Hey Steve,
Been loving all of the podcast guests and can’t wait for more! I have a few questions that maybe you can answer :
1. I know before BIP 4 started filming Robert Mills was talking about adding a Bachelor Pad style element to BIP which I’m sure was changed after the shut down. Were you ever able to find out what that was going to be; challenges? money? would have been interesting to see. No. Not sure. But it looks like we’ll get that with Winter Games.
2. I know Astrid was coming on BIP before the shutdown as she’s in that picture at the airport….do we know why she didn’t end up coming back? Because I guess she decided her boyfriend at home was more important.
3. Do you think the show would ever go back to having bachelors with real jobs, aka not a “social media influencers”. I think it would be interesting if the made a change since there seem to be so few options with Ben H., Wells, Peter, Dean etc. saying they wouldn’t want to be The Bachelor.
Thanks Steve for all that you do!!!
Comment: Ever? I’m sure we’ll get one in the future who does. But not every season.
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Hi Steve
I am seriously appalled watching bip right now. I’ve been watching these shows for years and I think this is the worst I’ve seen. Is Christen secretly in on the joke? The girls making fun of her, the show calling her “scallops fingers” as her title and then Diggy making a personal cut at her as well (on Twitter). Granted I don’t usually follow contestants social media, but is this making fun of eachother amoung contestants common? This type of bullying could do some real psychological damage!
Thanks for letting me rant.
Comment: Apparently she was well aware. And if you saw her opening sequence intro last night where she’s eating them, that kinda proves it.
You’ve mentioned in the past that you aren’t a fan of Lindsey Arnold’s husband. Is there a particular reason why? do you have dirt on him? Or did something happen that is public knowledge that I can’t seem to find online?
Comment: Huh? I can’t remember ever mentioning Lindsey Arnold’s husband in my life on this site. If I did, I’m sure it was in jest saying I was jealous of him because I’ve always found her to super attractive. But if you lined ten guys up in front of me right now and one of them was her husband, I wouldn’t be able to pick him out. No idea who he is or what his name is, so I can’t imagine why I would’ve ever said that.
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Hi Steve,
Good stuff as always. I have a question: When contestants are sent home, do they really leave right away? Last night, watching BIP, I hear Chris Harrison say those who don’t get a rose will be “on a flight back to the United States immediately”. Where do they go, are they really sent home that fast? Like do they go straight to the airport or stay at a hotel or something. I also assume ABC has to purchase a plane ticket for them? Either that night or the next morning. No need to keep them around much longer.
Also, I thought that whole Taylor & Derek conversation was so scripted and forced. Derek saying F*** you, seemed out of place. And Taylor’s reaction was just as weird. Like aren’t you a mental health counselor?? She sure does not act it…. she also seems so fake!
Comment: It wasn’t just the words, it was the way he said it. He didn’t say it angrily or while yelling or screaming at her. I actually think he said it jokingly. But she seemed to be more bothered by it than many expected. I didn’t get it.
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Hope I’m not too late for my email to be included. So here it goes:
First what’s up with the obsession Derek Peth has with John Krasinski? I think it started with a few people on social media telling him that they looked alike and then he just took it too far! He’s been trying for Kransinski to notice him for over a year and it’s never happened lol! He has? That’s sad. Especially for a guy that…forget it.
Second: Jasmine threatening Christen with releasing the texts she supposedly sent Ben Zorn is already bad. But the fact that Ben was petty enough to share them with Jasmine is even worse. I’m very surprised/disappointed he did that. He looks super mature. Not surprising in the least bit. That happens way more in this franchise that you know. Hell, you should see the stuff I’ve seen. And for the record, I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if some of my texts have made their way around the franchise.
Third: Robby only went for Amanda because his survival instinct kicked in order to stay in Mexico. This after he realized he had NO CHANCE with Raven, who he had originally planed to “hook-up with” in his delusional mind.
Comment: Or he was just seeing who had the most IG followers.
