One of the great things about finale night is even though the spoiler has been out there since May, it’s always fun to get confirmation right before the finale airs since the final couple always tapes their Kimmel appearance before heading over to the set of the ATFR. So if you saw my tweets last night about 20 minutes into the show, you knew the confirmation of Becca & Garrett was officially official and that Blake had a bit of a meltdown when he got dumped. I can’t remember a final 2 guy crying like that after getting the heave ho. Man, that was rough to watch. Sometimes we get a few crocodile tears, sometimes we get some bawling in the limo ride being taken away, but that was a full on hysterical, ugly cry. Remember after last week when all the sentiment regarding the next “Bachelor” surrounded Jason after his performance on the MTA? You know whose name I really never heard once last night as next “Bachelor?” Jason. Of course now everyone wants Blake. Every week there’s a new Flavor of the Month. I talk about next “Bachelor” stuff on page 4 of today’s post, but nothing’s changed since last week. It’s really the only secret this show is able to keep anymore.
Our Nell Kalter has her “Floribama Shore” recap now up here for you all to read and get a nice belly laugh in. Check it out, tell your friends, tell your mistresses, and tell as many people as you can. They’ll appreciate it. Also, get your “Reader Emails” and “Dr. Reality Steve” emails in this week. A little low right now for a finale week, but you’ve got plenty of time to send those over. Get on it people. America needs you.
Tonight is the premiere of “Bachelor in Paradise.” 2 hrs tonight, then starting next week, every Monday and Tuesday for 2 hrs each night for the next 6 weeks. I know you’re waiting for episode-by-episode spoilers and I don’t think I’m gonna have them this season. Once I got the ending of the season spoilers, I honestly haven’t put a ton of effort into finding out more. I’ll try this week but I don’t think I’ll be able to nail down every date and elimination and when they occurred because it’s kind of a jumbled mess. Maybe it’ll be easier to do right before each episode, I’m not sure. Anyway, I do have an update that I’ve added to the end of the season spoilers. Chris and Krystal did get engaged on Paradise. That brings our total amount of engaged couples this season to three: Ashley & Jared, Jordan and Jenna, and Chris and Krystal. Yippee. I will keep you updated throughout the season on anything I hear, but your main stuff is all in the season ending spoilers.
Episode 3 of the “He Said, She Said” podcast with myself and Ashley Spivey is now up. You can listen to it on a number of platforms, but you can also tune in by clicking the player below:
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts, RSS, Stitcher, Spotify
(Episode 3): Ashley and I first begin discussing how families with children deal with in-laws. Then Chandra from Canada comes on to discuss her boyfriend of 3 years, her issues with wanting children, but why he hasn’t pulled the trigger yet on an engagement (7:34). Then Blair in Seattle talks about the guy she’s been dating for a few months who cheated on her and she doesn’t know what to do now (41:24). Original theme music provided by Kate Bass and the song is titled “Blink.”
If you want to be a part of the podcast in the future, all you need is access to Skype. Email myself or Ashley, tell us what you’re looking to talk about, let us know what time zone you’re in, and we’ll coordinate from there and get you on a future episode.
Speaking of podcasts, this week’s is with former “Bachelor,” Sean Lowe. It’s been a long time coming, and honestly I don’t know why it even took this long. I guess I always figured Sean was somebody I could go to at any point. But his partners in this new venture he has approached me a couple weeks ago and asked if I’d be interested in having him on. I guess that was the kick in the ass I needed. Sean has teamed up with some investors and launched the Vouch dating app nationwide this week. Basically, it’s a dating app where your most trusted friends (Vouchers) get involved in the screening process to help you find your match. Pretty funny launch video they created:
So we’ll be discussing this, how it came about, what got him excited about this project, etc. all while talking about his career in Bachelor Nation and other shows. I have a feeling I could probably talk to Sean for 3 hours with everything he did before, during, and after the show. A lot to cover there. But they guy does have two kids now, so I can’t keep him too long. Looking forward to this one.
ctrealitygirl
August 7, 2018 at 8:58 AM
I’ve seen a few mentions of Chris Harrison being named the Bachelor…wouldn’t that be a hoot!
corn29
August 7, 2018 at 9:15 AM
Becca saying to Blake, “you’ve made me know that I can fall in love again. But through all of that too, because we were so constant, I think I was overlooking other relationships”…
… is quite possibly the dumbest thing ever said on this franchise.
