Steve
In the last several weeks, everyone keeps saying that Nick redeemed himself on Paradise. From everything I saw on Paradise, Nick acted like the same narcissistic ass that he has always been. He bitched about Josh Murray at every opportunity. He used Jen, the prettiest, sweetest, most sincere person on the show, and then dumped her for his own personal gain. Nick quit his real job, moved from Chicago, and is pursuing the Hollywood life with a vengeance. Chris Harrison gives an interview after Jojo’s show, saying that Nick is the most sincere candidate that they have. How can any rational thinking person buy what Nick is selling? My question is, do you believe that Nick actually redeemed himself on Paradise? Because so many people believe in this crap and aren’t willing to look at it for what it is unfortunately. The question of did he redeem himself on Paradise, I actually say yes – to the average Joe Public viewer he did. To those that know better, no, he’s the same guy who’s so caught up in everything Bachelor Nation, and who couldn’t be more phony with some of the stuff he’s spewing publicly now. It is what it is. A majority of the viewers see him as the former, and that’s all the show cares about.
My second question goes back to Andi’s after show. Nick said the fantasy suite should be saved for honeymoon stuff. I recall you reporting that Nick has hooked up with seven girls from this franchise alone. We know about Andi, Caitlyn, Liz, and Jen. Who are the other three girls he hooked up with that we don’t know?
Thanks
Comment: Apparently I will never hear the end of it regarding this statement. And as I’ve stated before, if I wanted people to know, I would’ve revealed the names. Some are obvious. Some are not. I’m just saying that if I know of 7, just assume there’s more.
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Just listened to your podcast and heard your bit about Vanessa’s reluctance to leave Montreal and your musing about whether she and Nick discussed this during production. As an American who’s involved with a Canadian myself, my first thought was the timing of production vs the election. When our presidential election went the way it did, Canadians (and much of the world, to be fair) were appalled. Perhaps Vanessa was open to a move pre-Trump, but immigrants- even Canadian- would be smart to reconsider afterwards. Just a thought.
On another note- I love the podcast! Long time fan of yours and I think it’s a great medium for you. You’re a ‘radio’ natural!
Comment: I don’t think the Trump election has anything to do with it whatsoever.
What I’ve reported about Nick and Vanessa is what I’m hearing. Doesn’t mean it can’t change. It might. Or it might not. Regardless of the whole Vanessa situation (which is what so many people seem to be focusing on), the reason they won’t get married and stay together has way more to do with Nick. He has no intention of getting married off of this show and never did. Period.
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Dear Reality Steve:
I believe I’ve read every post you’ve written about all these shows and remember you calling in to Jim Rome for comments or the Smack Off. Like many people there’s no way I watch this fake stuff without your input.
People always ask you how many women the lead sleeps with and you have responded vaguely over the years, presumably to keep a source secret. There was one Bachelor long ago who you said slept with (I’m not sure but something like) 5.5 women. The first number isn’t all that important even though it’s impressive. It’s the .5 that has always grabbed my curiosity.
Either:
a) you were joking,
b) there’s some story about a threesome or something juicy,
c) you were using a Bill Clinton definition of “sex”, or
d) I’m old and don’t understand how you have sex with a half a woman.
Has it been long enough that you can explain? If you don’t remember the details, I can tell you which Bachelor it was–but I’m thinking there’s no way you’ve forgotten.
Thank you for making this fun.
Comment: Actually, it was Mike Fleiss who made the “5 1/2″ women” comment about Bob Guiney during an ABC behind-the-scenes special regarding the show. To this day, no one actually knows what the hell he was talking about. And for all we know, he just made sh** up to be funny.
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Hi Steve,
I finally had a chance to catch up on your podcasts. Love the new format! You asked a question about the proper way to pronounce sherbet. According to http://grammarist.com, it is sherbet.
Thanks for the work you do. Looking forward to another silly season of the Bachelor.
Sherbet is the standard spelling of the frozen dessert made primarily of fruit juice, water, and sugar. The misspelled sherbert, which results from a common mispronunciation (sher-bert instead of sher-bit), appears often enough to have earned a spot in some dictionaries as a secondary spelling, but it is still not as widely accepted as sherbet, which more closely resembles the Turkish and Persian words from which the English term is derived.
Comment: Yes, I was made aware of this by numerous people after podcast #2. And I was still saying it wrong in the podcast. I had read this, yet still thought it was shebert. I am dumb sometimes.
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Hi Steve,
I have two questions about the Liz and Nick relationship:
1) How did Liz end up on the show? Did she contact the producers and say she slept with Nick after meeting him and Jade and Tanners wedding, and they brought her on? Or did Jade help her? I didn’t know the exact answer to this question until yesterday. Last week’s podcast guest Juliet Litman had Jade on her Channel 33 Bachelor Party podcast yesterday, and Jade told Juliet that Liz applied after Nick was announced, with Jade’s help. They made a tape, Jade sent it to producers, they only had a couple weeks to get stuff done, and (surprise surprise) they did. So there you go.
