-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

-I’ve really been out of the loop for the last five or six days having been out of town. So there really isn’t much to address beforehand. The store will continue its sale throughout this week, and if you want your picture up on the site, you can see we’ve added a flickr photo album. Thanks to Holly, DeAnna, Natalie, and Richard for their pics. Good stuff. A lot of you have sent emails over the last week that I probably didn’t get to. My apologies. But I wasn’t really around a computer at all and didn’t want to respond through Blackberry to everyone. And when I got back yesterday, there were just too many to go through pretty much all asking the same questions. So if I have time today, I will get around to them. If not, don’t take it personal.

-The only thing I want to say about last week is I stand by what I did. I was kinda surprised so many people ran with the “do what you do best” comment, when that’s probably the 2nd column in the last 7 years where I didn’t do a recap. Really? And honestly, I planned on doing a regular recap, but when they zipped through 4 hometown dates in the first fifty minutes, and dedicated so much time to butchering Wes’ edit and the return of Ed, I figured that was an appropriate time to bring out the column. And for every negative comment I received regarding what I did, trust me, there were ten emails/comments/facebook posts thanking me for letting them know what really goes on. I think a lot of you need to remember that probably 95% of the “Bachelorette’s” audience does not follow message boards and study screencaps and read blogs. They just tune in every Monday and live their life the rest of the week thinking what they saw was real. Amazing, I know, but it’s the truth. Will I reach all of them? Of course not. Just because you read stuff about the show on the internet, doesn’t mean everyone else does. In fact, you are most definitely in the minority. I think what I wrote helped, and I’m glad I did what I did. Now back to our regularly scheduled programming.

-The first ten minutes of the show were dedicated to recaps of Jillian’s journey so far with the remaining four guys. Waste of time. Although, what was funny was her just aimlessly walking the streets of Spain as her voice over is telling us all about the four guys. It got me thinking, “What do the Spaniards think of this show?” When they see some Canadian girl walking their streets with cameras following her, are they aware of what crap is being filmed? Do they even get the show out there when we do, or are they just getting around to airing Bob Guiney’s season in Madrid? This I’ve always wondered. I’ve never been to Spain, so I’m clueless to how their prime time TV network schedule looks. My guess? Soccer in the mornings, soccer in the afternoons, and soccer at night. And the nights when soccer isn’t on? Bullfighting. Maybe a “Flamenco Dancing With the Stars” as a reality show. Then once a year you have your special of the “Running of the Bulls” where crazy, lubed up fans try to out run a bunch of charging bulls down narrow streets. Hell of a sport. Where do I sign up? Any sport where the downside is possibly taking a bull’s horn right up your ass and being trampled, consider me out. Call me crazy.

-So Kiptyn is the first one up for a date. Jillian is giddy again, but does have some reservations. “Maybe Kiptyn is out of my league and he isn’t falling for me.” Hmmmm, maybe you’re right. Just kinda funny hearing Jillian say someone is “out of her league”. Since I’m unaware of Jillian’s ex-boyfriends and what they look like, I can’t jump to too many conclusions. Lets just say that Jillian is a lucky woman to be cast this season as the “Bachelorette”, since two others rejected it, yet they tried to play it off like “America fell in love with Jillian.” They did? When? Did I miss something? Do you know how many people I heard in coffee shops and on the streets talking about how they HAD to have Jillian Harris as the next “Bachelorette”? I’ll tell you how many: zero. Just another way for them to peddle their fake love story. And for those interested, ABC has been pushing the “Bachelorette” this season as the third most watched show of the summer. Once again, only half the story. Yes, it is, but that’s because pretty much everything else its up against are repeats. Not a lot of new network shows that get released in the summer. Why do you think they’re running it now? Put Jillian’s season on when shows start up in September, and it’d be about the 20th most watched show.

-Uh oh. More problems in Loveville with Jillian and Kiptyn. When Jillian asks him what he thinks about a possible proposal at the end of all this, he replies, “I think a proposal seems far off at this point in time”. Jillian then goes on to contradict herself by saying, “I am here to get engaged. I want an engagement out of this. I think it’d be fun. But I don’t necessarily have to have one.” Huh? I think Jillian is pretty enamored with the thought of possibly being engaged to on the show because she desperately wants to shut some people up. But hey, it actually seems like Kiptyn has a head on his shoulders. Really? A bachelor who actually thinks that six weeks might be a little too early to drop a proposal on somebody? Where’d casting find this guy, and why did the script call for him to last this long? Make no mistake, the show ALWAYS would like to see a proposal at the end. They can’t force these people to, but there’s definitely incentive thrown out there.

-I’m going to send a lot of you out on a hunt right now. Like I said, I’ve been out of the loop and pretty much away from a computer for the last week, and frankly I just don’t feel like looking for this, but I’m sure some of you will. As far as I know, in every interview I’ve seen or read with Jillian since the season ended taping about a month ago, I have yet to hear her say she is engaged, I have yet to hear her say she is in love, I have yet to hear her say she can’t wait to see the man that she chose again, and I have yet to hear her say she talks to her man every day and they are so happy together. All we’ve gotten is, “I’m happier than I’ve ever been (but not necessarily with another person), the “last five minutes is really good”, and “I’m happy with my decision.” Now, I can’t read everything, and there are some interviews I might have missed, but that’s what I’ve gathered so far. Sounds an awful lot like Brad Womack to me. Jason screamed from the mountain tops before the season even started how in love he was and that he was engaged. DeAnna let us know that she was engaged before the finale. During Andy Baldwin’s season they promoted all along a proposal at the end. Maybe ABC told her to play it coy to not let anything out, maybe not. But I’d be interested if someone could find me an interview she’s given where she said something different than what I listed below and specifically mentions she chose someone, they are happy together, and can’t wait to see each other again. I’ve yet to hear that.

-Time for the embarrassing portion of last nights show: Kiptyn and Jillian flamenco dancing. They walk in to a mini studio where two instructors are waiting for them, Maria and Ricardo. Let me ask you something: What were the odds that two flamenco dance instructors in Madrid, Spain would be named “Maria” and “Ricardo”? 1-to-1? 1-to-5? Could I have gone anywhere and bet on this beforehand? I believe they even said the guitar player’s name was “Paco”. What’s next? Are they going to tell us that “Maria y Ricardo work at the biblioteca?” Or that Maria drives a red car? If I remember anything about high school Spanish class, it was that every female in the text book was named “Maria”, and every male was named “Ricardo”. And I’m sure they had a third friend named “Paco” who liked going to the grocery store to buy “naranjas, platanos, y flan.” Never in the book were they flamenco dance instructors. This disturbs me. You know what else disturbed me? The fact that Jillian couldn’t clap in rhythm. Maria could. Ricardo could. Hell, Kiptyn could even clap in sequence, but there’s Jillian completely spazzing out to a simple clap. That means on next season of “Idol”, she’s going join the mosh pit in front of the stage with the rest of them who are completely out of tune.

-Now these two decide to ride mopeds around town before settling in for some dinner. Personally, I think they should’ve gone the route of “Dumb and Dumber” and had one strapped on to the others back, but that’s just me. At dinner, they discussed Kiptyn’s tight fitting outfit during the dance session. Kiptyn: “I could get the button on the shirt closed, just not the zipper.” Jillian: “You could hurt the boys that way.” Which was a brilliant segue into her next topic of, “Hey, you want kids someday?” Ha ha. Very nice. Kiptyn says he definitely wants kids if he’s able to after having the circulation cut off to the boys earlier in the night. Then I started thinking about the kids these two would have. Short, big noses, and big ears. Outstanding. Get to reproducing you two.

-Jillian now wants to ask him some more hard hitting questions. “If I were to ask your last three ex-girlfriends what’s one thing they’d change about you, what would they say?” Kiptyn: “That I have a twin brother.” Easy there, ego. Lets not get carried away with how awesome you think you are. And there’s enough bad kissing you’ve done on this show to last a lifetime. Do we really need a second version of you terrorizing other women’s mouths? I think not. Jillian then proceeds to tell him something all guys want to here from a potential mate. “You remind me of my dad.” Guys, never tell a woman she reminds you of your mom. And ladies, never tell a guy he reminds you of your dad. There’s just really nothing positive that can come out of that. Jillian then goes to the “You’re too nice” card on him. Basically asks him that because he’s so nice, if they were in a relationship, would he ever challenge her or call her out on something. Frankly, this is a sore subject with me, so when Kiptyn says he would totally do that, she agrees. If only she believed it. I’ve been on the receiving end of this, and it seems that when you do call them out and challenge them, they don’t like it. So it’s a lose-lose situation. You keep your mouth shut, and you’re too nice. You challenge them, and it turns into a fight. That blows.

-So for whatever reason, we’re gonna bust out the date cards in Spain as well as Hawaii. “Welcome to the romantic city of Madrid. Should you choose to forgo your individual rooms for the evening, please use this key to enjoy your night together in the fantasy suite. Chris.” I hated the date cards coming out this early because it’s so contrived. So I’m supposed to applaud Jillian for turning down all the guys on the overnight date in Spain, knowing that a week later in real time, she’s going to use the overnight date cards on Reid, Ed, and Kiptyn? So dumb. Jillian: “I don’t think I’m ready to spend the entire night with somebody.” Oh, but you will be the next time you see them in Hawaii? Please. Her and Kiptyn did go up to the room and play tonsil hockey since he left with his hair all disheveled, but because he didn’t actually stay the night, I’m expected to view Jillian as some virgin princess? No thanks. That was so staged in advance.

-Next up is Reid’s date in Seville, Spain. According to Jillian, they are going to have “wine, cheeses, hang out in the park, and make out.” What a wonderful day in Seville, Spain for that. Two Americans (well, one American and one Canadian) fondling each other in a park to be televised back in the States. I can’t see why the local Sevillians would have any problem with that. I could tell you one guy who definitely had a problem with them: the meat guy in the grocery store. He must’ve been like, “What the hell did I just get myself into?” The guy has probably been serving meats for 30 years in that shop, all the sudden an American film crew shows up with two idiots who don’t speak a lick of Spanish trying to order a meal for twelve. We get it, you don’t speak the language, and when trying to order, you’re trying to be funny. Reid: “Soy grande.” Thanks for that, Reid. Has nothing to do with any sort of sandwich you’re ordering. Might as well have dropped on them, “Soy guapo”, which is what I most certainly would’ve done. It’s the only thing I remember from Spanish class.

