There is A LOT to get to today. You haven’t heard from me since Thursday, and since then, we had a Winter Games finale, a “Women Tell All” episode, and then last night’s overnight dates. I will get to all of that. Less time will be spent on those three only because, let’s face it, this season is all about the finale next week. Do we really need to dissect what happened last night or at the WTA when we have a giant sh** storm approaching next Monday and Tuesday night? Of course not. I will have thoughts on those shows on pages 3 and 4, but I want to take the time now to update you on my findings over the last few weeks in regards to kinda behind-the-scenes of what went down when Arie pulled a Mesnick this season, ended his engagement to Becca, and started seeing Lauren. The questions you’ve all had was who knew what and when, how did it play out, what was the reaction, how are Arie & Lauren now, etc. That’s what I’ve been focusing on over the last few weeks and I’m finally able to tell you what I’ve gathered. As always, people will choose to believe what they want (namely the Arie nutjobs), but I’d say I’m pretty dialed in to this situation and I have a better idea of what’s happening now. Lets begin…
Because I released the spoilers in different parts this season, things may have gotten a tad confusing. So let me break down when I shared everything so you have it nice and neat for you:
Nov. 30th: Final 4 Breakdown & Who Arie Chose
Dec. 5th: First 3 Episodes Spoilers
Jan. 2nd: Whose Ex Shows Up?
Jan. 18th: Episodes 4 thru 7 Spoilers
Jan. 23rd: Arie’s Change of Heart
All of that happened. None of that has changed. Now, I’ll fill you in the best I can on what’s been going on lately. The biggest question of this ending is how/when did the break up happen with Becca, what did she know, what about the cameras filming, etc. Here’s what I can tell you. Arie and Becca were together as late as New Years Eve. Remember when he was in New York for the ball drop to promote the season? Becca was there with him. So once the New Year rolled around, they were together. I reported a few days later that on the night of the premiere Jan. 1st that Arie called Lauren. Again, this happened. Obviously I’m not privy to word for word what was said, but it was in this conversation that Arie made it known to Lauren he was having second thoughts and asked what she was feeling. It was established in this phone call that Lauren would fight for the two of them. She certainly didn’t shut him down, obviously considering where we’re at now, but she basically didn’t tell him no, didn’t tell him to leave her alone, and wasn’t against the thought of them getting back together. This conversation put the wheels in motion for Arie.
Now let me be clear, I’m not saying Lauren told him to break up with Becca. I’m not saying she encouraged him to do anything. But there was no chance that Arie would dump Becca in hopes that Lauren would take him back. He knew she was willing to try it. I can’t say for sure if over the next 10-12 days how many times Arie and Lauren spoke. I have no idea. But just using my brain for a half a second, I really do not think he never spoke to her from the time he called her on the night of the premiere til the day he showed up in Virginia on Jan. 16th. It’s ridiculous to think that he did. But do I have any proof of talks/texts between Jan. 1st and him showing up in Virginia to see Lauren and her parents on Jan. 16th? No. It doesn’t take much to think they weren’t in touch in some form. What that form was in anyone’s guess.
I had reported before that Becca knew Arie contacted Lauren. This is true. The extent of what she knew, I don’t know. It’s my belief based on everything I was told that Becca and Arie had been together on three separate Happy Couple visits (possibly four) from the time filming ended til Jan. 1st. Two of those are documented (the bike riding trip in AZ, then the Happy Couple visit where they both posted in the same backyard), and then third I can confirm they were together in NY on New Year’s Eve weekend when Arie was there for press. As far as Becca knew, there was no reason to believe Arie was ever going to end their engagement. The second week of January in mid week (Jan 10th on her IG), Becca was in Las Vegas for work. After this Vegas work trip, that weekend was a scheduled Happy Couple with Arie in LA. This was a planned regular meet up, but SOMEBODY, either Arie or producers or both, lied to her and told Becca they were being filmed because they wanted to give the fans an update on their relationship to be shown later. This is when Arie, with cameras in tow, broke up with Becca and ended the engagement. This was the d**k move of the season. So yes, she was pissed and blindsided. At no point did she ever think Arie was going to end the engagement on that meet up, and at no point did she ever think it was going to be filmed doing it.
