Jonathan's Job Actually Has Nothing To Do With Tickling

There are always at least a few eyebrow raise-inducing job descriptions on every season of The Bachelor or The Bachelorette. From the "Hipster" of JoJo Fletcher's season to Alexis' "Aspiring Dolphin Trainer" (or is that a shark?) title of Nick Viall's Bachelor run, the silly supposed "occupations" of contestants are a surefire source of humor and levity every single cycle. Rachel Lindsay's season has been no different, and while most viewers are talking (and/or griping) about Lucas "Whaboom" Yancey, Jonathan Treece's "Tickle Monster" signifier on The Bachelorette is also a head-scratcher. But what is Jonathan's real job? He's definitely not a fuzzy red muppet in a man suit, so viewers are sort of at a loss here.

When Jonathan showed up on the scene, stepping out of the limo, there was no indication that he'd stand out much from the rest of the polished, handsome men seeking to woo Rachel. He didn't have a funny outfit, like that guy Matt who dressed up as a penguin (sorry, a "dignified penguin"), and he also didn't set up an elaborate entrance like "aspiring drummer" Blake E. and his full marching band accompaniment. He was just a regular guy in a nice suit with a nice smile.

At least until he approached Rachel, asked her to hold out her hands, and then randomly tickled her, quipping that he wanted to make sure she got "at least one laugh" that night. Setting aside the fact that it's generally sort of weird and not cute to physically grab a woman you just met without her knowledge or consent (super invasive!), the moment sort of fell flat (though he ended up getting a rose, so I guess it worked out for Jonathan in the end).

But as it turns out, "Tickle Monster" isn't just a cute euphemism for "unemployed." According to Chris Harrison's Facebook Live contestant announcement, Jonathan is actually a doctor! According to Jonathan's LinkedIn profile, he's a physician practicing family medicine. Listing Jonathan as a "Tickle Monster," and not the admirable career that he presumably went through many years of grueling schooling to achieve, was (according to Harrison) the Bachelorette folks "having some fun with the labels," signifying who he is rather than what he is.

"Early on we weren't very creative [with job descriptions]. We were just like, ‘You're a manager of this,' or, ‘You're a doctor,' whatever. And then we thought, that's not really how you know these guys," Harrison told E! News. "[Jonathan] is an accomplished doctor, which should be enough. But you're gonna remember him as the Tickle Monster. I think what we realized is, let's have a little more fun with the labeling because that's who you're going to remember these guys as."

In any event, one thing's for sure: Jonathan definitely stood out and made a name for himself on Night One. So mission accomplished, I guess?