Hi Steve!
Big fan (although I do look at the site after each season has ended to avoid spoilers)
Anyway, I was listening to the Morning Breath podcast and Amanda Stanton was on as a guest and mentioned something that I never even considered. When asked who she thinks the next bachelor should be she said that she thinks (and this was just her opinion, she had no proof) that bachelor producers brought Wells back to paradise in the bartender roll to hopefully remind the public of him and give him a really good showing so he could potentially be the next Bachelor. What do you think of this theory?
I think it could hold up!!
Comment: Wells has the personality to do it, for sure. But again, I’ve said for two months I think it’s gonna be Peter, I know they’re talking to him, I know he’s talking back to them, he’s got the backstory, he’s got the fanbase – I just think ultimately it’ll be him.
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Hi Steve! Hope you’ve had a good week. I have a bunch of questions for you this week!
1) Have you ever considered writing a book? And which member of bachelor nation would you want to read a book from? I would love to read a book by either Deanna, Jason Mesnick, or Brad. I’ve thought about it, but it’s not something that gets me excited. At least right now. Maybe later. Frankly, I’m not much of a reader, so no one really jumps out at me.
2) If you could read the mind of 1 bachelor franchise contestant, who would it be? Oh geez. This answer could get me in trouble so I’ll pass.
3) Do you have any dirt on Carly and Evan? Dirt like what?
4) Ok this is my favorite question. Let’s say they brought back Bachelor Pad for 1 more season. The contestants were: Chad, James Taylor, Jared, Eric, Ben H., Kenny, Josiah, Lace, Kristina, Lauren B., Ashley I, Alexis, Emily, and Haley. Hypothetically, who do you think would win? Impossible to answer. What are the challenges? How do I know what alliances are formed? Too many unknown variables to answer that.
5) If the next Bachelor and Bachelorette had to be picked out of the group of the entire BIP 4 cast, who do you think they would pick?
Thanks!
Comment: I don’t know who they’d do for “Bachelor.” I think Raven is like the teacher’s pet. They seem to love her.
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1. Other than off-season & BIP, which is generally a sh**storm, I force myself to avoid your site until ATFR & then go back to read your posts. I’m wondering if you do spoilers on your podcasts? Last I listened, you found a really good rhythm with them, and were bringing on some great guests, but I’ve been worried about hearing too much. (I know this seems like a ridiculous question to ask someone whose job is spoilers, but I have really missed listening to them.) Very few. Because most I didn’t end up talking about the season. I know I did on the Heather McDonald one, but I mostly stayed away from spoilers in the podcast.
2. I know you don’t go into too much detail on personal feelings unless you really think pretty low of the person, but did you enjoy Rachel as a lead compared to the more recent Bachelors and Bachelorettes? I feel like since Andi, most of the leads (notably Chris, Ben, and Jojo) have been extremely unrelatable/unlikable/not entertaining. Yeah, I did. Said that many times this season. I liked her. I felt she didn’t give a lot of the canned answers we hear from leads.
3. Maybe it’s just me, but I always wonder how Juan Pablo ended up with a pretty good amount of unforgettable women that still seem pretty relevant to “Bachelor nation.” If I’m correct, this was one of the last seasons to choose a lot of women from open casting calls? I can’t remember how many of his were from open casting calls.
4. Just a note to Peter fans: I liked Peter, too. And Rachel liked Bryan. Picking the guy that she was clearly into from day 1 is not a character flaw. This is a f***ing TV show, but the people are real, so maybe instead you should evaluate your own character if you’re going to tweet/IG extremely harsh and unnecessary things @ her/Bryan/whomever. It’s entertainment, please get over it.
Comment: Couldn’t have said it better myself.
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Hi Steve! This is my second email this week, and lol if this isn’t allowed then just put it in next week’s reader emails. I have this running list on my phone of questions for you. I add to it every day. I just love your insight. Ok here’s a few more questions that I wanted to ask this week.