One thing Jason Mesnick has always said is that he wishes he didn’t let the producers manipulate him to filming that closed set ATFR where he dumped Melissa and asked Molly back. Arie is in totally different boat. He went to that Happy Couple meeting with cameras in tow to break up with Becca and gave her no indication beforehand that’s what he had in store. Yes, I’m aware that the Arie nutjobs will dispute this or poke holes in anything they can because it doesn’t fit their narrative of him, but honestly, I don’t care what they think. I know what happened and it was this. I’m sure we will see Becca address this on the ATFR. Something that I haven’t been able to confirm but heard rumblings about? That during this break up, Arie actually told Becca “it has nothing to do with Lauren.” Holy sh**. Like I said, I haven’t gotten that confirmed yet, I’m just telling you what I heard. Arie better hope to God for his sake we don’t see him tell her that since that might be the biggest line of bullsh** he’s ever spewed. And he’s spewed a lot.
The breakup with Becca happened on the weekend of Jan. 12th, with remember Becca posting these to her IG story Jan. 14th & 15th:
Tuesday Jan. 16th is the day we know Arie was in Virginia filming at Lauren’s parents house. We can dissect all day long about did she know he was coming, what was said, etc. There’s no way Arie showed up that day and that family didn’t have a clue he was coming or why he was coming. At this point, I don’t think it matters if they knew Arie had already ended the engagement or they hadn’t and he told them when he was there. The bottom line is he went there on the 16th, and from that day forward, Arie and Lauren have been together. Here was the picture from that day in case you forgot:
And if you looked closely at the beginning of the episode last night when they were teasing stuff upcoming, I’m pretty sure this clip is from when Arie was walking in front of Lauren’s parents house in Virginia. Same white gate:
adelina
February 27, 2018 at 9:38 AM
Thanks for this Steve. The ending is juicy and makes this boring season at least something to finally enjoy in the end.
I love that Arie is getting salty. Exactly as I would expect from a Queen.
pdxkg
February 27, 2018 at 9:56 AM
The franchise needs to stop taking its viewers for granted. It is unbelievable that Arie, Nick, Annoying Ashley, and co are really looking for love. Ben Higgins was the best bachelor, for finding someone he truly wanted a long term relationship with and Courtney and Lilly were the standout couple from Winter Games (I wish they had focused on them and not the pretend couples). When there are really feelings that could become love it shows, and when the relationship is not working and is faked for the cameras it is really transparent for the audience. It is also obvious who is on the show for instagram followers. Depending on who they cast in the next season I may not be giving the Bachelor “my rose” any more!!! No longer will I be watching regardless of the lead – I need to feel invested and believe in their journey.
justa_viewer
February 27, 2018 at 10:02 AM
I don’t recall Steve saying that he has specific new info that leads him to believe that Arie won’t stay with Lauren. Like, I haven’t seen him say “Arie’s already been seen with other women” or “they’ve already had fights about Courtney,” but it sounds like he must have some some, doesn’t it? He’s so adamant that their relationship is doomed.
Of course Luke’s People interview is BS. He didn’t have an “epiphany” that he loved his “ex” while on the Winter Games show. There was no “ex,” because I agree that he never broke up with Holly Allen. Being on the Winter Games was a strategy to get more fans, etc. I’m betting Holly probably reamed him out when she saw him making out so convincingly with Stassi on Winter Games, and what you saw on the Tell All show was Luke being very careful to placate Holly by having little to no interaction with Stassi. He knew Holly would be watching and scrutinizing that show. He seemed like he was one step away from giving Stassi the cut direct. What a prince.
Sad that Becca was unable to afford an actual dress for that rose ceremony (where Kendall went home) and had to wear her pajamas.
ETA: Am I the only one who has problems entering and posting a comment?
avgjoe
February 27, 2018 at 10:08 AM
I find it funny again that the show did the order of the dates in the reverse order of the finishing (Kendall, Lauren, Becca). They did it two weeks ago when they went from 7 women down to 4. It wasn’t reverse order, but both times you could tell who Arie liked most.
They mixed it up for the hometown dates, but otherwise, it’s been telegraphed for weeks who his favorites are.
tinyred500
February 27, 2018 at 11:50 AM
The ATFR show sounds like something I’d never want to be part of (when it airs next week!) Arie changed his mind fair enough, he’s a human being, but truly horrid for Becca. However, filming the break up and not warning Becca beforehand is totally insensitive and humiliating. I know there will be peeps who maintain they all sign up to be humiliated and embarrassed, but there’s a limit, or there should be. I just do not agree with those kinds of degradation, or throwing someone under a bus when they neither deserve it or expect it. It should have been done in private and off camera. Arie is partly to blame because he’s gone a long with the idea.