-Jillian: “Reid is not the guy I saw myself with, I’m not gonna lie.” Uh oh. Didn’t we hear that from DeAnna when speaking about Jesse? I think we did. Reid says his family loved her, but it always takes him a while to tell someone how he’s feeling. Reid is the guy this season that has a hard time opening up and is a little weary about the whole situation. Whether or not that works for or against him only time will tell, but, he does seem a bit nervous about the whole thing. Reid: “It could be love, but I’m not there yet to say it to her. I move so slow with these things. Physically, I’m attracted to her. Mentally I’m there. I just need to take time.” Well, we get one of these guys every season. Can he open up in time before she lets him go? There’s Reid’s storyline this season. Kiptyn’s is as the heartbreaker who’s never had his heart broken. And Ed’s is the guy who was told he’d be leaving the show only to be brought back so they could create drama. And of course, Wes is the villain who they throw under the bus with the butchered editing job.

-The date card comes out for these two and Reid gives the most honorable answer he can. “I’ll just do whatever you want to do.” Oh, ok. Pin it all on her. It was here where he started to mention how he gets bothered by her kissing all the other guys. Earlier in the day, Jillian had told Reid she’s not one of those girls that constantly needs to know the answer to things, and doesn’t need to constantly ask why you feel certain ways about things. Yet after Reid tells her he feels uncomfortable with her kissing the other guys, she comes back with, “Why? Tell me, tell me.” Yeah, I’m sure that won’t get annoying after, oh I don’t know, a week? However, Reid has got to know what this show is about by this point. She takes four guys to Spain, she makes out with four guys (well, I guess except Wes), then she’ll take three of you to Hawaii, she’ll make out, grope, fondle, explore body parts with all three of you, then when it’s down to two, she chooses (we’re assuming), the one who she feels most comfortable with in a hot tub. She figured once she did that with Jason, she was all his. But that’s not what the script called for, uhhhhhh, I mean Jason had to go with his heart. That changed two months later.

-Reid: “She has my heart. As neurotic as I am, as much as I 2nd guess things, I’m confident in my relationship with Jillian.” Ummmm, I don’t really know what the hell that means. I guess as confident as one can be who knows she’s getting frisky next week with two other guys in Hawaii. Or is he just saying, “Look, I know every time I go to the bathroom, I can’t leave without washing each hand 37 times, and that I’d love to be given a year supply of Purell as a parting gift from this show if Jillian doesn’t pick me in the end, but yeah, I’m pretty confident I’m going all the way. And if not, my real estate business got some free pub. And if they ever decide to do a ‘Friends’ reunion show and Matthew Perry doesn’t sign on for it, I could always fill in.” Remember how in the beginning of the season I said Reid looked like someone and I couldn’t put my finger on it? Well, I’ve gotten more emails from people suggesting who he looks like, and you should see how long this list is. Maybe I’ll share all the suggestions I got next week. Unbelievable how many different emails I got suggesting who Reid looks like. The list is at least 15 names long. And only one of them named the person I finally figured out who it was he resembled: PGA Tour player David Toms. Google him. You’ll see the uncanny resemblance.

-Since ABC was too cheap to give Ed a date in a different city (or Reid, however you want to look at it), Ed gets his date in the sloppy seconds city of Seville as well. I’m sure it still smells like Reid’s hand soap everywhere they go. Ed immediately explains himself during a horse carriage ride. Sort of. “I got home and I’m like, ‘What am I doing?’ I need more time. I couldn’t get you off my mind. I had to come back somehow.” Of course, no mention whatsoever about how he was the first ever contestant in 18 seasons to actually leave the show, fly back to his hometown (which has been confirmed by people in Chicago), only to show back up again to re-enter the competition. And without a good explanation either. Even fellow contestants didn’t even know he was allowed to do it. Our boy Michael Stagliano, who was booted last week, even said as much in his exit interview last week. Check out what he had to say:

Michael Stagliano Interview

-Jillian asks Ed, “What would it have been like if I would’ve gotten to go home with you?” Well, for one, I’m sure he would’ve taken you to all the pretty sights and sounds that Chicago has to offer. You guys could’ve taken in a Cubs game and sang “Go Cubs Go! Go Cubs Go! Hey Chicago, whaddya’ say, Cubs are gonna win today!” afterwards. Maybe taken you to the Sears Tower since that’s such a historic landmark. Then to cap it all off, I’m sure he would’ve introduced you to the numerous girls he’s bedding in the Chicago area all while pretending to be single on the show. That would’ve made for some great television. Boy, you do enough digging you find out some really interesting stuff about these people. Too bad they gave Wes the hatchet job on the editing. Probably should’ve been Easy Eddie and his minions of girls waiting for him back in Chicago not knowing what the hell is going on. Of course, none of this will ever get brought up at the “Men Tell All” episode. It’ll be the Dave/Juan show, and the “Butcher Wes’ edit even more” episode.

-The producers decide to show us how much of a physical chemistry these two have, and give us more of Hypocritical Jillian, by showing us them making out in every possible landmark in Seville. This is the first alone time she’s spent with a guy who essentially ditched her for work, then came back unannounced, yet before getting into all the questions she would need to ask somebody who pulled this stunt, she can’t keep her tongue of her mouth. Yeah, she really seems to be struggling with what Ed did. If she’s not careful, he might actually have to explain himself. But not before climaxing a few times apparently. Geesh. Get a room you two. Oh wait, that’s later. But for the time being, it’s make out city in Seville. Jillian: “I can’t stop making out with Ed.” They even jump into a fountain, roll up their pants, and make out in front of a group of people looking on probably adding more fuel to the fire of why they hate Americans. Hell, if I lived there and saw that, I’d hate us too. Get out of the fountain you two, you look ridiculous. I know the producers told you to do that, but geez, could you at least have shown a little restraint? Really? Making out in the fountain? It’s not like you just accepted a proposal either. There’s still three other guys left. Sometime this show makes me want to vomit. Ok, all the time.

-Ed: “I need to show her I’m a trusting person.” Yes you do. Can your girlfriends back home back you up on that one? Just curious. Ed asks Jillian, “How open are you to living somewhere else?” Jillian is open to the the idea since the thought of living in Vancouver pretty much makes Ed want to hurl. He mentions that he can see them being together a long time, taking in Cubs’ games, and just enjoying life together. Jillian chimes in she knows nothing about baseball. Shocker. I thought she could reel off Alfonso Soriano’s awful stats from this season. Or that she likes Carlos Zambrano’s stuff, but doesn’t know why he has to blow a gasket every other start. She really seemed like the type who could break down why its better to have Carlos Marmol setting up Kevin Gregg rather than the other way around. Wow. I really misjudged you Jillian. I apologize. How about while in you’re in Chicago, you go visit my crush from last season Nikki and ask her if she can come in and replace you as the “Bachelorette”? Like, ummmm, now. Two episodes left, just let her take over from here so I can watch the rest of this season with the volume and my pants down. Been a while since I used that one.

-The date card comes out for her and Ed. Something I didn’t really understand was her telling all the guys that she wasn’t ready for it, but not telling any of them, “Hey, just to let you know, I’m turning you down, but I’m also turning the rest of the guys down.” I think I would’ve done that if I were her just to set the guys minds at ease. Although, there’s a strong possibility she did tell them that but they never showed it to us. Because, well, they’re known for that sort of thing. These two actually did decide to use the room for the night since they had some “catching up to do” due to the script calling for Ed to leave earlier this season and come back. But Jillian assures us that the “clothes will stay on”. Like we have any idea if that’s true or not. People will believe what they want to believe happens behind closed doors. Personally do I think sex happens? Yes. That’s what horny people that are attracted to each other do. They have sex. Does it happen with all of them? Not sure. I guess it’s up to each individual person to choose to do it with whoever they choose to do it with. Sorry, I don’t have those answers. And I’m guessing you’ll never get any of them to actually admit it any way, so its pure speculation.

-Next up is a date in Barcelona with Wes. Here’s where it gets tricky. Already a lot of you are on my case asking, “So how did Wes get the bad edit job this week? Huh? Huh? Huh?” I don’t know how to answer that other than to say he did. What they did to him this week was just as easily edited as it was last week. And the week before. And the week before. It is very apparent that ABC set out to have a particular storyline with Wes’ character and they were going to edit things he said, splice them together, and get what they wanted. Although, I did find the “I have a song from my 2nd album that’s #2 in Chihuahua, Mexico” rather humorous. He definitely said that. Why? I have no idea. But it was funny. I really can’t recap Wes’ date because nothing that we were shown I believe really happened. I think them sitting at dinner and having their conversation spliced up into soundbites was ridiculous. They had an agenda with him for whatever reason, and he got thrown under the bus. There’s a big difference between feeding guys and girls alcohol, then recording all their worst moments and airing them, and to purposely putting words together in sentences from different time parts to make them say something they didn’t. Totally different.

-As you know I think Wes is getting one of the worst edits this show has ever done, and it’s nearly impossible to comment on what happened on his date, at the rose ceremony, and in the limo afterwards. I can easily see how everything he said in the limo was edited, it’s not very hard. They can cut and splice anything together and make it sound like one normal sentence without a change in pitch or tone. I’d really like to get to the bottom of this whole situation. Stay tuned the next couple days and I’ll see what I can come up with.

-Time for the rose ceremony. Three guys in suits, and Wes in jeans and a jacket. Kinda reminded me when Graham got the boot at the final four. Totally underdressed for the occasion, but, for what reason we’ll never know. Jillian: “This is one of the best weeks in my life. Never been to Europe before. Or Spain for that matter. No idea I’d have the feelings I have right now. Except for Wes. So after I give out the first two roses, and it’s between Wes and Kiptyn, there will be zero suspense since it’s obvious who is going home. Let’s just see if I can do this right without Chris Harrison here to help me. He’s probably getting another comped room and meal by one of these hotels. Bastard.”

