Shanae Ankney may have been the villain of The Bachelor season 26, but following her recent elimination, she says that's not the "real" her.
Shanae Ankney may have been the resident villain of The Bachelor season 26, but on the heels of her recent elimination, she's upset that viewers didn't get to see the "real" her. Over the past several weeks, Bachelor Nation angrily watched what became the "Shanae Show" as the 29-year-old Ohio native bad-mouthed Elizabeth Corrigan and others to Clayton Echard, who kept granting her roses despite receiving warnings from the women. However, on Monday's episode, Clayton sent Shanae packing. Now, she's stating that what was shown on TV wasn't her true persona.
Clayton eliminated Shanae during a two-on-one date with Genevieve Parisi, who Shanae claimed was actually an actress. This was in sync with her history of lying to Clayton. Previously, Shanae described Elizabeth as a "red flag" to Clayton after she felt ignored at the pool. Though Elizabeth confided in Shanae that she has ADHD, which forces her to be hyper focused on one conversation at a time, Shanae poked fun at her diagnosis. Shanae then made a tearful apology to Clayton and her fellow contestants before revealing to the camera that it was all an act. The group had been vying for Shanae to be sent home for weeks and broke out the champagne when a producer wheeled her luggage away.
Following the most recent episode, Shanae issued a lengthy statement on Instagram after taking time to reflect on her The Bachelor journey. According to Shanae, much of what aired was edited by producers to paint her in a negative light. "If you choose to judge me on the five hours of footage you've watched, I'm sad you didn't get a look into the real me," she said. Shanae went on to call out those who have sent her hateful messages: "That doesn't make you better than me." She added, "My realness isn't for everyone - real never makes everyone happy. I made a promise to myself a long time ago that my heart won't ever be guided by anyone else but me."
The majority of Shanae's followers didn't buy her claim that she's a different person off-camera. One said, "Totally understand that editing does come into play but all of the nasty things you said were not just edited in, they came out of your mouth." Many expressed annoyance that Shanae has yet to issue an apology to Elizabeth for not only making fun of her mental health condition, but announcing it to the group without Elizabeth's permission. "That's not OK," commented one follower. "Nor is apologizing for your behavior and then saying you're not sorry behind their backs and also admitting you're faking your tears. C'mon now." Others got right to the point, including one viewer who simply stated, "You are real...real cray."
Though Clayton has openly denounced Shanae's actions, which he claimed he wasn't fully aware of while filming, Shanae wished him luck and hinted that "big things are in store." Given producers' track record of bringing back controversial contestants, such as The Bachelorette season 17's Thomas Jacobs, there's a good chance that Shanae could appear on an upcoming season of Bachelor In Paradise to stir up some drama and launch "shrimpgate" 2.0. Bachelor Nation flooded social media with fierce objections to this idea, but maybe, if granted the opportunity, Shanae would show a different side to herself and find love, just as Thomas did with Becca Kufrin.
The Bachelor airs Mondays at 8 p.m. EST on ABC.
Source: Shanae Ankney/Instagram
