Ok, so I’m a little late. Sorry. Just needed to find the time and motivation to sit down and hash this thing out. First things first, if you follow me on Twitter or Facebook, you saw me mention last week that I got dressed up for Halloween for the first time in probably 20 years this past weekend. Good times. Happy Hour lasted till the wee hours of the morning. No, I didn’t go as Jake. I thought it was rather obvious who I went as, but I’d say 75% of the people who came up to me asked, “Are you Octodad?” Huh? Who the hell is Octodad? Once I pointed out the Bluetooth, the earrings (which you can’t see in the pics), the Ed Hardy shirt, the eight kids, and the lovely inscription on the back, they seemed to guess correctly.

More “Bachelor” News

So I’ve gotten this bit of info regarding a girl who was cast to be on this season with Jake. I emphasize “was”. This particular girl was flown out to LA to be one of the 25 bachelorettes. The afternoon of the meet-and-greets, she was upstairs getting ready, then came down to film her ITM (in the moment). When she sat down, her handler gave her a piece of paper with lines to memorize. She was told to memorize those lines and say them when they started filming. What was she supposed to say to the camera? “When I first saw Jake, I fell in love. I can’t wait to fly away with him someday.” The girl basically told her handler, “No, I’m not saying this. I haven’t even met the guy yet.” The handler told her she had to, and that they’d just run it after she met him. The girl said no. Back and forth they went, until the girl just decided she didn’t want to do the show anymore and walked out, got her stuff, and left the show.

Now, obviously no one will ever see this when the season starts. This girl will never be on camera since she’s not one of the 25 bachelorettes. She left before the filming started. When the show flys all the girls out for the beginning of filming, they bring in more than 25 girls just in case something like this happens. Wasn’t the first time it happened, and it certainly won’t be the last. But just know it happened this season. Kinda funny that now they are actually telling people exact lines to say instead of just putting them together and saying, “Here, talk about this.” Look, we’ve always known the show wasn’t real and I think a lot of people have come to accept that. But my problem has always been that they constantly are trying to tell us it is. That they just “throw 25 women in a house, roll the cameras, and drama ensues.” Uhhhh, not quite. “Here, read these lines about how much you love Jake even though you haven’t met him yet” is a bit much, don’t you think? So when you’re watching the first episode this season, and you hear girls falling all over Jake talking about how great he is and they are so in love, just know that those were filmed before they even met him, and that the girls saying that were basically ones who just agreed to do whatever the producers told them to. As opposed to the other girl I just told you about who basically stood up for herself and realized how ridiculous the whole thing was.

Had a great night last Wednesday night at the Dallas Stars hockey game with Jeremy, Tanner, and Kiptyn. Tanner has basically turned into a rock star from his appearance on the show. I think more women were interested in talking to him than watching the game. My first chance to ever meet or talk to Kiptyn. Glad to see that he got to witness his first hockey game. No need to go into details about what was talked about and all the shenanigans that transpired that night. Some things are better left unsaid. All good guys, we had a great time, and I’m guessing in the near future, we’ll be dropping more drinks and catching falling drunk women back there in no time. I will say this on Tanner’s behalf: I think he and I watch the same exact shows. After going through his recorded shows on his DVR, I could’ve sworn it looked like an exact replica of mine. The city of Dallas belongs to Tanner Pope. We’re just all lucky he lets us live in it. Daddy is a rock star, no doubt.

So did you see this article last week in “People” magazine regarding Ed and Jillian? Interesting to say the least. Why some reporter decided to ask them about Jillian’s lingerie collection is beyond me. Of course Ed, being a man who has such a way with words (”I want to molest you when I get home”, “Bring the beer and condoms”), had this to say when asked what’s the sexiest thing a woman could wear. “No panties.” Ok, first off, he didn’t even answer the question. The question asked the sexiest thing a woman could wear, and he responded with something that she SHOULDN’T wear. Secondly Ed, it’s perfectly normal for you like it when your girlfriend goes panty-less. Especially when they don’t tell you about it beforehand. I just tend to think that’s not the answer you want to give to a magazine read by millions of people. Showing some tact would be nice, but I guess then consider the source and everything we’ve read and heard about the guy. Maybe that’s just who he is. But c’mon buddy. Probably not the answer you needed to give in that situation. By all means you can think it, but personally, I just wouldn’t have expressed it to “People” magazine. To each their own.

So the biggest news in the last week regarding this show was the engagement in New Zealand of Jason and Molly. Before I give my comments, I actually found this amusing, which is odd, since I didn’t think Regis Philbin has done anything funny in 20 years. But the re-enactment of the Jason/Melissa break up gave me a good chuckle. Here it is:

Lets first off talk about the engagement itself. Congrats to those two. If it works for them, then so be it. Personally would I have done the engagement back in New Zealand and immediately had the tabloids reporting it? No. I thought they wanted this all to go away? I understand most Jason & Molly fans are thinking more like, “Awwww, he proposed where they had their first date. So romantic.” But for as much as those two got criticized for everything that happened, and I was front and center leading that charge, I guess I would’ve just laid a little low and not made such a presentation out of it. The proposal back in New Zealand, pictures ready immediately, cover of “US Weekly” saying you’re not the “villain”, etc. Look, I get that he wanted to do it back where he says he should’ve done it in the first place. I just wouldn’t of if I’m trying to distance myself from everything that happened. Their words say they are, but the actions don’t.

With that said, I’m going to share something with everyone that very few people know. When Jillian’s season ended, I actually got in touch with Jason and we finally had a man-to-man talk about everything that went down. He shared his side, and I shared mine. Do we agree on everything? No. He was very persuasive in what he said, and I told him how I felt about how everything played out. Til the end of time, we will both agree to disagree on the events that happened while he was on the show. I feel my sources had no reason to lie to me, and he says that’s not how it went down. I’m fine with that. I don’t hate the guy. Never did. I just expressed to him I think he could’ve handled the whole situation completely different. But that’s yesterday’s news. It happened almost a year ago. He’s moved on, he’s happy, he’s engaged, Melissa’s moved on, she’s engaged, so who am I to harp on it anymore? It’s put to rest. We both said what we needed to say to each other, and I think both of us came out with a better understanding. I emailed him after I heard about the engagement congratulating him and Molly, and he responded with a thank you. I’ll admit, I was rather harsh on the guy for a good two months. Sure he deserved some of it, but probably not as much as I gave.

I don’t think Jason and I will ever be golfing buddies, and I’m certainly not expecting any sort of invite to the wedding, but for those that think I’m out to ruin peoples lives and constantly make fun of them, well, I just don’t think you understand the site and how I write. That’s ok. It’s not for everyone. I’m glad Jason and I hashed things out for the most part. Who am I rain on he and Molly’s parade? Hey, at least they got engaged as opposed to most of these couples who don’t even get that far. Personally, I just wish he’d stop going to the “I’m not a villain” card and just let everything that happened on the show go. No matter what he says or does, people are still going to hate him regardless. It’s almost like he’s trying to please everyone and that’s just impossible. He’s got his fans, and he should just enjoy them. The haters will be there no matter what he says. But telling people again his side of what happened just isn’t what needs to be done now.

I will say that what he told “US Weekly” about having to confront Molly on TV rather than lose her to the “Bachelorette” was exactly what he told me a couple months ago, so, I at least give him some credit for keeping his stories straight. We can debate that until the end of time (and I think I did on the phone), but regardless, it’s over and done with. They’re engaged, Molly’s moved to Seattle, she found a job, and they’re happy. In the end, I guess that’s all that matters, right? No need to bring them up anymore until their wedding or if there’s some nasty breakup. So good luck to the two of them. Been a pretty crazy year, but it seems like they’re happy and moving on. Good. Now I can too.

Yes, in case you haven’t heard the news, both Holly and DeAnna are dating the Stagliano brothers. Holly of course is still dating Michael from Jillian’s season, and DeAnna has been dating Stephen Stagliano for a good month. I really have no idea what to make of all this. Good luck to the four of them. I’m sure the world will be a better place with Holly Durst and DeAnna Pappas as sister-in-laws someday. Oh my. Somewhere Jesse Csincsak is gathering former contestants for another reunion, making sure video cameras are rolling, and shaking his head.

As far as the “Bachelor/ette” reunion cruise from LA to Mexico last weekend, I don’t think it’s going to be its own show. Probably just like the Vegas reunion, I’m sure there’ll be footage popping up somewhere on a “Men Tell All” episode. When I saw Kiptyn last Wednesday, he mentioned that he was going on it. As were Wes, Jesse Kovacs, Jesse Csincsak, Robby D, and a few others. That’s about all I know. Pictures are already all over facebook if you want to go look for them.

One final note on the “Bachelor”, it was announced yesterday that this season is going to be the first one in HD. Outstanding. So are we actually going to get to see the implant scars this season? Or the botox injections? I cannot wait. Jake is already claiming that his wife is one of the 25 women cast for the show. And now that we’ll get all their physical defects in HD, can this season possibly get any better? I highly doubt it. To see him get down on one knee and propose to some goody two-shoes, church going, southern belle might be the highlight of my 2010. Then to watch them celebrate by letting off a bunch of white doves and going crazy with the milk and cookies, can that possibly be topped? “The Bachelor: On the Wings of Love” beginning January 4th. Get your barf bags ready, it’s gonna be a bumpy ride.

I wanted to cover more this week, but I’m tired, I have a long day ahead of me, and I still need some catching up to do on some shows. So next week we’ll return with “Reality Roundup” as I cover “Survivor”, “Dancing with the Stars”, the new “Celebrity Apprentice” cast, “Sex Rehab”, the “Ruins”, plus some other tidbits. Also, the interview with former “Survivor: Micronesia” and “Fans vs Favorites” Eliza Orlins will be happening soon as well, so stay tuned for that. To follow me on Twitter or become a friend on Facebook, scroll down the right hand column and find the corresponding link under “My Stuff”. Any questions, comments, emails, praises, criticisms, or opinions, feel free to email me at steve@realitysteve.com. Until next week…

Administrator The Bachelor 13 - Jason, The Bachelor 14 - Jake, The Bachelorette 4 - DeAnna, The Bachelorette 5 - Jillian

So plenty of you have been asking where I’ve been and why I haven’t weighed in since the “US Weekly” and other tabloid stories broke about Ed’s ex’s, Lindsey Johnson and Bethany Steffen. Last time I posted was two days before that article came out and I gave you all my thoughts. In a nutshell, I said that Ed had a lot of explaining to do, and if he chose not to explain himself and ignore all the accusations (which he has), then plenty of people will be questioning their relationship. And they are. Since all this stuff broke, Ed and Jillian have stood firm by saying their relationship is strong, Jillian believes Ed’s side (whatever that is), and that they are moving past all these allegations. Fine. I’ve got no problem with that whatsoever. But it doesn’t mean I won’t talk about it some more.

Both Ed and Jillian have categorized Lindsey and Bethany’s allegations as “ridiculous”, “nonsense”, and “totally untrue”. Which is fine. But what part is untrue? That these women even exist? Because we know that’s not the case. That the emails they provided were completely made up? Never specified that. Based on everything I’ve read from both Ed and Jillian, they’re just standing by the “none of its true, Ed’s told me about both women, I trust him, and that’s all you need to know”. Ok, fine. But I’m guessing if Ed told her about both women, he told her his side of things. Do I honestly think that Ed sat Jillian down and said, “Ok, look. Three weeks before I went on the show, I told Bethany in an email I didn’t want to do the show and wasn’t attracted to you. Then during the first few weeks of filming, I was in contact with Lindsey telling her I wanted to come home, I missed her, and that I really wasn’t into you.” Probably not. As I said in my last post, they can address the allegations by the “it’s not true” card, but when both women were being very specific about emails, texts, and conversations, that’s really not good enough.

I have reached out to both Ed and Jillian personally, and they both have gotten back to me. Very nice couple, seem to be very happy with each other, and are laughing at everything that’s gone on since the show ended. Weird, but whatever. It’s what they’re choosing to do. Like I said, it’s their prerogative to handle it this way and let it eventually die down. Both of them politely declined my request to speak with them, which I can respect. But even with the decline, they had only one request, and that was that they would like RealitySteve.com merchandise. I sh** you not. Ed wants a hat, and Jillian wants a shirt. I’m still scratching my head as to why, but hey, they must be GIANT fans of mine, so I’ve obliged. Now, I only have one request to the two of them. Be sure to wear it during any publicity photos. That’d be wonderful. Anyway, that’s where I stood with both Ed and Jillian up until this past weekend. I figured everything that had played out in the media was all you needed to know, Lindsey and Bethany feel jilted by what happened, but they’ve both since moved on, so there wasn’t much else to talk about.

Lo and behold, guess what shows up in my email inbox over the weekend? That’s right, the full email exchange between Ed and Lindsey right before he left during the middle of the show. Yes, we saw some of the quotes in “US Weekly”, which I’m guessing a lot of you doubted the validity of. Well, you probably shouldn’t anymore. Sure, I’m guessing a lot of JED’s fans will say these are made up, but honestly, when you read this exchange, do you really think two people went through all the trouble to make this all up? C’mon people. I know you like living in fantasy land when it comes to this show, but please, the emails are pretty self explanatory. Lindsey contacts him while he’s still on the show (supposedly something that isn’t allowed to happen), Ed contacts her back (yet another thing that’s supposedly not allowed to happen), and they are planning to do things when he gets back home. Remember, this exchange happens right before he leaves when he tells us that work wants him to come back, and he feels obligated. And if people question how I got the emails, just remember last season, I had the Jason/Melissa email exchange that happened after they taped the ATFR 1, which Melissa confirmed on “Ellen” was legit.

So why would I not run Jason & Melissa’s email exchange but am running Ed’s emails to Lindsey and Bethany? Well, one main reason. Those girls weren’t on the show. A lot of you dislike them and think they’re making everything up anyway, so why not? This, I would assume, is the basis for why both of them were so shocked at everything that went down. And also when I received this last one over the weekend, I didn’t feel conflicted whatsoever to run them because of the stance that Ed and Jillian have taken since Day 1 of this fiasco. They don’t seem to care about any allegations brought against him, Jillian is 100% behind him, and that’s that. I’ve reached out to both Lindsey and Bethany, and have not heard back from either one. I can’t imagine they’d be too upset since this is only giving evidence to support their story. Before now, all you saw were quotes in a tabloid magazine. Now you’re seeing the exact email exchange. Make your decision from there.

However, being the very gracious human being that I am, and since both Jillian and Ed are soon to be RealitySteve.com merchandise owners, I figured I would give Ed a head’s up and tell him I was going to run the emails. Any comments that he would like to make regarding them, I would gladly put in today’s column. Here was his response:

From: “Edward R. Swiderski III”
Date: Sat, 22 Aug 2009 15:05:20 -0500
To: steve@realitysteve.com
Subject: RE: Where are our T’s???