Ed: I hope your women back home bought the “Hey, I gotta go to Texas for work” line.
Reid: Lets see how they actually depict his “bedroom malfunction” next week. I’m guessing it’ll be 100% different than how they portrayed it earlier this season. Funny how they didn’t even mention it in previews for next weeks episode.
Kiptyn: Like Wes stood a chance by this point.

-So yes, Wes did have one of the all-time great limo departures in show history. Some highlights?

“How you gonna lose to Reid? That boy’s a retard.”
“Those boys couldn’t get a nibble from the women in Texas.”
“I’m the first guy in Bachelorette history to make it to the final four with a girlfriend”

I know some of you are absolutely hanging on every one of those words and are positive those couldn’t have been edited, trust me I’ve seen your emails, but I’m here to tell you they were. Let me see what I can do and I promise I will get back to you this week.

Any questions, comments, emails, criticisms, praises, email me at steve@realitysteve.com. Stay tuned for more. It’s coming.

Administrator The Bachelorette 5 - Jillian

-First things first, we are having our first ever sale in the RealitySteve.com merchandise store, effective immediately. Starting today, everything in the store is now $3 off for a limited time. So click on the link to the right and pick up a great gift for the whole family (Ok, that just sounded good). The sale won’t last too long, so get in while you can.

-Hope you all enjoyed the Holly and DeAnna interviews. It was a lot of fun, and I can guarantee, you’ll be hearing more of that sometime in the future. Here’s the problem I run in to with the interviews. I think a lot of you want to hear what the contestants on this show have to say. Trust me, if I could talk with every single person after they got eliminated, I would. But I can’t. ABC/Next Entertainment (Fleiss’ company) will never give them to me because they know what my site is about, they know all I do is make fun of their show, and they know I’m aware of the heavy manipulation and editing that goes on. So if they give me their eliminated contestants to interview, half the questions I want to ask they’ll never be able to answer. So, in a way, I kinda understand. I probably wouldn’t let them talk to me either.

-These contestants are only allowed to talk to ABC/Next Entertainment approved media outlets for a year from when their show airs, BUT ALSO, are pretty much never allowed to give away show secrets. That’s where ABC/Next Entertainment holds that lawsuit above their heads. Have you ever heard of any former contestant getting sued for that “mystery $5 million”? Of course not. But the threat is there, and a lot of contestants are scared off by it. But let’s say someone does decide to run their mouth to a blog or tabloid mag about what really goes on, and ABC/Next Entertainment decides to sue, well then this thing goes to court, and then the show secrets will get out during testimony. Solution? They need to have a contestant on that’s filthy rich and can afford to lose $5 million. Then, and only then, will all the show secrets ever get out. Lets hope it happens someday.

-So that’s the dilemma. When I do get interviews with people from the show, I can try to get as much as I can out of them, but nobody will EVER spill EVERYTHING. Just isn’t going to happen. I do my best with what I’m dealt with and try to get the answers you guys want to hear. Holly did the interview because she didn’t have to go through ABC/Next Entertainment, her finale aired over a year ago. Plus, she wasn’t on Jesse’s season, and her answers towards Jesse were because she dated him, not because of anything she learned while on the show. ABC/Next Entertainment never would’ve released DeAnna to me if I asked them, she did that for me as a favor, and I thought she did rather well. Did I know there were certain subjects we couldn’t broach? Of course I did. We didn’t need to say it, but it was understood. She didn’t tell me, and I didn’t ask. I know what I can and can’t get away with. So yeah, contestants who aren’t afraid to talk to me and don’t want to go through ABC/Next Entertainment, I will take any day of the week. But if their season just ended, just know that getting any real true dirt from them probably isn’t going to happen. Some of them have just become really good at answering questions, that you can kinda read between their lines in their answers.

-Now you might ask, “Well, you had Jeremy on right after his season ended, and you had Megan on last season while it was still airing.” Very true. Jeremy is a lawyer. He knows his contract like the back of his hand, so he was well aware he couldn’t get in trouble if he answered questions how he was supposed to. And he did. As for Megan, that’s kind of a head scratcher. I thought she was great when came on. She was very candid. However, since I posted her interview, I have never heard back from her. Kinda disappointing, and I don’t quite know what happened, but the minute that interview aired, I haven’t heard word one from her. My guess? Someone got to her and told her to shut up, she got scared, and figured cutting off contact with me would be the best for her. Do I know this for a fact? No, just a guess. But I find it awfully strange the timing of how everything went down. To each their own.

-Lets start off by immediately telling you this isn’t going to be a normal recap. We will resume that next week. Lets face it, last night’s episode was about two things, and two things only: Jake confronting Wes, and the return of Ed. Did you notice that in a two hour episode, they finished the first FOUR hometown dates in fifty minutes? That’s never happened before. Each guy only got one segment, and if anyone can tell me anything memorable from any of those, other than the fact that Jesse’s brother looked like a bloated Kid Rock, be my guest. Put it this way, it wasn’t memorable enough to write what I usually write during hometown dates, when I have plenty to cover regarding Wes’ editing. I need to share a few things with you regarding what I was talking about last week in terms of Wes’ editing, plus, the ridiculous return of Ed. Consider this weeks column a lesson in “Bachelorette 101″. Kind of a behind the curtain peek, if you will. This week, I am your teacher. Some of you may be aware of what I’m going to talk about, but I think most of you are clueless. Not saying that in a negative way, I’m just saying that you probably don’t follow television, and reality television, as much as I do. Trust me, I’ve read some of your emails, I’ve seen your comments, seen some of your tweets, and it’s time you become fully educated in what this show is really about. I promise, we will get back our regularly scheduled column next week. But for this week, after reading what I’ve read in the last five or six days, I realized there are A LOT of you that need to hear this, and frankly, I want to blow the lid on a couple of issues here.

-Once again, this isn’t something that I think happens with the show, or is some sort of speculation, it’s what I know. And I’ve got two pieces of evidence backing me up this week to help corroborate my story. One is Wes, who conducted a radio interview last Tuesday where he pretty much out-ed the producers on their manipulation and editing. Awesome, Wes. One of the first ones to ever do so publicly. For that, I applaud him. I feel bad for the hatchet job they’ve done on his editing, so I’d do an interview with him anytime. The second piece of evidence I have is from an interview done last year with a former “Bachelor” producer. This person goes on the condition of anonymity for fear of getting black balled in the industry (which I completely understand), but if there’s a better behind-the-scenes, here’s-how-things-are-really-done interview out there with a former contestant/producer/director from this show, I’ve never seen it. You will want to read this interview. Trust me. Pretty much confirms everything I’ve been trying to tell everyone for the last few seasons. I know a lot of you say, “Well, we know the show is edited”, but I don’t think many of you understand HOW MUCH its edited, and to what extent. Wes’ interview, and this interview with a former producer will tell you EXACTLY what I mean. This show is basically lying to its viewing audience on a weekly basis, to the point of misrepresenting peoples characters.

-One thing we need to put an end to right now is the people that say, “I can’t believe Jillian gave Wes a rose after he said all that stuff. How can she be so stupid?” Jillian is watching the show when you watch the show. In case you haven’t noticed (and I’m speaking mostly about Wes’ edit last week), all the things you couldn’t believe he was saying were: a) in 1-on-1’s with just camera (on the show, this is referred to as an “ITM” – in the moment), b) in voice overs, or c) sitting around with the guys. Jillian is unaware what Wes says in his ITM’s while the show is filming, she is unaware of any voice overs he is giving, nor was she around when he made the comment to the group of guys about “being here six episodes”, etc. I will get to this later. You can criticize her for keeping him around because you don’t like his hair, or think he’s creepy, or don’t like his music, etc. However, you need to remember that Jillian isn’t aware of things he’s saying during filming. The producers will never run to her and say, “Hey, we were just interviewing Wes and he told us he’s here for the fame.” Even though he never said that (which I’ll get to next). Once again proving how fake this show is. If one of the men reveals in their ITM something that could potentially sway Jillian’s decision one way or another, but the producers choose not to tell her, how is that helping her find “someone to fall in love with” and potentially become engaged to? It’s not. It’s called “producing the best dramatic television show they can.” I can’t stress this enough: THIS IS A TELEVISION SHOW. AND THE ONLY THING THAT KEEPS TV SHOWS ON THE AIR IS INTEREST AND RATINGS. If they don’t give you some sort of drama, your interest wanes. Especially this season.

-So how did Wes get screwed on the editing? Well, lets just call it a case of “Frankenbite” (I will explain later). As mentioned earlier, Wes did a radio interview last Tuesday with some station here in Dallas. I’ll put up the link to the site so you can listen for yourself (it’s about 5 minutes long), but here are the two most important pieces to what he said.

In regards to him talking about being able to “taste the fame”, here’s what he said verbatim:

“But I can tell you that a lot of what was said was either taken out of context or it was edited in with voice overs, on different subject matters. For instance, like last night when I said, ‘I can taste the fame, I can feel it’, when I heard that, I almost fell on the floor and had a heart attack.

What I was talking about was, they (the producers) asked me a question, ‘What’s it like Wes when you’re writing a song?’ And I said, ‘Well, it’s kinda strange. Sometimes I can write a song in five minutes sometimes it takes me a few days, but, when it comes to me, it’s like I can feel it, I can taste it, it comes inside of me, and then it comes out on pen and paper.’ So, basically they can just take what I say, and take different sentences and put them together.

And in talking with the rest of the guys about “being here six episodes”, here’s what he had to say:

“They play the middle part of my conversation but they don’t play the beginning or the end. I was talking to the guys and I was saying, ‘You know guys, I understand there’s people that think I’m here for the wrong reasons. Well, I do have a CD coming out, I do need to be back home working. I said look, if I was just here for the fame and publicity, I’ve already made six shows, I’ve already got the publicity, but I’m still here, and I’m still here because I choose to be here. I want to be here for the girl, I want to see if anything happens between me and Jillian. I was definitely there for Jillian.’”