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Hey Steve,
Mostly just an opinion this week. I found myself fast forwarding through a lot of the episode, mostly because I find all these people massively unbearable. They’re literally just interchangeable piles of trash to me. Out of all the couples that make it, I find one or both of the members to be irritating so I can’t even root for any of them.
I’m curious where you come down on the overuse of the word bully. Sure, what Jasmine said was mean, but I don’t know if I’d call it bullying… If I have to choose, I’m team Christen. Jasmine just came off very insecure and petty about that whole situation. I’m probably in the minority, but I wish the Bachelor franchise would class up their cast a bit. The only ones I don’t find repulsive at this point is Raven and Ben Z.
I said I wanted Wells for Bachelor the last time I emailed. Odds on that happening?
Comment: Yes, I do get kind of annoyed by people throwing the word bullying around so easily. Because there are definitely different levels of bullying. I hope people can see that. Yes, people should make an effort to be kinder, but if you’re watching BIP in the summer to see a bunch of people be nice to each other and all get along, you’re watching the wrong show. It’s going to happen on this show. That’s what the show is. And if you can’t handle any type of criticism, the show isn’t for you.
Bullying is bullying, yes. But you can’t tell me that someone on this show being called a c**t, slut, whore, bitch, etc by some troll online isn’t way worse than getting called “scallops.” Especially when it’s pretty clear Christen had fun and went along with it.
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Hi, Steve.
In your BIP episode 5 recap you said, “I’m the last guy to defend Derek because I think he’s about as shady as they come.” I’m not going to ask you to spill gossip, because I know you don’t do that, but can you tell me whether your assessment of him is based on your gut feeling or on things you actually know about him? I follow a few of these people on instagram, and he seems like one of the most normal ones. Not hawking products, not partying all over the map, just hanging with family and renovating houses. Plus, he’s besties with everyone’s favorite bartender, Wells.
Thanks for your spoilers and your insight. I love following along every week!
Comment: I have already talked about this in the past. But no need to harp on it. I said what I said, it’s all true, and I’ve formed my opinion based on that. Derek doesn’t seem to like it but frankly I don’t care.
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Hey Reality Steve!
First off, a personal question. What do you think of the new Taylor Swift?? I see you were “giddy” about it coming, so how do you feel about it? Ha ha…read my answer a few questions back.
2.) In your recap, you said you think Derek is as shady as they come…why? Read my answer in the previous question.
3.) With all of your knowledge and strong opinions and the guys in this franchise, what do you think/know of Ben Z? He seems like a sweet guy that no one is apparently into. I know many times the guys here aren’t all that sweet after all, but throughout this season I’ve wondered about him.
Thanks!
Comment: I don’t think about him much. He’s kind of not on my radar when it comes to this franchise. Not really someone that “moves the needle” so to speak.
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Hi Steve!
Quick Question for you:
I think people have asked you this before, but if Peter is not the Bachelor (really hoping he is, once I found out he wasn’t the winner, I stopped watching last season, oops!) Anyways, if Peter doesn’t take the role – what are the reasons Wells wouldn’t get it? He seems very well liked, pretty popular among fans… any reason why he doesn’t get it? I don’t know. Some people find Wells incredibly annoying with his puppet show.
Also,
Now that another couple has broken up- who do you think will be the next break up? Have you heard anything about Jo jo and Jordan? They seem to be going pretty strong and living semi-normal, Actually I like them more now outside of the show then I did on the show. Haven’t heard much.
Lastly, do they even do open casting calls anymore? Is it actually realistic that someone actually “normal” with no ties to anyone would make the show? I kind of miss those days.
Thanks for all you do! I live for the spoilers!!! Have a good one!
Comment: Very few get cast from open casting calls anymore. It’s more about who you know.
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Hi Steve!
