Thank you for this season! I can’t wait until BIP gets under way.
A few questions…
1. With all the drama surrounding BIP do you think they will scrap it for next year or still try to push it? Based on the article I posted last week with Robert Mills, looks like it’s still gonna be Paradise next summer.
2. What’s more enjoyable for you, working during BIP or bachelor/bachelorette? Or is there little difference? While it’s airing or while it’s filming? BIP is easier to cover while it’s airing because there’s less to write about. While they’re filming, I like the big shows better because information comes in so many different ways and it’s like a giant puzzle.
And lastly, not bachelor related but I know you’re a fan of the challenge and I’m one of the few still holding on to that show haha love it! So…
3. Who do you wanna see win this season, which girl and which guy? I’m guilty of reading spoilers for that show so I know the final three for each. I’ll always root for Bananas because I want to see excellence. But if he doesn’t, I’ll go with Leroy. He needs a win. Girl? Jenna. Talk about judging a book by its cover. First time I saw her on these shows it was laughable. I thought she had zero chance. She’s one of the best competitors they have.
4. Who are your favorite players to play the game and who would you like to see back? I was particularly stoked
Derrick K came back this season!
Comment: Bananas and Kenny will always be my top 2 male favorites. Love Cara Maria and Jenna and Camila. For some reason, that Amanda chick from AYTO is starting to grow on me and I don’t know why.
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Hey Steve,
So I’m curious with how the rest of the season is going to play out since they still seem to be sticking to the 2 nights a week schedule. Also since there seems to be no After Paradise this year it feels like they’re gonna be doing another full length 2 hour episode on Tuesday night. And after watching Carly and Evan’s wedding, it raises a lot of questions for me. Like that wedding could have been done in 20 minutes max, and they milked out the wedding for like 45 minutes. And on top of that there was another 15 minutes wasted on their conversation with Chris Harrison (which I feel like they did have to do to save the show’s image).
I mean we’re 2 episodes in, and we haven’t seen the first rose ceremony. And it just seems odd that they’re looking for ways to kill time so they can get the full 2 hours in. Plus they also have to show Chris Harrison’s separate interviews with Corinne and DeMario throughout the season (which DeMario stated on Entertainment Tonight that his will be happening next week, and Corinne’s is supposed to be the week after) which I assume will take up a good portion of the air time. I know the difference they had in filming compared to previous seasons isn’t that extreme, but do you think cause of the condensed time it took to film the season that they are trying to look for ways to fill time so it can feel as long as the previous ones?
Comment: Precisely. DeMario’s talk was this week, then next week we’ll get Corinne’s. And the fact we didn’t get the first rose ceremony til episode 3 shows how much they’re milking it. Then again, there were only 4 rose ceremonies total. Or were there 3? Hell I don’t remember and I don’t feel like going back to look at the spoilers.
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Hey Steve!
I’ve noticed you mentioned a ton in your last column the “pecking order” of couples in the franchise. I’d be curious to know who you think their top couples are?
Thanks!
Comment: The ones who constantly get references and they’ll always talk about: Ryan and Trista, Sean & Catherine, Jason & Molly, Ashley & JP.
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Seeing how Dean and Kristina acted together, I am surprised Dean even left Paradise to go after her. My question is….do you have any idea if he is still seeing Kristina? He’s not.
Also, is it true she dated Jef Holm? Was she dating him when she left for the show? She did date him. Whether or not she was dating right up until she left is up for debate. I’m hearing no. But it was somewhat close.
Thanks!!
PS……Cannot wait until you spoil the next Bachelor for us!!
Comment: It could happen, it could not. That’s really the only “announcement” they can make that they can kinda keep from me. Especially with the way they have multiple people sign contracts every season.
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Hi Steve,
Loving your podcasts lately, great job on those. I loved the Heather McDonald podcast and have now started listening to her podcasts every week as well. Heather’s is pretty funny. She does not give a sh**.
Just wanted to get your opinion on Carly and Evan’s wedding. I’ve heard you mention before that Evan is pretty wealthy and it certainly comes off that way. With that in mind it strikes me as very odd that they’d chose to have their wedding televised like that. I know you’ve said before ‘who wouldn’t want their wedding paid for’ and I get that. But if someone has plenty of money I just don’t see the appeal. Particularly the type of wedding ABC gave them. I get that there is a pecking order and Carly and Evan aren’t at the top but I feel like they could have afforded a much nice wedding themselves. Are they really that desperate to be on tv again that they would sacrifice having a super nice wedding?! I don’t get it.
Thanks!
Comment: I can’t speak for them so I have no idea. I guess they wanted low key. They both do seem kinda quirky, and having a wedding that somewhat resembled a backyard BBQ maybe fit their personality more than something completely over-the-top at some fancy resort. To each their own.
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Hi Steve!
Any idea what the giant scar down Taylor’s back is from?
Thanks!
Comment: She was once cut open in half by a dragon from “Game of Thrones.”
I have no idea.