I’d say that’s pretty self-explanatory. It all comes down to this: If ANY contestant uttered the line, “I am not in love with her”, all the producers have to do is take one three-letter word out of that sentence (”not”), and it changes the whole context of what was said. “I am not in love with her” becomes “I am in love with her”. I’d say those are about as different of statements as you can make, no? Wes was asked a question about how it feels to write a song, he makes a couple comments about how he “can taste it, it runs through me”, they add in two words “the fame”, and it completely changes the whole context of what he says and makes 90% of the female audience start screaming what an a-hole he is. So to even those who say, “Well, it’s not like they can put words in your mouth. You said what you said.” Actually, totally inaccurate. They can make you say whatever they want you to say. It’s called editing. Wes never said the line that was presented to us last week about wanting to “taste the fame, it runs through him, etc”. He was talking about writing a song, but they added in “fame”, and there’s your storyline. Like we said last week, do you honestly think that someone would be that stupid to just start talking to the cameras about being there for those reasons? C’mon people. Think. Here is the link to the full interview Wes did. Scroll down the page and you’ll find it:

Wes Interview

-Still don’t believe they can add in, or take out, words to these peoples sentences? Let me bring in excerpts from this interview someone emailed to me they found online done last year. It’s by a former “Bachelor” producer who wished to remain anonymous. I think this question and answer pretty much speaks for itself. Here’s what it said:

Q: Does the editing process do justice to the contestants or is there a vast difference between what happened during the taping and what appears on the broadcast? In other words, does the editing carve out a story line or play up certain personalities in order to make it more interesting? I think this is the general assumption that the audience has.

A: TOTALLY! Everyone always ask if what we see on TV is really what happened and for the most part it is but, going back to the film 100% and air 1%, the viewer is only getting to see the really good stuff and, even still, if the stories are many we are going to edit them down to the most compelling bits, therefore leaving out (often times) how somebody goes from seemingly normal to totally coo coo pants. We have even gone so far as to “frankenbite,” where you take somebody saying, “of course I’d like to say that I love him” and cutting the bite together to say “of course I love him,” cutting out the very important “I’d like to say.” [It's] definitely very misleading to the viewer and unfair to the cast member, but they sign up for this, fully knowing the reputation of the reality world.

So yes, you can always say, “Well, it’s their fault for going on the show. They knew what they were getting into.” True, but only to a certain extent. I think in recent seasons, a lot of these people that are cast don’t really know what they’re getting into, and I know they don’t read every single line of their contract. They go in thinking, “I’ll have a good time, I’ll meet some people, and hopefully I won’t embarrass myself.” Well, that’s all fine and dandy, and they may leave the show thinking they didn’t embarrass themselves. But if a producer pulls the beginning part of a sentence they said in Week 1 and splices it together with the ending of a different sentence from something they said in Week 3, then it could very well be embarrassing, and something they never said. I’ve said it from the beginning, I’m the first one to say you are fair game the minute you sign up to be on a reality show, but when I read stuff like this, and we’ve got former producers of the show admitting to it publicly, I’d say this show should come under a little more fire, don’t you? How can I possibly take ANYTHING that ANYONE of these contestants says seriously anymore? I can’t, and neither should you.

Want more proof? How about this little nugget:

Q: What tricks or strategies does the show employ to amp up the drama and tension during the taping of the show?

A: Well, in the private one on one interviews with a producer (like me) it is the producers job to get the sh*t talking started, like “tell me honestly what you think of Sally” — if the interviewee does not want to respond in a catty way then the producer will usually go to the next level, like “well I personally think she is a self absorbed, attention starved skank,” and then see if the person will take the bait. Once you start learning who in the house is not well liked it is easy to start seeding conversations and gossip. Also, if the conversations linger too long on favorite movies and stuff the producers will step in a say, “ok we all know we signed up for a TV show — so if you don’t start talking about something more topical then you can’t have the sushi you requested tonight.” The smarter cast members start to realize that everything can be bartered. Like, “I will give you a good one-on-one interview about Sally, IF you let me listen to my iPod for the rest of the day.”

Once again, some of you may have heard things like this, but to hear it straight from a producers mouth is a different story. I’ve been hearing this stuff for years now, so its not really new to me. One famous story that’s made the rounds is that on the application for the show they ask what was the saddest moment in your life, and the person in question talked about the death of their grandmother. Well, when they got eliminated, instead of asking them how they felt about the elimination and why they think they were eliminated, the producer asked them to go into detail about their grandmothers death, essentially trying to get this person to cry. They would get the footage of them crying, THEN ask a question about them leaving the show, and now that they have tears in their eyes, it makes it seem like they’re crying over being eliminated, when in reality, they had just re-lived a tragic life experience. “Then why even answer the question?” Because some of them don’t know any better. But that’s not the point. The story they are showing you on screen is not what really happened. It’s all lies. Nothing you’re seeing is real, and you have every right to question everything you see. To read the full interview, click on this link:

“Bachelor” Producer Speaks

So even if some of you out there are still responding, “Hey, I know it’s fake, but I like the drama”, I don’t know what to tell you. Even the drama isn’t real. Maybe if Juan and David really hated each other, it’d be more interesting. But they don’t. All a producer driven storyline. And yeah, if Wes is mouthing off about wanting to be famous and deceiving Jillian, then it makes for great TV. But it didn’t happen. I just don’t see how that is even remotely interesting when it’s concocted by producers who are willing to spare no expense to tell a story. They could care less how they edit somebody, no matter how bad it makes them look. You know why? It’s their job. If they’re not good at it, ABC/Next Entertainment will find someone who’s better at it. Ask any reality show producer or cameraman if they like their job (especially on this show). I guarantee if they’re being honest, not one of them will admit to enjoying what they’re doing, but knows it’s a job and they need to pay the bills.

-Then there’s the whole scene of Jake confronting Wes about a girlfriend named “Laurel”. Once again, I don’t know what to tell you. If you don’t believe Wes, and you actually think that he went on this show with a serious girlfriend, knowing she probably would notice the guy is gone for over a month, probably gonna find out the reason for it when she sits down to watch the show, and then realizes what he was on the show for, well then, you are much more gullible than I thought. I really am amazed at how many people are believing what they’re seeing. Here’s a general rule for most of the guys (and girls probably) who go on this show: I think most of them who go on have “girlfriends” back home. Ones that, if things don’t work out, they can always go back to. Lets face it, for the most part, the guys that appear on these shows are decent looking guys. Probably isn’t hard for them to get dates. So yeah, to say Wes, or any of the other guys for that matter, don’t have someone back home that they are “friends with” back home, would be pretty ignorant. How about other contestants you hear about that, after their experience on the show, end up running back to an ex and getting back together? Here’s a short list that I can come up with:

Jenni (from Brad’s season): Her ex-boyfriend actually picked her up from the airport when she came home from the show, and now they’re engaged. Might even be married by now.

Melissa Rycroft: Lets face it, she said she’s been friends on and off with Tye for 2 years, but the “timing was never right”. Her whole ordeal happens, and yet again, a little more than six months after accepting Jason’s proposal last November, she’s engaged to someone else.

Shannon (crazy, dental chick from Jason’s season): Admitted in her post exit interview (which happened around 3 months after she went on the show), that she was happy and back together with her ex-boyfriend.

Kate Brockhouse (Andy’s season): Probably don’t remember her from the show, but I referenced the fact she had a blog about the show afterwards that ripped it up and down. Granted, she was told to stop because she was giving away show secrets, but in the blog, she actually ADMITTED she went on the show with a boyfriend, and has since gotten married.

So maybe it’s a little more prevalent for women contestants to go running back to ex’s than it is for the men. I actually posed this question myself to a former “Bachelorette” contestant in an email. The person I asked was Lisa, who as you know is one of the models in the RealitySteve.com store and finished 3rd during Lorenzo’s season. I asked her this about three months ago in an email because it was right around the time I’d heard Melissa was dating her ex-boyfriend Tye. And knowing that wasn’t the first time a former bachelorette contestant had run back to an ex, I asked her to explain this phenomenon where, during the show, they’re crying about how they’re so incredibly in love with someone, and the minute they get dumped, they go running back to an ex. Here was Lisa’s answer, which I thought was very telling:

“Actually I think that what happens is that most girls are single when they apply for the show (except for people like Kate, which I still don’t understand). I was. But then the casting process takes up to 6 months (like it did in my case) and the girls that get cast for the show aren’t as single as they were 6 months ago (I wasn’t). Between applying and leaving for Italy I dated one guy for a couple of months, broke up and then started seeing another guy (my current BF) about a week before I left. I also still had some feelings for my ex-ex-boyfriend and we even talked about getting back together when the show was airing.
For me, my ex-ex-boyfriend was just as wrapped up in the airing of the shows as I was and we talked a lot during that time. Heck, I even started talking to my college boyfriend again who hadn’t wanted to even email with me up till that point (we had a pretty bad breakup). I can very easily see how it is easy to get back together with an ex through this process. In the end, I chose to have an exclusive relationship with my current BF but it could have just as easily gone the other way. Watching yourself on TV every Monday is tough, and then reading terrible things that people have said about you on the Internet is even tougher. You need a support system to come out of it as sane as possible. Sometimes people can only find that its someone that knows them really well. PLUS you can’t date (well, not supposed to) when the show is airing so if you need some type of support from a male then you have to already know that person and be cool just hanging out watching TV and movies on the couch every night and ordering take out. Does that make sense?”

Interesting to hear that side of things. I never looked at it that way. Whatever the case, my point in this was I’m sure most of the guys who appear on this show have a female “friend” or two back home that they could always go back to if things don’t work out on the show. Doesn’t necessarily mean they’re a “girlfriend.” So basically this show somehow found out about Wes’ friend “Laurel”, and created a storyline out of it. There is no way that Wes admitted to having an exclusive girlfriend while he was filming the show. Just didn’t happen. I mean, you saw the way it played out last night, with Jake in his questionable airline outfit showing up at Jillian’s hotel room to warn her about Wes. That was a bad daytime soap opera scene if you ask me. Really Jake? You’ve known this girl for a month and yet you’re SO concerned for her well being that you call TANNER of all people to ask if you’re doing the right thing? Please. I didn’t buy any of that garbage last night. You probably shouldn’t either. But hey, I understand some of you get caught up in this stuff. It’s my job to bring you back to the real world and tell you what you saw last night was a complete bogus storyline created solely for dramatic purposes. Jake was somehow coerced into coming back, and that whole scene was just for show. Sorry to burst your bubble. Don’t know what else to tell ya’. On a side note, for those asking me if this is the same “Laurel” who is Brad Womack’s ex, the answer is “yes”. There. Let your conspiracy rumors begin.