Was so happy to read your blog today and see that you had the same stance I did on the episode last night where it pertains to christen and jasmine. The bullying is just crazy! What did this poor girl do to deserve all that screen time re: scallop fingers. Are you kidding? What are we in high school again? These girls are a bunch of mean girls if there ever were any. It just went on and on and on. And then when she went to sit at the bar with the other two girls and they couldn’t stop giggling. seriously? They’re adult women, one of whom has 2 kids and neither could tell her what was going on?! What a shame. And she was eating shrimp on the beach in a swimsuit, not a 5 star restaurant. Don’t they eat pizza with their hands? And for ABC to write “scallop fingers” under her name was just the worst. These people are horrible. I don’t think scallop fingers in and of itself was that harsh of bullying. Especially since Christen apparently played into it and didn’t have much of a problem with it. I had more of an issue with Jasmine’s constant use of calling her a bitch. That was excessive.
Also, why was jasmine directing all her anger towards Christen and not Matt? He’s the one who agreed to do the date! (And even told her he’d be happy to go but I’ll pretend jasmine didn’t know that and give her the benefit of the doubt). I don’t see raven attacking Sarah for taking Adam out. They both just go talk to Adam about it. I don’t see Lacey attack Dom, she talked to Diggy about it. I don’t see Kristina attacking Danielle, she talked to Dean about it. So why is she pretending Matt had nothing to do with it?! jasmine is just immature and has a lot of growing up to do, especially when she’s on a show like BIP. Calling her a bitch 100 times on the show only makes her look like the bitch. And Matt needs to grow some balls. I think he’s just scared of jasmine. Apparently this all stems back to Jasmine and Christen talking pre show and Christen being all about Ben Z. And I guess a lot of stuff that happened out there they left on the editing room floor. Again, you’re fighting a losing battle trying to explain yourself on social media for the most part. But it seems to be there’s way more to the story than what was shown.
And dean, why doesn’t anyone ask him what he’s doing?! Like Kristina. He told her he wants to keep DLo around. And she just nods. Where’s her self confidence and self esteem to ask why?! He’s just not doing himself any favours this season that’s for sure. Hopefully the girls really screw him over. All I hope for is that Kristina gives him hell at the taping today. DLo too. He deserves it. His only recourse at this point is to apologize to both today. Anything else, he’ll look like even more of an ass than he already was.
And one question, I heard you on Olivia’s podcast the other day and loved the episode. Olivia seems like a super down to earth girl who really is the most “normal” among these people. How did you feel about her when you met her in person? Is she as nice and normal as I imagine her to be?
Thanks Steve for letting me vent. Love reading you always!
Comment: She was great. Loved spending time with her and talking to her about her experience off mic. I learned a lot. She’s one of my favorite people from this show and I’ll always root for her now.
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Steve, do you think any chance Ben Z could be bachelor? I thought he was a good candidate for bachelor post kaitlyns season and was super popular at the time. He’s a really nice guy, seems genuine, hot. Was surprised to see him on BIP cuz he’s “too good” for it but could it have been some sort of audition to see how the audience reacts to him? Or to remind people of him? Although their “dog edit” certainly doesn’t seem to be doing him any favours. I definitely thought he’d be more sought after in paradise but these girls are horrible to start off with. What would you think if they picked him?
Comment: No. He’s not going to be the “Bachelor.”
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Hi Steve!
I love your site, I’ve been following you since Ali’s season, and hers is the last season I’ve actually watched! After that, I usually just watch the 1st or 2nd episode so I know the cast, and then follow along with your recaps. Love your writing!
My question is, you say that Raven is production’s favorite right now. In what way do mean? Is she doing whatever they tell her to do? Do they actually just like her as a person/friend so they want to keep her around as a favor for her? Do they like her because the audience likes her? I’m just wondering why she’s their “favorite” when from an outsider watching, she looks/acts the same as the rest of the girls.
Thank you!
Comment: I just think they know she’s good TV, she’s easy to look at, they know a lot of the audience likes her, she gives good sound bites, etc. It’s why they focus so much on her and she’s front and center of this show and all their taped shows.
