Why We Should All Lay Off Josh & Amanda

Going into the last Bachelor in Paradise season, I really wanted to see Amanda Stanton find love. I absolutely loved her on Ben Higgins' season of The Bachelor, and I'm pretty sure that everyone else felt the same way. Now that Amanda has found love with Andi Dorfman's Bachelorette winner Josh Murray, the positive reception that she always had has changed drastically. A lot of the drama on BiP revolved around allegations that Andi made in her book about Josh, and as a result Bachelor Nation has been less than supportive of Josh and Amanda as a couple. I'm sure that most fans are just very invested and wanted the best for Amanda, but people really need to chill out on this one. Yeah, Josh and Amanda were not my favorite BiP couple (shout out to Evan Bass and Carly Waddell), but people really need to lay off with the Josh and Amanda hate.

First off, we don't actually know these people. Yes, they made out an awful lot in front of their friends (and the reality TV cameras), but there was no way that's all they did while they were in paradise, right? There had to be other conversations in between the kissing that just didn't make it to the episodes — or at least that's what I hope. The point I'm trying to make is that these people were at a resort where all they had to focus on was building relationships so they definitely spent a good amount of quality time together that the viewers did not get to witness.

I get why people would be skeptical of Josh's intentions after Andi alleged that he had a temper and controlling personality in her book, and after seeing the drama he got into with Nick Viall on BiP. I can also see why people were worried about Amanda, because it's easy to start thinking of these people as being your friends in your head, but I don't think it's fair for people to hate on Amanda if it's only because they don't like Josh.

For the record, in response to Andi's claims about him in her book, Josh said on BiP , "She had some not-so-kind things to say, and it's very unfortunate that she would depict me in such a false way. It's like, how am I supposed to comment on these excerpts that people are sending me to a fictional story, something that's just not true at all. It's definitely frustrating."

Even if you are just not a fan of Josh and Amanda and you feel like you have perfectly valid reasons for feeling the way that you do, that's fine, but there's no need to be hateful about it. The mean tweets, Instagram comments, and memes just have to stop. The bottom line is that they are actually real people who are engaged and living together. Not only that, but based on social media, Josh seems to be very involved with her two super cute daughters and they seem to be getting along just fine. So this is their reality now; it's no longer a reality TV show. If you have nothing nice to say, then that's your prerogative, but it keep it away from Josh and Amanda. They, and Amanda's kids, really don't need that.

Image: Rick Rowell/ABC