Every Monday, I anxiously wait for “The Bachelor” to air. Sitting in my living room, living my best life in my jammies, contemplating the meaning of life as I watch each girl attempt to win Arie’s heart.

The first time I tuned in this season however, there was one notable feat: the lack of diversity on the show.

It’s not that I have a thing against blonde-haired girls with blue eyes, in fact that would be extremely hypocritical of me. I just had my hopes set so high after Rachel Lindsay’s season aired this past summer. Lindsay was the first black bachelorette who appeared in Season 13 of the show.

It would appear that “The Bachelor” is going in the opposite direction. Not only has there never been a black Bachelor, but there’s also a blatant lack of diversity in the girls cast on the show. Stepping out of the limo this season were 13 remarkably similar looking blonde girls, three of whom were named Lauren. There was an alarmingly low number of women of diverse ethnicities. While the show promotes the opportunity for one lucky guy to find his perfect match out of a wide array of different girls, it fails to provide an appropriate amount of diversity for a twenty-first century television show.

Not only is there a lack of diversity in ethnic backgrounds, but there’s also a blatant lack of women older than 30. Arie, 36, is the third oldest Bachelor in the show’s history. Yet, the median age of women on the show is 27. Is “The Bachelor” agist? Bekah M. is the youngest contestant, coming in at age 22. That’s a 14 year age gap between her and Arie. The oldest woman on the show, Lauren J., is 33. Why isn’t there someone closer to Arie’s age, or even older? If love is supposed to be blind to age, according to Chris Harrison, than why does “The Bachelor”refuse to cast women who are older than 33?

I thought 2018 was supposed to be a year of embracing differences and diversity, but even public television isn’t willing to be more open. I really used to love “The Bachelor”, but it will not be receiving a rose from me if it can’t learn to be more diverse.