Really?
Through all your incessant whining and references to Arie every episode this season, that you wanted to find love, so you find that love, now you think that love is getting in the way of other guys?
Seesh.
Becca is just another shallow Andi Dorfman-bot.
ctrealitygirl
August 7, 2018 at 10:06 AM
I have to agree with you you corn29. Becca really floundered when she was giving Blake reasons for rejecting his proposal. And why on earth, knowing how sensitive he was, did she allow him to get that far? On their last two dates, he told her how much it bothered him knowing there was still someone else in the picture who she had feelings for. The reason most leads have given when they claim they have fallen in love with two people is that there is one person they simply cannot say good-bye to. To me that seems to be the best way to put it without hurting the person any more than they already have by rejecting them. I never bought that she truly loved Blake. She kept saying it in the voiceovers. But, as Sharleen Joynt stated in one of her recent recaps, her body language with Blake just didn’t show that she was in love with him. And Sharleen thought that the chemistry seemed off…and I have to agree with her. Knowing what the outcome was thanks to Steve’s spoilers, I really did not look forward to watching last night. I so dreaded the moment Becca stopped Blake from proposing. It was so sad. She and Blake deserve each other! A match made in heaven.
rob22
August 7, 2018 at 10:28 AM
@corn29, I agree. Totally lame explanation. She did later say something about how they both “got in their head” about stuff…. which I translated to mean that they were both too much alike & she wanted someone to balance her out. Garrett doesn’t seem to worry about much, that’s for sure. And it’s not wrong to think that Blake and Becca together stressing out all the time might not be the best pairing. I also think the right answer is always “I had to pick one of you”, so….. but I don’t think that would go over that well. It’s probably more of a coin flip than we might think.
ctrealitygirl
August 7, 2018 at 10:43 AM
I thought the same thing rob22. Becca ultimately chose Garrett because toward the end, Blake started over-thinking things while Garrett kept things light. Her facial expressions soured when Blake started voicing concerns and that’s probably when she started leaning the other way – that is, if she ever really Was falling in love with Blake. I have my doubts.
tinyred500
August 7, 2018 at 10:52 AM
Becca for me was doing fine up until the final goodbye (they were short and sweet etc)…. agree she should have let Blake go sooner.
Like with most leads the last few goodbyes are overplayed and far too much is said, it comes across as disproportionate and over emotional. Some things are simply said to confuse the viewer who they will eventually pick. She never told Blake she loved him to his face …only to the camera. Too many people forget that we are watching a reality show…the producers want suspense and drama, so I don’t take too much notice over what’s said to be honest. I know most peeps would keep things simple given the choice, especially under this weird programmes circumstances.
I look forward to listening to Sean’s podcast….I’m anticipating an interesting one! 😀
jlal
August 7, 2018 at 11:38 AM
I agree with some of the comments on here, but have some different points too.
First, Blake knew he wasn’t going to be picked. He actually said it the night before and right after she dumped him. The sweating profusely was a big give away too. While the dumb a$$ comment that corn29 mentioned was pretty bad,what I thought was just brutal and totally unnecessary was what she said to him during the After. Paraphrasing here, but it went something like this “…when you started getting in your head it made me wonder how you would handle it if things were bad, like a child getting sick…” I actually said out loud to the TV “Wow, brutal and unnecessary”, she did not have to say that. Tons of people “get in their head” on this show, even Becca has admitted to it too. To imply he wouldn’t be a good spouse or parent was uncalled for.
I thought them cutting right to Blake sitting on the couch after the breakup scene was awkward to say the least.
I also never thought her body language showed she was that into Blake. I pay attention to body language, because people can say anything. 80% of communication is nonverbal.
I do think she and Garrett may have a chance. They seem like they’re really in love and well suited. I hope so.
jlal
August 7, 2018 at 11:52 AM
Oh, one more thing. I don’t buy for a minute that she wasn’t into Garrett until the end. She gave him the first impression rose. He was on her radar from the very beginning. I thought it was obvious how into him she was.