1) This is a fun question – you’re on a family fued team of you and 6 members of bachelor nation. You get to pick the people on it from the 5 most recent seasons of bachelor and bachelorette. Who’s on it? Not Robby, not Luke, Not Jordan, Not Corinne, Not Nick, and Not Vanessa. Gimmie anybody else from the field. How bout’ dat?
2) I think that Kristina seems really sweet. Do you have any dirt that would make me think otherwise? Uhhhhhhh….
3) Do you know if Adam and Raven are still together? Yes.
4) Was there anyone surprising that was considered for Paradise but ultimately wasn’t chosen? Not that I know of.
5) When will Winter Games be premiering? Do you think it will do well? February, opposite of the real Winter Olympics. “Bachelor” programming usually does pretty well no matter when it’s on.
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Hi Steve! I’ve been reading your column for years and really love it! Thanks for providing such a wonderful experience for us and all your awesome intel!
1. Is it just me or did Corrine receive a really warm reception from everyone when she arrived last night and nobody talked to Taylor except Matt? Is Taylor really that not well liked by all the girls from last season in Nicks show? Honestly, Taylor always annoyed me with her big head at saying how she has a degree and how great she was although I have 4 degrees which include a College diploma, a bachelors, and two masters. I never throw my education in people’s faces and think I’m better than anyone when I talk. On the other hand, Corrine annoyed me with her immaturity. Did the cast really shut out Taylor all season? A lot of them did, yes.
2. Did you hear Fleiss say they weren’t set on a Bachelor and were going to see what goes down in Paradise to pick someone? He said they wouldn’t announce it for a while. Is Peter still the number one in your eyes or does anyone stick out to you more in Paradise this season? I was thinking Ben or Eric. Maybe Dean but his switching between Kristina and Danielle is concerning. Who is your top three to be Bachelor at this point please? Peter. Then Peter. Third I’ll go with…Peter.
3. What is going on between Nick and Vanessa? You never hear anything about them! All the other couples have updates a lot except them. Have they broken up? No. You’ll know if a Bachelor couple breaks up. It’ll be all over the entertainment sites.
4. If you could be the bachelor, what five or more former bachelor contestants and five celebrities would you want as contestants? Oh geez. Too many former contestants to name. So I’ll just go with current celebrities that I’m into: Blake Lively, Kate Beckinsale, Nina Dobrev, Mandy Moore, and Jenna Dewan Tatum. I’m all over the map.
5. Do you think they would ever have a celebrity or rich guy back to be Bachelor like the old days? That would be awesome!
Thank you!
Comment: Doubt it.
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What did Nick V say about Kristina in his radio interview? Surprised it was negative if he seemed to really respect her during his season? Something to the effect, ‘Some people aren’t as they seem.’” Obviously he heard stuff post-show that made him form that opinion.
What are you hearing about the current status of the Dean-Kristina-DLo love triangle?
Comment: I’ll update you as we get closer to the finale.
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Hi Steve!
First, I wanted to let you know I’ve been catching up on your podcasts the past few days while I drop my kids off or pick them up from school — they are SO great. Really entertaining, and also a great way to hear different perspectives. I’ve really enjoyed them, so just wanted to say, good job. 🙂
Second, I haven’t watched the entire episode of BiP yet, but I saw the segment with Carly’s wedding, and it definitely seemed… odd to me. I had a few questions.
Is there some kind of rift between Carly and Zac? I noticed that tons of people from “Bachelor Nation” were there, but her brother wasn’t, and it just seemed strange. He’s her brother, AND he was on “The Bachelorette” as well, so why would he not be at their wedding? Or did I just miss seeing him? Zac’s wife was very pregnant, hence, they couldn’t make it down to Mexico. You might say, “So was Jade and she went.” I believe Zac’s wife was further along in hers and that’s the decision they made.
