Where is Sam M now after Bachelorette 2024?

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Warning: The Bachelorette Warning, spoilers for season 21. If it was mainly about the villain from Jenn's Bachelorette Sam M. performed brilliantly this season. But where does he stand now after his dramatic exit and the explosive drama with Jenn and Devin?

Sam McKinney, a 27-year-old contractor from Myrtle Beach, California, was one of 25 participants in The Bachelorette Season 21 with Jenn Tran. He received the First Impression Rose (and the first kiss of the season) and seemed to be the favorite for Jenn's final rose at the end. Public opinion of Sam M. began to sour later in the season when he got into a fight with Devin Strader, a 28-year-old freight company owner from Rosenberg, Texas, over Devin's supposed lack of respect for the other men in the cast.

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Things went from bad to worse on Sam M's first one-on-one date with Jenn in Auckland, New Zealand, where they bungee jumped off a skyscraper. During a confessional, Jenn criticized Sam M for laughing at her fear and not comforting her more when she was scared of jumping. Although Jenn gave Sam M a rose at the end of their one-on-one date, their relationship only got worse the following week when Sam M claimed he was in love with Jenn but couldn't explain why. The back and forth resulted in Jenn sending Sam M home before the sixth rose ceremony.

Related topics: All The Bachelorette Season 21 spoilers, including Jenn's winner

Where is Sam M. now after The Bachelorette Season 21?

Sam M. returned to The Bachelorette Season 21 of “Men Tell All,” where he once again got into an argument with Jenn about his behavior during her season. “I'm very, very sorry to whoever ends up with you,” Jenn said as Sam M. grinned at her. “This delusion you're living in is not going to work for anyone.”

Before “Men Tell All,” Sam M. was involved in a lot of off-screen drama about The Bachelorette Season 21. The drama began when a woman named Rayleigh shared a now-deleted TikTok the week of April 21. The Bachelorette Season 21 premiere, in which she claims she met Sam M. at a wedding in October 2023 and spoke to him for six months.

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In an interview with Reality Steve, she claimed that before her performance The Bachelorette In season 21, Sam M. did not tell Rayleigh that he was applying for the show, and she only found out he had been cast the day he left for filming. Reality Steve also reported that Sam M. Rayleigh sent a long message on the plane to The Bacheloretteand explained why he chose this opportunity over her. “I won't read everything, but basically he put the responsibility on her,” wrote Reality Steve.

Rayleigh also claimed to Reality Steve that Sam M. planned to shut down production until Week 6 so he could be home in time for his sister's wedding. “Everything he says to Jen in six weeks is complete bullshit,” Reality Steve wrote. “He could never win. He shouldn't have won for logistical reasons because he knew he was leaving. He knew he never had a chance to make it to the end of the show because he had to be back to marry his sister and so did production. So keep that in mind when you see Sam in the next five episodes. Just know that everything he tells Jen is complete bullshit.”

As for his feelings toward Jenn after his elimination, Rayleigh also told Reality Steve that Sam M. called Jenn a “liar” when he was told by The Bachelorette Season 21 and Jenn's feelings were “totally messed up” and her winner proved it.

WARNING: SPOILERS FOR SEASON 21 OF “THE BACHELORETTE.” According to Reality Steve, Jenn's winner for The Bachelorette Season 21 was Devin, with whom Sam M. was at odds throughout his time on the show. After Sam M.'s villain edit in The Bachelorette In season 21 he hinted at his drama with Jenn and The Bachelorette's production team in a comment reposted by the TikTok account ShesAllBach in July 2024. “Most have felt this way and rightfully so. I even felt this way. It was incredibly disheartening to be portrayed this way. Hopefully the truth will come out in the end,” he wrote in a now-deleted comment in response to fans who criticized his behavior on The BacheloretteIn another comment, he continued, “Oh, and I'm not legally allowed to talk about it… and now I find out why.”

Sam M's relative Olivia McKinney also charged The Bachelorette not accurately reflecting what happened on Jenn's season. “I'm ready for @bacheloretteabc to show allllll the context they left out,” she wrote.

Olivia could be referring to a controversial moment with Devin that Reality Steve claimed was edited out. The Bachelorette Season 21 premiere. The site reported that during a game of Truth or Dare on the first night, Devin was asked to name a conspiracy theory he believed in, to which he reportedly replied, “I believe 9/11 was an inside job.”

The scene was cut from The Bachelorette Season 21 premiere, presumably because Devin is Jenn's winner. Reality Steve also reported that the entire cast, including Jenn, heard Devin's comment and that moment was one of the real reasons most of the cast had an issue with him during filming.

Olivia wasn't the only family member to defend Sam M. on social media, according to additional comments shared by TikTok account Zachary Reality. Another of Sam M.'s relatives, Seth McKinney, also suggested favoritism toward Devin. The Bachelorette Season 21 in an Instagram comment. “Crazy how they can edit out so many details to make one person look superficial while others look like royalty,” Seth wrote. “In another comment, he added, “Crazy things called producers and editing can make people see what they want and not what actually happened.”

Sam M.'s other relative Hannah also accused the producers of making strategic cuts. The Bachelorette Season 21. “Let's see all the footage @bacheloretteabc…. I'm waiting,” she wrote. When a fan criticized Hannah for not being there for the filming, she responded, “I'm sorry your family doesn't defend you like we do ours.”

Another relative of Sam M., Susan McKinney, also published a Facebook post accusing The Bachelorette trying to “destroy” Sam M's character. “There is nothing real about 'reality' TV. Destroying someone's character and manipulating the truth through editing is wrong on so many levels. Isn't it interesting that the first night's favorite is now being made the villain?” she wrote. “There are several spoilers out there about who she chooses in the end that you can google yourself. Sam is a good guy no matter how he gets screwed and I will no longer stand idly by and say nothing. Hey, Bachelorette, that's called free speech. At least mine is honest, which is more than they can say.”

Jeff McKinney, Sam M.'s father, wrote on Facebook: “I choose my words carefully. I watched idly this week as my son was completely devastated by the way he was portrayed. Sam was (mostly) the favorite with the rose for first impression, etc. The spoiler was revealed and (in my opinion) the network had to portray Sam as this horrible guy so Jenn wouldn't look like a complete idiot.”

He continued: “Now I know why the network is offering free counseling for a year after the show. I feel like this episode was completely made up from cut and pasted sentences and scenes. You can't change what he said and how he said it, but you can change the scene, the script, the context and completely change the performance. That's how I feel. Feel free to share this. #ISTANDWITHTHEM.”

The Bachelorette airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on ABC. Stream it on Hulu.