The Most Uncomfortable Kisses On The Bachelor

The Bachelor has it all — from uncomfortable kisses to dramatic catfights to drunken sagas. Yes, there have been some totally painful-to-watch, awkward moments in reality television's hit ABC franchise. Make-out sessions, in particular, aren't exactly unusual on the show, but some are cemented in our minds forever.

We've all had an awkward kiss at some point or another, whether due to an out-of-sync kissing rhythm, some conflicting kissing techniques, or just totally different desires. Sometimes, two people just aren't meant to touch faces. That's no one's fault (okay, well it's someone's fault, but we'll play nice). Fortunately for most of us, though, these awkward encounters weren't caught on television. But hey, sometimes it's just nice to watch other people's cringe-worthy interactions to make ourselves feel better for every intimate encounter that's gone horribly awry for us. Other times, we don't want to watch other people's weird kisses, but we just can't seem to look away. Somehow, it's so bad it's almost good.

Here are some of the most awkward kisses in Bachelor history. Warning: The cringe level is high.

As Bachelor fans know, Ashley Iaconetti became well-known in the Bachelor world for being quite the crier because she cried, well, all the time. To be totally fair, her emotions were more than valid. The whole concept of The Bachelor – competing against tens of drop-dead gorgeous women for one man's heart — is understandably tear-inducing. Most people would cry in Ashley's situation. However, crying wasn't the only thing for which Ashley became known. She also earned a reputation for being a really, really, really aggressive kisser. 

When she appeared on Chris Soules' season of The Bachelor, Ashley stole a kiss that looked a lot more like a meal. On Clevver TV, she admitted that she didn't think that the kiss looked so bad — or that her performance was really all that bad. But Ashley's sister, Lauren, was frank with her about what the rest of the world was thinking.

"It looked bad, it looked aggressive, your leg was like flying over him, and it was bad — it was really bad,"  Lauren told Ashley. Brutal honesty — that's what sisters are for, right? 

The Bachelor has plenty of moments that are sure to give you secondhand embarrassment — but this one just might take the cake (err, kiss).

If you can't help but cringe at the thought of getting a kissing lesson, you're not the only one. That's exactly what happened to Ben Flajnik on The Bachelor, when Jamie Otis insisted on giving him a step-by-step guide on exactly how to kiss her by opening and closing his mouth at specific times. While kissing lessons might be something an inexperienced kisser might appreciate, Ben was a grown man — and Jamie deciding that this lesson should happen in front of all of America is something we might never get over.

Of course, communicating your desires with your partner is important. And if a kiss isn't going so well, why not say so? After all, no one has time for bad kisses. But there's a way to go about communicating your wants and needs to your partner without being so harsh. Poor Ben did not seem like he wanted the kissing lesson, and honestly — who can blame the guy?

The Bachelor isn't known for its gross-out moments. After all, this isn't Fear Factor. However, this moment from Jason Mesnick's season of The Bachelor might make you lose your appetite. 

Remember when you were on the playground as a kid and saw your classmate picking their nose and eating their boogers? Remember how it made you want to vomit? Well, now imagine kissing someone as an adult and eating their boogers. It's a pretty gross idea, right? No one wants a snotty kiss, and Jason didn't want Shannon Bair's snotty kiss either. However, she couldn't seem to understand why, in between wiping snot from her face with a napkin (and getting bits of napkin stuck to her tongue in the process), Jason decided to cut their kiss short.

Why was Shannon so snotty? Oh, well, that's because she was in the middle of telling Jason just how much of a connection they had that she really wanted him to see. Still, Jason clearly didn't feel it himself — and, as such, she was one sobbing, sniffling, snotting mess. 

The Bachelor has featured plenty of romantic kisses, as well as plenty of cringeworthy smooches. However, this kiss between Carly Waddell and Evan Bass was actually painful to watch.

When you think of a hot and spicy kiss, it probably sounds pretty good, right? Unfortunately for Carly and Evan on Bachelor in Paradise, their kiss was just a bit too hot and spicy. The now-married lovebirds were tasked with eating habanero peppers and then kissing for 90 seconds in an effort to break the Guinness World Record for the "longest habanero pepper kiss." It was pretty disgusting to watch, and we imagine that it must have been pretty disgusting for Carly and Evan to do, too.

Nevertheless, the pair did break the record, thus setting a new record for 1 minute and 41 seconds. However, when they pulled their sweaty faces apart, viewers got a close-up shot of good ole' stringy saliva. Despite that unbearably painful kiss, Carly and Evan are actually one of few lasting couples from The Bachelor franchise. That's something no one saw coming — especially after this kiss!

