Watching The Bachelor is a social experience. People gather in homes to crowd around televisions, wine bottles are uncorked and phones are fully charged. 40 women pitted against each other for the love and affection of a single man requires running commentary, after all. In addition to the TV, there's a secondary drama playing out on social media, where ex-contestants and fans offer critiques on everything from Chris Harrison's tan to the girl who rode in on a hoverboard.
Here are the 7 best #bachelornation members to follow for this year's show:
1. Kelly Travis
Who she is: a former contestant from The Bachelor season 18 (Juan Pablo).
Why we love her: Kelly is our number one pick because her multi-platform attack to Bachelor live-blogging is honestly deserving of a Pulitzer. This girl managed to live-tweet the entire episode (from the same couch as another woman on this list), post an adorable Instagram, and share a Snapchat that rivaled the actual show in entertainment value.
Twitter: @kellytravisty
Instagram: kellytravisty
Snapchat: keltravis
Here is a little gem of Andi dying her hair from Kelly's snap-story last night:
Rating: 10 out of 10 Bachelor Ben heads
2. Jennifer Weiner
Who she is: New York Times bestselling author and TV producer
Why we love her: Jennifer snags the number two spot because she is one of the most definitive Bachelor commentators out there. In 2011, Time named her one of the Top 140 Twitter accounts almost entirely for her Bachelor commentary. Weiner is a talented novelist, and she brings her powers of observation and quick wit to the show every single week.
Twitter: @jenniferweiner
Rating: 9.5 out of 10 Bachelor Ben heads
3. Andi Dorfman
Who she is: Andi Dorfman is a lawyer who was a finalist on The Bachelor season 18, and walked out on Juan Pablo. She was then The Bachelorette for that show's tenth season.
Why we love her: Andi is a total cynic. Having been on this show once as a contestant and once as the main character, Andi has a lot of insight. And since she's still single, all of her comments come with a brilliant bite.
Twitter: @andidorfman
Instagram: andi_dorfman
Snapchat: andi_dorfman
Most of Andi's best Snapchat moments are actually on Kelly Travis's account; she disclosed gems like, "They just get you shitfaced." But she also introduced us to her dad, who joined in to watch—right as the show ended!
Rating: 8 out of 10 Bachelor Ben heads
4. Sean & Catherine Lowe
Who they are: Sean Lowe was a contestant on the eighth season of The Bachelorette, with Emily Maynard. He placed third, and went on to become the 17th Bachelor. At the end of the show he proposed to Catherine Giudici, and the two will celebrate their second wedding anniversary later this month. Catherine is pregnant with their first child.
Why we love them: The Bachelor isn't exactly brimming with success stories; most engagements end up broken before a wedding can happen. But Sean and Catherine are one of the few working couples, and it's fun to hear what they have to say about how well the contestants are (and are not) performing.
Twitter: @SeanLowe09 & @clmgiudici
Instagram: catherinegiudici
This has nothing to do with the show, but here's a photo of them eating Sonic:
Rating: 7 out of 10 Bachelor Ben heads
5. Michelle Collins
Who she is: A comedian and critic who started her career at VH1, and is currently one of the co-hosts on The View, which may explain some of her snappy wit about The Bachelor this season since both shows appear on ABC.
Why we love her: Collins' commentary is funny, smart, and she does a great job incorporating screenshots from her TV with the captions, which is NOT easy to do in real time. The only reason Collins is number 5 instead of number 3 is that she isn't very multi-platform: All of her jokes are on Twitter.
Twitter: @michcoll
Rating: 6 out of 10 Bachelor Ben heads
6. Princess Probz
Who she is: a parody Twitter account
Why we love her: She's ruthless in her analysis of the show, and sometimes cruel enough to make you cringe. But she also heavily engages with her followers, retweeting photos of Bachelor watching parties and liking #bachelornation tweets.
Twitter: @PrincessProbz
https://twitter.com/PrincessProbz/status/684197602817126401
Rating: 5 of 10 Bachelor Ben heads
7. Kaitlyn Bristowe
Who she is: The most recent Bachelorette and the one who broke Bachelor Ben's heart.
Why we love her: Last year, while The Bachelorette was airing, Kaitlyn Bristowe shared a story on Snapchat that spoiled the entire season—because she was snuggled up in bed with the winner. This was high Bachelor drama. Though she's not on this season (obviously), Kaitlyn posts a lot on social media, and you never know when she'll have another slip-up.
Twitter: @KaitlynBristowe
Instagram: kaitlynbristowe
Snapchat: kaitlynbristowe
Rating: 4 of 10. Kaitlyn doesn't post enough, but she's worth keeping an eye on
Do you follow a great #Bachelornation tweeter, grammer or snapper? To submit additions to this list email Kelsey.mckinney at fusion.net.
Kelsey McKinney is a culture staff writer for Fusion.