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Hi Steve
Both Danielle and Amanda both mentioned they would like to date Wells or someone like Wells in the first episode of BIP. I know Amanda and Wells were in the media for hooking up shortly after her breakup with Josh. And Danielle and Wells are good friends and live near each other. Just wondering if you know why neither of these relationships have developed further when both girls are showing genuine interest?? Wells seems like a really popular guy in this franchise.
Thanks mate. Keep up the good work.
Comment: I don’t really know. From an outside perspective, Wells strikes me as having a lot of female friends. Like, all the girls love him, but don’t want to date him. They just want to cry on his shoulder when their boyfriend who treats them like crap dumps them.
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Hey Steve!
It’s been a while since I wrote you and I have some thoughts so here goes nothing.
I think this season has been insane. Like, there were schedule interruptions (we missed like three weeks I think) and then double doses; we had ridiculous to be continued episodes; and oh yeah, all the BiP drama in the middle of the season. I’m a little glad it’s over because it was just exhausting.
That said, I really liked the season overall. I thought Rachel was a great Bachelorette, in the vain of Kaitlyn. She was very open about her thoughts and feelings and she seemed to go with the process, a lot like Kaitlyn did. The criticism she’s gotten since it ended has definitely been very Kaitlyn-esque, with a lot of people yelling through their computers at her for no reason. I get they’re upset, but man, take it down a level. I liked Peter, but I’m not gonna throw a fit because someone I’ve never met decided she liked someone else better, and I’m certainly not gonna start saying she settled for Bryan. How many people said that about Des at the end of her season? She married her final guy and they have a baby, so it doesn’t matter what we see; it’s all edited. I don’t blame her for wanting a guy who was there for her; maybe he was too charming and too slick, but he also knew exactly what he wanted and he went for it. Good for Rachel for choosing him. She’s the one engaged after all.
As far as Peter, I really liked them together on their first date, but that’s because I’m a sucker when it comes to dogs. My dog and my cat are my family, so a date like that is pretty much my ideal date; if you’re in with them, you’re in with me, and if they hate you, it’s a deal breaker. I also get why he didn’t want to propose; it’s really crazy how little time these people spend together before getting engaged. And honestly, it definitely seemed like she was more into him than he was to her; have we forgotten when he was on Ellen and he said he hadn’t thought about having sex with her? I mean, that was after their date; hypothetically you would assume he’d thought about it after that at least. And I think his reasons for not wanting to get engaged will make a great story for when he’s inevitably proposing at the end of his Bachelor season. Especially since they did a crappy job setting up anyone else for the role. I mean, Eric seems like a nice guy, but I’m not sure I saw enough about him to really care one way or the other about a potential season for him. Dean definitely isn’t gonna come through Paradise well and I just don’t think he’s all that believable about wanting to be engaged; he seems young and in love with himself. Not saying there’s anything particularly wrong with that sentiment, just not what the Bachelor audience is looking for, you know? And let’s not even pretend like they cared about anyone outside the top four when two guys made top 6 and people were trying to figure out who the hell they were. It’s either Peter or they pull someone from a past season. I just don’t think they let themselves a viable alternative. Personally, I’d like to see a second Bachelorette season with Raven, even if she is “dating” Adam. I think that has the potential for a fun season, and I know they’ll never do it, but sometimes it’s nice to play pretend.
Ultimately, I’m just looking forward to you spoiling the next season, whomever the lead may be.
Thanks!
Comment: All very good points.
I have nothing to base this on, and we don’t even have the cast of the next “Bachelor” girls, but I’m telling you, Raven is the teacher’s pet. If for whatever reason there aren’t any good choices off the next “Bachelor” season (even though there probably will be), I wouldn’t rule Raven out. They LOVE her.
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Hey Steve,
I have been really curious about all the love triangles in paradise and amongst contestants this season. I feel bad for Sarah Vendal – she seems like a sweet, fun girl, but she seems to always get ditched for someone else! I think Raven going out with Adam when Sarah had just hooked up with him is shady and I’m glad they’ll discuss it on the show (at least I think that’s what you said), but since it was one time it’s not like a huge breech of girl code? The more I think about it, the more I think Raven was a bit sh***y though because she also went out with Robby knowing he ghosted Sarah. That’s two of Sarah’s sloppy seconds! I suppose with Robby you could say she did it so she could mess with him and insult him to help her friend? Thoughts? It’s possible. I have no idea about Raven’s motivations. And Robby asked her. And the show had just started. I don’t see her rejecting that in the first episode you know? There’s no reason to.
Does it get brought up that Amanda is dating Robby who had been hooking up with Sarah? That seems worse to me because Sarah and Amanda seem to be good friends and were hanging out a lot at one point. Clearly she Amanda never learns though and it’s nuts she went for one of Josh’s friends. I think Ben Z would have been a better fit. Poor poor Sarah though! What are your thoughts? Also do you know if she’s going back to teaching? Sarah moved to Dallas, that I know. I think she has family here or something. But she now lives here and I have no idea what she’s doing for work. I’m not sure if anything is brought up with Amanda regarding the Robby/Sarah situation.
