The Bachelorette Season 20, Episode 6: Where does Uncle Joe rank amongst worst hometown family members of all time?

Not even Joey Graziadei’s good looks, charm, and popularity in Bachelor Nation will be enough to save him after his Uncle Joe completely derailed any opportunity of a happy ending with Charity on The Bachelorette Season 20. Until this point, Joey and Charity have been the prototypical couple on this show—women and men across America are fawning over how Joey looks at her, and I can’t blame them.

Yet, for some strange reason, nobody in the Graziadei family could have stopped the crazy uncle from stealing air time and completely kiboshing his nephew’s chance at love on The Bachelorette Season 20. We all have that one family member we’re forced to invite for Christmas dinner. But that doesn’t mean you let them appear on national television and be a representative of your family for the whole world to see.

Oh, and in case you were wondering, he has a father present in his life. Still, his 30 seconds of airtime—a lovely toast, inviting Charity into his home—was outshined by the bull in a china shop uncle whose primary goal was to raise as much hell as he could in 15 minutes. First, he crashed their 1-on-1 date. Then, he voiced his skepticism about the process of the show to his nephew. And finally, he took Charity aside to tell her that Joey wasn’t ready to be a husband or a father and that he had issues with being genuine.

Setting the bar for terrible hometown visits on The Bachelorette Season 20

When discussing terrible hometown visits on this show, the bar will always be set at Rachel Lindsay’s visit with Dean Unglert’s family, namely his father, who had recently converted to Sikhism.

If a psychologist were to break down this interaction, I could only imagine they would use the visual evidence we’re presented with to indicate that this family drama was no set-up. You can see the legitimate disdain in Unglert’s face while he has to sit through his father playing the gong during an “energetic cleaning.” The whole event was uncomfortable and ultimately shouldn’t have ever been aired. Unglert would be sent home that week if national embarrassment weren’t enough. While Rachel used age as a main factor for her decision, I’m sure the awful experience with his estranged father made the decision easier.

The intense family member

As the Bachelor or Bachelorette, it’s a rite of passage for the family members to grill you during their hometown visits. It’s also a way for the producers to beat the show’s significance over our heads that a wedding awaits at the end. Naturally, some family members take issue with the process, and they must question the couple’s motives. We’ve seen different levels of passion ranging from Peter Weber’s mom to Katie Thurston’s aunt, who told Blake that he “ultimately means nothing.” In the end, however, all the producers want is somebody that appears as though they mean business just so they can bait the viewers into thinking fists are going to fly—exhibit Big Tony, Rachel Recchia’s dad who ended up being a big lovable bear despite what the previews had you believe.

But I’ll never understand the father or brother who takes issue with another adult walking into their home due to their intense feelings toward their daughter or sister. One of the creepier interactions in the history of this show happened during Sean Lowe’s season when he visited Desiree’s family and was confronted by her brother. Had he not been labeled as a family member, you would be confident he was a friend-zoned lover of Desiree’s from childhood.

On the flip side of this, sometimes legitimate issues within the family create a downright hostile environment. No amount of coaching would emit the emotion that Tino’s father gave off during Rachel Recchia’s hometown visit. Or Jed’s entire family when Hannah Brown stopped through Tennessee. The horror film-esque image of them sitting on the couch and staring through her soul gave me Get Out vibes.

What’s the purpose of it all?

Fame and selfishness. Though The Bachelor franchise premiered in 2002, the film Joe Dirt (2001) laid the groundwork to show us how a family can successfully exploit their son’s fame for personal gain. After Joe Dirt was abandoned by his parents for the better part of his entire life, they would welcome him back as an adult simply as a means to get rich and sell their glass clown figurines (sorry, spoiler alert).

If this show (The Bachelorette, not Joe Dirt) is as authentic as I dare to believe it is, I can only hope that Joey completely removes Uncle Joe from his life (too many Joes were used in that sentence). It’s not like Uncle Joe disagreed with falling in love and getting married within ten weeks of knowing each other. This seems to be a common gripe amongst all family members during their interrogations; he hinted at a possible skeleton in his nephew’s closet without getting into specifics. Now that’s all she will think about throughout Joey’s time on the show.

As the Joey and Charity love story ends, keep an eye out for any sales of glass clown figurines.

Aren’t we glad we’ve said goodbye to Uncle Joe on The Bachelorette Season 20? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below!