The Bachelor
I love this show. I have been watching it since the very first season and have hope that this show does help people find true love after seeing Trista & Ryan tie the knot. Trista was one of two girls at the very end of the first season of the Bachelor; the world thought she would get picked, but she did not. Then she was on her own show, The Bachelorette, and that’s where she met and fell in love with Ryan. ABC even aired their wedding in a a series of 3 episodes and 26 million people tuned in for the special event. Trista & Ryan are the first married couple to be produced from the Bachelor (in this case, The Bachelorette).
I have noticed that they have more shows where a guy picks from 25 women, then where a woman picks from 25 guys. Let’s face it, women are typically not as hasty as men. I am sure ABC has a hard time finding women who want to put their love lives on TV and reveal the trials and tribulations of trying to have a genuine relationship with more than one guy. But there is way more drama on The Bachelor where all the women cat-fight over one guy. It probably gets better ratings than the Bachelorette. Deana from last season is going to be the next Bachelorette. She seems so real and honest and I think that she will truly scrutinize each guy until she gets the right one.
This season is featuring a Brit as the Bachelor, Matt, and he is a major babe. He’s got that British accent of course, and who does not swoon at that? In the past few episodes where Matt has had to eliminate the women with whom he did not feel there was a connection, he has shown that he is seriously thinking about every move he makes and every decision is made for the right reasons.
I can remember seeing past seasons of the show and the Bachelor would make out with every single girl (and who knows what else behind closed doors) and then would not stay with the girl he picked when the show was over. This year I feel like the British Bachelor could make a good choice and actually stay with the one he chooses.
On a side note, how sick is it that I am obsessed with watching intimate relationships develop between people I do not even know? Believe me, I am not alone. Millions of women watch and Tivo this show every week. I am just one of many that love the show, follow each season, and are intrigued by what past Bachelors and Bacheloretes are up to.
Last season, the Bachelor, Brad, had the choice between two really great girls. Neither of them was crazy or obsessed, but both were head over heels in love with him. Because Jenny was the younger, less mature one of the two, everyone was routing for Deana. Deana and Brad both came from the same family backgrounds in the South and they seemed like two peas in a pod. Nothing on TV led any of the viewers to believe that he would do anything but pick Deana. At the final rose ceremony where he dumps one and (sometimes) proposes to the other, he said goodbye to Jenny first. Then when he saw Deana and told her he let Jenny go, a smile spread across her face and you could not help but be ecstatic for her–you could tell she believed that her dreams had come true. But then, Brad froze and let go of her hands and asked to be excused. He then walked a few feet away from Deana, who just stood there in the middle of a fairy-tale garden setting in a stunning gold dress with her long, beautiful brown hair in curls falling across her shoulders. She was just stunning that night–and Brad looked like he was going to throw up. Deana was in shock while Brad sorted out his thoughts, then he got back up to her and told her he could not love her. What!?
As with other reality shows, I screamed out loud, “You’re kidding me!” I could not believe I had followed this whole season, watching Brad grow close to Jenny & Deana to see him choose neither girl. I was not the only one in shock. Each Bachelor season is taped and aired later on, so while everyone is watching each episode for the first time, in reality the show is already over and the Bachelor has already made his choice. So the very following day, after the last episode is aired, there is always an episode that is shot in front of a live audience and features the Bachelor and the last two girls. Sometimes the audience gets to ask questions and share their thoughts about the Bachelor’s decision (because their opinion matters).
In this case, it was Brad trying to explain to Jenny and then to Deana (and all of the women watching the show) why he did not want either girl. It was hardly an explanation and the crowd just about boo-ed him when he came on stage. It was obvious that Deana was still in love with Brad and she tried to offer herself to him again and he just brushed it off. In the re-cap episode before the first episode of this season’s Bachelor, Brad refused to come on the show and answer any questions. Let’s face it, every woman in American hates Brad and he knows it.
So at the beginning of every season, I set my Tivo to record The Bachelor and I tune in with high hopes that one lucky girl will meet and marry the man of her dreams. I pray that the Bachelor is not a sleeze ball sleeping with all the girls when the cameras turn off. In the end, I just want to see a happy ending.