2) This may be more or a Dr. Steve question, but I’m hoping you could tell me if Nick was just being nice. Liz said that Nick did ask for her number after they slept together, but Liz felt he was just being nice. Now my question is would a guy ask for your number if he slept with you just to be nice?
Thanks!
Comment: Would a guy do that? Absolutely. And there are plenty of women who would give out their number – just to be nice with no intention of ever seeing the guy again. It works both ways. In their particular situation, it’s impossible to know because we aren’t them. As I brought up previous, maybe Liz was just looking for a one night romp. Maybe she was kinda already seeing someone and didn’t want to complicate things. Maybe it’s just as she said, she felt he was just asking to be nice so she wasn’t obligated to give him anything in return. Too many factors we don’t know about.
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Hey Steve!
Love all that you do and your humour…and loving the podcasts – I listen to them at work, much easier!
Just a quick question, I’m not the biggest fan of Nick, but when they were doing the recap last Sunday night and showed him mumbling in Andi’s season and in Kaitlyn’s season….and since you’ve said he’s moved to LA and has been trying to get into Hollywood, just curious if you’ve a) noticed that his speech impediment/mumbling is not AS bad as it was and b) if you’ve heard if he’s been doing any speech therapy?
Thanks again!
Comment: I haven’t heard about as speech therapy per se, but taking acting/hosting classes in LA, I’m sure any teacher is helping enunciate better and not mumble. You don’t see many mumblers on TV, so I gotta think any class he’s taking is helping him with that. Even though I still see him doing it. Along with the head tilt. Nick is BIG on the head tilt when he talks and it drives me bonkers.
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My wife was so appalled by Corinne that she said she was absolutely traumatized by last night’s show. When Corinne bragged about pressing her naked breasts against Nick my wife was ready to boycott the show… at least until next week.
After watching Corinne check every box necessary to achieve maximum villain status, I can’t help but wonder if any small portion of it is actually sincere villainy. I debate myself on this issue because I know just how sleazy some women can be in real life. But I also know how contrived practically all of this show is. Corinne definitely seems like somebody who cannot be slut shamed because she has no shame. But neither do the producers of this lame show.
But the producers do a lot of audience analysis, and there must be something about women like Corinne that inspires a certain moral sanctimoniousness that the mostly female Bachelor audience finds irresistible and simultaneously recreational. It may even be therapeutic.
For myself, I find it therapeutic because, A) I get to watch half naked young women on a TV show with the full permission and participation of my wife, and B) I get a vicarious and highly edited view of the mindset of today’s women and, thus, a preview of the imminent collapse of Western Civilization.
Comment: You have many excellent points. As for Corinnie, we’re 33 seasons into this franchise now. Every contestant is well aware of how this show works and the characters it has produced in the past, and I definitely think some go on knowing exactly what they’re going to do for camera time. Corinne is one of those girls. But she also doesn’t realize how ridiculous she comes across and how it will be hard in the future for anyone to take her seriously. Her Instagram post yesterday only solidifies that even more.
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Hi Steve!
I understand that the show is very manufactured and “set up” now, but I back in the first few seasons, it seemed more genuine. Real people with real careers who didn’t all have Hollywood aspirations. I’ve been wanting to re-watch some of the early seasons, like Aaron, Andrew and Bob to compare it with nows Bachelor, but I can’t find those seasons anywhere online. Do you know where I can find these seasons?
Comment: I know the very first season with Alex is on ABC’s site now. As I believe Trista’s is. Yes, it was a completely different show back then. Different time, no social media, way less options on TV, etc. It’s comparing apples and oranges. Without a doubt back when it first started it was a little more sincere, basically because it had to be. Now with its gaining popularity and pop culture status, it can never be what it used to be. Impossible.
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Hey Steve,
Just a few questions for reader emails this week.
1) Can you think of any reasons why they wouldn’t cast a single mom this season? I thought that was an essential character in the bachelor cast. It could be something that Nick told them he didn’t have an interest in. Or it could just be something they didn’t do this season.
2) Last week you mentioned that Evan is living in a house with his kids while Carly lives in an apartment. I thought there were rumors from the mother that Evan didn’t really see his kids? Has that changed or were the rumors wrong? I don’t believe I ever said that. I don’t even know what their living situation is. Hell, I even forgot what they told us on the “Countdown to Nick” show already. I do know that before “Bachelorette,” no, Evan was not very involved in his kids life and his ex called him out on it. If things have changed since then and he’s come to his senses, then good for him. He should’ve.