And does ABC like, hate Carly or something? That wedding was laughable. The bridesmaids with their hideous flower crowns, the ugly dresses, the oddness of the ceremony, and the cheap decorations — and then to contrast her crappy wedding with the other weddings just really called even more attention to it, IMO. Every other couple got this beautiful, lavish, gorgeous weddings, and then… there’s Carly and Evan’s. Was it their own preference to have a tacky, small, and cheap wedding? Or does ABC call all the shots, and if they do, well… yeah. Seriously, do they hate Carly? LOL.
Thanks, and still loving your site.
Comment: No, I don’t think they hate Carly. Obviously, some weddings ABC has done are more lavish than others. No doubt about that. I don’t know what the rhyme or reason is to it, but there’s definitely a pecking order of couples in this franchise, and Carly and Evan aren’t at the top. They probably are aware of that.
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Hi Steve,
I’ve been a fan of this franchise since Trista & Ryan’s season. I was a naive girl clueless about dating, just out of university and heading into the workforce at that time. This franchise ‘taught’ me how to position myself, find, choose, handle guys. Most importantly, helps me to fight boredom especially in this part of Asia, our dating scene is dull and uninteresting!
I am a fan of your website since last year and just want to let you know how much I enjoyed your articles and podcasts. They are awesome! I basically ‘grew up’ with the bachelor franchise, I still catch up with each season and BIP, but only from the internet now as our local TV media here no longer aired this program. I enjoyed how you update us about past bachelors/bachelorettes like how they are doing now. I get the kick out of reading your spoilers as they provide the perfect complement to the whole show, just like how strawberries and cream complement each other perfectly.
Btw, I watched 2 seasons of The Bachelorette Australia (Sam Frost) & The Bachelor Australia (Richie) but stopped following after that. I still prefer the original Bachelor franchise from the US!
A fan from Singapore
(a little red dot on the world map)
Comment: Sweet, another overseas reader/listener. I appreciate it. Thanks for the kind words.
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Hey Hey,
Happy Paradise Season–was a bit of a snoozer for the most part (or maybe I’m just harder to entertain the older I get) but there was one thing that stood out to me as odd and wanted to get your opinion. Truthfully, I was half watching and half playing on my phone but I recall Chris giving a little setup while on an “abandoned” beach saying production is “halted, everyone sent home, no one else is here except me filming this perfectly written monologue to setup footage you are about to see (which if production truly was stopped and in limbo, he would have no clue would ever be seen) He basically did a “here’s what happened” before they showed the little bit of Corrine and Demario’s interaction.
If this truly was the timeline, why was he filming this setup assuming the season would be going on as normal? Any insight if ABC was planning on addressing it in a televised segment regardless and thus had him film this little piece so they could use as they see fit. Was this done after the season had ended and totally faked to make it seem like it was while the investigation was going on? Was it when they knew filming was resuming but hadn’t yet flown everyone back? It just seemed very crafted to me and stood out as completely staged to provide narration as to what happened vs. them filming CH just in case they got the green light to move ahead. Not sure if you had insight but first time I watched and thought “huh”. If production was truly halted and they did not know if it would be stated up again, why would they film a segment to be used in the season that would never air? Anywho, not sure if I’m wording this right but hope you get the drift of my question…Basically, I think I’m catching on to when things are completely fake for purposes of the story they are trying to tell?
Comment: I’m a little confused by what you’re asking, but I’ll try to answer the best I can. Barefoot Chris Harrison, the one we saw intro the show Monday night, along with the one who brought the cast back last night, was shot right before they came back. Once they realized they were coming back on the air, he shot Monday’s open to basically say, “Here’s what happened before production shut down,” and then last night, shot the scene of them all coming back. Does that help?