If I were Becca, I’d pass on The Bachelorette (if she’s offered it), simply because if the producers were willing to do that to her, why would she want anything more to do with them?! Nasty. 🙁
trainwrecktv
February 27, 2018 at 11:58 AM
Agreed, Luke went down in flames. Showing that “behind the scenes” exchange at the end was the final nail for that dude. Thanks for keeping it real on him Steve.
I keep seeing stuff online claiming that Winter Games is the best show so far in the Bachelor franchise (like on E!) and how Yuki is a breakout star – either it has to be paid for by ABC (not sure why they would waste the money) or these folks are high.
Everything Ross was involved with was so BAD. It goes to show how little material they had to work since they left all that in. Arie looked like he barely cared – saying he was so mad in a tone of voice that sounded totally disinterested. Also, I laughed out loud when Ross mentioned how he came to Peru hoping he could somehow find her. Becca acted annoyed, Ross acted confused about what he was actually doing there, and Arie seemed bored. Between this season and Winter Games (not to mention the last BIP) it seems like the producers better get their act together if they want to keep their jobs.
rob22
February 27, 2018 at 12:07 PM
If RS is saying that the picture of Arie walking up to Lauren’s house is the same as the house across the street in the grainy picture, I don’t think so. The picket fence sorta looks the same, but not really. The garage is different and the walkway is also different. The garage in one picture is a single garage door, the other is two single garage doors. There also appears to be a doorway next to the garage in one picture that isn’t in the other picture. The walkway in one has a low brick fence, which the other picture doesn’t have. Also the picket fence is more curved in one picture than the other, which appears to have no curve. If I am misunderstanding what RS was saying, then nevermind!
tinyred500
February 27, 2018 at 12:08 PM
Luke Pell, if he has one iota of common sense, he’ll come off all social media and hope he can salvage what’s left of his reputation. Trying to blame the editing for his atrocious behaviour was just beyond lame, he needs to own his actions and stop blaming other people. I think he’s been truly blackballed by the Bachelor franchise now.
tinyred500
February 27, 2018 at 12:09 PM
I thought they looked different too. 😀
rob22
February 27, 2018 at 12:11 PM
@justaviewer: Posting is a complete mess. The website has been glitchy since he changed to this format years ago. It’s never been fixed. It’s loaded up with so many ads that it crashes my browser nearly every time. Write quickly, that’s my best advice. Otherwise, you may end up either giving up or retyping the whole thing.
shouldbeworking
February 27, 2018 at 12:23 PM
Wait….which Becca for Bachelorette? Because if its the 22 year old Becca, I’m not watching.
tinyred500
February 27, 2018 at 12:43 PM
The older Becca for the possible Bachelorette. The 22 year old’s name is spelt Bekah.;)
ctrealitygirl
February 27, 2018 at 1:01 PM
I agree with rob22’s advice ..when posting to this site you need to type lightning fast or it gets stuck. I’ve had to start over a couple of times. Also, I have had issues listening to his podcasts all the way thru for the same reason. The site freezes and the podcast stops, then you have to reload and you have to start all over again listening to the podcast. I muscled thru with the most recent one as I love hearing what Sharleen Joynt has to say (her recaps are the absolute best! But, other than hers, I’ve lost patience with trying to stick with a full podcast. Sheer torture!
ingerutz
February 27, 2018 at 1:10 PM
To those who keep having issues because of the ads, why don’t you guys get ad blocker and enable it on this website? I’ve had ad blocker enabled for a few years on this website now and not only do I not see ads anymore at all, I have no issue with typing this post, either. Give it a try!
jeninarkansas
February 27, 2018 at 1:29 PM
I actually loved Becca’s dress!
jeninarkansas
February 27, 2018 at 1:31 PM
I truly hope he is gone forever! He’s awful.
shenanigans
February 27, 2018 at 2:37 PM
First, I loved Becca’s dress. She looked stunning.
