According to his official ABC bio, Aborady is 30 years old, hails from Daphne, Alabama, and is a graduate of the University of South Alabama Mitchell College of Business. He's divorced and has a daughter, 4-year-old Zara, from that marriage. When he's not hanging out with Zara, the "light of his life" (look no further than his Instagram for proof of their sweet relationship), he cooks, spends time with friends, and lets loose on the dance floor, and has dreams of visiting Napa and owning a home in Egypt.

In his own words, "I am successful, intelligent, have my life together, and I am extremely hard working." Sounds like me in the mirror trying to convince myself that 2020 isn't total chaos.

ABC

How did he become the villain of The Bachelorette?

It's not totally clear how things went so very wrong between Aborady and Crawley, but according to Reality Steve, "he gets into it with Clare about one of the group dates he wasn't even a part of," prompting her to send him home before the subsequent rose ceremony. Overall, per Reality Steve, "I've been told it wasn't pretty, he called her names, and [was] all around rude to her, so she kicked him off the show."

We seem to catch glimpses of the blow-up in a promo released by ABC ahead of the new season. At one point, Aborady appears to yell, "I expected way more from the oldest Bachelorette," after which a tearful Crawley retorts, "I am the oldest Bachelorette that's 39, that's standing here, that's single, because I didn't settle for men like that."

What does Chris Harrison have to say about this?

In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, the show's host hinted that Aborady was one to watch. "Yosef is definitely someone who wears his heart on his sleeve. He is not afraid to express how he's feeling—and it could be to anybody, including Clare," he said, adding, "Yosef is definitely someone, as far as drama goes, you want to keep an eye on."

Harrison was a bit more blunt in his own video introducing each of this season's contestants, noting that Aborady "doesn't shy away from controversy this season." He added, "If there is something on Yosef's mind, he's gonna say it. He has zero filter, he doesn't mind who he says it in front of, and he doesn't mind who he stirs the pot with—and I mean anybody. So, watch out for Yosef."

Anything from the pot-stirrer himself?

For his part, Aborady's Instagram bio currently reads, "I'm not done yet..." which also happens to be what he says in the promo before Clare seemingly kicks him off the show. Not ominous at all!