Nepo Baby of the Week: Can This ‘Bachelor’ Villain’s Daughter Win ‘American Idol’?

In the annals of Bachelor history, it’s hard to think of a more reviled figure than Juan Pablo Galavis. According to legend, the mere sound of his name is enough to wilt roses, and in some circles, it is even said that his voice can make champagne go flat. Nevertheless, he is returning to ABC on Sunday to play a new role—the supportive father of an American Idol contestant.

Bachelor fans likely remember how often Juan Pablo brought up his young daughter, Camila Galavis, as an excuse to avoid snogging the women he didn’t feel like kissing. She was 4 or 5 years old during his season, and now, it’s time to meet her as a teenager as she vies for a ticket to Hollywood from judges Katy Perry, Lionel Richie, and Luke Bryan.

As far as celebrity children go, Camila is relatively unknowable. That said, this is probably a good thing given that at the time of her audition, she was only 14 years old and has now turned 15. Camila’s Instagram footprint is about as dainty as it gets, probably because in addition to her public ’gram, she’s also got one set to private. (Again—wise.) From the few posts she’s got online, Camila seems like a pretty normal teen who enjoys sunbathing, going to shows, and being on boats. According to Life and Style, she lives in Florida, which is a great place to do all of those things. You’d never know that her father is perhaps the biggest heel in reality-dating history.

For those who don’t remember, Juan Pablo competed on Desiree Hartsock’s season of The Bachelorette in 2013. A year later, after his announcement as the Bachelor, he landed in hot water thanks to some homophobic comments, for which he later apologized while blaming a language barrier and claiming his words had been taken out of context. (English is the former soccer player’s second language.) When Juan Pablo’s Bachelor season actually aired later that year, he dug his reputational hellpit even deeper by slut-shaming one of his own finalists, Clare Crawley—who later went on to become a Bachelorette. During an extremely awkward “After the Final Rose” episode, Juan Pablo could not even say that he loved his final pick, Nikki Ferrell. By then, it seemed pretty clear that everyone in Bachelor Nation—from the show’s producers, to former host Chris Harrison, to the viewers—absolutely hated him.

Of course, none of this is Camila’s fault. She was born in 2009 to Galavis and his ex, Carla Rodríguez. According to Us Weekly, Juan Pablo and Carla have continued to co-parent Camila since their separation in 2010.

Although Camila was only a small child when her father appeared on The Bachelor, it seems like she’s since seen his season. In perhaps one of the weirdest daddy/daughter moments in pop-culture history, she and her dad re-created his infamous break-up with Clare in a 2021 TikTok video, which she posted seven months after Clare’s Bachelorette season wrapped. For those who don’t remember, Clare’s parting words were, “I thought I knew what kind of man you were. What you just made me go through, I would never want my children having a father like you.” Juan Pablo’s response? “I’m glad I didn’t pick her.” It’s unclear why Camila and her father decided it would be funny to remind us all of this moment, but in fairness, Camila was still only a pre-teen at the time, and that does seem like a pretty tween-ish thing to do.

Daddy drama aside, though, how will Camila do on American Idol? Can she actually sing? We’ll find out on Sunday night, as the show airs its last round of auditions. I have my reservations about someone this young campaigning for stardom, but, hey, I guess every now and then a kid turns out to be genuinely good. In a teaser clip for the episode, what we do see is that Juan Pablo crashed his daughter’s audition to flirt with Katy Perry, who is thankfully already engaged to Orlando Bloom.

“You’re single?!” Perry asks as Galavis saunters in. He wastes no time in asking, “You too?”

On that note, host Ryan Seacrest asked the question we were all thinking: “Will this Bachelor baby have a rosy outcome?” Let’s hope so. Nepo baby or not, it’s never fun to watch a young person get humiliated in exchange for 15 minutes of fame.

Check out our past Nepo Babies of the Week.

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