-Now lets talk about the return of Ed. Shocking, huh? Yeah, not really. I told you two weeks ago it was going to happen, and considering the way he returned, still really with no good explanation other than “I feel I made a mistake”, pretty much should tell you all you need to know about how “scripted” that whole exit/return was. I will be the first to admit that I was a little confused as to when Ed was returning. In a previous column, I stated that Wes didn’t last past the hometown dates. Obviously I was wrong, because I screwed my math up. I’ve always known who the final four, final three, and final two were, but I got confused when they went to the 30 guys and 5 hometown dates. If it were a regular season, after the four hometown dates, the remaining three men would then go off to their final destination. Well this season, after the hometown dates, the four remaining men actually go to Spain first, and then to Hawaii. So when I had found out early on that Wes “gets to the final four”, it was before I realized there were going to be 5 hometown dates. So you see what I’m getting at. Yes, Wes goes home next week. Don’t think many of you are shocked to hear that.

-As for Ed himself, some interesting news regarding him that’s come to light in the last week or so. The rumors circulating are that he’s left a female in Chicago high and dry about his “Bachelor” experience. A girl that he was dating who believed she was his girlfriend. And the girl is pretty upset at what has transpired. As the story goes, I received an email from a friend of one this girl explaining to me that her friend “without a doubt” was Ed’s girlfriend before he left for the show. This girl was under the assumption they were dating when he left to film the show. He came back to Chicago (after the bogus work excuse), then left again, saying he had to go to Texas for something . This girlfriend then couldn’t get a hold of him for a while after he left for “Texas” (i.e. Spain and Hawaii). An email was sent to him asking “So I guess we’re seeing other people now” and Ed responded with “No, I just need to wait until this show is over”. This Chicago girlfriend of Ed’s is under the assumption they are still together and she just has to wait out the show. I’ve have tried through a couple different channels to get this girl to talk to me, but she wants to stay out of the media because she feels embarrassed her boyfriend went on a dating show on national television. Wow. Good stuff. So Lindsey, if you’re out there and want to officially tell your side of the story, whenever that may be, I’m here for ya’. Kinda sucks what he did to you.

So that’s it for this week. I hope I educated enough of you out there to where you stop believing the lies this show spreads on a weekly basis. Hey, that’s why I’m here. No “Reality Roundup” on Friday as I’m on a plane to California tomorrow morning for 4th of July weekend. As always, any questions, comments, emails, praises, criticisms, email me at steve@realitysteve.com. Until next week.

Administrator The Bachelorette 5 - Jillian

So here is our DeAnna Pappas interview conducted Thursday, June 18th. Because we wanted to have a little fun with it, 30 minutes in to the interview, I surprise DeAnna by bringing in Jeremy from her season. Well, I didn’t really bring him in since he was sitting next to me the whole time. We just had him start talking for the first time after I got in a good half hour with DeAnna. Then about five minutes after bringing Jeremy on, we conference in Holly Durst, and the last 45 minutes or so are with the four of us. So I’m warning you now, if you’re looking for hard hitting journalism when the four of us are all on together, uhhhhh, forget it. Not even close. It gets pretty juvenile, but, I think you’ll enjoy hearing the three of them interact. And I apologize beforehand that Jeremy and I had to share one microphone in the studio, and he sometimes forgets to speak into it, so his voice is a little faint at times.

So here’s how it breaks down:

Interview with DeAnna (about the first 30 min): Among other things we talk about are her role on the “Lifetime” show “Get Married”, does she have a boyfriend right now, a brief mention of her stint on the “Bachelor” with Brad Womack, how she came to be the “Bachelorette”, deciding between her final four of Graham, Jeremy, Jason, and Jesse, including, who was her original final two going to be and why did it change, her role of showing up in New Zealand last season during Jason’s “Bachelor”, the YouTube video Jesse put out, plus, she answers some tough questions regarding her breakup with Jesse about as well as she could, plus much more.

Jeremy and DeAnna (about the next 5 minutes): These two get about five minutes together while I fiddle around trying to get Holly on the phone. She even tells Jeremy, yet again, why she let him go on the show.

Jeremy, DeAnna, and Holly (about the next 45 minutes): As I mentioned, this is pretty much a gigglefest. Although, we do find out a few things: How many women from the “Bachelor/ette” series has Jeremy made out with? How many men from the series has Holly made out with? (I’m not sure they answered honestly). Holly and DeAnna tell us who is a better kisser, Jeremy or Jesse? Jeremy tells us who’s a better kisser, Holly or DeAnna? (See, I told you this gets pretty juvenile). What guys would Holly and DeAnna pick as their final four from Jillians season? What does DeAnna think of Jason falling in love with three different women in a span of six months (DeAnna, Melissa, and Molly)? What tabloid rumor was the funniest one they heard about themselves? Who is President of the Twitter clique? What nicknames have been unilaterally decided for all of us? Yeah, it’s all there in a 45 minute screw off session. Entertaining, but completely silly. Hope you all enjoy the interview with DeAnna and friends. It was a good time all around and I thank all three of them for coming on. To listen to the interview, click on this link:

DeAnna Pappas Interview

A couple final notes. Some of you made mention of some negative comments being deleted under the Holly Durst interview. Let me clarify what happened. I have no problem if you choose to leave negative comments. Hell, all you have to do is look at the 70 or left about Holly’s interview to know that over 3/4 of them are of the negative variety. If I didn’t like them, then I’d delete them and I’d only leave the positive ones up. Not gonna happen. You can speak your mind about whatever you want. I don’t necessarily agree, but you can voice your opinion. However, two comments were deleted, but they were for reasons I’d rather not get into. Those people know who they are, they know why they were deleted, and I’ll just leave it at that. I’m all for expressing opinions, but the minute someone completely crosses over the line and takes it to an extreme that even I can’t believe, that’s where I have to put an end to it. It’s a comment board, people. Calm down. So just know there were two that were deleted for reasons I felt necessary, and that’s that.

And lastly, I haven’t seen it reported on any of the news sites yet, but according to the “Dallas Morning News” this morning, Melissa Rycroft got engaged over the weekend to boyfriend Tye Strickland. Here’s the link to the article. Sounds like they are speculating, and I’ve yet to hear it from any other site, but just wanted to share:

Melissa May Be Engaged

As always, as questions, comments, feedback, praises, criticisms, feel free to email me at steve@realitysteve.com. Back tomorrow with your “Bachelorette” recap and an update regarding the merchandise store. See you then.

Administrator Interviews, The Bachelor 12 - Matt, The Bachelorette 4 - DeAnna, The Bachelorette 5 - Jillian

I apologize. I know I said it’d be here today, but something came up, and my webmaster and I came up with an idea and we need the weekend to figure it out. Anyway, everything will be ready to go Monday with the interview, plus, we’ll have an update regarding the merchandise store. I think you’ll like it.

As for the Holly interview, glad most of you liked it. Don’t really pay much attention to the comments since it’s what’s expected from anti-Holly fans. This is their chance to be heard and they’re expressing themselves. If that’s what makes them happy, let em’ at it. I don’t really care what they say all that much as long as you’re reading and listening, which you most certainly are. Yes, the DeAnna interview is longer, but there are a couple surprises in it. Remember people, I’m not Walter Kronkite. I’m not auditioning for “60 minutes” here. I hit record, and when I’m done talking, I stop it. There’s no editing done whatsoever, and we just roll through mistakes and what not. It is what it is. If you like it, great. If not, then spend half your day on the comments section telling us why you didn’t since that seems to be the thing to do nowadays.

See you Monday. Have a great weekend.

Administrator Uncategorized

It’s finally here, my interview I recorded last week with former bachelorette during Matt Grant’s season, Holly Durst. Of course, many of you probably remember her more as the girl who dated Jesse after DeAnna did. Or, you may have heard she was voted “Hollywood Prom Queen 2009″, hence the picture in the tiara. I don’t really know what that is. We get to the bottom of all that during the course of this 45 minute interview.

Let’s make one thing clear: Up until a few weeks ago, I had never had any contact with Holly. Through the wonderful world of Facebook and Twitter, we’ve been able to keep in touch and I asked her to do an interview. She did not volunteer, and in fact, was reluctant at first to do anything. I’m glad she did.

I think Holly might be a little misunderstood in most circles. It’s apparent by reading some comments, and hearing the outrage that she even did the interview that some of you are pinning Holly as a fame whore who just wants to bring Jesse down. Not true. Of course, if I’m gonna have her on to interview, I’m going to ask about the rumors that circulated while these two were dating, and she answers them. You can make your own decision from there. Personally, I thought she was very candid, but in a respectful way. If you’ve already formed your opinion about Holly, then nothing she says or does will ever be good enough in your mind, which is fine. I found her to be funny, insightful, and definitely feels a little slighted by how she’s been portrayed. Since everything began with Jesse, seems like no one has really ever heard her background story and her side of what went on. This is now her chance to tell her side of things. Quite interesting.

In addition, we get to hear numerous other things like how she cast for the “Bachelor”, is she still friends with Matt, what’s her deal with looking up women’s skirts, the friendship she has built up with DeAnna Pappas, and most importantly, the infamous Vegas trip from a couple months ago with former bachelors and bachelorettes, her past relationship with Justin Guarini. My feeling was probably like most of yours regarding her and Justin. I think you’ll be surprised to what she has to say. Click the link below to hear the interview. Hope you enjoy it.

Interview with Holly Durst

Administrator Interviews, The Bachelor 12 - Matt, The Bachelorette 4 - DeAnna

An interesting week to say the least. For those that only come here on Tuesdays for the column, there have been three developments regarding the site since last week. They are:

1) We have now added a banner over here in the right hand column that is a direct link to the merchandise store. And due to the interest we’ve been receiving in it, we’ve decided to add a little something. Stay tuned in the following days for more information. In addition, if you order this week, we will actually be able to get it out a lot quicker than usual.

2) Jason Mesnick decided to call me out during a radio interview this past Friday. I’m not going to re-hash it. I posted the 2 minute audio clip of what he said and my thoughts yesterday. For the record, I’m pretty much done with it. He said this thing, I retorted, now it’s done. Jason apologists and his fans will back him and think I’m lying, and my fans will back me and think Jason is a douchenozzle. That’s expected. But I have no plans to revisit this anytime soon. What’s done is done. Lets move on. But thanks for purchasing the baby blue “I Love Reality Steve” shirt, Jason. Looks great on you. Ha ha.

