Posted by:
summer
(
)
Date: April 07, 2018 02:56PM
One of my favorite guilty pleasures is watching the Bachelor franchise shows. This past season on The Bachelor there happened to be a Mormon young woman from American Fork who was one of the cast members. Her name is Maquel Cooper.
Everything about her was just so...Mormon. So Utah TBM. From the made-up name to the blonde hair/blue eyes to the self-styling as a model and "professional photographer." (The latter is a huge irritant to me, as it seems that every other Utah Mormon woman who can afford a DSLR camera and convince a temple-married friend to do her wedding photos for chump change is now a "professional photographer." Seriously?) Plus there were indications before the show even aired that she was a bit full of herself. But whatever. I'm always prepared to change my mind about people, and I figured it would be good for Maquel to get out of the Mormon bubble.
From the beginning, she raised eyebrows among fans. For one thing, she is a young divorcee. For another, there was that photo of her in brownface makeup.
http://www.tvguide.com/news/the-bachelor-maquel-apology-brownface-instagram/Maquel complained in a Deseret News interview about "when we all dressed up as Mexicans and everyone thinks we’re racist..." No, sweetie. They KNOW you are racist. If you've learned to do better since this came to light, then good on you.
But the main point of her DN interview was what I've come to think of as "virtue signaling" to fellow Mormons. She talked about how she didn't drink or swear during her time on the show. Fine. It is well known to fans of the show that it is perfectly okay not to drink alcoholic beverages. Maquel was not the first to stay dry in that regard.
But my favorite was her comments on her "modest" apparel.
Maquel states --
"I tried my hardest to wear modest clothes. It’s not the easiest for like rose ceremonies. Or the dates you have to wear workout clothes...I know in some of my (Instagram) posts I may not be perfectly modest, but I’m a model...I wanted to show that just because my shoulders are showing, that doesn’t mean I’m not a good Mormon. Like, I still believe in the same things, I’m still living it as much as I possibly can."
Meanwhile there is a photo of her wearing a gown on the show with a halter top and exposed upper back. Bear in mind that the cast members pick out their own clothes which they bring with them. Well she's a model, so I guess that makes it okay. lol
https://www.deseretnews.com/article/900015113/mormon-bachelor-contestant-shares-details-on-her-faith-backstage-drama-and-why-she-never-appeared-on-national-tell-all-episode.htmlDN readers who commented on the interview were for the most part, unamused.