Go with it Steve-o! After all, god put you here to report on reality TV and that’s certainly something to be proud of. It’s your duty!

p.s. where are our T’s?

ed

Sounded good enough for me. Don’t ask me why he wants a bunch of people to see this email exchange that doesn’t necessarily cast him in the greatest of light, but hey, “Go with it Steve-O!” You got it, Eddie. It’s my duty, right? Whether or not the guy was being sarcastic, the bottom line is I gave him an opportunity to tell me not to run them, and not only did he not choose to go that route, he seems rather excited about the whole thing. Still kinda scratching my head as to why, especially considering this is something he wrote DURING the course of filming the show within the first couple weeks, which fits exactly the time line he told Lindsey and Bethany about before he left to do the show. In case you didn’t read the stories they told, Ed allegedly told both of them he was gonna go do the show, but only for a couple weeks because that’s all his work would allow, and that it would be “for us”. And that’s exactly what he did. So hey, I guess he didn’t lie about that. Filming started March 24th or 25th, and these emails were sent to Lindsey between April 10th and April 12th. Now first up is the email exchange with Bethany, three weeks before leaving to do the show. She sends him an email laying out her feeling about the whole thing and then he gives his response. Tell me if you think this girl is just some random girl he’s dating on the side or if it’s a little more serious than that. Probably want to read from the bottom up.

———————–

From: Ed Swiderski
Sent: Thursday, March 05, 2009 12:01 PM
To: Bethany Steffen
Subject: RE:

Babe: this is great email. And I appreciate it.

You worry too much! Let’s talk about it in person ok?

You know I never took this thing seriously. In addition, I’ve let the Director know that I would be doing the show for the wrong reasons as I am not, in any way, attracted to the chick.

It’s still about a 25% chance of me going, though it’s seriously the last thing I’m thinking about right now…

From: Bethany Steffen
Sent: Thursday, March 05, 2009 11:31 AM
To: Ed Swiderski
Subject:

Ok..I’m no good at talking about my feelings, so here goes nothing…

Here’s how I see it:

a) This is obviously an amazing opportunity that will undoubtedly be once in a lifetime. What a great story you’ll have for the rest of your life and who knows what doors it may lead to.

b) But with every decision in life there are multiple ways it could go. A few I’ve thought of as my mind has been racing over the last couple days include: First way: you go on show, hang out for a few weeks, get your face on TV, enjoy a little limelight. Maybe you get noticed out and about in Chicago afterwards, get an article in the paper, but undoubtedly forgotten about by the end of summer. Second way: you go on show, get wrapped up in the excitement, “fall” for the girl, hit it off with her, lose at the final rose ceremony, and BAM…you’re the next bachelor. That would just be my luck.

c) I would obviously think that the first way is the most likely way it will go. My buddy Wagner in AZ had a friend Jenni, who was on the last Bachelor, and she was actually was in the final 2. That is pretty much the way it went for her afterwards. She had fun with it, got invited to bars and things like that but she wasn’t the same person. If you go on that show you will get attention. Men like attention and I’m sure girls will be all over you. Your ego may grow and it all comes down to how you will handle the attention. And of course what happens with us afterwards depends on how I handle that attention…

By the way you worded your text the other night it sounds as if you mean, “hey, I’m willing to not go on this stupid show b/c I like you a lot” (Side note: why wouldn’t you? I’m great.) I guess all I can do is be honest about my feelings towards you and obviously, I like you; a lot. I respect you, admire your worth ethic and your success and passion really turn me on. I love hanging out with you, we really get along and I know it’s early, but I think we could really be a power couple someday; taking over the Chicago technology scene J

Ed, this is a great opportunity, potentially life altering, and I’m not going to be the one to make the decision for you. I can’t really say that I’m going to support you either way you decide because I’ve watched the show and you could end up doing some things or saying some things on national TV that would not be kosher for someone who has someone back home that is waiting. If you go, in my mind, it says to me…”I’m doing this for me, I’m not going to worry how it effects you, I’ll worry about that later”. So, Ed, do what you think is best for you, but understand I will do what’s best for me at the same time. If you go, I’m very skeptical and doubtful that things will ever be the same with us.

In conclusion, you know if it were me and I was unattached, I’d go in a heartbeat; but right now, a little piece of my heart is attached to you.

That’s how I feel,

Bethany

————————

Now, here is the exchange between he and Lindsey while he was on the show (I’ve purposely “x”‘d out Lindsey’s email address in these so certain crazies out there don’t go all “Laurel” on her). Once again, tell me if you honestly think Ed is making all this up, or this was staged, or its completely fabricated.

——Original Message——
From: Ed Swiderski
To: ljohnson@xxxxxxx.com
Subject: RE: Muddy Buddy Race – August 2, 2009
Sent: Apr 12, 2009 8:38 PM

Message

And honestly I have not had fun since I’ve been here…it really has nothing to do with her anyway. In fact we only have seen her a few times.

I think about you all the time and can’t wait to see you.

——Original Message——
From: Ed Swiderski
To: ljohnson@xxxxxxx.com
Subject: RE: Muddy Buddy Race – August 2, 2009
Sent: Apr 12, 2009 8:35 PM

Message

You’re right and I miss you dearly. I love you.

I’m letting them know tonight. Hopefully they’ll get me home tomorrow.

From: ljohnson@xxxxxxx.com [mailto:ljohnson@xxxxxxx.com]
Sent: Saturday, April 11, 2009 11:21 PM
To: Ed Swiderski
Subject: Re: Muddy Buddy Race – August 2, 2009

Why isn’t it that easy? If you don’t come home tomorrow are u bound there the entire 6 weeks? I can’t do this, ed. I’m sick to my stomach constantly. If you’re going to be there longer u HAVE to tell me asap. It’s not fair. You promised 2 weeks. Promised. She doesn’t deserve to have ur attention any longer. This isn’t right. You being there isn’t right. How r u pretending? Are u pretending? Come back to me. Please. Screw f’ing abc. If you want to come home to me it shouldn’t be that hard. Should it?

I’m just having a really tough time with this. I miss you.
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

—————-

From: Ed Swiderski
Date: Sat, 11 Apr 2009 14:43:37 -0700
To: ljohnson@xxxxxxx.com
Subject: RE: Muddy Buddy Race – August 2, 2009

Trying, though it’s not that easy. This is a complete mind f*ck!!!

From: ljohnson@xxxxxxx.com [mailto:ljohnson@xxxxxxx.com]
Sent: Saturday, April 11, 2009 4:36 PM
To: Ed Swiderski
Subject: Re: Muddy Buddy Race – August 2, 2009

U have to!! Plz.
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

—————-

From: Ed Swiderski
Date: Sat, 11 Apr 2009 14:35:37 -0700
To: ljohnson@xxxxxxx.com
Subject: RE: Muddy Buddy Race – August 2, 2009

Trying to leave tomorrow…hopefully I can pull it off.

From: ljohnson@xxxxxxx.com [mailto:ljohnson@xxxxxxx.com]
Sent: Friday, April 10, 2009 6:38 PM
To: Ed Swiderski
Subject: Re: Muddy Buddy Race – August 2, 2009

Are u done?? Will it be this weekend? I’m dying:(
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

—————-

From: Ed Swiderski
Date: Fri, 10 Apr 2009 16:36:57 -0700
To: ljohnson@xxxxxxx.com
Subject: RE: Muddy Buddy Race – August 2, 2009

I don’t know…I’ll call you as soon as I get my phone back.

From: ljohnson@xxxxxxx.com [mailto:ljohnson@xxxxxxx.com]
Sent: Friday, April 10, 2009 6:30 PM
To: Ed Swiderski
Subject: Re: Muddy Buddy Race – August 2, 2009

Ah, yes!!! When u coming home???????
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

—————-

From: Ed Swiderski
Date: Fri, 10 Apr 2009 16:28:11 -0700
To: Lindsey Johnson
Subject: RE: Muddy Buddy Race – August 2, 2009

Yes.

I’m going to molest you when I get home. Can you pick me up?

From: Lindsey Johnson [mailto:ljohnson@xxxxxxx.com]
Sent: Friday, April 10, 2009 11:42 AM
To: Ed Swiderski
Subject: Muddy Buddy Race – August 2, 2009

Would you want to do this??? Let’s!!!!!!

http://www.muddybuddy.com/events.php?id=7

Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Remember, this is the last email exchange we have from Ed to either Lindsey or Bethany. So with that said, let’s lay out the facts based on what we’ve seen in emails.

-Three weeks before leaving to do the show, March 5th, in an email to Bethany, he specifically states that he “would be doing the show for the wrong reasons as I am not, in any way, attracted to this chick.”

-He then leaves to do the show telling both women he’s only interested in doing it for 2 weeks because that’s all work will allow (per both Lindsey and Bethany to “US Weekly”).

-This is then corroborated by his email exchange with Lindsey in which he is pretty much at the 2 week point, says he’s not having any fun, says he wants to come home, says he misses Lindsey, practically begging to leave, wants her to pick him up, calls the show a mind f**k, and that he wants to molest her.

So that’s where we stand in terms of email and texting proof that’s come to light. So Ed goes home, both women at that point say they saw him, hung out with him, and slept with him (unbeknownst to each other) during the period in which he was back in Chicago. Lindsey says they went to a wedding together (which friends of theirs have corroborated), and she spent the last four or five days with him before he told her he was leaving again for a business trip to “Texas”, which in reality, ended up being Spain and Hawaii. Let’s just stop right here at this point.

As for Bethany’s email, I think it’s safe to say these were two people that were more than casually dating before he left for the show. She did say it was “early”, and by all accounts, I heard they started dating in January of this year, so they were a few months in when he left. Sounds about right. The thing I found interesting about their exchange is she laid everything out on the table for him about how she was feeling, and rather than dismiss her as some crazy b**ch where he could’ve gone, “Whoa! Back up there, honey. Didn’t see that coming”, he comforted her, told her not to worry, said he wasn’t even thinking about the show, on and on and on. His response to her says a hell of a lot more than what she wrote him. Kinda shows that its not like this chick was stalking him. They were both into each other in March and were definitely more than just friends before he left for the show. If I were her, I probably just would’ve taken out the “I can see us being a power couple in Chicago” part. Ha ha. That was funny.

So here’s a guy that three weeks before leaving for the show, wanted no part of it. Admittedly wasn’t into the chick they cast, obviously was seeing someone back home that he was very much involved with (two people actually), but for whatever reason, was convinced to come on. My question is, why was ABC insisting on casting a guy who 3 weeks before filming, didn’t want to be there? If he’s telling ABC, “Oh, I can’t wait to do it”, but then on the flip side saying what he said to Bethany in the email, well then he’s a two-faced liar. We don’t know what he was saying to ABC, we only have his response to Bethany’s email. And that email was about as clear as day. He didn’t want to do it and told the director as such. Yet, three weeks later, he leaves to do the show. You tell me: What made the guy change his mind? The incentive of being able to use his computer and/or phone? Seems to be at least one incentive if you ask me.

I just can’t wrap my head around why a guy who clearly didn’t want to be on the show was cast anyway? Was ABC that desperate because guys were dropping like flies? Did they have a plan for him all along? Just doesn’t make much sense. Unless of course he was telling ABC how excited he was to do it, then telling Bethany the complete opposite. Wouldn’t be that far fetched. However, if we are to take him at his word for what he said to Bethany in his email, then there’s a reason he was cast on the show. I guess only he and a few others know what that reason is. All we can do is speculate. I know I will. Kind of an inquisitive person in case you couldn’t tell.

Let’s discuss Lindsey and Bethany for a minute. Not knowing either of them, I find it hard to believe they would throw this stuff out there if it wasn’t true. Of course, Chris Harrison will tell you that it’s because they were paid to tell their story. Yeah. And? Because they were paid to tell their story that all the sudden makes it not true? So anyone who’s ever been paid to tell their story either in a book, or in a magazine, is now a liar? Not saying everything they say is the gospel, but to automatically dismiss their story because money was exchanged is just ignorant. In fact, “US Weekly” was going to run the story whether or not Lindsey or Bethany spoke to them, that’s all but been confirmed. All the girls did was apparently fill them in on the details. What would you have rather seen: An “US Weekly” story with no proof of emails, texts, phone calls, etc and just a bunch of “sources say”, “a friend close to the situation”, and “an insider confirms”, or, them telling their stories and citing specific dates, locations, and conversations? I much prefer the latter, thank you.

Both women said what they said to “US Weekly” and I’m sure a lot of you questioned it, but these two emails were essentially what they were referring to. Seems to me Ed completely had both girls believing that the other one didn’t even exist, started doing the show for fun, and two weeks in STILL didn’t want to be there and wanted to come home to “molest” Lindsey. Nice. How romantic of him. At this point, I’m trying to figure out where Ed gets off thinking that nobody would find out about this. In one interview I read, Lindsey even told him, “Look, the magazines are calling me and want my story. I’m going to tell them what happened”, and just as Ed said to me, he gave her the go-ahead. Told her to tell her side rather than letting the tabloids make up their own story. And you thought the Jason/Molly/Melissa fiasco was weird. I’m telling you, I don’t think it could’ve gotten more bizarre than that, but this season I think takes the cake. I have no idea what the hell is going on here. What I do know is something isn’t right. And I think a lot of you can see that as well.

You’ve heard Lindsey and Bethany’s story from the time he left to go back on the show to where we are now. He kept in contact with each of them, but not nearly as much. He said he was going to Texas, when he really didn’t. He gets back from filming in Hawaii, an engaged man mind you, yet according to Lindsey, on June 4th, they slept together after she confronted him with, “Are you the final one?” When the guy answered with, “What do you think?”, she took that as a “no”, and they slept together. Obviously, if she’s over at his apartment after being invited, why would she have any reason to believe the guy was engaged and the final guy? Told you this story was bizarre.

I’m even fine if Ed and Jillian don’t want to speak with me on record. In fact, I even respect it. I’d throw the whole kitchen sink at them. They need to be asked specific questions like, “Ed, both women have email exchanges with you before and during filming. Can you explain them?” Not, “Hey, what is your reaction to these allegations?” Those are so easy to brush off without getting into specifics, as you can see by how they’ve answered everything thus far. Why can’t Ed answer, “Hey, did you send a text to Bethany that said, ‘Bring the beer and condoms’.” If you didn’t, why does she have one that says you did? How about, “Lindsey says you slept with her AFTER you got home from filming in Hawaii, on June 4th, at your apartment. If it didn’t happen the way she said it, explain how you think it happened.” Or how about to Jillian, “If you’re claiming that you’re not even reading these allegations from both women, then how can you say you know everything that happened? What exactly has Ed told you about both Lindsey and Bethany?” Because for my dollar, you can bet your ass whatever he told Jillian, he probably left out a few parts. Or ten. That’s all I’m asking is for someone to be held accountable and to answer the tougher questions.

Who I would be curious to hear from is ABC/Next Entertainment in all this. The fact that one individual from the show was allowed to make personal emails while filming should be a giant red flag. The show, and specifically Chris Harrison, prides themselves on saying these guys are isolated from the outside world and aren’t allowed to talk to anybody. So not only was the “final guy” contacting work, he was basically sending sexual emails to a woman he was seeing back home. How come no one from the network or Next Entertainment is commenting on this? It’s not like Lindsey and Bethany are just alleging Ed did this. They have the proof. They’ve shown the emails to the tabloids, and now for the first time, you are seeing them in email form. And if ABC/Next Entertainment actually were to say they had no idea who Ed was contacting, well, I find that hard to believe. This is the show that wants you to believe everything you’re seeing is real, and all they do is turn on the cameras, and you see a love story play out. Uh huh. It’d be nice if someone stepped up to the plate and copped to what really went on.