3) Is Rachel really a high-powered attorney? Or is she similar to Andi in that she is just starting out and not that important? I’m surprised she could take time off to do the show if she is so important to her law firm. Also wondering if she will choose being the lead of this show over her job. I don’t know enough about law and the rankings of a legal firm to know where Rachel stands in her firm. I’m sure you could Google around and find out how important she is. But I definitely think she’s way further along than Andi. Andi was 6 months removed from law school when she left for the “Bachelor.” Rachel is 31 and been at it longer.
4) Really super random but do you know who the instagram account pacozero is? He seems to know a lot of bachelor contestants and they always comment/ like his posts. No idea.
Thanks!
P.S. When Nick said last night that he donated something to the Museum of Broken Relationships, I was praying it was the bag of Cheetos.
Comment: That would’ve been the ultimate.
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Hi, Steve!
This is my first time ever writing an email to you! I have been a long-time Bachelor fan, but started reading your site religiously during Ben’s season, and haven’t stopped since! It makes watching the show so much more fun knowing all the insight that you give us, so thank you 🙂
A couple things here: One, do you by chance know how Liz got on the show? I sorta feel bad for her, and I’m wondering…did she sign up for the show before Nick got announced (since you’ve said many of the girls are already cast before the lead is), therefore, she might not of even known Nick was for sure going to be the Bachelor, but knew she would for sure get cast because of her Jade connection? Or, did she sign up after Nick was announced, orrrrr did the producers purposely cast her and reach out to her themselves? Just curious on how that went down…because if she was cast before Nick was officially cast the lead, I do feel for her. If that’s not the case, then I don’t at all haha. As mentioned a couple questions ago, Jade said on Juliet Litman’s podcast that she helped Liz apply after Nick was announced.
Second, it seems the “Bachelor Nation” world has gotten much more “cliquey” since Chris’ season until now. Maybe it’s because of the crazy social media presence that goes into it? Either way, it seems like Kaitlyn and Shawn are completely left out of everything. I know they both still appear on things, but it just seems like they have taken a back burner to other Bachelor couples. Did something happen, or are they trying to distance themselves? It seemed Becca and Kaitlyn were “best friends” for awhile, and now you see nothing of them. You might not have an answer to this or anything, but it was just an observation!
Thank you again for all your awesome insight and spoilers to the Bachelor Franchise!
Comment: They definitely have been shunned by the franchise. And I don’t know the exact reason why. This is pure speculation, but knowing how petty these producers can be, maybe there’s still a part of them that’s pissed at her for spoiling her own season. Lets face it, she is the only person who wasn’t able to keep the secret. I don’t know. That’s the only thing I can think of as to why they don’t promote her and Shawn more. But I could be way off.
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Hi Steve!
My involvement in the Bachelor world has now been reduced to reading your column, because I can no longer suffer through 2 hours of the show every week, nor do I want to contribute to its ratings. I need your sarcasm to be able to enjoy the drama!
I did find an interesting article yesterday though, in which the writers rewatched the premiere season of Alex Michel, and commented on the differences in the show versus now. Aside from the cluelessness of everybody toward reality tv, the thing that struck me the most was that so many dates were a plane ride away, to a beautiful new destination to experience something romantic there. The overnight dates were all in vastly different places. Nowadays, you get cheesy competitions in whatever podunk town will take them in for a week. The fantasy is completely gone. I feel like the change may have contributed to the show starting to feel more gimmicky, and people taking it way less seriously both from a cast and production standpoint. Yes, I remember the days when the overnight dates were in three different countries.
Which leads to my two-part question!
A. In your opinion, which season seemed like the turning point where they seemingly ran out of disposable income and had a noticeable shift from jet-setting fantasy dates around the country, to low-budget hokey dates? I think Brad’s first season was the turn if I had to guess.
B. In your opinion, which season seemed like the turning point where the cast shifted from mostly being there for a dating show or just for the hell of it, to seeking their 15 minutes of fame? Probably after Jason’s season, just because that’s when the show became a tabloid sensation.
One more question, who would you most want to watch as the lead who has never gotten the gig? Personally, I think Ashley I. would be a heck of an entertaining trainwreck to watch. She’s probably 800th on my list of people I’d like to see as the lead, so we couldn’t disagree more there. Honestly, I really don’t care. I know that sounds like a cop out answer, but I really don’t have any strong interest in seeing one person there over someone else.
And a comment: major giggles over the people who emailed hate to you last week. Their writing skills were just stellar and really emphasized their points. But in all seriousness, I’ve always found you to be very objective and reluctant to speculate or give your opinion.
Thanks for keeping me plugged into the Bachelor drama!!
Comment: Thanks. I appreciate it. You just have to laugh at the pathetic ones. Not much else you can do.