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First- It’s not my intention to throw more shade on Robby than he’s already received. Just wanted to say that I’ve noticed he’s “changed” a lot from a year or two ago. I’ve looked at some pics of him with his beautiful ex-gf ‘Hope’ from 2015 & also from 2016 on JoJo’s season & he looks very different. Chase, Luke & Jordan look the same. But Robby doesn’t. Well, he has new teeth for one. He acknowledged that in an IG post. Got it done between the end of filming of JoJo’s season and him showing up on the ATFR.
Second- I also wanted to ask you if you know whatever happened with the stilettos that Ellen Degeneres gave Rachel to show on the 1st episode of her season. She said that if the stilettos showed on camera she would donate $10,000 (per shoe) to the charity of Rachel’s choice. But nothing was ever mentioned again. Did I miss it?
Comment: I didn’t even know Ellen gave her stilettos, so I have no idea.
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Hi Steve!
First off, I agree with you that it was disappointing what little they showed of Corinne and DeMario’s time together. I kept waiting, thinking they were going to show more, and then nothing. Super hyped up for nothing.
A few questions for you:
What did you think of Taylor’s and Derek’s adamant insistence that the producers don’t manipulate or coerce in anyway? It seemed like that was the general feeling most of the cast had about the producers – they’re their friends, not manipulators. I thought that was the worst part of the sit down. Total BS. Some people just don’t want to rock the ABC boat so to speak. We all know that producers lie, cajole, and manipulate the contestants on this show. Yes, every person is responsible for their own actions, but don’t tell me that you aren’t told to do specific things because you are. Some choose to follow along, some don’t. But to make it seem like producers just sit there and don’t dictate situations is a flat out lie.
What’s with Kristina eating a cheeseburger in the opening credits? Is it because a cheeseburger is a typical American food and she’s Russian? Seems strange. I’m scratching my head on that one.
I know there was talk that Olivia was going to go on paradise with Derek when they were together, but I thought she had said before and after that that she wasn’t interested in Paradise given the edit job she’d had on the Bachelor. Why does she seem so disappointed to not be on it now? I don’t get the sense that Olivia is disappointed she’s not on the show. In fact, I think the opposite.
Do you think Alexis told people in paradise that she had a bf? I don’t see any potential dating interactions happening, it seems like she’s just hanging out with everyone. I’m sure most of the girls knew what her relationship situation was.
Finally, I was very surprised they completely glossed over Desiree and Chris’ wedding last night. I know it wasn’t taped by ABC, but to not even mention it just seemed so disrespectful. You’d think they’d want to count every success they have, given they have so few.
Comment: Well, the only wedding clips they showed were the ones they televised. So I can see why they wouldn’t show Des & Chris’. It wasn’t part of ABC. The question to ask was why weren’t they at the wedding. Who knows? They have a newborn, maybe they were invited but didn’t feel like traveling. Maybe they were never invited. Maybe they’re done with the franchise. I don’t know. But I get why none of their wedding was shown. They only showed clips from ABC weddings.
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Hi Steve!
1. Were Evan’s kids at the wedding ceremony in Mexico? No, I don’t believe so. UPDATE: A couple of you have emailed to say they were there, but their faces were blurred out on TV. Mother must not have approved of them being on TV. We’ve seen it before.
2. Was Carly already pregnant during the wedding? They said they found out when they were there that she was.
3. Were Jojo and Jordan in attendance? It seems that every other bachelor couple was there. I don’t think so.
4. Did the production know that Marcus and Lacey wedding ceremony wasn’t real? Why did they decided to do it anyway? Because it’s a pay check would be my guess.
5. Did Corine and DeMario decide not to come back to Paradise or were they told that they can’t? Corinne claimed she was asked and refused. I don’t know if I buy that. It didn’t make sense to bring them back to compete as contestants.
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Send all links and emails to: steve@realitysteve.com. To follow me on Twitter, it’s: www.twitter.com/RealitySteve. Instagram name is “RealitySteve,” join my Reality Steve Facebook Fan Page, or listen to all my podcasts at Apple Podcasts. Talk to you tomorrow.
