On Monday night, we all bid farewell to the most mature contestant the Bachelor franchise has ever seen. Katie Thurston has been a fan-favorite since day one when she exited the limo with her trusted vibrator that she named “MJ” after Matt James. Her quirky behavior was refreshing from most of the wanna-be influencers seen on night one of the season. After a friendly one-on-one date with James, he decided their relationship wasn’t far along enough in comparison to his other relationships with women in the house. James did not give Thurston a rose and walked her out.

During the one-on-one date between Thurston and James on the most recent episode, it was apparent that their relationship was more friendly than romantic. James enlisted Thurston’s help in pranking his best friend and Bachelor Nation’s Tyler Cameron from Hannah Brown’s season. Cameron was visiting James, as I hoped he would at some point, leading to a date idea for James and Thurston to prank him. While listening and watching in on Cameron as he got his massage, both James and Thurston told the masseuse via earpiece to do obscure things, such as to sniff his hair. It was a cute date, full of many laughs, but it became apparent that this duo was meant to be just friends. 

Although Thurston was sadly eliminated from James’ season, it leaked after the Women Tell All portion of the season filmed last Thursday, that Thurston was a contender to be the next Bachelorette. While an official announcement has yet to be made, renowned Bachelor spoiler Reality Steve leaked that Thurston was decided to be the next lead of season 17 of the Bachelorette. 

Other options were rumored to be Kelley Flanagan and Hannah Ann Sluss from Peter Weber’s season. Several other options included current women from James’ season that have been eliminated, but I won’t spoil who exactly. Saying goodbye to Thurston was unfortunate, but clearly she is on to bigger and better things. 

While Thurston’s quirky behavior made her a fan favorite, her best moments were the times that she stood up for the women being bullied by the infamous mean girls, Victoria Larsen, Anna Redman and MJ Snyder. Thurston won the hearts of Bachelor Nation when she comforted Sarah Trott, who was slammed by various women in the house after she pulled James aside during a group date that she was not a part of.  

Trott even interrupted Thurston and her time with James, but instead of ganging up on Trott like the other girls in the house did, Thurston shared a touching moment with Trott where they both shared how they struggled with their dads. It was that conversation where Trott revealed she had been conflicted on whether she should go back home to spend time with her dad, who suffers from Lou Gerhig’s disease (ALS). In sympathy, Thurston shared her story about losing her dad and could relate to Trott about seizing every moment with a loved one before they pass. It was at this moment that the Seattle-based marketing manager proved herself to be an all-time favorite of James’ season. 

After Trott eliminated herself from James’ season, Thurston continued to stand up for Trott when the girls and Larsen, specifically, continued to put Trott down by making statements such as “the trash took itself out.” Thurston also brought the bullying to James’ attention which ultimately led to the removal of several infamous mean girls from James’ season. Throughout all of Thurston’s moments in this season, she remained poised and calm, never stooping to name calling or harsh words. 

Thurston set an example, not only for the women on the show, but also for viewers, in how women should treat one another and how to maturely confront problems at hand. She stood up against bullies and she deserves to continue her journey to find love by being the next Bachelorette. Thurston’s time with James is over, meaning she is probably going to have to find a new name for her vibrator—hopefully naming it after finding the man for her as the new potential Bachelorette.