One thing Lindsey kept referencing in her “US Weekly” interview was that Ed kept telling her, “Wait until July 20th (essentially when the show was over), and I’ll be able to explain everything.” Actually Ed, the show’s finale aired the 27th, but whatever. Anyway, him constantly telling her to just be patient and wait til the show was over so he could explain himself makes things even MORE confusing in my eyes. Ummmm, you were engaged at that point. How would Lindsey (and Bethany for that matter) understand things better when they see the finale and the guy who’s been stringing them along, is not only the final guy, but he’s engaged? What exactly were you going to explain at that point? I would’ve respected the guy a hell of a lot more if after he got back from filming, he cut off ALL contact with both women, left them both high and dry, and if they tried to contact him, he would just say, “Sorry. Lose my number. I’ve moved on.” But still, even after getting back from Hawaii as an engaged man, he’s telling them he has an explanation for all this and just to wait until the finale airs? Too bad we never got to hear that explanation because I’m dying to know what the hell that would’ve been. Both women moved on and don’t speak to him anymore, or else I guess we would’ve heard this explanation. I have no idea what it could’ve been though.

So where we stand right now, as far as I know, Jillian is set to move in with Ed in about a week. Both Lindsey and Bethany have moved on and are over the whole situation. You probably even saw in this past week’s “US Weekly” that Lindsey is dating the former roommate of Andrew Firestone. Small world we live in. If I come across anything else, I will share it with you, but it seems like this will be the last straw on this topic. What else can be said? It’s basically come down to whose side do you believe? If Ed was so into Jillian and had to come back on the show because he couldn’t stop thinking of her and felt he made a mistake, why in the time that he was home did he sleep with both women and basically act like a single guy? Was he committed to Jillian at that point? No. Did he really do anything wrong when he was home other than enjoy himself with two girls he was seeing? I guess not really. However, from the time he showed up back on the show claiming he couldn’t stop thinking of Jillian, that’s where I think people can question his sincerity. Look at the emails. Look at the timeline of the emails. How does one go from the emotional state he was in before AND during the middle of filming to the emotional state he’s in now in regards to being engaged and about to move Jillian in? It’s a question that’s probably gonna go unanswered for a while. But it sure is fun to speculate about.

Administrator The Bachelorette 5 - Jillian

-Pretty crazy last few days I’d say. I know you all have been wondering why I haven’t been writing or commenting on this situation. Well, here I am to explain exactly what I knew, when I knew it, and what my thoughts are. And for once, I’m going to be objective here giving both sides the benefit of the doubt. Why? Because I’m a great guy, that’s why. Ha ha. Could I have run with this last week and beaten the tabloids to the story? Yes. Why didn’t I? I felt like I didn’t need to. Plus, I have not spoken to either woman, Lindsey or Bethany. In my last posted column (last Wednesday), I ended it by alluding to the fact that “this story has legs.” I said that because I knew both Lindsey and Bethany were going to tell their stories to national magazines. Then I twittered a few times over the weekend about how the “sh** is gonna hit the fan, and just be ready for what’s coming.” Of course, a lot of you jumped on that thinking I was the one breaking the news even though I wrote the words, “This has nothing to do with me. I’m not breaking any news.” Don’t really know how I could’ve been any clearer than that, but whatever. This never had anything to do with me. This was their story, I was going to let them tell it. If they wanted to come to me first, fine. But they didn’t, I knew they wouldn’t, and so they went to the tabloids for a bigger audience. Totally understandable. I did not care that I didn’t break this story since I knew it was coming out in a few days anyway and I would just comment then.

-Obviously, I think most of you are of the opinion right now of, “Ed’s a jerk! I can’t believe she’s standing by him! What’s she thinking! I knew it was too good to be true! How can he do this!” Which is fine. You’re entitled to that. Before I jump on that bandwagon, I just want lay all the information out on the table first. Lets be clear here: This is NOT stuff that I discovered, came up with, am making up, stating as rumor, etc. This is all stuff being alleged by both women here, that being Lindsey Johnson and Bethany Steffen, women who claim to have been in a “relationship” with Ed before he left to do the show AND who are claiming he continued with them during and AFTER filming. However, lets immediately get a few things out of the way for those who haven’t read what’s going on or seen Jillian and Ed appearing on “Good Morning America” yesterday. First, here is the nuts and bolts of what is being alleged, straight from “US Weekly”:

“Bachelorette Betrayed!” – US Weekly

So yesterday, “Good Morning America” did a piece on that exact story knowing it was going to break, and here’s what they aired:

-So here’s what I thought of the “GMA” appearance. I didn’t like it for Jillian and Ed. At all. Here’s why: They spoke in generalizations. Lindsey and Bethany, in their stories, are citing specific dates, specific emails, specific texts, and are quite detail oriented with their timeline and what transpired between them and Ed before, during, and after the show. For Jillian and Ed to go to the “People are just trying to bring us down”, “This is high schoolish” card, that’s fine. But just know that most people are going to hate that answer and you will be criticized for it. Ed saying “not true at all”, “false allegations”, etc is completely evading the specific instances these women are citing. I have no problem with Jillian and Ed giving the easiest and safest response they could to all this, but if you’re gonna do that, expect more questions to be fired at you since you didn’t address ANYTHING other than the overall story. JED (that’s short for Jillian and Ed since I don’t feel like typing both names all the time) fans of course will say, “She believes him, and that’s all that matters.” If she does, great. But it doesn’t mean they won’t get crucified by fans that have more questions about this. It’s part of being on the show. And with the weird dynamic of Ed leaving then coming back, then being the final choice, already people were questioning what the hell happened. Now Lindsey and Bethany throw a monkey wrench into everything to make it ten times worse.

-Jillian is standing by Ed saying that he’s been nothing but honest with her about everything, she knows about both women, and “any text or email to them since the show has ended has been strictly platonic.” Well, that’s not what Lindsey and Bethany are saying. Especially with that “Bring the beer and condoms” crack he allegedly laid on Bethany after coming back from Hawaii. Nice one. Such the romantic. Hell, even if it isn’t true it’s still one of my all-time favorite lines ever. But the generalizations that JED went to in that interview were not good. I want to know, “Ed, did you sent that text message? If you didn’t, why is she saying you did?” “Ed, did you say you weren’t into Jillian? If you didn’t, why is there an email confirming you did?” Well, that part I know is true because I’ve seen that email. He sent it to Bethany three weeks before leaving for the show and told her that he already told the director that if he did the show, he’d be doing it for the wrong reasons because “I am not, in any way, attracted to the chick.” Something Bethany already told the magazines so I’m not breaking any news here. I’m just saying I’ve seen the email. Ed needs to answer specific questions. If he chooses not to, fine. But JED has to understand that they are the final couple on a reality dating show that was watched by 10 million people. When allegations come up, if you’re gonna dismiss them as nothing when these women are giving specific details, you can’t cry “Why don’t they just leave us alone?” Sorry. Doesn’t work that way.

-With that said, how credible are Lindsey and Bethany at this point? Tough to say, but it’s awfully hard to dispute some of the things they’re saying. Why? Go back up and look at the “GMA” piece. In the part where they are showing a shot of Lindsey’s computer, you can see the email exchange between her and Ed. It took place on Friday, April 10th (a time where Ed was in filming), and goes like this:

Lindsey to Ed: “Are you done??? Will it be this weekend? I’m dying ”

Ed to Lindsey: “I don’t know. I’ll call you when I get my phone back.”

Lindsey to Ed: “Ah yes!!! When u coming home????????”

That is a major red flag if you ask me. First off, we’ve always been led to believe that contestants are to have no contact with the outside world when on this show. Mike Fleiss has stated it, Chris Harrison has stated, and numerous past contestants have stated it. Now we have proof that one of the guys (who just so happened to be the final one in the end), was allowed to use his computer during filming. Based on the email I’ve seen, my guess is Ed agreed to come on the show (because he was very reluctant to three weeks before filming), and negotiated something to where he’d do the show if they let him use his computer for work. I don’t think that’s too far fetched to think based on what I’ve seen. Three weeks before filming the guy didn’t want to be there, admitted as much, told directors he’d be doing the show for the wrong reasons, and now he’s on the show with a computer in hand.

-Also, Lindsey says that while Ed was back home from the show for “business purposes”, they attended a wedding together (with picture included in the “US Weekly” piece), and said she stayed the last “3 or 4 nights with him before he said he was leaving for Texas.” In fact, both women in their story told the magazines he told them he was going to Texas. When in reality, that’s when he went back on the show to Spain, then Hawaii. Lindsey and Bethany are saying that neither of them knew about the other one until all this stuff came to be. Are they scorned? Sure. Do they feel hurt? Of course. But I think what’s interesting to note here is neither of them are crawling at Ed’s feet begging for him to take them back. Neither of them want anything to do with him at this point because they felt lied to, betrayed, and ultimately, embarrassed. If you want to question them running to the tabloids to tell their story, that’s fine. That’s definitely calling into question their credibility. However, if they wanted their story out there, what other way could they have gone about it?

-Do you think if they went to Ed and said, “Hey honey, can you put us in touch with Jillian? We think she should know what you did to us”, he would’ve obliged? Uhhhh, I doubt it. Could they have found Jillian on their own and emailed or asked to speak with her? Sure. But if they did, wouldn’t Jillian have had the same reaction? She’s going to stand by her fiancé whether these women tell their story to a tabloid or they contact her personally. Either way, she’ll dismiss them as scorned former lovers and believe what Ed tells her. And she should. She should stand by her man. But that doesn’t mean what these women say isn’t true. Ultimately it’s her decision on who to believe, and she’s choosing Ed right now. If you think she’s an idiot for it, I’m sure she can handle that. If you think she’s making the right decision, then she’ll accept that too. I don’t think public opinion is going to change whether or not Jillian and Ed stay together. It’ll ultimately come down to if Jillian hears enough information to think maybe Ed wasn’t telling her the whole truth about things. But who knows?

-Now, the email that I’ve read which has Ed stating 3 weeks before the show he’s not into Jillian and would be doing the show for the wrong reasons is something that is debatable. And when I say debatable, I mean that lets take Ed for his word in the email. But what if he got to the show, met Jillian, fell head over heels for her, and his opinion of her completely changed? Could that be possible? Sure it could. He probably wishes now he never wrote that email, but whatever. He can explain that off by telling Jillian he was stupid when he wrote that, he hadn’t met her yet, and that she completely blew him away and changed his mind. Ok. Lets say that’s what happened. The problem is both Lindsey and Bethany are claiming that the first time when he went home for “business purposes”, he spent time with both of them. In fact, Lindsey produced a picture of a wedding they attended and then said she slept with him that night. Ouch. Bethany also claims she saw him in that time period when he was home. So if we’re under the assumption that once Ed got on the show he immediately fell for Jillian, then why is he seeing/dating/being intimate with women during his time home? Remember, after he came back, the reason he said he came back which he told Jillian was because he felt like he made a mistake, and he couldn’t stop thinking of her. Wow. I mean, there’s absolutely two conflicting stories right there if I ever saw one. He needs to address that. He needs to tell people whether or not he attended a wedding with Lindsey while he was back the first time and if she stayed with him that night. I’m sorry, but IF that happened, I’m stressing “IF”, then anything he said on the show from that point on is meaningless and not believable.

-Moving on, lets say that none of that happened. Lets say when Ed was back in Chicago after coming home for “business reasons”, he never saw either woman. Basically just went to work, did what he needed to do, went out a few times, but never went on a date and was never intimate with anyone. So he goes back on the show to Spain and Hawaii, and now he becomes the final one. He leaves Hawaii and engaged man to Jillian and everything is great. Now both women are claiming texts, emails, and even one case of intimacy yet again after coming back from Hawaii. Even telling Lindsey “the show made me do it”, “I still love you”, and he never acknowledged whether he was engaged or not. This is where Lindsey claims she was intimate with him. She asked him questions about the show, he said he couldn’t answer until July 20th, but based on his answers, she felt she could stay with him. Her opinion was that, “Well, if the guy is engaged, he wouldn’t sleep with me. So I guess he’s not.” Lindsey claims he kept telling her to wait until July 20th because then “I can explain everything that’s going on”. Just an ugly, ugly story all around. And answers like, “These stories aren’t true at all” just isn’t gonna cut it in this situation. Lindsey gave specific dates, specific places, and specific emails. He needs to find a way to dispute those or he will be forever guilty in the public eye.

-At this point, I think I’ve said what I needed to say. Lindsey and Bethany have told their stories. You can read those in any magazine this week. I really don’t think they need to come do an interview with me because nothing they tell me they haven’t already told others. I don’t need to print any emails from anyone since the content of it has already been divulged. My one thing that I want in all of this situation is to hear from Ed. That’s it. I know this probably sounds like an easy “guilty” verdict towards him based on things everyone is hearing and the emails I’ve received, but honestly, I’m going to give the guy the benefit of the doubt. Whether he talks to me or talks publicly, whatever the case may be, Ed needs to attack these stories head on. That’s the only way anyone will really know how legitimate these claims are. As of right now, there is so much evidence stacked against him, that its very hard to believe NONE of this is true. Maybe certain parts are embellished, but the facts seem to state that Ed had contact with one, if not both of them, both during and after filming. There are emails to prove it. And if he did, then how are we supposed to believe anything he said to Jillian on the show?

-Both Jillian and Ed say they are happy right now. She says he has not lied to her, he’s been open with her, she knows about both women, and she trusts him. I guess time will tell. Honestly, it’s a sad story really. It’s pathetic. I don’t hate Jillian and Ed. I never hated Jason and Molly. I don’t hate anybody. If these couples end up making it, I will gladly eat crow and congratulate them. But until I see them walk down the aisle, I will always have my doubts. How can I not at this point considering what this show has produced? All I’ve ever wanted in anything was the truth. I’d love to hear Ed’s side of everything in all this. Until then, all I wanted to do today was lay out the stories that are being presented right now, and have all of you make up your own mind on who you want to believe. Is Ed telling the truth? If he’s not, does that mean Jillian should just ditch the guy tomorrow? Is this something they could possibly work through if he did lie about the contact he had with Lindsey and Bethany? This is going to be interesting watching how it’ll play out. I, for one, am going to stand by and observe for the time being.

-I’ve sat on this information for a whole week, and honestly, I’m not any more clear today on how I feel than I was a week ago. Usually when this mountain of evidence comes piling up towards one side, I’m the first guy to beat my chest and scream “Guilty!” And maybe I should in this case. Especially considering how weird I felt this season went with how everything played out. But this is Ed and Jillian’s deal, not mine. Sure, I can give my opinion, which I have numerous times. And my opinion right now is Ed has A LOT to answer to. If he chooses to continue to answer in generalizations, then I know how I’ll feel about the situation and if I had any pull, I’d suggest to Jillian to get out while she can. You know, as badly as I criticized Jason and Molly, they weathered the storm and seem to be happy. Hey, whatever works. Although I think what Jillian is dealing with is far worse than what Molly had to deal with. Everything Molly dealt with was rumors about the show being fake and what not. Jillian is dealing with infidelity issues and accusations against her fiancé that are being supported by evidence. I don’t even think its close. Jason and Molly have it easy compared to what Jillian and Ed have coming up. Lets see how this all plays out and if any new information arises. It will no doubt be interesting to see.

And oh yeah, good riddance Paula Abdul. $20 million? Are you kidding me? So you can babble incoherently and never criticize anyone? You are absolutely nuts and I’m glad you’re gone from the show. Long live Kara! Woo hoo!

Any questions, comments, emails, criticisms, praises, email me at steve@realitysteve.com.