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Hi Steve,
Knowing that there were Bachelor producers and other powers-that-be present for Jade and Tanner’s wedding, it’s a fair assumption that they witnessed or were made aware of Nick and Liz’s hookup. Seeing that as a great story opportunity, do you think that was when they came up with the idea of Nick being the lead and casting Liz as one of his girls? Maybe producers even encouraged her not to reach out to him over the next 9 months. Then, in order for America to be more accepting of him as lead, they allowed him to redeem his reputation on Paradise with a good edit.
I don’t know that it actually played out the way they wanted with her leaving before the 2nd rose ceremony, but they sure are milking the drama.
I love a good conspiracy theory and wondered if you could see it being true!
Comment: I don’t think they cast their lead based on 1 of the 30 girls. That’s giving Liz was too much power. Especially when she only lasted two episodes. So no, I don’t think because of Liz they decided to go with Nick. Liz was a by product of Nick being the “Bachelor,” so basically the other way around. Just gave them a little story to play with for a couple of episodes.
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Hi RS!
First let me say I’m so glad we are back in the swing of getting to read/watch/listen to you on a more consistent basis! I look forward to it with every coming Bachelor/Bachelorette Season! Also, I wanted to thank you-I FINALLY fell into the Friday Night Lights saga. It is sooo good! (I know you told us all so) BUT-I do want your opinion on one thing-Do you think Connie Britton can ever get away from Tami Taylor? If you watch Nashville after FNL you totally get a bit of Mrs. Taylor in Rayna James, AND I even found her version of Faye Resnick (People vs. OJ) to have a bit of Tami in there as well? Just a random observation! I think she’ll always be Tami Taylor to a lot of people, unless she wins an Oscar some day for something. And I’m totally fine with that. Because she plays a country woman in “Nashville,” yes, it’s easy to make the comparisons to Tami.
Side note-TOTALLY agree with you on what you said about sports in your column today-THE best reality TV anywhere. I wanted to recommend a show for you since you are a big college sports fan (at least it seems that way). The Big Ten Network has a show called The Journey, it profiles players and coaches from different teams each week (both bball and football seasons) and its great! That game last night was one for the ages (I’m a HUGE Ohio State fan so it hurts to say that) and I was rooting for Dabo all the way. I can’t stand Nick Saban…now that I think of it, I really don’t like very many Nicks (my ex was a Nick and I wasted a lot of my college years on that cheater). I’ve seen it a couple times. It’s excellent. Most documentary-type programs that follow teams around are really good. Showtime did it with Notre Dame football all last season, then Florida St. this year. So good. HBO did Gonzaga basketball last season that was excellent. And of course, you got “Hard Knocks” every summer. I live for shows like that.
Anyways-I’m rambling- As for Bachelor Nick, I know I am still watching, as is Bachelor Nation, but he is gross. I don’t know if it’s the lisp, the fakeness he oozes or the fact that 4 times makes you overdone, but I am really finding this season to be hard to stick with (I know it’s only episode 2). I want to know what you think about the dates so far-I felt like last night was the most random and forced showing of dates yet. I mean the wedding photoshoot? Museum of Broken Relationships? It was just weird right? Am I just getting too old for this show at 31, or are they getting to a point where everything has been done?
Comment: I think in the early episodes when they keep it in LA (especially for the group dates), you’re just not gonna get something overly creative. The 1-on-1’s are usually somewhat decent. I mean, what woman wouldn’t want to take a helicopter ride over the Pacific Ocean and land on a yacht in Newport Harbor?
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Hi Steve,
So other than Corrine, obviously, which of this season’s women will find their way to Bachelor in Paradise? If Alexis make the cut, will she walk down the stairs in her shark costume? And do you think they’ll bring back any “favorites,” like Ashley I. or the twins? Well, the twins are getting their own show on FreeForm starting March 20th. And they’ve both admitted to having boyfriends now, so I doubt we see them. Lets pray Ashley I. never shows up again, but you can’t rule anything out with her. As for Nick’s girls, it’s almost easier to predict who WON’T be on Paradise. Remember, 13 of Ben’s girls showed up on Paradise last season, so expect to see just as many of Nick’s girls on there.
Also, since they broke the pattern and made Nick the Bachelor, is it possible they’ll do the same for the Bachelorette and bring back someone like Tenley or Sarah Herron or Ashley I. ? Or is Rachel pretty much a shoo-in if she wants it?
Comment: Tenley has had a boyfriend for almost a year now, so she’s out. It’s impossible to say what they plan on doing anymore with the leads. All I can go by is track record. 12 previous “Bachelorettes” were from previous seasons that all finished in the top 4. Yes, they’ve sometimes gotten lenient outside the top 4, or gone with someone not from the immediate season before it (Brad 2.0, Jake, Juan Pablo, Nick), but notice those were all for the “Bachelor” and not “Bachelorette.” So my guess is they’ll stay with one of Nick’s girls, and Rachel is obviously a strong candidate.
