The Women Who Self-Eliminated On 'The Bachelor' Show How *Dramatic* It Has Been

I am all for a break in tradition when it comes to The Bachelor, especially if that means skipping a rose ceremony or cocktail party every other episode. But Colton's season has been full of surprises, including more than just a couple of self-eliminations. Now, Heather sent herself home, so it makes you wonder how many women self-eliminated on The Bachelor this season.

Before tonight's episode, Elyse and Sydney self-eliminated during separate episodes. That makes three women from Colton's season who would rather go home than continue to brave the competition of fighting for roses and stolen moments with the Bachelor. That might not seem like a lot, but this is in addition to the women Colton already sent home on his own, so it makes a difference. It also made for those unexpected moments that helped to make this season the *most* dramatic yet.

Juan Pablo had his own share of self-eliminated contestants during his season of The Bachelor. Despite making it to third place, Andi sent herself home. Before that, Sharleen quit. Two seasons later, two women on Ben's season also self-eliminated. It's definitely not an anomaly that three of Colton's contestants self-eliminated, but all three instances were so close together that they all stood out this season.

Earlier this season, not long after getting her own successful one-on-one date, Elyse told Colton that being on the show was too much for her. She explained that she couldn't share his time and attention with other women and build a relationship at the same time. "I literally can’t accept a proposal after a few months of sharing your time and attention with other people," she told him. "I can’t do it."

I don't blame her, because I don't think I could do it either, but that's essentially what The Bachelor is all about. Sydney went home before Colton could eliminate her because she couldn't get him to open up to her. She felt like she was being overlooked and not getting in enough time and in the end, the experience was too much for her. Again, that's totally understandable, and Heather's reason for leaving The Bachelor tonight wasn't very different.

She said that she wasn't ready for him to potentially meet her family, so it was probably the right move to go home early. But it makes you wonder if Elyse inadvertently started a string reaction and if other women will self-eliminate before the season is over. So far, Colton's season has the most women who have self-eliminated. It's kind of a big deal.

Colton is about to head into hometown dates and then fantasy suite dates, but that doesn't mean no one else will self-eliminate. It is entirely possible that one of the remaining women will dip out after Colton meets her family because it doesn't go as well as she hoped it would.

It's also possible that someone could send herself home right before fantasy suite dates. The Bachelor hasn't let us forget that Colton is a virgin and that can be a lot of pressure for some people. One of Colton's other contestants might go home early on her own if it's too much to handle. There is still time for more women to self-eliminate on The Bachelor this season, even if it is getting down to crunch time now.

Hopefully all of these surprise self-eliminations will have been worth it for Colton to find someone to be with at the end of the season. As heartbreaking as it can be to see them go so suddenly, I would rather they go home on their own than stick around without seeing a future with Colton.