Administrator The Bachelorette 5 - Jillian

-I don’t know what I liked more last night: the horribly planted audience members with the stupid questions, or the amounts of awkward silence on stage when Kiptyn and Reid were up there. It seemed like the first half hour was nothing but a bunch of facial expressions and people forgetting their lines. How awkward was that to watch? I can’t tell you how many times I could hear the humming of the lights in my room while Kiptyn and Reid were on stage. Here’s the problem I’ve always had with bringing the rejected bachelor or bachelorettes back. This season had the quickest turnaround from the time filming ended to the time the finale aired (2 months). In that time, the one(s) rejected at the end might labor some feelings, but lets face it, they’ve moved on. Hell half of them are usually banging somebody else by that point. Just ask Jenni from Brad’s season who was already back together with her ex, yet came to film that show and whipped up some tears for the audience. It’s usually 3 to 4 months removed from actual filming before that ATFR tapes, so do you really need answers from someone that far out after a break up? I usually only bug them for a couple weeks afterwards. Ha ha.

-So what are my thoughts after seeing Jillian and Ed together last night? The same as they were the night before. “But Steve, look how happy they were, and she’s even moving in with him.” Yeah, even better. The fact she’s moving in with the guy in a month, in my mind, is waaaaaaay too early. That’s just gonna speed up their break up. Happy couples holding hands and kissing on the “ATFR” means nothing in the history of this show. So did Andrew and Jen. So did Bob and Estella. So did Meredith and Ian. So did Travis and Sarah. So did Lorenzo and Jen. So did Matt and Shayne. So did DeAnna and Jesse. Hell, DeAnna and Jesse were giving us video and photo updates on essentially what they had for breakfast for 6 months telling us how much they were in love with each other, spending time with each others families, etc. How’d that work out for them? Look, I know every couple is different, but, I’ll play the odds on this one. Your experience on the show is completely removed from reality and what relationships are really about. Hence the reason this show is 1-for-17 in producing a marriage. I’ll stick with those odds. So when these two eventually break up for whatever reason, just remember what your reaction was after last night’s lovefest and I’ll remind you what you saw last night doesn’t mean anything. The final couple is ALWAYS happy at the “ATFR” show.

-So many of you were disappointed that they didn’t announce who the next Bachelor was going to be last night. I don’t know why since they’ve done many “ATFR” shows without announcing who the next one was. Here’s some statistical data to remember regarding this show. Only two of the thirteen Bachelors have been recycled (Bob and Jason), but all five Bachelorettes were (Trista, Meredith, Jen, DeAnna, and Jillian). Interesting dynamic. I wonder if there’s any rhyme or reason to that? However, they are on a mini streak right now as the last three seasons they’ve shown have been with recycled people (DeAnna, Jason, and Jillian). If you’re gonna go by Monday night’s finale, then you’d think they’re setting it up to be Reid. The Kiptyn rumor has been floating around for the last month or so, and the fact it hasn’t been confirmed I think pretty much kills that. Plus, the audience reaction to him isn’t anywhere near what it’s been for Reid. So if they do choose someone from this season, my guess is it would be Reid. But I have no idea where their head is at and Chris Harrison reiterated in his blog today once again that the next Bachelor hasn’t been chosen.

-And even though “US Weekly” hinted towards it last week, and Jillian even gave her endorsement for it in an interview, you can officially cross Michael Stagliano and his twin brother off the list for possibly being the next “Bachelor”. Why? Because Michael is now dating Holly Durst. I knew about this last week but I was told to wait until after this past weekend before saying anything since Holly went to visit him in NY. Apparently things went well since Monday morning, both of them had changed their facebook status to “In a Relationship” (with the other persons name) on each of their pages, so obviously they don’t care that people know. Wow. That didn’t take long. I knew they really hit it off when he was in L.A. for the “Men Tell All”, and I to see she made a quick turnaround to go see him in NY was a telling sign. Not to mention all of her tweets recently about how in love she is. Hey, maybe she is. Or maybe she isn’t. I don’t know. I haven’t watched their relationship on TV nor do I know of any ex-girlfriends floating around ready to speak. I guess we’ll see how it goes. Holly is an acquaintance of mine as most of you probably heard the interview so I wish her the best. I just thought that immediately going to “In a Relationship” status within a span of two weeks was awfully bold of them. I guarantee Facebook has caused A LOT of arguments between couples based on that “In a Relationship” status. That thing can get very tricky.

-Jillian wrote her final blog on People.com that you can see right here. What I find interesting is that last night on the show, they said they haven’t been apart more than five days total since the show ended. Then in the blog she says they spent “all summer together (every two weeks for five days at a time)”. Ummmm, so which one is it? Last time I checked, those are completely different statement. Saying you’ve spent all but five days together since filming ended two months ago means we’re looking at spending 55 of a possible 60 days together. Seeing each other “every two weeks for five days at a time” equates to 10 days a month, for a total of 20 days in two months. Wow. Two months into their relationship and they’re already lying to us. Nice. What’s next? Ed is a tiger in the bedroom? Oh yeah, they already disgustingly addressed that last night. Did Jillian really allude to how much they have sex last night? Classy. It’s bad enough we have to think of that guy in his awful European trunks, now we have to picture him doing it with someone other than his ex? Great. I think I’ll pass. But really, thanks for offering that bit of info last night. We were dying to hear how frequently you guys have sex. No, seriously.

-I wanted to share something with everyone that I don’t think I’ve ever posted before. Just with all the shenanigans that happened this season, and all the manipulation and editing I’ve been telling you about. This is an email that Brad Womack wrote to his cousin shortly after his finale aired and he’d dumped Jenni and DeAnna. No, this isn’t a private email that I got a hold of. If you google Brad Womack, you can find this thing on the internet. I’ve always had it in my possession because I think it’s one of the more telling things ever written about the behind the scenes stuff that goes on. And lets remember, Brad just wasn’t any contestant. He was the “Bachelor”. So for him to say this I think speaks volumes. For those that question the validity of it, I can assure you it’s authentic because, well, I’ve spoken to Brad about it and he confirmed he wrote it. I also recently brought it up with DeAnna and she confirmed that’s basically what Brad told her. So before we put a close on this season, just wanted to bring this to your attention. Here’s the email he wrote to his cousin:

(Name),

I don’t really know where to begin my email because I don’t know if you’re
part of the half of America that is disgusted with my choice or part of the
half that respects it. I am hoping that you are of the latter; if not, I
hope this email will at least answer some of the questions that have been
thrown my way in the last few days.

First, let me say this. I did not ask to do the show; a friend of mine
submitted my information because she thought I would make a good candidate.
In fact, my initial reaction to the producers was “absolutely not”.
Hollywood can be very convincing when it wants to be and after some time I
agreed to give it a shot. I truly went on The Bachelor to try to find a
good woman that I may develop strong feelings for. That is the only reason.
I did not go on it for publicity of the bars. I did not go on it to use as
some sort of “stepping stone” into entertainment. I simply went on the show
to use it as it was meant to be used…to try to find a romantic interest.
Yes, it’s unconventional but also adventurous at the same time.

I had no idea what I was getting myself into (but that is another story that
would take too long to write in an email). I want to clear up some
misconceptions of the general public that I can only hope you and the rest
of the family are not inclined to believe.

First: Due to my contract, I was NOT ALLOWED to tell the women that I wasn’t
interested in them until the respective rose ceremonies. In other words, if
I realized a relationship was not going to come out of the show, no matter
how early on this revelation may have happened, I simply could not walk off
the show. I was constantly reminded there was a show to make and that I
would be sued for breach of contract. I never one time misled the
ladies…NOT ONCE. I was not allowed to tell anyone that my feelings
weren’t strong enough to try to build a relationship on. I never once
uttered the word love. The only time I mentioned “soulmate”, and I promise
you with everything that I have that this is true, the producers edited that
sentence to make it sound as if I labled Deanna as my soulmate, which I
assure you I didn’t. I admit that I did say that she was everything I was
looking for. I said she’d make a great wife. I said I could see spending
my life with someone like Deanna. What America wasn’t shown is that in
every interview that I said things like that about the women I immediately
followed up those statements with a “but”. “Deanna would make a great
wife….BUT, I don’t understand why I don’t see her as my wife”. Things
like that were said the entire show but were never aired.

Second: The only reason I went ring shopping is because it was part of the
show’s itinerary. I wasn’t asked if I wanted to buy a ring…I was TOLD I
was going to be filmed buying a ring. That particular day took place almost
five days prior to the final rose ceremony and even then I knew a proposal
wasn’t going to take place. I informed the producers of this and that is
when things started to turn interestingly different. I was no longer their
“golden boy” and I began to get the impression that I was going to be thrown
under the editorial bus. People think I kept the ring. I had the ring in
my possession for all of 2 hours MAXIMUM. In fact, (name), I told the
producers that there is NO WAY I would ever allow anyone to buy a ring that
I was going to give to a woman I love. I was very clear about the fact that
if I was going to propose to someone I would buy my own ring.

Third (and this is a biggie): I NEVER ASKED THE PRODUCERS TO FLY DEANNA’S
FATHER OUT TO THE FINAL ROSE CEREMONY. What actually happened is I was
adamant about the fact that if I ever propose to a woman I would have to ask
her father, face to face, for her hand in marriage. I said a phone call
would not be sufficient because I would want to look him in the eye and ask
for her hand. A day later I was told that Deanna’s father was in route to
Malibu. I was shocked. When I realized there was no turning back, I asked
for a mere hour to talk to her father and explain that 1) I didn’t request
his presence, 2) I wanted to apologize for the show wasting his time, and 3)
I wanted to tell him that as much as I cared for Deanna I was not in love
with her and did not intend on proposing to her. I think the world of
Deanna’s family and I always will.
(Reality Steve Update: It was confirmed to me that Brad was never given the
chance to have this meeting with her father even after asking for it).

I don’t have commitment issues. In fact, the majority of my adult life has
been spent in some incredible, long term, committed relationships. What I
do fear is wasting time. As good of a person as Deanna is I didn’t feel a
single bit of falling in love. So why lead her on? Why try to start a
relationship based on “Bachelor protocal”?? My goodbye to both women may
have seemed harsh because of the brutal honesty. If I need to work on being
more sympathetic than I will accept that. All I can say is I’ve had women
at one point or other say to me “I don’t love you anymore”. As much as it
hurt me at the time, I later greatly appreciated the honesty. I would much
rather have someone tell me that than string me along or toy with my heart.

No one in this world is perfect. All I know is I can walk away from this
experience with my head held very high. I know in my heart that I was
honest with all parties involved. I never one time lied or said and/or did
anything that I didn’t mean or want to do.

I hope you all had a very happy Thanksgiving and that you are doing well.

Brad

Good stuff. And you think Wes is the only one who got a bad edit? This guy was specifically stating he couldn’t see DeAnna as his wife on camera during his ITM’s, yet all America is shown is the first half of the sentence. From the minute Brad’s finale ended I’ve always thought that outside of Charlie’s season, his was my favorite ending. Never really understood the backlash against a guy just because he didn’t propose or choose one woman in the end. Why? The guy admitted he didn’t see a future with either of them so by choosing one of them, wouldn’t that be leading them on? Anyway, I know it’s old news and no need to bring up a season that happened two years ago, but I’ve always thought this email was a good indicator of how this show really works. Can’t believe I’d never printed it before. I guess I just figured a lot of people had seen it already since you can find it by googling his name.

-And what better way to close out this “Bachelorette” season than with a plug for our boy Wes. Ha ha. You know you love it. Call it kissing ass, call it whatever you want, I consider the guy a friend now so I will take this time to plug his appearance tomorrow night at the Glass Cactus in Grapevine, Texas. A few of us are headed out there tomorrow night and it should be a great time. I know a lot of you are either love it or hate it when it comes not only to Wes, but also country music. As I’ve said, I’ve never been a fan. Don’t despise it in the least bit, I just don’t buy much of it unless Carrie Underwood’s hot ass is on the cover. Ha ha. Anyway, Wes appeared on “Good Morning Texas” yesterday morning to do an interview and perform. No, he didn’t sing the song you all know and love. He actually does an acoustic version of “Gettin’ Around”, and I gotta tell you, I think it was a pretty damn good performance. The guy is a talented artist. Here are the links to the post show (internet only) interview he did, plus, his musical performance. Come on and check out the show if you’re in the DFW area. And if not, give the performance a listen and let me know what you think, regardless of if you’re a country fan or not.

Post show interview:

Musical Performance:

That’s it for this season for the time being. It’s had its ups and had its downs, but all in all, it was a good time. Trust me when I tell you I am still trying to work on letting some more information out about this season in general. I just need to see how I’m gonna go about doing this. Keep checking back periodically to RealitySteve.com for updates. No “Reality Roundup” Friday as I’m sure I’ll be three sheets to the wind on Thursday night, plus, my niece and nephew are in town tomorrow so that should keep me occupied. I will update when I can. Join on Facebook and Twitter, and don’t forget to purchase the last remaining RealitySteve.com merchandise before we’re all out. As always, any questions, comments, feedback, praises, criticisms, and anything else you’d like to ask, email me at steve@realitysteve.com. Talk to you soon.

Administrator The Bachelorette 5 - Jillian

-Woops. Didn’t see that one coming. Yes, I said it’d either be Ed or no one since I was 100% sure it wasn’t Kiptyn and 99% sure it wasn’t Reid. But that ending did take me by surprise since, well, there was no surprise at all. We all knew Reid was coming back, and if the guy was going to take time to come back, you’d figure it’d be to propose, and he did. But as Chris Harrison so eloquently stated when Jillian needed time to think about Reid, “If Ed was the man you woke up this morning knowing you were going to pick, then that’s your answer.” Like anyone thought for a second she was going to take him back. Anyway, more on that later. Let’s get to the “EXTRA” piece that aired last night. If you didn’t see it, here it is:

Uhhh, woops. Couple things to note about this interview. It took about fifteen minutes total and I did most of the talking. I know how “EXTRA” works where they cram about 100 entertainment stories into a 30 minute show, so I knew my face time wouldn’t be long. And I’m not complaining about the editing at all, just know I obviously had a lot more stuff to say. And really Mario? I follow the show “24/7″? Ha ha. Not quite. I do have a life outside of this show, despite what some of you may think. I did repeat that it was either going to be Ed or no one and I was sure it wasn’t Kiptyn and 99% sure it wasn’t Reid. But of course they ran the “There was not an engagement I can almost guarantee that” and “If I had to guess, I’d say right now she’s single” quotes. Oops. 0-for-2. See, I told you I didn’t know the ending this season. The only thing I knew was that it wasn’t Kiptyn or Reid. But that didn’t necessarily mean it was Ed. With the way they promoted the finale, and the way Jillian had been talking, it just didn’t seem like she was with anyone. But hey, give ABC credit. They coached her well not reveal her hand and she didn’t.

-A couple thoughts from the show since I never do a full recap for the finale. We all saw it. No need to talk about parent interaction when all anyone really cares about is the final result. But here are some quick thoughts of stuff that went on early in the episode:

-I loved Ed telling Jillian’s parents he could not stop thinking of her and he just had to come back to see her. Really? Ummm, not what I heard. Look, I’m not gonna get into the whole girlfriend thing back home regarding Ed. Yet. Let a couple days pass, lets see where her head is at, but I will say this again. If any of you think that what you saw last night was real, you’ve got another thing coming. Hopefully sooner rather than later. I mean, the guy that was one of the five added guys on the first night, who gets to leave mid-show to attend “business matters”, comes back and is the final one she picks? Really? Uh, huh. I believe it. Three months I give Jillian and Ed. Tops. Not a chance this thing lasts. Especially when she’s looking at a handle now of Jillian Swiderski. Lovely.