If you're a Bachelor fan, you've probably found yourself closing your eyes during certain moments because they're simply too awkward to watch. And if that sounds like you, we're willing to bet you had a hard time seeing this particular moment play out onscreen. 

Consent is key, of course, but sometimes asking for a kiss can come off awkwardly. When Fred Johnson asked Rachel Lindsay if he could kiss her on The Bachelorette, it was just plain uncomfortable. Rachel wasn't pleased whatsoever, even though Fred admitted that he'd been waiting to kiss her for 20-something years. 

"I just want to ask is this a time that you feel that I can kiss you," he told Rachel. He continued, confessing, "I want to ask you because I want you to feel comfortable." However, Rachel said that Fred's ask didn't make her feel comfortable — rather, it just made her feel incredibly awkward. The discomfort was written all over her face for viewers across America to see — and it's safe to say we all experienced some secondhand discomfort.

Jake Pavelka and Michelle Kujawa's awkward kiss from The Bachelor is up there with one of the most uncomfortable moments in Bachelor history.

Michelle asked, "Would it be awkward if I asked if I could kiss you ... to see if I really feel something, for me?" In other words, Michelle literally asked Jake if she could kiss him just to make sure that she actually even liked him – and she wanted to make sure that asking that wasn't awkward. It was awkward. It was very awkward, Michelle. Still, Jake — despite seeming taken aback — leaned in to give Michelle a quick kiss that was, at best, anticlimactic.

Michelle even expressed to Jake that she needed more effort on his part. To be fair, Jake really didn't seem to try all that hard. But frankly, there was no connection between them, and no kiss was going to build one. You just can't force a connection!

While Bachelor relationships progress at the speed of light, there's absolutely nothing wrong with taking it slow. In fact, it's really quite a nice chance of pace. However, sometimes, things move so slowly that they fall behind. 

Unfortunately, that's exactly what was happening to poor Wells Adams on JoJo Fletcher's season of The Bachelorette. However, it's important to note that everyone was rooting for Wells — so much so that he became the bartender on The Bachelor in Paradise just because fans simply wanted more of him. That said, what probably helped make Wells so endearing on JoJo's season was that he was the last competitor to actually kiss her. So, when he leaned in for a weird high-five-turned-side-kiss, viewers awwwed. But it's safe to say that no one thought it was even a real kiss. 

Wells said that he "desperately, immensely" wanted to kiss JoJo — and, to be honest, JoJo wanted him to kiss JoJo. Unfortunately, what happened in this moment hardly registered as a kiss. Still, JoJo took it like a champ, laughing and saying, "That was good — that was so good." And, America continued to love Wells anyway.

When Emily Maynard's season of The Bachelorette was being filmed, contestant Doug Clerget was a single father struggling with leaving his kids in order to participate on the show. And, because of that, he was also struggling to move forward with Emily. So, while Emily (who was also a single parent) was innocently trying to break up with Doug because he didn't make any moves, he decided that it was time to make a major move in the middle of their conversation. And when we say "major," we mean majorly awkward.  

Doug planted one on Emily while she was trying to explain to the poor guy that it was over. However, Emily thanked him for the kiss and, realizing that it was a little too late, he responded, "Yup." The whole thing was equal parts sad for Doug, uncomfortable for Emily, and awkward for viewers across the country.

Perhaps Doug should've left things as they were. It seems he thought a kiss could salvage their connection (or lack thereof) but, alas, his plan backfired, and Emily dumped him anyway. 

Bachelor franchise favorite JoJo Fletcher had quite a few awkward smooches on The Bachelorette – one of which happened with contestant Will Haduch. 

Should kisses ever be planned? Will certainly thought so. However, his planned peck didn't quite work out the way he hoped. On night one, the contestant made an origami fortune-teller that would unearth their next move — and, of course, it was a kiss. JoJo seemed very surprised, asking Will if they were going to kiss right then and there, to which he confirmed that, yes, they would be. So, as the fortune teller foretold, the two kissed. However, as anyone could have predicted, it ended up being one of the most awkward displays of affection ever.

After the kiss, JoJo told the cameras that she wasn't necessarily ready for it. To be fair, though, no one could have been prepared for that totally awkward moment. Will still seemed pretty content with it, though.

