‘The Bachelorette’s Marcus Shoberg Should Have Self-Eliminated During Hometown Week

On Night 1 of The Bachelorette Season 21, Marcus Shoberg, a 31-year-old Army Ranger Veteran from Raleigh, North Carolina, was one of Jenn Tran’s top contenders. The early fan-favorite made a first impression so strong that he landed the first one-on-one date and only second one-on-one date of the season. And as he and Jenn got increasingly vulnerable with one another, I found myself thinking they could genuinely be endgame.

Then Hometown Week arrived and everything changed.

The majority of Marcus’ on-screen Bachelorette journey has been positive with minimal drama and conflict, but during his Hometown Date he made it clear that his feelings for Jenn weren’t as strong as they should be two weeks out from a proposal.

In Jenn’s toughest decision of the season, she ended Episode 7 by saying goodbye to Final Four underdog Jeremy Simon . But the man who should have gone home was Marcus, and the fact that he told Jenn he was falling for her despite serious hesitations, then accepted a Fantasy Suite rose without sharing his true feelings will go down in franchise history as one of the biggest red flags.

With two episodes left (three including “Men Tell All”), it’s deeply upsetting that Marcus is on track to make Jenn’s Top 2. So while we wait to see what Fantasy Suite Week has in store, let’s take a moment to relive Marcus Shoberg’s Season 21 rise and fall, shall we?

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On top of stepping up to help Jenn face her fear of heights ( unlike Sam M. ), Marcus got incredibly vulnerable in Episode 2 and admitted he wasn’t always the “strong, confident, assertive person” he is today. He told Jenn that “a lot of work” went into becoming this version of himself before sharing a near-death Army Ranger experience that left him in the hospital for months. “I’m hyper aware of the fragility of life. Walking away from that experience, I want to live a life that was worth saving, and want it to be as full of love as humanly possible,” Marcus explained. Jenn praised his resilience, and the strength, gratitude, self-awareness, and emotional intelligence he displayed during that first dinner date was incredibly refreshing.

In Episodes 3 and 4, Marcus showed he was also capable of having fun and letting loose as well by dressing as a sexy Love Down Under astronaut and impressing on the rugby field. But at the core of his connection with Jenn lied emotional depth and honesty, so the fact that he continued lowering his walls felt promising. After getting injured during the rugby group date, Marcus admitted he puts a lot of pressure on himself to not be perceived as weak. Jenn assured him he didn’t always have to be strong for her, and during Episode 6, he opened up even deeper.

Marcus told Jenn that when he and his sister were young, his “unfit” parents brought them to daycare one day and never picked them up, which marked the start of “a very rough chapter” in and out of foster homes. “That experience made me feel like something was something wrong with me,” Marcus admitted. Abd with that much-needed context, his cautious nature on the show finally made sense to Jenn. As someone who also came from an unconventional family, she related with him on a deep level and told cameras their relationship felt like the love story she thought she was never worthy of. The two shared a fairytale moment beneath fireworks, but reality set in Week 7 when viewers learned that Marcus isn’t actually ready for an engagement.

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Over the weeks, it’s become increasingly clear that Marcus has a lot of deep trauma to work through, but Hometown Week proved that what this man needs most before he can find lasting love is therapy, not a reality show.

While Jenn didn’t meet Marcus’ adoptive parents, he introduced her to his little sister, mentors Scott and Sue, and a big group of friends. Jenn revealed that she could definitely see a future with Marcus, but was worried because she didn’t know where his feelings were at. At the same time, Marcus was telling Scott that he wasn’t in love with her yet, was terrified because he “doesn’t have answers,” and was worried he’d struggle “to get there fully with her.”

He acknowledged that the sped-up process made it hard for him to fully commit, admitting that it was hard for him picture an engagement at the end of the journey. Despite Marcus’ growing list of reservations, he told Jenn he was falling for her, giving her all the reassurance she needed to reciprocate. Instead of a genuine outpouring of emotion, his declaration felt more like a vehicle for false hope and rose security.

It’s worth noting that off-screen, concerning allegations of Marcus’ toxic behavior in past relationships have been making the rounds online, adding extra layers of concern and distrust to his time on the show. For the purposes of this piece, we’ll stick to what’s on-screen, because boy is there a lot to unpack.

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Ahead of the rose ceremony, everyone except Marcus was ready to get down on one knee for Jenn, but rather than come clean to Jenn about his doubts, Marcus told producers and his fellow contestants. “Going in this rose ceremony, there’s no reason I should be feeling the way I’m feeling. Jenn deserves to have guys here that are certain,” he admitted, proving he knew he wasn’t where he needed to be to accept that Fantasy Suite rose. But rather than have an open dialogue with Jenn and risk being sent home, he selfishly took a Top 3 spot while letting her think he was all in.

Earlier in the season, Jenn made it clear that if her and Marcus couldn’t get on the same page it would be “detrimental” to their relationship, so had she known how he felt, perhaps Jeremy would have stuck around instead of Marcus! Perhaps her Final Two would have changed! And heck, maybe she would have ended the entire show differently. We’ll never know.

Fantasy Suite previews show Jenn telling Marcus that she’s in love with him and him saying that while she deserves “all the love in the world,” he’s not there yet… One. Week. Before. A. Proposal. While we’ll have to wait and see exactly what unfolds on Monday, all signs point to Jenn deserving better.

If Marcus wasn’t willing to share his truth sooner and put the ball in Jenn’s court, fine. But he should have been honest enough with himself to self-eliminate after his Hometown Date left him feeling so conflicted. As always, men need to stop going on The Bachelorette when they’re not ready for an engagement at the end .

The Bachelorette Season 21, Episode 8 premieres Monday, August 26 at 8:00 p.m. ET on ABC.

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