Peter Weber, the newest star of The Bachelor, suffered a serious injury while filming in Costa Rica when he fell and split his face open. Weber was recently announced as the leading man for The Bachelor season 24, which had just recently begun filming.
Weber first received national attention when he appeared on season 15 of The Bachelorette with Hannah Brown. The 28-year-old commercial pilot from Westlake Village, California, impressed Hannah when he presented her with a pair of wings in the premiere episode. The pilot comes from a flying family; he is the son of a pilot and a flight attendant, and his brother is also a pilot. Weber was eliminated in part one of the finale, ending the season as second runner-up. The pilot's casting was announced during the September finale of Bachelor in Paradise. Despite being half Cuban on his mother's side, making him the second Hispanic or Latino American Bachelor, his casting was not without controversy. Many fans were upset that the show, having long been plagued with complaints about its lack of diversity, didn't cast Mike Johnson as its first black Bachelor.
According to Radar Online, Weber was in Costa Rica on Monday for the filming of the upcoming season when he was playing golf and suffered an injury that required emergency surgery. A source said, “He went to step on the cart but fell and and split his face open on two cocktail glasses he was carrying.” The new Bachelor was rushed to the hospital where he received a reported 22 stitches on his face. He was taken to a hospital 2 hours away to be treated by a specific surgeon who specializes in this type of injury. Weber is said to be recovering, and a second source told Radar that “he is pulling through", but that same source was quoted as saying that “everyone is worried about production.” It appears that the women were all due to arrive on the island on the day of the incident.
While no one could have prepared for this, it is not the first time a film or TV production has had to deal with unexpected injuries, though it is usually linked to shows we come to expect a level of risk on - like Survivor. Even in big budget movies like The Exorcist, Pineapple Express, and Django Unchained, stars like Ellen Burstyn, James Franco, and Leonardo DiCaprio have suffered physical injuries, respectively. Clearly, accidents can happen anywhere and the Bachelor franchise is not immune to this.
There is no word yet as to how this freak accident will impact the season set to premiere in January 2020. With dates scheduled to start now, there has been no mention yet of a need to replace Weber as the Bachelor. It also remains to be seen if there will be any delays in production. Will Season 24 air on time? Will Weber be the one handing out the roses? No matter what happens, viewers and fans of the franchise are wishing him well and hoping for a speedy recovery.
Source: Radar Online