Second, it’s impossible to navigate this site without an ad blocker. If you use a good antivirus program, such as Kaspersky, it is free.
jlal
February 27, 2018 at 2:43 PM
I’m posting from my phone, because this site locks up on my on my tablet. Very frustrating! If what RS said is correct and Becca was in fact blindsided, then that is just wrong. I don’t know how the contracts are written, but if he could Arie should have said no way. I did love that he didn’t buy the Krystal crap. She came off exactly how she is; a mean, nasty, manipulating itch. I thought they seemed to be setting Tia up to be the next bachelorette. But, they like to do that so who knows. I thought it was crappy when Ben said he loved two of the women and think it is still crappy with Arie. I wonder if the producers egged that on for drama. I know in another post I said I was a fan of Arie, but I meant to say not a fan. I couldn’t go back and correct it. I however don’t think he is the POS RS and others seemed to think he is. But, if he did set up Becca to be blindsided then I may have to revise my opinion.
deedledee
February 27, 2018 at 2:56 PM
Becca is totally winning this season. Instead of boring Arie, she’s going to get to be the lead and select from a bunch of guys competing for her. Overall, it super sucks to go through the embarrassment of it all, but the Bachelorette gig (and its accompanying perks) more than make up for it in my mind!
deedledee
February 27, 2018 at 2:58 PM
I did too! Thought it was really pretty.
adelina
February 27, 2018 at 3:16 PM
Money talks.
“Fame” talks.
Potential “love” talks.
adelina
February 27, 2018 at 3:17 PM
Me too! It was flattering and different.
justa_viewer
February 27, 2018 at 3:30 PM
Eh, to me, it looks like lingerie, something you’d wear under a dress. Then again, I’m not a big fan of Becca’s style in general.
I always download Steve’s podcast for later listening on my PC or MP3 player; I find that works better for me than listening online. Also, I run an ad blocker, so that’s apparently not a perfect solution to some of the issues readers/listeners are having.
My best friend, posting-wise, is Notepad. The last 2 times I posted, I ended up writing my comments in Notepad, and then pasting from Notepad into the Comment section on RS’s website. That seems to work okay.
jlal
February 27, 2018 at 3:30 PM
I also agree that is not the same garage in the pictures. And while I didn’t care for Becca’s dress it wasn’t horrible. I loved Laurens dress. Also, Arie and Kendall were solidly in the friend zone and neither felt romantic about the other.
jlal
February 27, 2018 at 5:16 PM
I agree he is a creep. I saw a clip on an entertainment show of after he thought the camera quit rolling. He was a total dick and wouldn’t even look at her. What a fame hungry user.
jlal
February 27, 2018 at 5:26 PM
Don’t know if my last post worked, so sorry if this is a duplicate. I agree that Luke is a total jerk. Saw a clip of them after he thought the camera quit rolling he wouldn’t even look at her. What a dick.
upmyalley
February 27, 2018 at 7:48 PM
Gawd, this really has been the “most boring season ever” lol Arie is a total douchebag and probably does have a needle d*ck.I hope he gets reamed by the public. Does anyone think the producers will try to smooth the story over with some bull about Arie having to follow his heart after making a mistake? Or will they let him dig his own grave? I mean, they make bank either way right? They through Juan Pablo under the bus so why try to spare Arie? Good luck Lauren, you are not a very smart cookie girl.
mahli1978
March 1, 2018 at 8:41 AM
I just checked my TV listing in NY and they’re showing the Bachelor as a 3 hour episode and the next night is ATFR. Do you think that since there’s so much extra footage that they end at the proposal and then keep on going for shock factor? We’ve already seen the couch shake up with Jason and Melissa. They’re saying like we’ve never seen before, so I can only wonder if that’s what they’re going to do? Maybe have Lauren re-shoot what it was like being home and depressed after filming, maybe they have footage of Arie and Becca during their time together, maybe they shot him separately at home, debating between the two. Maybe he filmed himself debating.. I’m sure they can fill an hour if they put their mind to it, especially having the footage at her home and this past Saturday. Then Tuesday night they do ATFR with Becca the loser and Lauren and Arie engaged?
sarahe
March 1, 2018 at 12:18 PM
This just keeps getting better and better. Arie is such a joke. I cannot even believe he’d go on the ATFR proposed to the runner up and expect anyone to think it’s a legitimate love story and do anything but laugh at him.
Poor Becca. I know you sign up to possibly get hurt on this show. But to break off an engagement with someone who isn’t expecting it on camera just takes it to a whole other level of disgusting. Then to top it off, to lie to her face and say it has nothing to do with the other woman, just to show up ENGAGED on the ATFR with the other woman, is even more of a slap in the face. If I were Lauren, I’d be questioning Arie’s character and integrity in a major way. But that would require her to have a brain and be able to put together sentences, and we have all clearly seen how good she is at doing that on the show.