-When Ed was talking to Jillian’s dad, I sat there in amazement. Her dad told both guys for that matter, that he’d approve of them asking for his daughters hand in marriage. Look, even if Jillians dad spent all 24 hours of the day with Ed, even though he didn’t, lets just say he did for the sake of argument. I’m sorry, no father knows after 24 hours whether or not some guy is the one for his daughter. Not a chance in hell. I say this every season, which is why the show is a joke. You need a little more to go off of than a couple outdoor patio conversations. Mr. Harris, you might like Ed. Hell, you might love the guy and he blew you away. You might even like him better than Kiptyn. But don’t say after one day you give the guy your blessing to marry your daughter. Total BS. You know nothing about the guy other than the lines he’s feeding you. Totally ridiculous.

-At least Kiptyn showed up to meet the parents in something presentable. Like an awful light blue checkered shirt that looked like a tablecloth for an outside picnic they were gonna have. Nice duds. I thought I saw that shirt at Mervyn’s on the clearance rack for about $5.99. I’ve really never disliked Kiptyn. I mean, there really isn’t much to dislike about the guy. Seems nice, good looking guy, has an 18 pack abs, and does children’s charity work. I just thought he didn’t show much personality on the show. Didn’t really feel like I knew anything about him and he’s been on my TV every Monday night since May 18th. And apparently Jillian saw the same thing since she likes dudes who can’t get it up in the bedroom, fart at rose ceremonies, thought enough of her to take off in the middle of the show to go play around with his woman in Chicago, only to come back and say how much he couldn’t stop thinking of her. Good pick. Be sure to tell me where Mr. & Mrs. Ed Swiderski are registered so I can get you something for the wedding.

-Of course, what a episode wouldn’t be complete without Ed in Hawaii wearing his European swim trunks. I honestly think he’s just wearing those things as a joke to draw attention to himself. Seriously. No self respecting guy would be caught dead with those things on. Then again, this is Ed we’re dealing with. It is going to be a rollicking good time when the truth comes out about this guy. All in good time, my friends. All in good time. And any help from his lady friend in Chick-ag-o would be nice. I think we might even be able to categorize Ed in the same breath as a Jason Mesnick. Easily manipulated. I just can’t tell you how curious I find it that I reported at the beginning of the season two guys were offered money to come on the show but turned it down. Then we see a twist where five extra guys are added on the first night (two of them making the final three), and one of them being the final one, who left mid-season to attend to “business matters”. All very bizarre to me. Hey, I don’t put anything past this show.

-I love Reid going to the “You have no idea how many strings I had to pull to get back out here” card. Sure you did, Reid. Dude, you got eliminated in Hawaii. You honestly think that we believe you flew all the way back to Philly, had a change of heart, and had them fly you all the way back to Hawaii? How about you went back to your hotel room, stayed there an extra day, and once the storyline was concocted that you’d come back the day of the final rose ceremony to propose to Jillian, that’s when you decided to go along with everything. Sounds more like it. I understand a lot of you, once again, are falling into the trap of believing that what Reid did took a lot of guts, was so romantic, and you feel heart broken for him right now. Well, then you don’t know this show too well. A lot of you, in fact probably most of you, believed Reid was so in love with Jillian that he had to come back and do that in his outfit best suited for wearing to a WNBA game. I’m here to tell you otherwise. Reid came back and did that because Reid was told to come back to do that. He didn’t do that on his own. No guy would go back to a girl who just dumped him and propose marriage, I’m sorry. Sure, he can go back and tell her, “I think you made a mistake. I really want you to re-think this. I think we’re right for each other. Give me a second chance.” But really? A proposal? Dude, she just dumped you for Euro Richie and boring Kiptyn. Once again, there is a storyline, and certain guys follow these storylines because they feel they’re supposed to. I don’t believe for a second that anything Reid said last night was genuine, and I’m sure 99% of the hopeless romantics who were crying last night disagree with that take. And that’s perfectly fine. Just know what you saw last night wasn’t real.

-So where does that leave us for tonight? Well, Kiptyn and Reid come back to confront Jillian, and we get an interview with Melissa updating us on her wonderful life since the show ended. Then more puke inducing material with Ed and Jillian together telling us how much they are trying to convince themselves they’re in love with each other. Do I think there’s gonna be some sort of change of heart tonight, or maybe that they’re not engaged anymore? I don’t think so. As far as I know after watching last night’s show, these two are together. Right now. Can’t say they will be in a few months. I just can’t imagine if you’re Jillian, when you hear the stories that you’re going to hear about the guy, that you will immediately turn a deaf ear to everything. This stuff will end up grating on her and ultimately end their relationship in my opinion. Yeah, it’s that bad. But hey, until then, make the rounds on the talk show circuit and tell everyone how madly in love you are with Ed’s bowl haircut. This is a television show, first and foremost. They can call it “reality” television all they want, but that pretty much means “scripted.” This show has produced one marriage in 17 seasons. Why would I put any stock into these two walking down the aisle, especially with as many stories floating around there about this season that there’s already been. Jillian and Ed fans, I wouldn’t get your hopes up. Seriously. I don’t really think I’m being Nostradamus here when I say these two aren’t gonna last. Sorry to burst your love bubble.

-So I’ll be back tomorrow with a few thoughts on the ATFR show and to wrap up this whole season. Maybe I’ll have some new info on a possible interview coming up (no, not with Wes). Could be someone from this season, or it could be someone from seasons past. I definitely feel it’s gonna happen but don’t want to let it out of the bag just yet. Plus, check back tomorrow for a really funny video concerning next seasons “Bachelor”. I think you’ll like this one. I sure did. Made me realize how hopeless this show can be. Ha ha.

The merchandise store is down to its last legs in terms of our first shipment orders being sold out. Depending on sales, we could be done by this weekend, so get it while you can. I know we still have at least one of everything in stock, just not sure on the sizes for each one. So check that out while you can, still $3 off everything in the store. I’m like Crazy Eddie right now getting rid of this stuff. Also, you can join me on Facebook or Twitter by going down the right hand column to “My Stuff” and clicking there. As always any questions, comments, emails, praises, criticisms, or your thoughts on the finale, feel free to email me at steve@realitysteve.com. Be back tomorrow.

Administrator The Bachelorette 5 - Jillian

-Sorry I’m a couple days late, but in case you don’t follow me on Twitter or Facebook, you will know that Friday got a little hectic. Around noon I got an email from EXTRA TV asking if they could do a Skype interview with me that would air on Monday night before the finale. So of course I was interested in something like that, however, I didn’t have a webcam nor had I downloaded Skype yet. So I ran to the store, bought a camera, created a Skype account, and did the interview. They just asked me my predictions for what I think happens in the finale, and I told them pretty much exactly what I said in this column two weeks ago (which we’ll get to later). So that took up most of Friday and I apologize for the two day delay. The interview is set to air on tonight’s episode of “EXTRA”, so check your local listings for when it’s on. I’m working on getting a link to it once it airs and I’ll put it up on the site for people that miss it. No, Maddie did not make an appearance. She was sleeping in the other room. It’s just me sitting at my computer in front of the camera. Very bizarre being able to communicate with someone that way. Just think, fifteen years ago I got my first cell phone and was stoked that Verizon gave 20 free minutes a month! Now I can have a conversation on the computer with someone while looking at them for free. Crazy.

“Jon & Kate”

-This isn’t necessarily about them but one of the new women Jon is “involved” with. The first pictures we saw of him with a new chick was with the 22 year old daughter of the doctor who performed Kate’s tummy tuck, Hailey Glassman. Excellent choice Jon because we all know that 22 year old potheads fresh off of Spring Break are ready to be in a serious relationship with a 33 year old guy suffering a mid-life crisis who is recently divorced and has eight children. I see wedding bells in their future, no doubt. That is, of course, if he doesn’t stop spending weekends in the Hamptons with “Star” magazine reporters. Man, this guy is finally free after ten years in handcuffs and he can’t wait to start spreading his seed everywhere. Calm down, Jon. Just days after pictures surfaced of he and Hailey in a NY park holding hands, then another one surfaces of him leaving a NY restaurant with Kate Major, a reporter for “Star” magazine. Kate says they’re just friends and leaves it at that. Three days pass by, Kate and Jon are reportedly staying with Michael Lohan in the Hamptons, Hailey has no idea Jon is even seeing someone else, and Kate Major resigns her post at “Star” due to a “conflict of interest” because she’s “fallen for Jon.” Awesome. You couldn’t write this stuff.

-Anyway, the point I’m getting at here is once I saw the picture of Jon and Kate Major leaving the NY restaurant, something struck me. Her name sounded very familiar. Then when I read she was a reporter for “Star” magazine I realized this is the same woman I spoke to at “Star” when I broke the Jason/Molly/Melissa news last season, the same woman who I did the email interview with this season on the “Bachelorette” guys allegedly being paid to appear, and the same woman I’ve been in contact with since the beginning of this season through email. So naturally, when I first saw the picture at the restaurant, I sent her a quick email basically saying, “Hey, I’m sure you’re getting bombarded but sorry that happened to you. All you did was have dinner with the guy and now you’re being pinned as his new girlfriend.” Then three days later she quits her job saying she’s “fallen for him.” So what did I do yesterday? Well seeing is she doesn’t work for “Star” magazine anymore and she probably didn’t get my email, I texted her. We’ve traded texts a few times over the last month or so. So I asked Kate Major if there is any way she’ll come on and do an interview with me explaining everything that’s gone down. Haven’t heard back, and honestly, I’d be shocked if I did. But hey, I tried. I need to ask her what she really sees in a recently divorced 33 year old who wears Ed Hardy shirts, is constantly on his blue tooth, and how serious she is about getting serious with a guy with eight kids and a mega bitch of an ex-wife. Kate, the floor is yours. I anxiously awaiting a return response.

“More To Love”

-This is the “Bachelor/ette” spin off show by genius Mike Fleiss that begins airing tomorrow night after the “ATFR” show. Same exact premise as the “Bachelor”, pretty much the same format as well, but everyone on the show is overweight. The “Bachelor” guy I believe is 330 lbs and I believe the skinniest girl on the show is 180lbs. A lot of you have asked me if I’m going to be covering this show. I mean, I’ll watch it, but if you’re expecting a “Bachelor” type column every week about it, that’s not gonna happen. I don’t really know how to say this other than the show itself is already a joke, so nothing that I add will make it any funnier. I’m going to take the advice of Chris Rock, whose most recent comedy special aired again on HBO last night and that I watched for the 3rd time. What he said pretty much fits well into my feelings about this show. Essentially he says if you’re overweight, you can curse out the skinny bitches all day long, and no one bats an eye. Fat people are constantly whining about, “She’s too skinny. Look at her. Ya’ anoxeric, peanut eating, bulimic son of a bitch.” But if you’re skinny and a size 2, you can’t talk about fat people and make fun of them. Why? “That’s just mean.” And its true. Overweight people are constantly jealous and bitching about skinny women and no one tells them to shut up. But if you’re a smoking hot model, what good does it do to call some overweight person a “fat pig”. Makes you look like a conceited ass. Bottom line: There’s no need to cover this show. I’d much rather make fun of wannabe models and reality stars than overweight people. That’s just me. I’ll stick to the “Bachelor” and “Bachelorette” franchise, thank you.

“America’s Got Talent”

-I like this show. I do. It’s totally corny, cheesy, and completely over-the-top, but it is what it is. That’s what you get when you host a talent show. A bunch of goofy ass people doing stupid sh** to get on TV. No surprise there. And it seems like the audition episodes have been going for about three months now. I don’t even remember half the acts that made it through to Vegas. No idea. I just always find it amazing that when they get to the top 10 or 20, usually over half the people left are singers. So isn’t this basically “American Idol Lite?” The little red headed girl, Bianca Ryan, won season 1. She’s a singer. Terry Fator won season two as the singing comedian ventriloquist. And last season, the big guy Neil was an opera singer. Look, if the winning prize is a million dollars and headlining a Vegas show, then it stands to reason the winner is probably going to have to be either a singer or a comedian. I guess a dance troupe could headline a Vegas show, but nothing that I’ve seen this year is that good. You pretty much know when you watch these acts what even has a remote chance of winning and what doesn’t. And you also know that the very first act they show in the auditions will always be an absolute bomb that gets booed off stage and the last act they, the “final act of the day”, is always some inspirational singer that has a background story which will make you cry. Pretty much a given with this show.

“The Bachelorette” Finale

-As I stated two weeks ago in my “Bachelorette Recap 7/13/09″, I gave everyone my opinion of what I THINK happens tonight. Yes, I knew the ending last season. This season I don’t. Trust me, if I knew what was going to happen, I’d tell you. Didn’t stop me last season, so I don’t see why it would’ve this season. However, I have a pretty good idea by all the information I’ve gathered over the last month and I stated that two weeks ago. Nothing has really changed over the last couple weeks in regards to what I think happens. I’m just starting to feel a little more strongly about a couple of things. Chris Harrison tweeted yesterday that the last hour of the show is one of the best hours they’ve ever done. Yes, I know, Chris is the king of hyperbole, but seriously, he wouldn’t put that out there if something dramatic didn’t happen. As for Jillian, we know in all interviews she certainly isn’t acting like someone who’s in love, engaged, or if she even is seeing anyone. Could that be because ABC told her not to give anything away or is that just how she feels? Guess we’ll find out. I’m leaning towards the latter. Jillian in interviews has also eluded to the fact that something pretty wild goes down in the last 5 minutes of the show. Also, we’ve been told one of the guys has a “confession” to make. So with all that being said, here’s what I know for a fact:

-The final 1 is not Kiptyn: Since the last five minutes of the show are crazy, I can logically assume Kiptyn will be the first one out of the limo and to the altar so she can dump him.

Also, I have it on pretty good authority that this will not be a regular ending where one guy proposes, she says yes, and everyone is happy. Something is going to go down either before, during, or after the FRC which is why it’s unlike anything we’ve seen. So with that said, what you’ll see in the “EXTRA” piece airing tonight is me giving my predictions for what I think happens. I said it two weeks ago, and I’ll say it again: I don’t think we are going to get any definitive resolution at the end of this episode tonight. There will be some sort of cliffhanger involving Ed and the reappearance of Reid. Maybe Ed doesn’t propose and they’re just dating. Maybe Ed proposes, then Reid proposes, and she tells them she needs time to make her decision. Maybe Ed proposes and she says no. Maybe she already is engaged. I just think that if they’re gonna schedule an “ATFR” tomorrow night, then there’s gotta be a reason for the audience to tune in. They’ve had enough of the “happy couple” ATFR’s that they gotta know, at this point, that’s not good enough anymore. So even though I’m not giving a definitive answer here, I’ll just say that tonight we will not see any sort of conclusion to Jillian’s journey, they will leave us with a cliffhanger, and we will learn more come Tuesday. The reappearance of Reid, and Ed being a douchenozzle will end up playing a role into Jillian’s ultimate decision, which I think we’ll get on Tuesday night. I have a feeling tonight we’re gonna get left in the dark on what, if any, decision Jillian made regarding Ed and Reid. If you go to ABC’s site, in the ad for the Bachelorette it even says, “Trust us, you won’t believe what happens.” So can we really expect this thing to end with a normal engagement? I just don’t see it. She is either with Ed, or she is with no one. That’s my opinion, and I’m sticking to it. And if she is with Ed, I’ll say they last about 3 months. Tops. Enjoy the show tonight.