3) The interviews with Holly and DeAnna are done. Actually, Holly’s was done before I even wrote last weeks column, and her interview will go up tomorrow. I’m aiming for Friday to air DeAnna’s, which we recorded last Thursday night. I think you’re going to enjoy both of them. I’m surprised quite a few of you think you already know what’s going to be in both of them and are jumping to conclusions. Especially all the Jesse lovers out there. I hate to disappoint you, but that’s not why these interviews were done despite what you think. Yes, the topic of Jesse is brought up and we learn a couple things here and there, but if you think this was done as a complete rip job to throw him under the bus, you couldn’t be more wrong. We even have a surprise during DeAnna’s interview. Two of them, actually.

-Host Chris is back in all his Nordstrom’s glory this week with the sport jacket, long sleeve collared shirt, and faded jeans. Doesn’t look a day older than twenty-five. Or unlike any of the eight guys we have left. And Chris is doing what he does best, ripping me in his blog. Ha ha. Kidding (Especially in his blog today, since he wastes no time starting to recap the episode and not referencing any of the numerous things I’m right about this season. Good job, Chris. Now tell your boy Jason to move on too). No, he’s actually paying attention to the show and announcing what kind of dates there’ll be, how they’ll play out, what city they’re in, where they’re headed, and what a train does. They will all be boarding the Rocky Mountaineer train. Hey, is Rocky Mountaineer friends with Thomas the Train? Just asking. There will be one group date, and two 1-on-1’s. And since we have 30 men this season, there will be five guys getting hometown dates, something I reported in the first column of the season. But hey, everything I write is lies, so why would you believe me? (Side note: In his blog, Chris talks about a pretty funny line that Tanner had which never made the air. Tanner obviously said this when Chris wasn’t around. So, Chris is told of a funny comment that Tanner made when he wasn’t around, yet, no one decided to inform him last week that Ed left the show? Uh huh).

-For no reason whatsoever, before the dates get started Jillian just randomly throws in there, “I still miss Ed.” He’s never brought up again the rest of the episode, nor is he talked about amongst the other guys. So yeah, they’re playing the foreshadowing card once again. I have never claimed to know everything that goes on with this show because I don’t. I tell you what I know. But the Ed thing, even if I didn’t know, I could’ve figured out. Why? Ummm, because I have two eyes. And I know the way this show works. It works in storylines. It leads you down one path so you can start believing one thing, so then it can spring something else on you later down the road. I’ll get into it more later regarding Wes, but if you can’t see how badly he was edited tonight, I don’t know what to tell you. Not that I’m a fan of Wes by any means, but it was fairly obvious tonight they edited him in a way that made him say those things. If you listened closely, so many of his lines were said without the camera on him, and you know those were just set up and spliced in to make him look bad. Once again, for a storyline. Oh sure, he said it. But I guarantee it wasn’t said in a way that was presented. And this is coming from a guy who admittedly isn’t a Wes fan. I just know he got shafted on the editing tonight.

-First 1-on-1 date is with Wobby. I call him that because, well, that’s how he comes across to me. Rob is macho. Robby is a bartender. Wobby is a bartender who says things like, “My mentality going into this date is ‘I think I can, I think I can, I think I can…get that rose tonight.’” Lord that was stupid. Did he really just say that? All he needed to do to top that off would be to yell “Choo! Choo!” as he pretends to yank on the horn as the conductor of the train. Wobby is kind of a little dork who really doesn’t seem the most comfortable around people with breasts. He and Michael should get together and go bowling with John Bender and Andrew Clarke’s fathers. Yesssss!!!!! My first “Breakfast Club” reference of the season. Top five teen movies of all time. So Jillian takes Wobby out to one of the sidecars to get a view of all the mountains, trees, and lakes they’re passing. Wobby can’t believe he’s actually on a real train and not one that he plays with in his garage. Weeeeeee!!!!! Then the train goes shooting through a tunnel, and Jillian lets out one of her proverbial ziplining screams which makes my ears bleed. Has she never been in the dark before? Really? I guess she likes it with the lights on.

-Wobby and Jilli go back inside since she has a great place for them to eat dinner tonight. In the caboose. Oh, I bet that horny Canadian likes it in the caboose. Hell, she likes being bombed every episode as it is, what’s wrong with a little backdoor action. Over dinner, Wobby pretty much seals his fate. “I have three older brothers, none of whom are married. In fact, they’ve never been engaged. We call it the ‘Descant Curse’.” Fabulous, Wob. How about next you tell her about how you never kissed a girl til senior year of high school, didn’t get laid til after college, and sleep with a teddy bear because the nighttime gives you the “spookies”. Yes, eventually Jillian would’ve found this out if she had given him a hometown date, but I can’t imagine he thought telling her something like that would sit well with her. And oh yeah, he also threw in he’s 25, hasn’t been in a relationship in a couple years, and he’s in between bartending jobs. And his best line of the night, “love doesn’t have a job”. Awesome. You’ll be loving yourself plenty of nights if you can’t find a source of income, buddy. Hey, screw Jillian. This sounds like the ideal person to be our next “Bachelor”. Wobby, you should’ve just jumped off the moving train to spare yourself the pain. I can’t imagine why Jillian wasn’t up for that.

-Jillian: “You are somebody that I totally would marry. In 5 or 10 years.” Ouch. Yeah, and even that was a lie. That was just her easy way of letting him down. If she throws in, “I’d totally marry you” before that, he doesn’t feel as bad about where he is in life right now. Which is nowhere. Hey Wobby, whip me up a couple Long Islands and a Jack and coke. Make it a double. Thanks pal. Enjoy that for the next five years. I’m sure that won’t get old. I also wanted to point out some awful production work. So as Jillian is about to not give Wobby the rose, the train is starting to slow down. We see a sign outside the train that says “Danger”. The other guys in the car are like, “Why are we slowing down? Something must be wrong.” Then Jillian goes into her speech about why she doesn’t want his college frat boy ass. So wait, the conductor of the train knew Jillian was about to dump Wobby? She’s in contact with him now on all her decisions? See what I mean? The whole production value of this show is awful. That was their way of telling a story with a bad ending, and it was ridiculously cheesy. Obviously, they knew beforehand Wobby was going home or else they wouldn’t have made such a big deal about the stop, the “danger” sign, and the other guys questioning what was going on. This show sucks.

-Jillian tells us her reason for letting Wobby go. “Conversation never got as deep as it should.” Damn, she’s a frisky little one tonight. Likes it with the lights on, likes it in the caboose, and now she’s telling us about how things need to be a little deeper. This is the most X-rated “Bachelorette” we’ve ever seen, and Wobby’s pants never even came off. Or Jillian’s. What’s next? Some guy not being able to get it up during the overnight date? Yeah, sure that’s what happens. If you noticed the previews last night, they kinda backed away from that assumption. I figured they would. It was so far out there and so ridiculous for them to even tease that, I think they decided it was better not to. Now they’re just referring to it as their “physical relationship”, which could mean a myriad of things. But back to Jillian, she dumps Wobby off in the middle of nowhere, even though we know there are producers right there waiting for him. Yet another dumb production move. Really? We’re supposed to believe you left him out in the wilderness to fend for himself? Kinda like when you make us believe that one dude who got dumped had to take the bus home. Sure he did. He was on that bus until the minute it was out of camera shot and the director yelled “Cut!” As always, this show sucks.

-Is there a reason Michael was crying after Wobby got sent home? What was his deal? He knows Tanner is still on the train, right? And why has their relationship fizzled since the gigglefest they had in the car during the “Amazing Race for Jillians Heart”? So disappointed that we couldn’t dive into that further. There had to be a scene somewhere of Tanner rubbing down Michael’s feet that ended up on the cutting room floor. Or sucking his toes. Or getting a foot “job”. Hey, it’s not out of the question when it comes to Tanner. Well, yes it is. Once again, if anyone actually truly believes that this guy is that much into women’s feet, and is that obsessive over Jillians ten toes, and arches, and toenail polish, then I hate to tell you this, but you’ve been duped by ABC yet again. That is a character he is playing, and nothing else. Does he like womens feet? I’m sure he does. Is he obsessive compulsive about it to the point they’ve shown us on the show? No. But when you’re in a boring season, and nothing is going on, and producers tell you to play something up for the cameras, you do it. Tanner is playing the character of the foot fetish freak this season, that’s all.

-Now lets move on to our next “character” this season, and that’s Wes. The bad boy. The wild card. The guy who might be using ABC as a stepping stone for his music career. After Jillian dumped Wobby, almost on cue, Wes comes in to comfort her. And really out of nowhere, he starts talking about his music career. It’s not like Jillian asked him, he just starts rambling about it in voice overs, and to the cameras. “I’ve got nothing to lose and everything to gain. If there’s anyone here with an agenda, it’s me. (To the camera) The fame that I’ll get from this, it’s inside of me. I can taste it. This is gonna help me. I’m excited. I’ll always have Jillian wrapped around my finger.” Remember how I told you I don’t know everything about this show? Well, I don’t know exactly what context Wes was saying that in, but it wasn’t how it came across. And no, I’m not defending him because I’m pretty neutral on the guy. As I’ve always said, I don’t care about these people. I don’t care who gets hometown dates, I don’t care who gets roses, and I don’t care who she ends up with. You shouldn’t either. My point being, is that Wes just didn’t randomly come out and start saying this stuff. He was urged to so they could create a storyline. None of this stuff is said in front of Jillian ever, so then the audience can scream, “Why is she keeping him around when all he’s there for is his music career!!!!” There are plenty of you saying that today and you’ve all been duped. That’s exactly the reaction they want from you, and they’re getting it. Means their storyline is working. Wes is a musician. And he knows damn well that going on this show will make more people recognize him. They’ve just decided to play up the music career more so than it really is.

