The Bachelor’s Dina Lupancu Reveals Shocking Reason Her Parents Were Missing From Hometown Dates Amid Signs Grant Ellis Is Struggling As The Lead

The Bachelor season 29 contestant Dina Lupancu's parents refused to appear on the show during her hometown date with Grant Ellis, and now she explains the full reason why. At the beginning of her hometown date, she informed Grant that her parents had opted out of the hometown date at the last minute, and he'd be meeting her friends instead. Dina reassured Grant that her parents' decision had nothing to do with him, and it was because her dad is a pastor and very involved with his church, so her parents didn't want to participate in The Bachelor season 29.

Dina revealed the full reason why her parents and siblings refused to participate in her Bachelor season 29 hometown date.

In an interview with Parade, Dina revealed the full reason her parents, who grew up in Romania, and her 10 siblings, refused to participate in her Bachelor season 29 hometown date. She explained that her father, who's a Pentecostal minister, initially thought that The Bachelor was a great idea for her. She said, "My dad was actually for it. He thought that it was an interesting experiment; it intrigued him." However, his feelings changed when he found out that the show traditionally ends with an engagement.

Dina explained, "But he [later] claimed that he didn’t know that there was an engagement at the end and that he'd be filmed the entire time. He was like,'How could a guy go from dating 25 girls in such a short period of time, and make that type of commitment at the end of this?' It just didn’t sit well with him, and also he wasn’t actually familiar with the dynamics of the show. He didn’t realize that there’s a camera the whole time."

Dina, who's not currently a member of her father's church, shared that she blamed herself for not explaining the concept of The Bachelor well enough to her dad. She said, "In his mind, he’s like, 'I’m this figure in the church.' And it’s important that he keeps a certain example for other families. So he thought the show was something it wasn’t, and that’s my fault for not explaining it.

Dina continued, "I kind of told [my dad] the basics. 'It’s a guy and he’s a great guy and he’s got this and that going for him and he’s just looking for his person and it’s a little bit of an experiment.'"

Dina admitted that she might not have given her father enough details about the engagement. She said, "I might have glossed over the engagement part. I know I told him, but we weren’t going into great detail. He was like, 'Oh, yeah, that sounds great. You’re going to be able to have an adventure and learn a lot about yourself. Hopefully you come home really happy with a man.'" Dina added, "I just didn’t prepare them enough."

Dina approached her father about the prospect of a hometown visit. However, she claimed that he said, "'Hold up. Hold the phone. She just left. What do you mean we have to meet Grant? She’s going to [potentially] get engaged in two weeks?' That was a no-go!"

On the other hand, Dina's mother had a different reason for opting out of the hometown date. Dina shared, "My mom didn’t want to be on TV. That was a big one for her. She didn’t want to expose herself in that way. She’s a mother of 11 kids. She went through a lot in life and she’s like, 'I don’t need to be put through one more [thing].' For her, this would be the biggest hurdle. It’s so exposing for yourself and your family, and she was not happy about it."

However, Dina's mom was onboard with one aspect of The Bachelor, which was the engagement. Dina explained, "She wants me married, though, so that part, she was like, 'Listen, if you find your man, more power to you.'"Dina also implied that some of her family members were more excited about her Bachelor journey than others, which led to some disagreements among them.

Dina added that, in hindsight, she wished that she'd fought harder for her family to participate in her Bachelor hometown date. She said, "I [should] have went back and really stressed and advocated for my family to be there, and talk to them and try to get them to show up for me and not fight about it. Ultimately, I made the decision to not have them come because I didn’t want the fighting."

Dina also revealed that even she wasn't sure if she was going to be ready to get engaged to Grant at the end of The Bachelor, so she didn't think that she could convince her family. She said, "And me having to convince them, 'Hey, I’m going to get engaged to this guy in two weeks' when I couldn’t convince myself at that point. And I also didn’t want to do that to them when they were at odds with one another."

'Hold up. Hold the phone. She just left. What do you mean we have to meet Grant? She’s going to [potentially] get engaged in two weeks?' That was a no-go!

What Dina Lupancu’s Parents Refusing To Appear On The Bachelor Means

Dina's Parents' Concerns Were Understandable

The Bachelor Season 29 Contestant Dina Lupancu Posing On A Beach

Although Dina's parents' refusal to appear on The Bachelor ultimately led to Grant saying goodbye to her, their concerns were understandable. It's often very hard for the families to accept that their daughter is one of four women who could possibly get engaged to the lead in just a few weeks. While it's what the contestants signed up for, their families might not be completely onboard with it. The hometown date would've been even more awkward and uncomfortable if Dina's parents had participated and been completely against everything.

Our Take On Dina’s Parents Not Understanding The Premise Of The Bachelor

Dina's Situation Further Exposed How Absurd The Bachelor Really Is

The Bachelor Season 29 Contestant Dina Lupancu Meeting Grant Ellis On Premiere Night

It's surprising that Dina's parents didn't fully understand what being a Bachelor contestant entails until she made it to hometowns, but their reactions further exposed just how absurd the premise of the show really is. The fact that Dina's father was all for her going on the show at first, but then changed his mind when he realized that there was an engagement at the end shines a light on how problematic the proposal is. In addition, Dina's mother's unwillingness to appear on camera highlights how exposed the contestants and their families really are.

What's sad is that The Bachelor producers didn't bend the rules to allow Dina's family to meet Grant privately. While it's unclear if they would've been open to it, if her mother's main concern was being on television, then the show could've and should've accommodated her. Instead, the producers tried to force Dina and her family into the same mold as everyone else, which ended in disaster for her and Grant.

20 Best Reality TV Shows Right Now

Reality TV is more popular than ever. With so many to choose from, here are some of the best reality TV shows to stream or watch right now.

Posts

After watching Grant's hometown dates, I feel it was clear that he had stronger connections with Juliana Pasquarosa, Litia Garr, and Zoe McGrady, so he probably would've eliminated Dina anyway. In addition, Dina didn't seem sure about him either, based on her comments. However, I think that her family's refusal to participate in the hometown date sealed her fate. Although Grant seems to be struggling as the Bachelor, I hope he finds his true love in the end. Hopefully, Dina will turn up again on either Bachelor In Paradise or The Bachelorette, but, next time, with her family's full support.

The Bachelor airs Mondays at 8 p.m. EST on ABC.

Source: Parade