However, they can’t say that or it would ruin the show. But I do actually remember one bachelorette that admitted on the After she pretty much knew from the beginning, though I can’t remember who it was now.
Anyway, they have to play the game and not spill the beans. Just like she had to go along with the edit that made it look like she got up right after Colton’s confession. She can’t call the show out and tell the truth.
ctrealitygirl
August 7, 2018 at 11:59 AM
Yes, jlal, that comment Becca made about worrying about Blake being able to handle situations after being married was indeed brutal. And It surprised me that she would say something so cruel to him. I’m thinking the leads go overboard on the AFTR shows in order to appease the person they’re engaged to. And like Steve opined, I would prefer they go back to the old format of showing the rejection and proposal before jumping to interviewing the “dumpee”….seems excessively mean after watching themselves be rejected on a live TV. Not to mention, it really takes away from the proposal. Remember last year with Rachel? They devoted all of a few final minutes to Brian’s proposal, focusing instead on the break-up with Peter, followed by putting Peter into the “hot seat.” We viewers wait a long time for the big proposal scene. But after watching the rejected person being grilled, it makes the proposal seem anti-climatic.
And I have to say, Blake’s expressions after Becca rejected him were disturbing. For once Chris Harrison was right when he announced it would be the most brutal rejection to watch.
ctrealitygirl
August 7, 2018 at 12:02 PM
jlal…I believe Ashley Hebert may have commented that she knew it was JP from the beginning…and perhaps Andi Dorfman too about Josh??
tinyred500
August 7, 2018 at 12:10 PM
Becca knew better and so agree that many go into their heads and overthink things, They are shut-off from the outside world with little else to think about.
tinyred500
August 7, 2018 at 12:12 PM
Agree she knew who she was picking from night one, and it’s was Ashley H who said she knew too.
ctrealitygirl
August 7, 2018 at 12:21 PM
How could someone who makes the top three NOT be in their heads? They’re prodded into taking a HUGE leap of faith that they’ll be the last man/woman standing, while they have no way of knowing what the other relationships are like. I shared Blake’s sentiment the morning after the overnight date…as wonderful as he must have felt waking up with the woman he was falling in love with, there was also a BIG possibility he’d never sleep with her again, and he voiced that. that’s exactly how I’d probably feel! When you think about it, the concept of the show is pretty screwed up! It’s virtually impossible for someone not to get hurt in the process, and on TV no less, with millions of people watching you get dumped!
GoingBlonde
August 7, 2018 at 12:33 PM
Steve will still never get me to listen to the awful Ashley Spivey on his He Said, She Said. Sharleen was wonderful, but ugh Ashley is just awful! Anyone who sees what she posts on Twitter would understand. She’s mean and hateful on there. She sure can dish out the mean comments, but she can’t take them. If you don’t agree with her on all her ridiculously overly liberal thoughts, she will start name calling. Interesting that once he put Ashley on, he suddenly made it free to listen to, probably because he knew no one would pay to hear her. Ha! You couldn’t even pay me to listen to her whiney self!
I do, however, look so forward to hearing Sean on the podcast! I love Sean and Catherine! They are so adorable. And Sean’s tweets are funny. He’s just so nice and likable.
tinyred500
August 7, 2018 at 12:37 PM
It ‘might’ have made Becca feel guilty and uncomfortable when she heard Blake say that…going on if she knew she was picking Garrett.
It would be an immense challenge to feel completely sceptical by the end, I don’t think anyone could truly say how they would feel if in the final three..’all over the place emotionally and psychologically’, I would think…
rob22
August 7, 2018 at 1:14 PM
About the “in your head” comments. True, they are in a bubble. And, in successive weeks, they’ve had Becca meet their families, slept together in the fantasy suite, met her parents and selected an engagement ring. Meanwhile the other contestants are doing the exact same thing and you know that they are. If you have an ounce of real feeling for Becca, that’s going to be a troublesome image. Yeah, hey, I just had a real cool time with my girlfriend. She met my parents, I met hers and we had awesome sex! Oh, and she did the same with two other guys. Aaaagh! But other than that, it’s totally normal so I can just relax and enjoy life. Or not.
