Who is Marlena Haddad from ‘The Bachelor’ season 28, and why is she so controversial?

Announced on December 10, the cast for season 28 of The Bachelor appeared to be nothing short of spectacular, with a whopping 32 women — the most in the history of The Bachelor franchise — fighting for the handsome Joey Graziadei.

As weeks and weeks have gone by and the premiere of The Bachelor season 28 nears, fans of the franchise have had the chance to take a deep dive into the lives of the sexy singles who will step out of the limo on night one, but could one contestant’s controversial past impact her connection with Joey?

Keep scrolling to read about one of The Bachelor hopefuls named Marlena Haddad, as well as why she has caused quite a bit of chatter via X (formerly known as Twitter) prior to the premiere.

Growing up in Waterbury, Connecticut, Marlena Haddad attended both the University of Connecticut and the University of California, Irvine before settling down in The Big Apple to work as a writer and analyst at SPAC Insider. While she is extremely career driven, Marlena admitted that she does not want to be a writer and analyst forever, with her dream job being a parent, as well as a dog mom. Now all that she needs is someone to be the dog dad…

With her friends and family describing her as optimistic, loyal, and resilient — as well as someone who goes above and beyond to make her man feel special — ABC admitted that “Marlena is ready to commit and wants a man who’s not afraid to wear his heart on his sleeve. Vulnerability is very important to her, and she’s hoping Joey will show her his sensitive side.”

When she is not working, the 27-year-old loves puppies, golfing, hitting the town, trying new bars and restaurants, reading books by candlelight, and more.

While Marlena Haddad appears to be quite the catch, the brunette beauty has been facing a great deal of backlash ever since fans of The Bachelor franchise noticed that she worked for the Trump administration in the past. Her LinkedIn profile indicates that she worked as both the Director of Research and the Director of Correspondence in the Presidential Personnel Office from 2020 to 2021, sharing a great deal of photos to her Instagram profile at the time as well.

Fans of The Bachelor franchise were not thrilled to see that this woman will be vying for the heart of Joey Graziadei, taking to X (formerly known as Twitter) to express their dissatisfaction with the situation.

“Okay so we have a straight up Trump aide on Joey’s season???….. be fr 😬😬”

“Not only is this gross but her posting these late January 2021 is gag worthy 🤢 please let her be an early boot.”

“Is this the loudest Trump supporter the show has had? I mean working IN the White House 😬”

“There’s no place for politics on @BachelorABC! There’s enough drama already, I have no interest in watching/hearing some Trump or Biden cheerleader!”

Despite receiving a great deal of backlash, Marlena Haddad will still be fighting for Joey Graziadei throughout season 28 of The Bachelor. To find out if she somehow steals his heart, tune into ABC on January 22 to see the season kick off, or stream the premiere the following day via Hulu.