In an Instagram post from Monday that has since been deleted, Mr. Underwood distanced himself from the reality TV show and explained why he received the loan.
Lauren Burnham and Arie Luyendyk Jr., a couple who met on the show and married, were funded $20,830, the maximum amount for a P.P.P. loan to a sole proprietor, through their company Instagram Husband in June 2020, according to public records. The couple have more than 200,000 subscribers on YouTube and have leaned into the influencer lifestyle after their appearance on the reality show. In April, for example, the couple posted a video tour of their freshly purchased second home in Hawaii to their YouTube account.
Records show that Dale Moss, who received the final rose on the 16th season of “The Bachelorette,” also applied for a P.P.P. loan for $20,830, according to public records. Mr. Moss’s loan was approved, but it has not been disbursed yet.
Other former “Bachelor” and “Bachelorette” contestants chimed in on the loans some contestants have received. Nick Viall, who appeared on several seasons of the franchise, was critical of the loan recipients on Twitter. “What’s legal isn’t always right. What’s illegal isn’t always wrong,” he wrote.
“We’re talking about doing the right thing and I’m not trying to sound all righteous,” Mr. Viall added in a TikTok video on Wednesday. “I can’t imagine any of these people thought anyone would look. If you’re going to take public funds and you’re going to be on a public platform, you’re going to be open to criticism. It’s semantics to pretend it was the right thing to do.”
Jason Tartick, a contestant on the 14th season of “The Bachelorette,” posted a four-minute video to his Instagram account explaining why he didn’t apply for a P.P.P. loan, even though he considered it.
“I came very close to filling one out,” Mr. Tartick said in the video. “But I just thought, ‘It’s not fair.’ That was why I didn’t do it.”