-Group date time with Michael, Jesse, Kiptyn, Jake, Tanner, and Wes at Emerald Lake. Hey, isn’t that where Jason with the hockey mask killed all those kids for ten seasons in those movies? Or was that Crystal Lake? Whatever. It’s time for these guys to put on snow shoes and go plopping around in the snow. Tanner picks out red snow shoes for Jillian to match her red jacket or whatever. So dumb. Here’s all you need to know about Tanners foot fetish. In every Jillian interview she’s given, she hasn’t once said she was creeped out by it. So why is everyone else? Because it’s an act, that’s why. Jillian probably realized that in the early going so she didn’t let it bother her. Time for everyone to play hide-and-go-seek. Such a fun game. Used to play this all the time as a kid. I remember I locked myself in the closet once and no one ever came to find me. Tough times. Maybe that’s why I have such a jaded view of everything this show has to offer. I blame it on my childhood when no one came looking for me. And this was just about the dumbest game of hide-and-go-seek ever since they were out in the woods and really there wasn’t anywhere to hide. Didn’t really see the point of this.

-Well, I guess one thing came out of this game. Jake decided to maul Jillian because I don’t think he’s touched her since he had the first 1-on-1 date. All the other guys are hiding (well, trying to hide), and Jake is just laying on top of Jillian cutting off all circulation to her brain. Is that that way it’s done, Jake? So sexy. I can totally see now why you remain single. You don’t move when you’re on top of her. So that was Jake’s way of showing Jillian he wanted more time with her, and he gets it. When they’re back at some hotel or what not, he re-emphasizes how little time they’ve had together since their first 1-on-1. Jillian gives some BS answer about, you know, having a show to tape and kinda needing to go on other dates. Apparently Jake doesn’t realize this. Then he pretty much sealed his fate when he tells her, “You are a lot like my mom.” Oh boy. Probably wasn’t the greatest idea to tell her that. First off, it makes you sound like mommy packs you a sack lunch every morning before you go bye-bye on your planes. Secondly, it insinuates that she also initials your name into every pair of underwear you own. And lastly, Jillian just got compared to the woman who birthed you. I might be mistaken, but that’s a turn off. Jake is now concerned that he’s the “ultra safe guy”. Let me tell you something Jakey, there’s nothing about you that doesn’t scream, “I always wear two condoms, vanilla is my favorite ice cream, and I cry after sex.” Sorry.

-Reid is back waiting on the train since he has the next 1-on-1 date, so of course naturally, he does what any guy would do to kill time. He starts talking to the train staff about his upcoming date. I’m sure this was all his idea, it was completely a spontaneous moment, and the cameras just happened to catch it. Uh huh. So dumb. He asked one lady whom he’s never met, if he should go on the date wearing his glasses, or not wearing his glasses. I don’t even remember what he asked the other guy since this scene was so hokey, I kinda tuned out. You know what the problem is? It’s the fact that every episode is two hours long this season. Because of that, we get awful, time-wasting pieces like Reid talking to the train staff. Really? That was supposed to be funny? Or interesting? Like any of them were going to offer him any advice we cared about. Quit wasting our time with this garbage.

-Kiptyn is next up to get some alone time with Jillian and he talks in circles. “You know those guys who want what they can’t have? That’s not me. I’m usually attracted to the women that like me.” Yes, you’ve said this before Dumbo (sorry, it’s the ears). We know. You’re not the pursuer. Usually you have hundreds of women throwing themselves at your feet on a daily basis, and you just get to pick and choose who you’d like to feed you grapes as you sit in your throne being fanned down by Egyptian goddesses. Or something like that. He could’ve talked about the rash he had between his thighs and Jillian wouldn’t have cared. She wants more awkward kissing with him. And there they go. Wow, the awkwardness level keeps rising the minute these two’s lips begin to touch. Yet all she can talk about is their physical chemistry. “Our bodies got close. So natural.” I’m still trying to find one thing that Jillian says about Kiptyn that doesn’t reference the 18 pack abs he has, him fondling her that makes her all squishy, or the fact she’s convinced herself he’s a great kisser. Let me know if that ever happens.

-Now all of them are sitting around in a group and having a jolly ol’ time. Michael out of nowhere asks the random question to Jillian of, “What do you usually sleep in?” She says it’s normally a tank top and underwear. But if its after a night of drinking, it’s just underwear. Ummmm, is that such a good thing? Not really the visual the guys really needed I don’t think. Let’s face it, it’s not like they had flashes of Pamela Anderson running on the beach topless when Jillian said that. Now it’s time for Tanner to ham it up for the cameras again. He shows everyone what he sleeps in by dropping his pants and letting everyone see his tighty whiteys. Jillian: “I don’t need to see anyone’s package yet.” Well, except Kiptyn’s since all you seem to care about is grabbing his hog when you’re with him. After Tanner strips down, he gets Jillian aside for more ridiculous nonsense. Rubs her feet down, says they are about a 9 or 9 ½ on his scale, and says they are the best feet he’s ever seen. “Now that I’ve felt how soft her feet are, I want her to meet my family.” I can honestly say Tanner might be the only human being on this planet who has ever uttered that sentence. Frightening.

-Michael takes Jillian outside so they can make some S’mores and he can over act s’more. Get it? I used S’mores twice. Once to describe the delicious marshmallow-chocolate-graham cracker combination, and also to combine saying “some more”. Really, I’m quite the wordsmith I tell ya’. My grammar usually sucks ass, but dammit if I know how to get creative with S’mores. When talking about possibly bringing her home to meet the family, Michael gets right to the point. “My parents, brother, and my dog will all tell me, ‘If you don’t marry this woman immediately, you’re out of the family.’” How about disowning Michael from the family for the sole reason that his occupation is “Break Dance instructor”. Last time I checked, seems the only income that brings in are the loose change people throw in the hat he has laid out on his giant piece of cardboard. I don’t mean to dog on Michael because as I said last week, at least he brings something different to the table, but it is very obvious she doesn’t see him as anything more than a buddy. They have about as much physical chemistry as Jon & Kate do nowadays. Shocking to hear they’re getting divorced. Never saw that one coming. The amazing part is, “US Weekly” ended up being right about the whole thing. They were the ones who broke the news first, and for seven weeks had these two on the cover telling everyone their marriage was failing, and by golly, if they didn’t have it nailed from the beginning. Maybe we should start listening to them more.

-Finally, Tanner admits to the rest of the guys that he was the one who told Jillian about one of the guys having a girlfriend. Seemed kinda ridiculous since not one guy asked him, “Well, who do you know has a girlfriend?” After all the drama that Tanner allegedly caused, why wouldn’t ANY of the guys bother to ask him who he was talking about? Then in chimes Wes with the lines he was given, uhhhhhhhhhh, I mean his thoughts. “I’ve made it six shows already. I’ve already serenaded my song to her. It’s a no-brainer. I’ve got what I wanted.” I’ve already given you my thoughts on this. It’s an act. You wait and see at the “Men Tell All” or in his exit interview in a couple weeks. Wes is not going to admit, “Yeah, uhhhh, I totally said all that exactly how it came out and the times you heard me say it were the exact times and order I said it in.” He got hosed by the editing crew. Yes, he knew all along that as a musician and coming on this show, it would gain exposure. There’s no denying that. But there’s not a chance in hell he’s going out of his way to admit that to everyone. The guy isn’t an idiot. You gotta trust me on this one.

-Wes’ edit was complete producer manipulation once again, and even though these people know what they’re signing up for the minute they go on this show, that’s where I say the show is fake. They are telling you one story when something completely different is actually happening. Is it fair? I guess that all depends. It’s their show, they can make you look however they want. I don’t say it’s fair for this reason: They try to play everything off like “these are real people, in real situations. All we do is sit back and film it and let the drama unfold.” That’s not true. If they would just admit to it, I wouldn’t have as much of a problem with it. But when Chris Harrison and Mike Fleiss constantly talk about “we can’t script this stuff, it just happens”, it’s all BS. There’s not a chance in hell that Wes said that stuff within the context it was shown. I don’t know how much more clear I can be about that. And oh yeah, they all got in a hot tub, and Kiptyn got a rose because he developed another 6 pack of abs in the last twenty minutes since we last saw him.

-Jake is still bummed he didn’t get to tell Jillian all his inner most thoughts, so before she heads out on her date with Reid, he gets some time with her. And boy does he lay it on thick. “My life’s dream was to meet someone like you. Our first date, I’ve never had anything like that. I’m really, really crazy about you.” And then he says off camera that Jillian is definitely what he wants to marry. I mean, wow. His life’s dream was to meet someone like Jillian? Ummmm, he’s had one date with her. How can he possibly have advanced that far in his feelings when even he admits they’ve barely talked since the first 1-on-1? I think you can kinda see how Jillian let this guy go. Too much, too fast. Tap the brakes a little, Jakey. Let the woman breathe for God sakes. Every single sentence out of your mouth is talking about how great everything is between you two and blah blah blah. It’s called suffocating. I think you can get arrested for doing that to a woman.

-Reid’s 1-on-1 date consists of snowboarding. Reid is a good skier, just never been much of a snowboarder. So today, he will be playing the character of “out of his element guy that does something Jillian likes, so he can please her”. Everybody, give it up for Reid Rosenthal! Very well done. Jillian definitely liked it. “I saw Reid fall head over heels for me several times today.” HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I get it. You’re using that phrase two ways. Falling for you as in “I want to make babies with you”, and falling for you because he kept face planting into the snow. Jillian, seems like you and I have something in common. We both have our way with words today. How about we sneak around the back for some nookie? I’m kidding. I live by one rule and one rule alone in my life: Never hook up with a Canadian chick.

-So then these two decide to sit down and have some dinner next to some ice sculptures. I was obvious they were freezing since Jillian’s giant rose turned more red than Rudolph’s, and Reid’s ears starting turning red. Do you know what this means? If you don’t, Reid will tell you. Reid: “When your ears are red, it means you either have high blood pressure or you’re horny. I have high blood pressure.” Awesome. That must’ve been quite the ego bruise to her. I mean, by admitting you’re horny, that would be admitting that she actually turns you on with her nails-on-a-chalkboard voice, her awful accent, and her alcoholism. I don’t know how many women Reid has been with in his life, but uhhhhh, I’m guessing there are some chicks in Philly that can put Jillian to shame. And hey, Reid is just on the show to promote his real estate business anyway, right “Star” magazine? Hey, at least they didn’t attribute that quote to me. However, is it really that far fetched when he has a website www.ReidRosenthal.com? You’re welcome for the plug, Reid.