To that point, somehow Garrett managed to let it not get to him & didn’t seem to be too terribly thrown off by his getting hammered on social media about his social media likes. Give him credit for not letting all of that get to him. That’s the good part of a “chill” guy like Garrett. The bad part is that guys like this tend to be pretty immature & irresponsible, which is exactly what his social media activity tells us.
stacylee
August 7, 2018 at 2:19 PM
Heard a podcast with Blake’s ex’s friend. She said reason for their break up (after 2 month relationship) had to do with religion…or lack of beliefs. If you read between the lines, I think this is what Becca was alluding to. She is way to classy to come out and say that. I’m sure we all noticed her cross tattoo. Good for her for considering the biggest picture of all! Love her even more.
jlal
August 7, 2018 at 3:04 PM
It was Ashley, thanks. And, I too was surprised she was so cruel; it was unnecessary.
mariet
August 7, 2018 at 3:57 PM
Ashley H. was all about Bentley at first. It was painful to watch. Ali F. was all about Roberto from the start.
adelina
August 7, 2018 at 4:16 PM
Basically Becca said last night “my fiancé and I have worked through his racism.” Something so off about him. Between the two month long marriage, the racist, transphobic, anti immigration likes and his “I’m in recovery from a stroke” voice – he is not what he appears.
pugmom
August 7, 2018 at 6:33 PM
I just created an account to comment here. I’m so glad this season is over and it has nothing to do with Becca and Garrett. I think the hate I’ve seen spewed is nauseating. I’ll never understand how you fight hate with more hate. I am Latina, I studied my butt off to get my bachelors in accounting, and my first job in my career I was caught in an unfortunate situation where my boss was racist. Genuinely racist, hated men, and all gay people. I essentially started job searching very quickly because that horrible lady was scrutinizing all of my work and delighted in yelling and humiliating me. When I first heard about the info Ashley Spivey found on the guy Becca picked, I was so sad. After seeing her live break up and hearing from RS that she had no idea it was coming, I was really rooting for her. Instead of just seeing what he’s “liked” on IG, I was waiting to see if any of the minorities on the show called him out for being a jerk because of their background (as far as I’ve seen I don’t think anyone did). I don’t like the stuff he liked on social media, but I really think people are blowing it out of proportion because it could be SO MUCH WORSE. I think if he was making really mean comments every time he saw a gay person, hispanic, or black person on TV or anywhere near Becca she would immediately get the hint and leave him for Blake, or Jason, her ex, or (my personal favorite, our meme and savior) Wills. That’s just my take on it. I wish everyone treated each other with respect so I really think that Ashley’s take on exposing his social media history and adding fuel to everyone whose bullying him is disgusting. She acts like she’s so much better than everyone else and I believe she will be getting the same hate right back because we reap what we sow. I really hope she opens her mind, you catch bees with honey not vinegar.
stampinsundevil
August 7, 2018 at 9:36 PM
I believe Deanna Pappas and Jesse Csincsak had set a wedding date and even set up a website when they appeared on their ATFR. I recall jumping online immediately to subscribe to their site!
jlal
August 8, 2018 at 3:36 AM
mariet – Until you mentioned Ali and Roberto I’d forgotten how obvious they were. I remember commenting to my friend at the time about her body language with him vs. the other guys. I still remember them riding in some street car/trolley type of thing and she into him. It was a far camera shot, so not like she was playing to the camera.
There may be the occasional lead who really does struggle to decide between the final two, Jason M. and Arie come to mind, but the large majority know who they are picking in not from the start, darn close.
jlal
August 8, 2018 at 3:46 AM
pugmom – sorry to hear about your work experience. I’ve had a few bad ones from the sexual harassment stand point. I agree with you that if Garrett was this horrible person, Becca would have figured it out. She is smart. I don’t see her settling for someone for whom she would have to compromise her values.
Racism, bigotry, and homophobia are based in ignorance and fear. They said they have had many conversations. People can learn, grow and evolve which I’m sure Garrett has done or is in the process of doing. In a good relationship you help each other become a better person.
One question – did he just “like” one or a few bad taste jokes or was this a pattern with him?
tinyred500
August 8, 2018 at 4:50 AM
From interviews that Becca has given so far, it appears the social media thing and Garrett has been discussed and they’ve moved on. It’s really only Becca’s and Garrett’s issue and business, and not anyone else’s business, horrid they had to cope with the latter part.