Bachelor in Paradise stars Josh Murray and Amanda Stanton were, to put it mildly, so obsessed with each other. In fact, they were into each other so much that every chance they got, they were locking lips — and it didn't matter who could see (or hear) them. 

To put it lightly, Josh and Amanda's make-out sessions were rather audible. As Bachelor in Paradise viewers know, fellow contestants could often hear the lip smacking and moaning throughout the secluded resort. However the most cringey part of their incessant noises was that they'd go on for ages in the middle of everyone and everything. Josh and Amanda's lack of social awareness was, frankly, astonishing.

To no one's surprise, Josh and Amanda ultimately went on to get engaged. And, also to no one's surprise, Josh and Amanda ultimately went on to break up, according to E! News. Otherwise, you'd probably still hear them kissing.

Bachelor Colton Underwood made headlines for being a virgin, but he also made waves within the Bachelor mansion for seemingly being a bit kiss-shy. And while Colton's long-awaited kiss on The Bachelor wasn't necessarily awkward, the gossip about Colton while he was enjoying the kiss was indeed very awkward. 

In a hilarious Bachelor moment on Colton's season, the women vying for his heart could be seen sitting around the common space talking with each other about their one-on-one time with Colton, getting curious about when the time would come for Colton to make his move on any one of the contestants. However, while the women were racking their brains about why Colton hadn't yet kissed anyone, the cameras showed Colton outside actually kissing someone: Miss North Carolina 2018, Caelynn Miller-Keyes.

Caelynn revealed in the episode that Colton "kisses very well for a virgin," and even she was shocked at how he took the initiative and drew her in for the kiss. Hey, don't judge a book (or Bachelor) by it's cover. 

Bachelor darling and Season 15 Bachelorette Hannah Brown thought she and Jed Wyatt were having a nice private make-out session on an episode of her season. However, their moment wasn't quite as secluded as they thought. 

They were going at it pretty intensely during the steamy moment, with Hannah telling Jed, "I like being with you," to which he replied, "I like being with you, too." However, they didn't realize that Kevin — another contestant on Hannah's season of The Bachelorette – was not-so-patiently waiting for his turn with Hannah. And, unfortunately for poor Kev, he soon walked up the stairs to find Hannah and Jed locking lips.

Kevin later told Jed that he was there during his passionate kiss with Hannah, agreeing that it seemed "great" after Jed told the other men in the house that he enjoyed his one-on-one time. When Jed asked Kevin how long he was there (which was arguably a little too long), Kevin admitted that it was "one of those things that you see and you can't turn away from." 

Bachelor fans everywhere loved the fierce and empowered Bekah Martinez on Arie Luyendyk Jr.'s season of The Bachelor. However, not everyone loved Arie — especially not after he broke off his engagement with Becca Kufrin in order to see if Lauren Burnham would take him back (via Entertainment Weekly). 

But, before Arie was catching criticism for breaking his fiancée's heart on national TV, he was getting flack for the awkward shimmy he delivered before kissing Bekah. "I like having you around because you just make me happy," Arie told Bekah as he performed what was arguably one of the most cringeworthy shimmies we'd ever seen. Bekah eventually shimmied her way away — ultimately dodging a bullet, she later revealed on Twitter. 

In an interview with Access after the show, Bekah went so far as to call Arie a "manipulative a**hole," and had some other choice words for the very controversial Bachelor. The former contestant has continued to be super vocal about all of Arie's uncool behavior, even tweeting his DMs to her after they broke up. However, she's yet to mention the weird shimmy again. Unfortunately, we'll never forget.

In the Bachelor universe, sometimes it's not the kiss itself that's awkward, but everyone else's perception of the kiss that's awkward. This was certainly the case for Bachelor alum Colton Underwood. In an episode of Bachelor in Paradise, some of the cast members were sitting around the campfire with some drinks, casually gossiping about their worst kisses ever, when both Caitlin Clemmens and Sydney Lotuaco admitted that poor Colton was their worst (via Cosmopolitan).

Tayshia Adams, Colton's now ex-girlfriend, also admitted that she couldn't lie, and said Colton's kissing skills were sub par at best. "But, he got better by the end of the season," she revealed. Perhaps even more cringey was Tayshia's comment about being "a good teacher."

When Tayshia went on to reportedly replace Clare Crawley on Season 16 of The Bachelorette, Colton tweeted, "Congrats [Tayshia] — good luck and I hope you find yourself a better kisser," (via Cosmopolitan). It sounds like someone is still a bit offended, and we can't say we blame him!