‘The Bachelor’ spotlight: Zak Waddell’s sister Carly tries to win Chris Soules’ heart
Who knew that “The Bachelor” franchise could be a family affair? If you think back to Desiree Hartsock’s season, one of the most memorable contestants was Zak Waddell. He was energetic, at times romantic, and for some reason he also liked to take his clothes off a lot.
Well, for this upcoming season, we’re going to get a chance to watch his sister Carly on the show! She is looking for love from Chris Soules, but there is no guarantee that she is going to make it anywhere near as far. As always with these articles, don’t worry: We don’t know any spoilers, so we won’t be ruining anything for you, either.
Age – 29
Hometown – Arlington, Texas. Given that Zak is a Texan, go figure. Men and women from the south do tend to be fairly successful on this show.
Occupation – Cruise ship singer. In all fairness, this is the sort of job that we’d be worried about for any ordinary contestant on the show, regardless of who they are related to. We feel like with something like this, it’s all about selling it. If she comes out of the limo singing, it could be trouble. However, if she decides to just integrate it humorously into a conversation, it could be interesting. You just want to be natural.
Bio highlights – She claims that she cannot live without “cut-off denim shorts.” Wait, are we sure that she is not actually related to Tobias Funke?
Positives – We know her family from the show already, and they all seem to be sweet, kind, fun people. This is the sort of contestant who does tend to fare pretty well on the show. Superficially, it feels like there would be a good connection here to carry Carly through the early weeks.
Negatives – If she leads off by saying she is Zak’s brother, that could be trouble. She’s going to have to avoid the stigma that she is just there because of him, or she wants to further her singing career. These could be trouble if she makes the wrong impression early.
Also, there is the whole worry of her job, if this is really what she wants to do long term. Not only do cruise ships put you away from loved ones for days at a time, but Iowa’s not anywhere near a cruise ship! Either Chris would have to move, or she’d have to change her job.
Prediction – Maybe Carly can figure out a way to spend a week or two in the competition, but the precedent for former contestants / contestants from other shows appearing suggests she will be gone early just because it will appear like stunt casting, even if it is not. If the brother connection doesn’t hurt her, the job might.
What do you think are Carly’s odds right now of hanging in there? Let us know in the comments, and head over here to get more “Bachelor” spotlights and more! Also, sign up now to get some further TV scoop on all we cover via our CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: ABC.)