-One last thing about Ed since a lot of you have been asking. I mentioned a couple weeks ago about rumors of a girlfriend back home, and I left it at that: a rumor. Sure I’ve made jokes about it since where there’s smoke, there’s fire. But never once have I stated for a fact that I’ve confirmed Ed had a girlfriend while on the show. And I still won’t. Only because this girl in question has refused to speak to me as of now. She’s told people through three different channels that she is going to lay low for a bit. However, I’m beginning to think there’s some legitimacy to all this. If Ed gets painted in a good light tonight, I’d say watch out. I have a feeling that isn’t gonna sit well and this story is going to have legs. She knows I’m looking for her and she has free reign to talk to me whenever she wants, but if not, don’t think she might not run her mouth somewhere else. I hate to break it to all you “Jed” fans (god I hate those ridiculous celebrity couple names), but your boy is not a saint. Far from it. Too many people have come forward admitting he’s a snake and not nearly enough people are defending him. Brought on the show late as one of the five extra guys, leaves mid-show to attend to “business” matters, comes back professing his love and now he wants to be married? Please. Not buying it. We’ll see what happens tonight, but I’ve got a feeling this isn’t over. Especially since there are emails and texts from Ed to his ex proving otherwise that are out there and that people have seen. If I were her, I’d come forward with all this, but hey, that’s just me. Kinda ironic how they painted Wes all season as the guy with the girlfriend back home, yet, it could end up being the guy who ends up the final one who had a girlfriend all along. Stay tuned.

Any questions, comments, emails, praises, criticisms, your thoughts on the finale, feel free to email me at steve@realitysteve.com.

Administrator Reality Roundup, The Bachelorette 5 - Jillian

Whether or not you like the guy, ABC has made it perfectly clear who the most talked about person this season is about, and its certainly not Jillian. I figured since Wes didn’t get a chance to defend himself on Monday’s “MTA” episode, he could do it right here. If you’d like to hear what he has to say, I suggest you listen to the interview. If you’re sick of him, then don’t listen. I think it’s a pretty telling interview that really covers a lot of what you people have been wanting to know. When Monday’s episode dedicates four different segments of their show to a guy who’s not there, then it’s obvious they had an agenda. Wes wanted to be there, he just wasn’t allowed to. This 35 minute interview is a look at a few things which weren’t discussed the first time around, plus some new information regarding a letter Wes wrote to Jillian that was never shown on TV and some damaging evidence to what Tanner P. has been saying all show. Other topics:

-What has been the reaction from club promoters and bar owners who have scheduled Wes’ band to perform?
-Which guys from the show does Wes keep in touch with?
-What is his reaction to Chris Harrison’s blog from Monday saying Wes only wanted to come on the show after “making sure all the other guys would back him up”?
-If Tanner P. and Wes are boys, why does Tanner keep throwing him under the bus – on the show and at the MTA taping?
-If Jake and Tanner both claim Wes told them about a girlfriend back home, why hasn’t ABC produced one shred of video or audio evidence to these conversations if cameras are rolling all day long and there are microphones everywhere?
-What did the letter he wrote to Jillian in Spain say? Why’d he write it?
-Plus, email questions from you the readers

I felt it was pretty bush league of ABC to not allow the guy on the show Monday only to then turn around and mock the guy for two hours. This is his forum to speak on that issue, plus tell everyone that despite the negativity, he will get through this. I know there are some of you that just want this all to go away, and that’s fine. I feel as an avid critic of this show to make sure all sides are told. Anyone else that wants to speak to me, I’d be more than glad to put them on. But considering outside of Jason Mesnick, this is the most talked about bachelor in recent memory, I felt it was appropriate for him to be able to defend himself. If that makes me a kiss ass, then so be it. Direct your shots at me. I’m a big boy. I can handle it. Hope you enjoy the interview. Click on the link below to listen:

Wes Hayden Interview #2 (35 min)

“Reality Roundup” returns tomorrow with a look at the Jon & Kate situation, “Americas Got Talent”, Paula Adbul’s contract negotiations, my final thoughts on what to expect in the “Bachelorette” finale, plus more. As always, any questions, comments, emails, praises, criticisms, email me at steve@realitysteve.com. See you tomorrow.

Administrator Interviews, The Bachelorette 5 - Jillian

-Lets immediately get started. A lot to get to. For those that follow me on Twitter or are a Facebook friend (if you haven’t joined either, just scroll down the right hand column and under “My Stuff”, just click away), you were aware that I attended Wes’ concert this past Saturday night in Ft Worth. Am I a country music fan? Not really. I didn’t grow up around it so I can’t say that I’m a fan, but it doesn’t make my ears bleed to listen to. Do I have a few country songs downloaded to my ipod? Sure. Are there Garth Brooks posters on my wall? No. Carrie Underwood? Hmmmm, now that’s a different story. Anyway, what I’m getting at is I wasn’t necessarily a country music fan before I went, and it’s not like I’m a converted one now after I attended the show. Just thought it would be a good opportunity to get out, see Wes’ play, meet the guy in person, and have a good time on Saturday night. And that we did.

-Lets put one rumor to rest since I got a couple emails on this: No, I did not do any pole dancing. Hell, I would admit that if I did. Yes, there was a pole off to the side of the stage that I remember some guy using as her personal phallic symbol, but no, that wasn’t me. I was too busy downing shots of Jack that Wes forced me to drink. The night started getting a little hazy after about 1 or 2 o’clock. It was really a good time all around. The crowd was really into it, Wes did his thing, and even gave Reality Steve a shout out before one of his songs. Very appreciative of that. And those that were in attendance got an idea of how Wes’ feels about ABC and what the show did to him. He let them know on more than one occasion. I got to really spend some quality time with the guy Sat. night and into Sunday afternoon since, well, someone wasn’t in any position to drive back to Dallas, so I ended up crashing at the hotel where they were staying. It’s been a while since I had one of those nights, but nonetheless, it was fun. And just think, we’ll be back at it again on July 30th at the Glass Cactus in Grapevine when he’s in town performing with Joe Nichols. Good thing that place is only 20 minutes from me. I might actually be able to drive home after the show. Or not. Maybe I’ll just chill at the Gaylord hotel.

-As for what was said, Wes couldn’t have re-iterated enough that he didn’t have a girlfriend on the show, didn’t have one before he went on, and didn’t have one after. There were also band members, a manager, close friends, and a sister who backed him up on all of this. If people want to continue to think he did, I don’t know what to say. As for the “Men Tell All” no show last night, yes, Wes initially said he didn’t want to do it. Then a day before filming, he did say he wanted to defend himself and ABC basically said, “Stay home. We don’t think it’s a good idea.” But if you listen to Chris Harrison’s explanation in his blog today as to why Wes changed his mind, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Ridiculous claim that Chris makes, really. “In the end, he didn’t amount to much on this show”. What? Chris, he’s been the talk of the season, he made the final four, and you basically dedicated the last half hour of the show to busting his balls by calling him out and making a video tribute to him. But he didn’t amount to much on the show? Oh, ok. That is such a ridiculous statement and contradicts everything this show has presented Wes as. Chris is a company man and he’s doing what he’s told, however, to not have Wes on to defend himself doesn’t do anything but lend credibility to what he’s been saying in the interview with me and what he’s said in other interviews. A very good piece written by Andy Dehnart over at RealityBlurred.com that I couldn’t agree with more. To read the whole column, click here. Here’s an excerpt:

“Either way, ABC should have bent over backwards to let him show up and say his piece. If he declined the invitation, show proof, because otherwise any discussion of him seems like they’re beating up on someone who can’t defend himself.

If he was allowed to attend and repeated his accusations, let the other men, or Chris Harrison, challenge him and say he’s full of shit. Better, show the full, unedited video of his limo exit interview to prove that it wasn’t edited out of context. But keeping him away just makes him seem like the producers and network have something to hide.”

I’d say that’s pretty self-explanatory. ABC comes off looking much worse by not having Wes appear on the show. Period. And the only reason given by Chris Harrison last night was, “Wes is obviously more concerned about his career than finding love”. Puke. How about giving the real reason he wasn’t there which was ABC was scared sh**less of him reaching out to just more than my audience and a few radio station audiences telling what really happened. If they had nothing to hide, and they felt that all this stuff Wes was saying is BS, then put him on the firing line and call him out on it. Of course, they couldn’t do that because it would’ve gone against the whole character they created of him for eight episodes. Embarrassing, really. There is more to this story about what really went on in regards to the “MTA” taping, and I think we’re gonna get Wes on again this week to defend himself since he wasn’t allowed to at the taping after being told to stay home. No, it will not be another hour and a half conversation, but I do think its important people hear what was said. I’ll try and keep it to 20-30 minutes tops, so stay tuned for that. Now, on to last night.

-One contention a lot of you seem to be making in regards to Wes and the “They say love, it don’t come eeeeeeasssy” song (which is a catchy ass song that’s been stuck in my head since Saturday), is that you seem to be under the impression that, “Well, if he wrote the song just for Jillian when he was on the show, how did his band know how to play it at the hometown date.” In case you forgot, and they showed it again last night, when Wes played that song (titled “It Don’t Take That Long”) in the hometown date, it was just him up on stage with his guitar. The band didn’t play along with him. The band was there for a completely different song. So just wanted to point that out since a lot of you are using that as some sort of basis as to why you think he didn’t write the song on the show. He did. We will address this in the interview.

-I will try to just cover everything else from the show as opposed to the Wes stuff since I think he’ll do a good job of covering that himself. The plan is to have the interview up on Thursday. One thing to note about the show was that in the previews last week, they teased that we were going to see clips from the “Bachelor/ette” reunion in Vegas from a couple months ago. Well, I guess over the course of a week they decided they had SOOOO much good material from the guys, that they decided to cut that stuff out, along with a piece that DeAnna filmed, and one that Graham filmed promoting his charity, 46NYC. If you’re interested, check it out at www.46NYC.com. It’s for a good cause. I didn’t think that the guys bitching back and forth at each other last night was all that entertaining, but hey, not my call. I most certainly would’ve cut that part of it to show the Vegas reunion stuff. And really, Reid couldn’t be there due to a “prior engagement”? They really expected people to believe that? For Christ sakes, he’s the 3rd place finisher in one of the more emotional send offs they’ve had and we’re supposed to believe that he’s calling the shots on his schedule and where he can be? Please. And of course, once the final clip aired of next weeks finale and we see a shot of Reid standing looking out a window with a ring in his hand, it was all pretty obvious why he wasn’t there. Told you last week he played a major role in the finale which is the reason he wouldn’t be at the “MTA” taping and it was proven right. Then again, that wasn’t that big of a secret.

-How horrible was the crowd last night? Could they have packed the place with any more Wes haters if they tried? Geesh. Don’t make it obvious or anything. Or they were just being told to boo and hiss every time his name was brought up. Not to mention the absolute shill job being done by Chris Harrison all night. I don’t know what’s worse, him actually calling out a guy who’s not there to defend himself, or actually believing all the editing about him was true. Usually Chris is Casper Milktoast when it comes to the “MTA” shows, but last night, someone lit a fire under his ass and told him to grow a set. Safe to say that he was a flat out prick last night. Very ornery and very condescending. “Well as for Wes, we can probably figure out why he wasn’t here.” We can? Please enlighten us Chris because you’ve given no explanation whatsoever. Actually save your breath since any explanation you gave wouldn’t have been the real one anyway. Were your jeans on too tight? Someone piss in your Corn Flakes that morning? My God, quit cursing like a sailor. It was like you were ready to fight someone last night. I was worried for little Chrissie last night. It was like someone took his wittle wed wagon and broke it into pieces. Not a very happy camper last night.

-I think I’ve had enough “Man Code” talk to last me a lifetime? Did we really need a half hour on that stuff? We get it. You guys don’t like Juan because he doesn’t drink like he’s heading into rehab and fart like it’s a frat house, or curse like he’s shooting a porn. What was with all the cursing and farting jokes last night? My God, have they ever done this before? Who cast all these hooligans up on stage? I was beginning to think the 13 men on stage combined IQ didn’t reach triple digits. I honestly thought that Dave, Tanner, and Jake made themselves look worse last night than they did on the show. Dave just doesn’t get it. Plain and simple. Every time he questioned his behavior or thought maybe he did something wrong, he followed it up with a “But…” So that right there pretty much showed his insincerity. He might’ve apologized to Jillian, but I will agree with Chris on this one, you know deep down he doesn’t feel the things he said and the way he acted was wrong. Down another scotch, buddy. And if you saw this interview online with him yesterday, he said that last seasons “Bachelor” came down to him and Jason Mesnick and they chose Jason. Huh? That’s news to everyone except Dave apparently. If he’s delusional enough to think that then so be it. Not a chance in the world he was a final two choice to be the “Bachelor”. No f-in way.

-As for Jake, anyone who honestly thinks that guy could carry a “Bachelor” show for two months is kidding themselves. Really? You’d want to watch THAT guy for eight straight weeks on your television? Blech. I find nothing about that guy remotely interesting. Hey, for selfish purposes and comedic value, I’d have a field day with him if he were the “Bachelor”, but even I’m rooting against it. I have a feeling I’d make the guy cry on a weekly basis if he read the stuff that I would write about him. I just think the “holier-than-thou” approach last night was ridiculous. And him telling whoever to “f-off” seemed so staged and so forced it didn’t even fit in. The guy doesn’t even know how to get mad correctly. That f-bomb lacked any sincerity whatsoever which made it seem so rehearsed like before the show they all gathered around and said, “Ok, you get real mad at me and bring me to my boiling point. Once you do, I’ll drop an f-bomb and it’ll shock everybody.” Please. Had the opposite effect on me. Thought it was lame and forced. Lets not forget that Jake used to be an actor back in the day, so to sit here and say he’s got nothing but good intentions and didn’t use this show to further his career, especially after what Wes told us in the interview, would just be ignorant. Not saying he did, but to immediately dismiss it? I wouldn’t. And I’ll leave what I want to say about Tanner to Wes. Lets just leave it at that.

-The Jason and Molly segment was predictable. “If we can weather this storm, we can make it through anything. It’s been tough on us. People have take their shots, but we’re better for it in the end.” Yes, thank you, thank you, thank you. I just wish you two lovebirds could’ve given me a shout out by name since, well, it’s obvious you were referring to me. I’m like the guy that gets Jason all hot under the collar don’t you remember? That’s the least you could’ve done after all I’ve done for you. As for them getting married? I say it every time a couple comes out of this show, and I’ll say it again: I’ll believe it when I see it. Talk all you want about your happiness, talk about Molly moving to Seattle, talk about how in love you guys are right on cue into the camera, blah blah blah. When you finally walk down the aisle and get married, then you may turn around at the altar and give Reality Steve a big “F You”. I won’t hold my breath though. I like the 1-for-17 (about to be 1-for-18 because, lets face it, Jillian isn’t marrying any of these guys) odds I have working in my favor. Who wouldn’t?

-As for the final thoughts on next weeks finale, I still stand by what I said last week. I think Jillian is either with Ed or with no one. We know now officially that Reid comes back, and considering he’s holding a ring, I’m guessing he proposes. I just don’t think she ends up with. In fact, I’m pretty sure of it. Same with Kiptyn. I don’t know what’s happening with Ed. And after reading her blog on People.com today she’s either a good bluffer and throwing everyone off, or she’s not with anybody. Once again, she still never says she’s in love, nor does she allude to the fact there is even a man in her life. Everything is about “her decision.” Oh, and I appreciate the back handed reference to me and her “engagement standards”. You’re welcome, Jillian. That’s what I’m here for. To criticize. I guess we’ll find out next week. Regardless, she’s not marrying any of these guys anyway, so does it all really matter? Didn’t think so.

