The Real Reason Victoria Larson Was Cast For The Bachelor

"Queen" Victoria Larson has been labeled the villain of Season 25 since her Bachelor debut on Jan. 4, 2021. Her strong personality and shameless attitude won her the attention of Bachelor Matt James, but those same traits also caused issues with several women at the resort where the show filmed and led to countless accusations from Bachelor Nation.

Between weeks one and two, fans were in disbelief that Victoria was still in the running for Matt's heart, leading them to assume she was planted there by Bachelor producers who forced Matt to keep her on the show. However, Matt nixed those assumptions and said he was actually quite thankful for Victoria's stand out personality. "I appreciated everything about Victoria's entrance and who she was because ... whatever you need to do to stand out, she did it," he told Jimmy Kimmel following his season's premiere. "I remembered her name and it was lighthearted and ... it broke the ice," he added.

After the season's third and fourth episodes, Victoria's personality stood out even more as she relentlessly gave attitude to fellow contestants and talked trash behind their backs, causing many viewers to call her a "bully" who needs to go home. It's clear Victoria's presence on the show has turned quite a few heads, but that's exactly what ABC wanted. Keep reading to find out why Victoria Larson was cast for The Bachelor, according to an ABC executive.

While Matt James denied that Victoria Larson was planted by show producers, her invitation to the 25th season of The Bachelor was no random handout. ABC executive Rob Mills told Variety on Jan. 25, 2021, that Victoria's personality is unique, which is why producers were drawn to her. "She is somebody who was great in casting and certainly had a point of view that was interesting," he explained.

Speaking about casting in general, he said, "You can't have people who are not going to do really anything and will just be wallflowers. I'm not saying the show is made purely to stir up drama, but certainly a strong personality like that is good," he admitted. "And look, Matt has said that is something that he is attracted to — a woman who is her own woman and who is strong-willed — so you can't argue that Victoria is not that," he added.

It looks like Bachelor producers got exactly what they wanted because Victoria certainly isn't one to act like a wallflower. Mills also took the liberty of mentioning that Matt truly has a connection with Victoria and isn't keeping her there to please producers. "At a certain point, if he really doesn't see a future with her, he will send her home," he confirmed.

Bachelor fans can tune in to see Victoria and Matt's relationship unfold every Monday on ABC (at least, until she goes home or gets the final rose).