Colton Underwood previously confirmed he quit The Bachelor season, which would be a first for the ABC franchise, so how did ABC executives feel about the star's rebellious act?
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While that's probably not the answer fans were expecting, Mills views Underwood's attempt to end production prematurely as a fresh twist -- a storyline that will prevent The Bachelor from becoming stale after 23 seasons on the air.
"It's something we've never seen before. To be more than 20 seasons in and have something new that no one's seen before play out is actually great," Mills explained.
And Bachelor Nation has witnessed many shocking outcomes, from Brad Womack dumping both of his Final 2 bachelorettes to Arie Luyendyk Jr. choosing to dump his fiancee, Becca Kufrin, weeks after filming wrapped in the hope his runner-up, Lauren Burnham, would give him a second chance.
"The other thing you think about is -- is he okay?" Mills said of Underwood.
"Whether this ends up with him engaged, married, single, dumped, you want to make sure he's okay... You never want this to be the biggest mistake of someone's life... We just let it play out real, and then we figure out the rest."
The Bachelor has repeatedly teased an upcoming Season 23 scene showing Underwood jumping over a fence more than six feet tall to escape cameras and show host Chris Harrison, who was left calling after him in utter shock and disbelief from a distance.
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The 26-year-old charity founder and former professional football player yelled, "I'm f-cking done!" on his way out.
Harrison previously told Us Weekly he was standing about 10 yards behind Underwood when the Bachelor made his great escape and he "may or may not have been the reason" why Underwood hopped the fence to begin with.
"Jumping the fence, it was a very real moment," Underwood told ET last month.
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"To me, it might be the most pivotal moment in the entire season, and it happens towards the end... In that moment, yeah, my emotions were heightened and I gave production a run for their money -- quite literally."
Underwood also joked about his shocking exit during a January appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!.
"I ran away and ran into some wildlife, and then that's what scared me," Underwood told Kimmel. "I mean, I don't have my phone."
Underwood revealed to ET last month that he was in control of his own decisions and fate on The Bachelor during taping. Underwood is proud to have stayed true to himself.
"I did things my way, and I changed the game," Underwood said at the time.
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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