-Pretty much the rest of the show was all the guys having fun at Wes’ expense, which is what I predicted would happen last week. No surprise there. Since Wes was not allowed to defend himself, I figured that he do it right here on RealitySteve.com. And in fact, I’ll open it up to questions from you as well. We’ll let him explain side of things in regards to the “Men Tell All” but if there’s anything I forgot in the first interview that you want asked, send me an email at steve@realitysteve.com, and if I’m able to ask it, I will. Obviously, there are certain things that cannot be discussed due to contracts, but I think Wes has been pretty open at this point and he will do his best. So please send all your questions and comments to my email address, and I will see how many of your questions we can get in. Wes has been nothing but stand up with me regarding the whole situation, and I fully expect him to continue with it. All questions, comments, emails, praises, criticisms, all go to that address as well. And finally, we are almost sold out of RealitySteve.com merchandise gear, so get it while you can. I think we might have about a week left of stuff to give out, depending on the size ordered. Stay tuned this week for more from Wes.

Administrator The Bachelorette 5 - Jillian

-Lets get to a few things before starting last night’s recap. In case you’ve been under a rock since last Tuesday, you’ll see that I conducted an interview with Wes Hayden last Wednesday night. Good stuff, and regardless of how you feel about the guy, you should probably listen to it. No need to go over all your comments and reaction at this point. But just one thing I wanted to point out. Out of an hour and twenty five minutes of talking, a lot of you seem to be stuck on the fact that he said he didn’t watch the show anymore but knew about all his edits. Let me explain: I’ve seen four episodes of “Jon and Kate Plus Eight”, yet if someone asked if I watch the show, I’d say “no”. Wes obviously has watched bits and pieces of this season, but he doesn’t strap himself down every Monday night and go through each 120 minute episode with a magnifying glass. If you heard the interview, it was obvious he was in and out of last weeks episode, especially what they showed on the dinner date. But he was aware of what he said in the limo afterwards. Yes, he’s seen the episodes. All of them from beginning to end pausing and rewinding his parts? No. Lets move on.

-Here is the schedule for the remainder of the season for those that don’t know. Next Monday is the “Men Tell All” that was filmed this past Saturday in L.A. On Monday night the 27th is the 2 hour season finale. The next night, Tuesday the 28th, will be the “After the Final Rose” show. No, Wes did not attend the “MTA” taping. Neither did Reid, Ed, or Kiptyn (more on that in a bit). Wes didn’t want to go and ABC didn’t want him there for the reasons we went over in the interview. They knew they wouldn’t be able to “control” his answers and didn’t want the truth getting out, so they told him to stay home. He’s essentially a loose cannon at this point and he could only hurt them instead of help. As far as the final three, this is the first time in shows history that the guy who was eliminated at #3 (Reid) didn’t attend the “MTA” taping. The “MTA” taping is always the weekend right before the episode airs where that person goes home. Jeremy did the “MTA” taping last year, then was eliminated two nights later when the episode aired. This is a first in Bachelor history. So why wasn’t Reid at the “MTA” taping?

-The major thing to discuss with the “MTA” taping, I think, is the fact that now they have a 2 hour episode next week WITHOUT arguably the most hated bachelor in recent memory, Wes, and the guy that got let go at #3, Reid. I can guarantee you they will replay all of Wes’ quotes, and everyone will attack him. That’s pretty much a given. They’re pissed at Wes for talking to me and other stations, and that’ll be the lasting impression that the show gives him. Bottom line. Is a show with Dave, Juan, Jake, Tanner, and Sasha really going to be that entertaining? I highly doubt it. Hence the reason Jason and Molly were brought back to talk about their undying love for each other. We’ll get bloopers, a report from the “Bachelor/ette” reunion in Vegas a couple months ago, and Jillian talking about her experience. DeAnna even mentioned a couple weeks ago that she filmed a piece that is supposed to air next week as well. Was I at the “MTA” taping? No, I wasn’t. But it doesn’t mean I’m not aware of things. Lets just say that there is something I’m still working out the details on about the “MTA” tapings that I’ll have later this week. Just want to make sure I have everything in order before I possibly run with this. I’d say it’s fairly big.

-And finally, nice to see Jason and Molly are now helping out other single people. Just what we need, those two giving dating advice. Check out this link:

Jason & Molly Join the “Matchmaking Flight”

Wow. I mean, ummmm, wow. Gee, those who book in the next 24 hours only have to pay $580? What a deal! I wonder what the price goes up to after that? So a 12 hour flight is going to have an “open bar and speed dating”? I can only imagine that a plane with 300 passengers openly serving alcohol all flight with the intention of these people hooking up at some point is going to smell wonderful by the time it lands. Booze, used condoms, and sex. Why not just allow them all to smoke if they want as well? Are they really going to fill up this plane with enough people to do this? That’d be pretty funny if there’s like 12 people on the plane and they have to listen to Jason and Molly’s boring stories about how they didn’t fall in love at first, but then Jason “changed his mind” while engaged to someone else after he was texting and calling Molly behind his fiancés back. Ahhhh, true love. That’s how it starts for all of us. Good thing that flight isn’t headed to Australia on Oceanic Flight 815. That would be creepy. Now, on to last nights show.

-Before Kiptyn arrives, we see the (ahem) lovely Jillian strolling the beaches in Maui in her yellow and white bikini, frolicking in the water, and writing stupid messages in the sand that’ll be washed away by a wave the second she leaves. “J & ?” Really? Are you in 4th grade? How corny was that? Actually, maybe she was still thinking of last season and that could’ve stood for “Who the hell did Jason really want to be with?” Whatever the case, the whole scene was lame and contrived. And the yellow and white bikini didn’t do much for me. In fact, nothing she wears does anything for me. But that shouldn’t be news to anyone who’s followed this column all season. If I don’t like her, I don’t like her. I can find something about each of the previous bachelorettes that I found appealing, yet honestly, I can’t think of one for Jillian. Can’t stand her voice, doesn’t have any figure, she drinks like a fish, she lives in Canada, and well, she’s a horrible kisser. Other than that, she’s perfect. An absolute 10. The woman I’d want to marry. As for the others:

Trista: My favorite woman in the whole world. I love her to death. Minus the baby talk.
Meredith: Wait, Meredith was the “Bachelorette”? Yikes. Uhhhh, she was tall?
Jen: Well, she was my favorite during Firestone’s season. Her season? Not so much. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
DeAnna: C’mon now. DeAnna’s like, my best friend, right? It’s like we’re soulmates. Never have a bad thing to say about her. Ha ha. I kill myself sometimes.

-Kippy shows up in Maui and does the trendy thing to do now on these 1-on-1 dates and that’s run to the girl and pick her up. When did this become the thing to do? I can’t remember the last time I picked up a girl and spun her around when hugging her. Then again, I haven’t appeared in any chick flicks recently either. I love the ropes course that these two did. Like this was some big accomplishment. What were they, 30 feet off the ground? Anybody catch the “Duel 2″ this season? I’d say those challenges put anything Jillian and Kiptyn were doing to shame. Walking some steps 30 feet above the ground? Pssssht. Try hanging upside down holding on to your partners arms over a cliff. Or standing on a plank suspended above water and having to spell tough words like “throne”. Nice one, Brad. Although, couldn’t Brad have asked, “Is it ‘thrown’ or ‘throne’?” I was shocked this was never addressed. Regardless, he’s an idiot for spelling either one “t-h-r-o-n”. Congrats on picking a real winner there, Tori.

-Oooooohhhh, now it’s time to move over to the big one, the Leap of Faith. I’m biting my nails. Don’t know if I can take the pressure that comes along with this one. You’re strapped in to a harness, there’s ZERO chance for serious injury, yet Jillian is acting like she’s about to go skydiving. Don’t fall Jillian. You might scrape your knee jumping from a whopping 3 feet off the ground. Be careful. So the Leap of Faith consisted of climbing up a pole, then jumping off and grabbing the trapeze positioned away from them. From there, they’d end up joining the circus and go by the name of the “Uninteresting Duo”. Anybody watch these two and just think to yourself, “What a ridiculously boring couple.” I certainly do. There’s nothing about these two together that gets my relationship pants all excited. At least with Reid he’s kinda quirky, and Ed is just all over the map. Kiptyn bores the piss out of me, sorry. Being the athletic guy he is, Kiptyn easily grabs the trapeze while Jillian I believe jumped maybe 6 centimeters off the pole before falling. Nice effort, J. Yet another quality you don’t have: athleticism.

-Over dinner, these two are discussing their possible lives together and Jillian asks him if he has any flaws whatsoever. Kip: “Impatience. I have low patience. I could probably deal better with bumps in the road. I’ve usually got one foot in and one out in relationships. Probably hasn’t been too fair.” Yeah, I’d say so. And since Jillian is about to bash your skull with a pineapple if you don’t tell her exactly how you feel about her, or if you’ll be on bended knee anytime soon, this isn’t a good sign. Didn’t Jillian say a few episodes ago that she just kinda “goes with the flow and doesn’t need to be told all the time about how much he likes me”? Yet, that’s all she does is grill these guys into submission as to whether or not they’re into her, how much they’re into her, etc. Maybe she’s just fishing for compliments, or maybe she is INCREDIBLY insecure. I’ll go with the latter. Lets face it, I’m guessing a girl like Jillian has never had this many guys showing interest in her at one time. Or pretending to at least. She admits she’s not a runway model and doesn’t have DD’s, or is a busty blonde, so I’m guessing that’s where her insecurity lies. Well, that and the fact that ABC is kicking themselves that Melissa turned them down this season.

-Kip: “I know you’re someone I can a life with.” After he says this, the date card shows up, and of course Jillian doesn’t forgo a 2nd chance to spend the night with Kip. I mean, he’s out of her league, right? So she needs to do everything in her power to lasso him in and make sure he doesn’t date women ten times better looking than she is. Good luck with that. For the sake of the show, lets just hope these two don’t end up together. After what happened last season, this show doesn’t need to transition into “America’s Most Boring Couple”. She can’t possibly end up with this guy, can she? And we’d have to hear updates about their life in future “Women Tell All” or “Where Are They Now” shows? God help us all. Then we’d have to see them continuously not know how to kiss each other in front of all of America. We will all lead better lives if these two don’t end up together. Lets put our hands together and now pray for that to happen. Amen.

-Reid is up next and Jillian is anxiously awaiting his arrival. I guess since Reid didn’t run to meet her, that didn’t score him any points. I’m sure Jillian’s warped thought process was, “Well, he didn’t run to me. Does he like me? Does he want to marry me? What if I choose him and he says no? Does he even know my name? Can I badger him more on how much he likes me?” Or something like that. Anyway, when Jillian greets him while holding the all-important beach ball. Because nothing says “fun in the sun” like a beach ball. That was seriously the stupidest thing I think I’ve seen all season. After they embrace, just to the two of them standing 10 feet apart throwing and kicking a beach ball to each other. Huh? Who came up with that idea? “I know, lets throw a beach ball to each other like we’re 3 years old. That’ll definitely bring us closer together.” If what happened at the end of the date with Ed wasn’t ridiculous, this took the cake for the episode. And still might’ve been the dumbest thing I’ve seen.

-Next, these two take a helicopter ride over Maui and find out that an ordained minister is actually the one flying it. Wow! What a coincidence! Of course, Reid wants none of it since he’s scared of commitment. For now, anyway. They land and have a picnic at the Hanna Maui Resort. Reid loves this place, “If I were to pick a place to live, it’d be right here.” Not saying much considering the guy lives in Philly. Now there’s a city I have been to so I guess now I’m allowed to call it one giant dump. Hmmmm, Philly or Maui? Tough one. Do I go with the polluted, crime infested, hell hole, or live on the beach in 85 degree weather all year? Anyway, Jillian jumps in immediately and asks him, “Hey, you gonna marry me?” I think. Reid responds with immediate hesitation of, “This is a first for me, I feel rushed, it’s hard for me, and I’m slower at this kind of stuff.” Translation: For Christ sakes, back off woman! Can a brotha’ get some air here? If we’re meant to be together, it’ll happen. I just kinda need more than six weeks before throwing a ring on someone. Geez.

-Shockingly, Jillian admits, “I need him to tell me how he’s feeling.” Really? Never could’ve guessed that. And this whole time, I thought you’ve been totally secure with each guy’s feelings and where you stand with all of them. She also informs Reid that as much as she’s love to stay in Canada, she’d move to Philly. Look, I know that I’ve been hard on Canada this season, but hey, not even I would take Philly over Vancouver. No thanks. I’ll buy my milk in bags and learn the metric system before dealing with Philadelphians any day of the week and twice on Sunday. They are quite the angry bunch, aren’t they? But Jillian isn’t done pressuring Reid. “I need you to think about everything if you’re ready to propose.” Reid: “Would I propose at the end of this? Maybe? Possibly. I’m indecisive. In life.” Yeah, probably not the answer Ms. Let-me-know-now-or-else-you’re-dead-to-me wants to hear. Reid, run for your life. Her insecurity will drive you up a wall. It’s doing it to me, that’s for sure.

-Man, it just doesn’t end with her. Jillian: “I’m not getting the answers I need, but I can see he’s trying.” Oh, well then “A” for effort for Reid. I’m sure he took consolation in that as he was sent away in his limo. He’s definitely trying, but with you nagging the hell out of him pushing for immediate answers, I’m guessing he’s a little put off by it. Reid: “So hard to just throw the ‘L’ word around. It could be at some point in the future.” See, here’s where Jillian is being completely unrealistic. She’s actually falling into the trap of believing the hype of this show. It’s like she’s so hell bent on getting proposed to that she’s missing the complete picture. I understand that she doesn’t want to make a mistake and pick a guy who might not be ready, but honestly, who really is ready after such a short time frame? Why can’t Reid’s answer of basically, “Look, I like you. I like where this is headed, and it could possibly turn into love down the road” be good enough? One guy has proposed after six weeks and the marriage ended up working, and that’s Ryan. None of these guys come across as ready to be married. And neither does Jillian. She seems to want to be married for the sake of being married, regardless of who it’s with.

-So after a day of badgering the witness, Jillian and Reid decide to relax back in the hotel suite by stripping off all their clothes (or at least the ones we saw lying on the floor), and take a bubble bath together. Was that necessary? A bubble bath? So uncomfortable watching those two seemingly naked in a tub together. I mean, they weren’t really naked, were they? Scary thought. If they were, and Reid were any sort of man whatsoever, the minute the cameras stopped rolling, or went out of the room, he would’ve said, “Screw this, we’re getting in the shower. Enough of this bubble nonsense.” However, something tells me they just talked the night away sipping on champagne in a bubble bath. Couldn’t they at least have sat side-by-side? Or maybe her in his lap with his back to her? That’s how it’s supposed to be done. Not playing footsies underwater you jackal. All in all, one of the more uncomfortable things to watch the whole night. Well, besides Jillian interrogating all three remaining men. I have expected her to have them sign paperwork confessing their love for her.