I’d love to hear Caila Quinn as a guest on your podcast! Ashley I still seems to go out of her way to throw shade towards her on her podcast (I could only listen to a couple episodes because she is so self-absorbed and the sound of her voice makes me want to scream) and on Olivia’s. She is a total mean girl. I’d love to hear Caila’s side on things and how she feels in retrospect and about communication she’s has since. I hope you can get Jared on at some point! He is always doing interviews with Ashley I and I feel like you don’t hear his true opinions with her around.
Comment: Plenty of podcasts to do. You never know.
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Hi Steve,
First off, love your website and podcasts.
On your podcasts with Lace you mentioned Chad Johnson being on the UK version of celebrity Big Brother. As a Brit who now lives in Canada I thought I would fill you in. Most people will have no clue who he is in the UK, but that is fine because the celebrities who go on it now (it’s been on for years) are very low rated celebrities in the UK. I believe the Situation from Jersey Shore was on it last year. He likely got the idea from Callum Best from Famously Single as Callum was on it at some point as well. Basically the show is a car crash so he will be fitting in perfectly. I doubt you care but he will be on it to keep himself in the public eye. The UK public doesn’t care as long as there is drama.
Comment: Gotcha. Thanks. Is that thing still airing? Is he still on it? What’s he doing?
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Hi Steve!
Ok, I know it’s BIP time and we’ve beaten Rachel’s season to death but I only recently saw this Kimmel clip and couldn’t help laughing at how B-I-T-T-E-R he is that he couldn’t take credit for your spoiler this year.
Damn he was salty about being fooled! Can you do that again?? Lol… I know it’s a given that he steals your spoilers but twice in a row would be hilarious. Maybe just tell us the final two and let him flounder on his own for a change (then spoil it!). Nah, no reason to. I’ll let him keep taking my stuff without acknowledging it. Hell, I don’t think he even likes the show and can’t stand having to talk about it so much. Heard that from a little birdie.
Moving on. Who was Taylor kidding when she said there’s no producer involvement in these shows? So I’m supposed to believe that voodoo shaman clip after Nick dumped her in the swamp was her idea? And she walked out of there and knew exactly where Nick and Corinne were for dinner? Maybe the shaman told her. But come on!
Love your recaps! So much so I’m reading the past BIP ones even though I never watched them :))
Comment: Yeah, some of those contestants saying producers don’t make them do anything and basically kissing their ass was kinda disgusting. After that episode, I was having a text conversation with a former contestant and this was their take on the whole thing. They said:
“Production might not make us do anything but everyone knows to play nice with them or you get screwed, so you basically end up doing what they want anyways.”
That just about sums it up on this show. You don’t play their game, anything can happen to you.
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Hi Steve!
Just watched the wedding of Carly and Evan, and couldn’t help but notice how awkward of a dynamic the Kaitlyn/Shawn and Nick/Vanessa must have been. Do you know if they talked at all? I don’t know.
Any word on if Kaitlyn and Shawn would be getting a wedding? If so, where on the totem pole would you place them? The fact they haven’t gotten an ABC wedding after being engaged 2 years shows you all you need to know where they are on the totem pole.
If Peter is not the Bachelor for whatever reason, who would you WANT to see as the Bachelor, and why? I know you’ve said you don’t really even care for the show, so maybe the better question is who would you think would make for the best season to write about?
Thanks!
Comment: It’s really the best answer I can give. I really do not care who gets the gig, nor do I want anyone in particular. All I care about is that there IS a season, which there will be for the foreseeable future. That’s my only concern.
Best to write about? Probably Peter.
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Hi RS! Just wondering what your thoughts are on why they decided to keep the clip of Corrine saying she was “single” when she arrived in paradise. Obviously it was common knowledge by the time this aired that she had a boyfriend (not just from your reporting but in the scandals coverage on several news outlets as well). It seemed like a very deliberate choice to keep that in. To me it was a subtle way of making her look worse because viewers were set up to know she is comfortable lying.
Also wondering why Robby wasn’t in the original cast photo. Thanks!
Comment: Well, you say it was “common knowledge.” To the majority of their audience, no, it was not common knowledge at all. People who follow this stuff religiously and read all the stories and follow all of them on social media still make up a much smaller percentage than the ones that don’t.
Robby wasn’t in the cast photo because I guess technically he wasn’t in the first group of people to arrive. He arrived separately and a night had already passed before he showed up.
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Morning…
Do you know if there were any ramifications for the producer(s) who filed the complaints? Are they back at work with the franchise? Technically, they cost ABC millions of dollars. Then again, ABC and the production co. might think any PR is good PR – even if it’s controversial. If they fire the producers – there could be back-lash on appearances of punishing possible whistle-blowers. But in the end, they certainly weren’t looking like professional production staff, nor team-players to be reporting something they didn’t even witness.
Comment: When filming resumed, they no longer worked on the show.
