WARNING! THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS ABOUT THE GOLDEN BACHELOR SEASON 2!
The Golden Bachelor season 2 contestant Nicolle Briscoe was painted as a villain during the season, but, after watching “The Women Tell All,” it’s clear that she wasn’t as bad as she appeared to be. Nicolle, a 64-year-old yoga instructor from Miami Beach, Florida, had a strong connection with Mel, a 66-year-old NFL player-turned lawyer, from Detroit, Michigan, from the beginning of their journey.
However, Mel and Nicolle’s public displays of affection and her assertion that she wanted to be an influencer as a result of being on the show rubbed her fellow contestants the wrong way. Nicolle told the women that she wasn’t dating just Mel, but all of America.
In addition, Mel was taken aback when she told him that she hoped to grow and monetize her Instagram account after the show, and when she asked him to kiss her for the cameras. Nicolle also appeared to be an opportunist when she said that she wanted to be the next star of The Golden Bachelorette after Mel sent her home.
Although Nicolle was portrayed as the antagonist of The Golden Bachelor season 2, it became clear during “The Women Tell All” that she has a soft side, and that some of what was aired on the show was edited to make her look worse than she really was. In addition, the support that she received from some of her fellow contestants proved that Nicolle wasn’t a true villain.
Nicolle’s Lemon Bar Controversy Wasn’t As Bad As It Seemed
During “The Women Tell All,” the show aired the clip of Nicolle spending time alone in the jacuzzi while the other women baked lemon bars for Mel. As Nicolle watched the clip, she laughed as she said that wasn’t what happened.
Roxanne Massey explained that it was a collective thought to make lemon bars for Mel after Debbie Siebers pointed out that he really liked lemon. Roxanne revealed that Nicolle had jumped in and said that she could make lemon bars because she was the baker and the cook in the house.
However, when these scenes aired during The Golden Bachelor, it appeared that Nicolle hadn’t contributed to the baking at all, and that she lied to Mel when she presented him with the lemon bars, saying that she’d made them for him all by herself. It was a bizarre moment that made Nicolle seem very selfish and self-centered.
During “The Women Tell All,” Nicolle shared that she’d spearheaded the lemon bars idea, but she admitted that it would’ve been better if she’d said that she was the head chef, but she had all these beautiful sous chefs in the kitchen, and they were made with so much love from all of them.
When the show served lemon bars that two audience members had made, Nicolle joked that she was never eating a lemon bar for the rest of her life and laughed. The lemon bar incident seems to have been exaggerated by the show in order to make Nicolle look like a villain, when it didn’t seem to be that big of a deal to the other women.
In addition, it was twisted to make it look like Nicolle played no part in making the lemon bars in order to make her the bad guy, when she was really the mastermind behind the whole idea.
The Other Women Showed Support For Nicolle
During The Golden Bachelor season 2 “Women Tell All,” Nicolle stated that she wanted to empower women over 50. She said that it’s possible to find the love of your life, but also create a purpose and a career as well. However, Debbie took issue with her, stating that Nicolle didn’t empower them, but instead she dismissed them. Amy Kaplan and the audience clapped in solidarity with Debbie.
Nicolle responded that she was sorry that Debbie felt that way. Debbie explained that she felt that Nicolle dismissed her relationship with Mel, along with those of the final two contestants, Peg Munson and Cindy Cullers, when she told him that he should call her when his final relationship ultimately didn’t work out.
Debbie added that she was always on Nicolle’s side, and that she’d defended her every single day, but when she saw the comments about the season 1 contestants not being attractive, and that she was really on the show to date America and to be an influencer, she was so disappointed in her. Nicolle again said that she was sorry.
Debbie then stated that she thought that Nicolle was so much smarter than that, and if she wanted to be an influencer, she wouldn’t be if nobody liked her. As the audience cheered, Debbie stated that it needed to be said and that Nicolle hurt her.
After the commercial break, host Jesse Palmer continued the conversation by asking Robin Rocha about how she told Mel about some people not being genuine. She admitted that she wished she’d said it a little bit earlier because she thought that some women didn’t get the time that they needed because of the dynamic with Nicolle. However, Carol Freeman-Branstine then interrupted her and said that she thought it was enough with the roasting. Nicolle thanked her.
Carol explained that the women had such a great time together, and there were ebbs and flows, but she really believed that they were there for the same reason, which was to find love. Terri Alani then stated that she wanted to remember Nicolle in the house because they had some fun times, and she cooked for them, and she really loved that about her. She wanted her to realize that they all really cared about her, but her going behind their backs was very disappointing. Debbie agreed. Nicolle said that she loved them all, and she’d do better.
In addition, when Nicolle cried when she spoke to Mel and acknowledged that she made some missteps, but that her feelings for him were genuine, a few audience members rolled their eyes. However, Cheryl Steele and Gerri Flowers held her hands in support of her as she spoke to him, for which she thanked them.
If Nicolle was a true villain, then women such as Carol, Cheryl, Terri, and Gerri wouldn’t have supported her on stage. It seemed that Carol was uncomfortable with people ganging up on Nicolle, and she instead wanted to focus on the fact that they had a generally positive experience during The Golden Bachelor.
After watching how the show manipulated the lemon bars situation, it seems that Nicolle wasn’t as terrible of a villain as she was made out to be. While she definitely made some missteps, flaunting her relationship with Mel and saying that the season 1 women weren’t as attractive as the season 2 contestants, it’s hard to completely trust the edit, knowing that other situations were distorted. Nicolle clearly wasn’t a completely bad villain, but rather a complicated woman who made some mistakes. Hopefully, she’ll learn from them.
The Golden Bachelor airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. EDT on ABC.