-Now it’s time for the date everyone wants to talk about, and that’s Ed. No, not because of what they did (sailed around on a catamaran), but because of what he was wearing. I honestly don’t know who decided to dress him that morning, but it certainly wasn’t anyone who cared for his well being. Holy Christ! Was he in a rush leaving for the date and accidentally grabbed a pair of his nephews shorts he mistakenly packed? Did he think they were in France and not Hawaii? How does someone rationally explain wearing those god awful shorts on national television? Bright green shorts to go with a blue tank top. European Ed not only has no fashion sense, but he’s colorblind as well. When you wear a bathing suit made for 13 year old boys on television, something is wrong with you. Ed needs help. On the catamaran, Jillian asks him to tell her the weirdest thing about him she doesn’t know. “My family calls me Richie.” Euro Richie needs all the help he can get at this point. The shorts are just mesmerizing dude. I can’t even concentrate on anything else happening here. If they were any tighter and shorter, you could be considered a male prostitute in some states.

-Now it’s time for these two to frolic around in the water. Jillian holds on tight, wraps her legs around his nuthuggers, as they jump off the boat to swim around. I’m sure she probably could’ve just balanced herself on his hard on if she wanted to. Ed, just go naked at this point, seriously. Your shorts are killing me. Even better news outside of his shorts getting smaller and smaller, is that he tells Jillian because he didn’t get a hometown date, he flew his parents out to Hawaii to meet her. Really? You flew them out there? On your own dime? Of course you did, Ed. And you exiting the show then returning was real too, right? Man, this guy is packing a bunch of lies. So much so that they don’t even fit in his shorts, or whatever it is that you call what he’s wearing. Last time I saw those worn in public, John Stockton was running the pick and roll with Karl Malone. Sorry ladies. Basketball reference. Hope it didn’t go over your head.

-So after the catamaran ride, Jillian meets Ed’s parents, Judy and Richie. Jillian: “You have no idea what your son has been putting me through.” I found that rather humorous. You mean, what the producers have been putting you through? Apparently, neither do all his girlfriends back in Chicago either. Just think of what they’re going through? Must be tough. I’m really starting to enjoy all this commotion with Ed, and his feelings, and the rumors of scorned women back in Chicago. This is good stuff. Maybe it’ll all come to a head soon. Any ex or current girlfriend that wants to speak up about what a creep he is, you know where to find me. And if you also want to tell us which “Gap Kids” he bought those shorts at, that’d be helpful as well. Judy and Jillian have a little talk outside and Jillian asks her, “Hey, does he like me? Huh, huh, huh?” Judy: “He’s definitely out of his element. I didn’t think this was something he’d do.” Neither did his flock of women back home. I love how in the time Jillian gets with his mom, she never once asked, “Hey, what’d he say when he was back home for a week? Any mention of his feelings, or what he was doing, or why he decided to leave then come back, or even how much he got paid to leave and come back?” That could’ve made for some interesting conversation.

-Now we watch Euro Richie and his dad have a heart-to-heart. Dad: “What the hell are we doing here?” Probably the funniest line of the season. Euro Richie should’ve responded with, “Dad, remember I told you. I agreed to leave the show with some work B.S. excuse only to come back to add more drama. Don’t you remember me telling you this before?” The younger Richie explains to pops that if Jillian picked him, he’d get engaged. Kind of a whirlwind Eddie the Dope has taken everyone on, hasn’t it? Leaves the show saying he can’t let down his co-workers, comes back with really no explanation whatsoever other than he couldn’t stop thinking of her, now he says that he’s ready for an engagement? Huh? I think the speedos he was wearing on the date are affecting the blood circulation to his brain. This guy is completely clueless as to what he wants. Of course, that doesn’t stop dad from buying it hook, line, and sinker. When he’s outside with Jillian, he tears up saying, “I’ve never seen Ed put his feelings on his shirt sleeve.” Or in his 3rd grade boy trunks. I’m totally confused as to what the hell little Richie has gotten himself into. I think he is too.

-Euro Richie: “I’m absolutely falling in love with you. I don’t care about anything else right now.” Yep, he’s completely in over his head. They go back to the hotel suite, and Jillian throws on, well, practically nothing and climbs all over him. No bra, a see through white shirt, and god knows if she had any panties on. It was soft core porn basically, except the lead female star has zero figure. So these two rubbing oils on each other and then apparently pass out. Of course, earlier in the season we were led to believe that this was the night Ed’s junk went out of order. Yeah, that’s really what happened. This show sickens me. They never even alluded to that last night. It was all about how Jillian and Eddie thought they were so into each other, but then when she was with him in the most intimate moments, she didn’t feel it. And by “it”, I’m not talking about Mr. Happy. She couldn’t understand why the physical chemistry wasn’t there. I think she blamed on a long day and being sunburnt. Sure, Jillian. That’s it. Sunburn. What a horrible excuse. You were practically naked climbing all over the guy and rubbing oils on each other and you’re saying there was no chemistry? Then you guys have got serious problems. Sunburn or no, if he wanted you that badly, he would’ve fought through it. When it comes to sex, usually nothing is getting in our way.

-Jillian is confused as to why both of them felt like they wanted to go to sleep rather than play hide the pickle. “Either the chemistry is not there, or there are other things going through his mind.” I’d say the latter. Dude has got hordes of women back home waiting on him hand and foot. Of course he’s a little gun shy on national television BS’ing about how he wants to marry you. Whatever the case, the hype machine that ABC built around what allegedly “malfunctioned” was right as we called it weeks ago. Nothing. Totally played something up that wasn’t there, and I think that’s why in recent weeks, they backed away from it in the previews. But that first preview alluding to it basically wanted everyone to think, “They are going to have sex on the overnight date but one guy can’t wake the sleeping giant”. Nice try, ABC. Real smooth. Such a classy show.

-OH MY GOD!!!!! Do you know how long I’ve been waiting for this? I never thought we’d see the return of it!!! The ridiculous video messages for Jillian!!! Weeeeeeeeee!!!!!!! Awesome. It’s probably been 6 or 7 seasons since we’ve seen these. These used to be a staple on the show until it became so ridiculously fake. First up, Kiptyn.

Kiptyn: “It’s been an amazing ride. From Southern California, to Canada, to San Diego, to Span, and now here in Hawaii. This feels like it could be the beginning of a great relationship. Lets do this!” WHAT??? Lets do this? Is he a high school senior now? Who says that? Seems like he’s really taking this show seriously.

Reid: “I have so many emotions and feelings for you. I know I avoided questions or reversed the questions back on you. This is all crazy and exciting at the same time.” Uhhhh, I don’t think that message made her heart flutter one bit. Nice going you failure.

Ed: “You’re beautiful, intelligent, and funny. I would love an opportunity to spend the rest of my life with you and propose to you. I love you.” Yikes. Layin’ it on a little thick there, don’t you think? Or just telling her what she wants to hear.

-Host Chris comes out and tells the boys, “Ok, here’s the deal. One of you is saying goodbye and will be on a plane back home tonight.” Sure they will, Chris. Another lie. Jillian comes out to give her pre-rose speech. “I’m definitely falling in love with all of you. I’m confused, but hey, at least I’m falling in love?” One of the worst speeches ever. What, is she trying to justify everything now? She’s confused as can be. So before she dumps Reid, she needs to pull European bikini model aside and make sure that he’s more unsure of everything going on. And he is. Richie: “I’m having a hard time adjusting to everything. There’s a lot of external things going on that I’m adjusting to (like having three girlfriends). Don’t worry about it. I promise you.” Translation: Worry about it. He basically just told her his head’s not all there, but hey, since he was the only one who threw out the “L” word and promised engagement at the end, I guess that punches his ticket to the final two.

Kiptyn: We are only two weeks away possibly from the worst couple this show has ever produced.
Ed: What’s the deal with the white pants a light blue jacket? Is he aware that this show is watched by millions of people? Man, and I thought the show had it out for Wes. Someone is playing a cruel joke on Richie and he doesn’t know it.

-So it’s time for Reid to say bye-bye. For now. Jillian: “I need a best friend and someone to laugh with. I worry that we’re in different places in our life. You don’t seem to be willing to take that chance.” Translation: If you like it then you shoulda put a ring on it. If you like it then you shoulda put a ring on it. Whoa uh oh, uh uh oh, whoa uh oh. Reid is heartbroken. I think. “I should’ve told her. Don’t know if that would’ve changed anything. Maybe I screwed myself. I was definitely falling in love with her. Don’t think she knows that. This whole thing is my fault. It would’ve been a lot easier if I told her I loved her. I think I f***ed up. If I could reverse things I would.”

-After breaking the news of what happened with Jason/Melissa/Molly last season, whether I like or not, I’ve somehow become the de facto “Bachelor” authority. A lot of you think I have all the answers. I don’t. Never said I did. I tell you all stuff that I know for sure. And when its rumored, I specify its rumor. POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!So as for the finale, here’s what I can tell you: I’m not sure what happens. Sure, I have some ideas based on things I’ve heard, but nothing that I’m 100% confident about to say, “Ok, here is what you’ll see in 2 weeks”. I don’t think I’m going out on a limb here when I say that Reid plays a pretty big role in what happens in the finale. Maybe he professes his love, maybe he comes back to propose, whatever the case, he plays a role in it. If he didn’t, he would’ve appeared at the “MTA” taping this past weekend, sat on the hot seat, and answered questions about his journey. They’ve done that every season for 17 seasons, why would this be any different? If I’m wrong, and we don’t see Reid at all, then I’ll own up to it. But I think he plays a role in the finale. Especially with his send off saying, “I should’ve told her that I loved her”, and, “If I could reverse things, I would.” It’s kinda like Ed’s departure in that they’re setting up a return. And the no-show at the “MTA” tapings confirm that suspicion even more.

-As for who Jillian picks, here’s what I do know: We are not going to get a normal ending. We are not going to see Jillian pick one guy, he proposes, she accepts, and they are happy in love. That I’m 99% sure about. For all the reasons I spoke of last week in regards to the answers she’s been giving about the rest of the season. If she was in love, she would’ve told us by now in interviews. If she was engaged, she would’ve admitted it. However, that doesn’t mean that she isn’t or won’t be soon. What do I mean by that? This is strictly my prediction based on all the information I’ve gathered: I think when we watch the 2 hour finale on Monday night the 27th, we are not going to get a final resolution to anything. I’m also 99% sure that the final one is not Kiptyn, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s Ed. I think Mike Fleiss and Co. saw what a big deal the “ATFR” show was last season, and we will get a cliffhanger leading into the “ATFR” show on Tuesday. One extra night means more eyeballs, which means more viewers, and more ad dollars, which means more money for them. Why not just air the “ATFR” after the finale? Why wait til the next night? I think they’re going to capitalize on a cliffhanger from Monday night, the 27th.

-So what could happen that could make them leave us with a cliffhanger leading into Tuesday’s “ATFR” show? Reid could come back and propose, she could be all set on Ed being her guy, then he tells her about his numerous women at home and it freaks her out, Kiptyn could admit to being the worst kisser ever, she could pull a Womack after hearing something and decide that she needs more time, maybe all three propose and she’s completely blown away, etc. Could be any number of things. What know is that we will not have a normal two hour finale. Something is going to happen which will force you to tune in to Tuesday night to get the resolution you’re looking for. If I was leaning one way, I’d say that Jillian makes her decision on someone, or no one, on Tuesday night. But that’s just a guess. I could be absolutely 100% dead wrong. But since so many of you have asked in recent weeks what I think/know happens, there’s my answer. If I find anything about before then, I’ll let you know, but that’s where I stand right now. Sorry to disappoint those of you who think I know everything. Not this season. Congrats to ABC for doing a much better job this season of keeping a lid on things.

So that’s it for this week. Back on Friday with our first “Reality Roundup” in almost a month. Sorry about that. The interviews started to take precedence and took up more time than I thought. Any questions, comments, emails, criticisms, praises, email me at steve@realitysteve.com.

Administrator The Bachelorette 5 - Jillian

Remember how I told you it’s very tough to have the booted contestants from this show come do interviews because ABC won’t release them to me? Well thank God for Wes Hayden. Very much a breath of fresh air in this very revealing, inside look at what really went down with his “character” this season on the “Bachelorette”. Let’s just say Wes is pretty pissed off with how things shook down, and all he’s here to do is tell his side of the story. At that point, then feel free to make your decision about what you saw on TV vs. the real Wes Hayden. Yes, I’m continuing my one man crusade to expose the show for the fraud it is. Wes Hayden most certainly helps with that and paints a pretty clear picture of what this show does to get the results it wants.

Let me say that I understand a lot of you already have formed your opinion, you hate the guy, and probably nothing he says will change your mind. Kind of head scratching. What I’m assuming is that you formed your opinion of him based on what you’ve seen on television for the last 8 weeks. If he never came out to defend his actions that so many of you are bothered by, then I think you would say, “What a jerk for how he acted and what he said on TV.” Now that he is letting it known how he was edited by giving specific examples, you are saying, “Well, he’s just doing damage control.” Seems a little unfair, no? Apparently he can’t win in your eyes because your mind is made up. Well, let this interview just be a chance for him to tell you what really happened, and then, if you can honestly say that you don’t believe a word of what the guy is saying, you hear no sincerity in his voice, and is completely going out of his way to make this all up, then that’s your decision. I tend to believe the guy and think he got the worst edit in show history, and that’s why I wanted to talk to him. Hey remember, I was the guy who called him a douchenozzle back in week 1 or 2 of this column, so it is possible to do a 180. I just want to lay this out there for all of you to hear for yourself and if you think this guy is really the guy you saw on TV for eight weeks. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Some of the topics covered in this 1 hour and 25 minute interview (I suggest you stick around for all 85 minutes. I understand it’s long, but he’s got a lot to say and we essentially cover EVERY question that most of you have about what you saw):

-Where did/does his relationship stand with Laurel? What’s been the fallout with her since the show has aired?
-Why and when did Wes go to the producers and tell them he wanted to leave and what was their response?
-What are his feelings towards everything Jake said about him during, and after, the show?
-Was the dinner date in Spain as painful as it came across on TV?
-What about the infamous limo ride and all the brilliant quotes he gave after being eliminated?
-Specifically, how did they edit things that he said, or didn’t say, to make him look like the villain?
-How have people treated him since watching him on the show?
-Is he going to appear at the “Men Tell All” taping this Saturday in LA?
-What did ABC do to his family that had both he and them pissed off?

All this and much, much more in this very revealing exclusive interview only heard here on RealitySteve.com. I appreciate the fact that Wes decided to come to me and spend this much time explaining why and how things went down the way they did. Hey, if any other contestant wants to come and spill their guts about how unfair they thought their edit was to me, I’ll gladly put them on. I’d love to do this every week. But I think Wes’ is story is most important considering he is public enemy #1 right amongst most female fans of this show. All I wanted was for him to tell his side of the story, and then let you decide where you stand. I don’t really see how you can side with ABC, or even say the truth lies “somewhere in the middle”, but hey, that’s just me. I know what this show does to people, and I know how sneaky they are. Wes Hayden was truly a victim of ABC’s manipulation and now its his turn to tell you why and how. Hope you enjoy the interview:

Wes Hayden Interview

One thing I forgot to ask about while we were recording was the, “Hey, that bird’s only got one foot” comment he made to Jillian after she asked him “How would you make it work if I pick you in the end?” Wes admits he did say that line, but not right after Jillian asked that question. It was right in the beginning of the date when they sat down is when he saw the bird, yet they edited it to make it seem like that’s how he answered her question. Not surprising.

Any questions, comments, emails, praises, criticisms, feedback, feel free to email me at steve@realitysteve.com.

Administrator Interviews, The Bachelorette 5 - Jillian