TV Talk: Contestant from South Fayette reflects on his ‘Bachelorette’ journey

Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week.

As ABC’s “The Bachelorette” comes to the end of its Charity Lawson- starring season Monday (8-11 p.m., WTAE-TV), South Fayette native Tanner Courtad is not in the running to become Lawson’s husband. He’s made peace with that after Lawson didn’t give him a rose that would have kept him in the show several weeks ago when he was one of six men left.

Courtad, 30, said he did not go into the Aug. 14 “Men Tell All” episode looking to say his peace.

“It was nice seeing all of the guys again, and obviously seeing Charity,” Courtad said. “A lot of guys were able to ask her questions, maybe clear the air on the relationship, but for me, Charity and I continued to meet each other halfway. I felt like we left it all out there and there was no stone unturned, so it was nice just to see her and to thank her for the journey.”

He doesn’t have a favorite among the remaining finalists (Aaron Bryant, Joey Graziadei, Dotun Olubeko), saying, “No matter who Charity picks, she’s got a good guy, so I just want all my friends to be happy. I just want her to be happy because she deserves it.”

Throughout the season Courtad came across as a nice, genuine person even as he failed to ever land a one-on-one date with Lawson. Though he showed some frustration on the show, he mostly kept his emotions in check.

“I didn’t want to put any added pressure on her, and I understand the position she’s in: At the end of the day, she could only pick one guy to be with for the rest of her life,” Courtad said. “I felt like of all the guys, I was the guy that was constantly checking up on her and assuring her that I was aware of the position she was in and that that was a tough position.”

Courtad, a 2011 graduate of South Fayette High School, didn’t apply to be on “The Bachelorette,” nor was he recruited. Unbeknownst to Courtad, his brother submitted him. Courtad only learned of that submission when he received a text from a “Bachelorette” producer in November.

“I’m usually a ‘yes’ person. I’m always open to new opportunities and new experiences, but I was super-on-the-fence about doing it, even at the end of the interview process,” Courtad said. “But I was at a crossroads in my life, just out of a breakup, and I thought, why not?”

Courtad, who studied business communications before graduating from the University of Pittsburgh in 2015, works as a mortgage lender to real estate investors through Kiavi. He’s also worked in fitness for eight years, including as an assistant producer and lead talent for Leslie Sansone’s Walk at Home subscription home aerobic workout program. This year he launched his own sub-brand, Future Self, that offers strength-based video workouts using dumbbells.

Courtad said that while many “Bachelorette” contestants had to quit their jobs to appear on the show, he was one of the few who was able to negotiate unpaid leave for the duration of filming.

“I was able to go and do this awesome experience and then come back and just pick up where I left off with work,” he said. “I don’t know how some of the other guys (quit their jobs). A lot of them are still looking for jobs, and I don’t know if that’d be worth it for me.”

Courtad’s entrance in the season premiere of “The Bachelorette” saw him pull out a “Tanner Towel,” his substitute for a Terrible Towel, and give it to Lawson.

“You want the bachelorette to remember you, and originally my plan was just to go up to her like a normal person like I would at a bar or a restaurant and just introduce myself,” he said. “But as it got closer to it, it’s like, I’m from Pittsburgh, I wanna represent my hometown in some kind of way. I was gonna bring an actual Terrible Towel, but there’s some kind of licensing (issue) that didn’t allow me to do that. So I came up with the Tanner Towel myself.”

Although he didn’t get to spend as much time on “The Bachelorette” with Lawson as he wanted — he says they had more interactions than were shown on the series — he’s still glad he chose to appear on the show.

“To be honest, it was the best experience of my life. It really was,” he said. “Obviously, it didn’t quite end the way I had hoped. I honestly was hoping that it would work out for me in terms of the connection with Charity, but the experience overall was just super-positive for me. I went into that process thinking if I meet one cool guy out of this — because you just don’t know what kinds of guys are going to go on a reality show, right? — I’d be happy, but I truly walked away with 15 solid, lifelong friends.”

Often when one “Bachelor” universe show concludes, an announcement about the next one is made at the end of the season finale. Due to the writers’ strike, this fall there will be two “Bachelor” shows on ABC’s prime-time schedule, the new “Golden Bachelor,” featuring retirement-age contestants, and “Bachelor in Paradise.” It’s unclear if the cast of either show will be announced this week.

Courtad was non-committal about returning to the franchise, but he is rumored to be a cast member on “Bachelor in Paradise.”

“I’ll never rule anything out, and we’ll see. I’m always open to new opportunities,” he said. “Stay tuned.”