-Reid admits to being a hypchodriac. He’s freaked out by the meat fondue they’re about to eat. He doesn’t like the fact that he’s dipping his meat into the bowl, then Jillian does the same. Yep, he’s a hypochondriac all right. Not a fan of the meat dipping. Uh oh. Maybe he’s the one with bedroom problems. Yeah, that’s it. They get up to the fantasy suite, and Reid can’t stand the thought of sharing a bed with a woman on hotel bed sheets. We’ve all seen the investigative pieces done on those. You need Hazmat teams to come take those things away. Reid also can’t believe Jillian doesn’t wash her vegetables. I think it’s safe to say at this point Reid is probably one of those guys who walks around with a bottle of Purell all the time too. And washes his hands before and after every meal making sure each hand is scrubbed the exact same amount of times. Or is that OCD? Or both? Whatever the case, uhhhhh, Reid is beginning to freak me out. And the reason he and Jillian don’t end up together is because he thinks Jillian will end up giving him salmonella when she cooks him dinner. Mark it down.

-Another reason why these two won’t end up together? They’ve both admitted they’re different and they probably don’t have a lot in common. Reid all but told Jillian she’s not his type. Probably not something you want to say to woman when trying to get in her pants. He says he usually goes after blondes. You just know the next thing that was gonna come out of his mouth was, “and with giant cans. Frankly, I’ve never dated an A cup before.” However, Jillian liked Reid’s answer about the question of where these two would live if they ended up together. “Once we’re a team, then we’ll figure it out.” Hmmmmmm, very interesting. Sounds logical to me. Why worry about it now when you should be working on your relationship. Good sound advice from Mr. Reid Rosenthal, my hero. Or did Jillian say that? Can’t remember. If Reid said it, I’m all for it. If Jillian did, then I don’t care.

-Jillian sits down with Host Chris for her little pre-rose ceremony gossip about the guys. Sometimes I think these two should be laying down next to each other in sleeping bags when having this conversation. Seems all very high school-ish to me. And speaking of high school-ish, just wait til later this week when we air DeAnna’s interview. I’ll be the first to admit, it became quite the gigglefest for the last, oh I don’t know, 50 minutes or so. Yes, the whole interview lasts an hour and twenty minutes. But you’ll enjoy it. It was a grand ol’ time we had together. Back to these two, Host Chris starts to pigeonhole Wes. “You know Wes is a musician. And you know the certain stigmas that come along with musicians.” No, please enlighten us Chris? You mean, that they’re all skirt chasing bad boys who get laid in every town they go to? I had no idea. I figured that when you’re on the road touring, and your wife/girlfriend are back home, after you perform, you just go straight to bed every night and not bang half the women who were at your concert throwing their panties and phone numbers at you. Ahhh, the life of a musician. Must be tough.

-I didn’t listen to the rest of their fireside chat. I wanted to be done with this episode. Jillian did pull Michael aside before the rose ceremony started probably because they needed more filler time. She just wanted to make sure he was ready for a commitment since he’s so young, so immature, and so broke. I think he said he would break dance 18 hours a day if he had to just for her. So now Jillian must eliminate two of the five remaining guys. Reid and Kiptyn have roses.

“This is really a tough night for me. I remember being in this position and it’s a big deal because now we’re getting families involved. But I know I have seven extraordinary people in front of me. I care about you. I feel really, really grateful. You are the five guys the producers had laid out from the beginning. I mean, I randomly decided I liked you five.”

Jesse: I have no read on this guy. Is he boring? Does she like him? Why does he look like he can be related to Kiptyn? A whole bunch of questions.
Wes: Good for him. That’s the least they could’ve done for him after brutal edit job he got. Oh wait. It doesn’t get any better next week either.

“Gentleman, Jillian, this is the final rose tonight. Whenever you’re ready. I’ll be over here making sure Ed’s travel itinerary is all set to meet up with us in Spain. And Hawaii.”

Michael: He was so giddy, I thought he was gonna moon walk over to her.

-So Tanner leaves heartbroken. “She’s missin’ a great guy, a great family. I have no idea what the f*** I did that was wrong?” Well, you can probably start at the foot thing even though you were told to play it up. And that you never kissed her nor did it seem like she ever wanted to use you for anything more than an informant. And once the informant doesn’t deliver the goodies, it’s time for him to go. Bye-bye Tanner. Maybe I’ll catch you at the Idle Rich Pub. Or Primo’s. Whatever the case, I feel your pain. It sucks getting dumped. We’ve all been there. Except I never got dumped by someone whose toes, arches, nail polish, and bunions I ever caressed.

-Jake wants some explanation, anything, on why Jillian sent him home. And naturally, she’s got nothing for him. Jillian: “It just wasn’t right. I don’t know why.” Good answer. I’m sure that helps him a lot. It helps him so much that in the previews, we see Jake returning during Wes’ hometown date to confront him on the girlfriend issue. How convenient that a Dallas guy decides to put on his best Mormon suit, get on a plane, and fly himself to Austin to confront Wes. I’m guessing if Jake didn’t live in Dallas, this confrontation next week never happens. Or maybe it would’ve since it certainly wasn’t Jake’s idea to do this. “She’s got the dangerous guy (Wes), the flimsy guy (Reid), and the young one (Michael). I know Wes. He will break her heart. I guess nice guys finish last.” Jake definitely played the pity card on the way out the door. But we’re not done with him by any means. They needed more drama this season, so they figured, “I know! We’ll have the pilot fly down to Austin since it’s so close. Perfect. Jake? You up for this?” And he obliges. Ooohhhh, what drama. For the third time today, this show sucks.

So the Holly Durst interview will be up tomorrow. It’s about 45 minutes long. She definitely addresses the things said about her by Jesse’s fans, uhhhhh, I mean critics. And she also us in on something most people aren’t aware of, which is the extent of her relationship with Justin Guarini. So look forward to that tomorrow. Any questions, comments, emails, criticisms, praises, email me at steve@realitysteve.com. See ya.

Administrator The Bachelorette 5 - Jillian

Sorry it took me a couple days to post this. Here is a 2 minute clip from the interview Jason Mesnick did Friday morning on a Seattle radio station where he has Reality Steve on the mind:

Jason Calls Out Reality Steve

Let’s dissect some of the things that Jason says here, since the guy is contradicting himself all over the place.

“That guy heard a rumor…that I ended things with Melissa and started up with Molly.” Uhhhh, last time I checked pal, that wasn’t a rumor, it was fact. And I never reported it as “Hey, speculation is”, or, “Hey, maybe this happens”. From day one, I told everyone this isn’t what I thought happens, it’s what I know happens. So, it wasn’t a rumor, nor did I ever report it as one.

“I don’t even wanna mention his name, he’s got this reality website. I don’t even think anyone should ever even talk about this guy.” Sooooooo then why are you talking about me still three months after the fact when I basically had forgotten about you and Molly since about a week after the season ended? March 9th was really the last mention I made to your name in my column, yet here you were on June 19th bringing me up in a radio station interview promoting a Fathers Day event. I’m glad you have me on the brain. Is this a man crush?

“But, he made up the whole story in between, so everything he says is a flat out lie. He had the bookend right, but made up the whole story in between.” Well, apparently not since the main story I reported last season before anyone else, that you dumped Melissa at a taped ATFR show and asked Molly back, was true. So yet again, another inaccurate statement. Not everything I say is a flat out lie. In fact, most of it is true. And this season, when I told people last week that Ed does come back on the show, that’ll turn out to be true as well. As for making up the stuff in between, that will always be up for debate. I know I didn’t. You think I did. Then again, you’re under contract and not allowed to talk about certain things, so it’ll take a hell of a lot convincing on your part to turn the people who believed what I said.

“So I will tell anybody out there if they know who this guy is, he’s a bunch of BS. And I can promise that everything he says on his website is all his own stories. He’s a storyteller.” Wait, I’M a bunch of BS, or what I write is a bunch of BS? Please be more clear. And EVERYTHING that I say on my website is my own stories? Except for the little minor detail of finding out about the secret ATFR show you taped six weeks prior to the finale airing. And lets not forget, posting what happened at the ATFR 2 taping about one hour after it ended. Talk all you want about not liking some of the things I write, trust me I get that all the time, but don’t say I was factually inaccurate and a “storyteller”. Not true.

“And Melissa, who lives in the same city as this guy, started believing him.” Oooooohhhhhh, ok. So now I was the one who turned Melissa against you? Even though I’ve never spoken to her in my life, never met her, and have sent her one email that she really never responded to? Yet without having ever spoken to me or had any running email conversation, I somehow was able to convince her of everything that really went on? Damn. I must be a REALLY good writer. Better than I thought. So not only are you a huge RealitySteve.com fan, but apparently Melissa is too, AND, she listens to everything I say. Outstanding.

“And I talked to her after that…well, I haven’t talked to her since this whole thing went down. She was OK, up until that point, but she started believing what this guy was saying.” So which is it? Either you talked to her after she apparently believed everything I wrote which you say was me telling story, or you didn’t? My guess? You didn’t. This guy is flip flopping like a politician.

“He’s the one specifically that started stirring stuff up. He’s a just a miserable guy. He’s just trying to get famous.” Actually, you stirred it all up when you agreed to dump Melissa during a closed set taping and ask for Molly back. All I did was report it. Miserable? I wouldn’t say that. Jaded, skeptical, and weary about anything that actually happens on this show? You bet. And saying I’m trying to get famous is ludicrous. I’ve been part of the media for a while. I’ve covered plenty of athletes and interacted with famous people on numerous occasions. I don’t want that life. Now THOSE are your miserable people. And extremely insecure. And completely crazy. So no thanks, but I’ll pass.

I think I’ve said enough. Lets put it to bed. Jason showed some true colors in this interview, and just hearing the venom in his voice towards me was rather surprising. He’s obviously still bothered by the fact that people still hate him for what he did, so he figures why not take it out on me? I find it funny. I’m just not gonna resort to name calling and blaming others for what I did. I’ve said my peace. Hope you had a wonderful Fathers Day and you and Molly live happily ever after. I won’t hold my breath.

Administrator Interviews, The Bachelor 13 - Jason