If you go back to the beginning of Becca’s season on RS’s blog (and read the blog comments over the days and a weeks thereafter) you will see there’s a lot of comments who agree with you. 🙂
jlal
August 8, 2018 at 5:41 AM
Okay, so who watched BIP and what did you all think?
Here is what I though:
Tia’s a mess; Krystal hasn’t changed a bit; Colton is way in it to win the next bachelor gig and nothing else; David is still a little instigator; Jordan is hysterical; Kevin is a tool; and Nick is dumb as a rock and can’t string three sentences together without getting bleeped five times.
Oh yeah, and I still love Grocery Store Joe.
ctrealitygirl
August 8, 2018 at 9:35 AM
We have the same taste jlal! I agree about Tia…what’s the deal with her insecurity and mooning over Colton? I liked her on Arie’s season but liking her less and less since then. I wish Colton would disappear! He needs to get it thru his head that he’s NOT going to be the next Bachelor. Can’t stand David, LOVE Jordan. Nick is another nobody who thinks he’s hot. Krystal is still insufferable. What a hot mess this show is! What I think everyone loves about Grocery Store Joe is that he seems so normal…what a breath of fresh air compared to all the rest who think they’re celebrities!
pugmom
August 8, 2018 at 10:06 AM
I completely agree! I’m glad they’ve talked it out. I agree with Rob22 that it seems like he hasn’t been really mindful of what he does on social media.
I felt like I could express myself here because everyone seems to be so much more thoughtful and logical 🙂
My refering to hate spewing has mostly been Twitter.
pugmom
August 8, 2018 at 10:19 AM
I’m so sorry to hear about the sexual harassment 🙁 I hope you’ve found a job somewhere better or that whoever was disrespecting you has gone elsewhere! And I completely agree! Life experience and meeting people from many different bankgrounds or even meeting a significant other who can share their experiences can help someone grow. I definitely believe Becca has helped him, if he was really closed minded I don’t imagine they’d still be together, so unpopular opinion I hope they work out and Garrett doesn’t get bullied much longer.
About the likes, as far as I’ve seen there’s probably 6-7 and knowing from Ashley it spans 6+ months my guess is he probably wasn’t constantly liking stuff that’s in bad taste.
realitynyc12
August 8, 2018 at 1:09 PM
Lol I couldn’t agree with you more Adelina. I wanted to like Garrett, I really did. But the whole “sorry, I clicked on some awful stuff, I didn’t know it’ll offend people” just rings hollow to me. Its great that he talked it over with Becca and that she knows the kind of person he really is, yada yada yada but what that whole thing on ATFR failed to answer for those of us too “liberal” and “sensitive” is what exactly his views were at the time he clicked like on those pics. If he finds things like throwing children over a border wall and racist or homophobic jokes funny, then what does that mean? He got called out for it and suddenly he no longer finds those things funny? I mean, if he truly saw the error of his ways, great and as RS says, time will tell and his actions will speak louder than words. But for me, it would give me major pause if a person I was engaged to, at any point, found any of those offensive things funny. This was the crux of the argument on here but let’s all stop with semantics and call it what it is. If a person finds racist memes funny, then he’s a weee bit racist, know what I mean? Same for the other stuff. Unless he was drunk/ high/ completely incapacitated to make clear thinking decisions when he clicked those likes, I just don’t buy the argument of ” I just did it not realizing what I was doing but this is not who i am, my bad”.it was who he was at the time he did it and for Beccas sake, I truly hope it isn’t who he is anymore. Good luck to these two, I do like them together overall and hope they last…
supersparklyday
August 9, 2018 at 12:01 PM
I have to disagree with the posters who thought Ali only had it for Roberto. I’ve always thought she was so devastated over Frank leaving, that she would’ve chosen him. Look at the guy she’s married to now, Kevin Manno, who looks exactly like Frank! She was dazzled by Roberto’s good looks (as were we all), but she.is clearly attracted to the eyeglass wearing guys.
I also think Becca had it bad for Garrett right from the start, and Blake never really had a chance. But knowing the spoiler may have just had me looking at it with Confirmational Bias.
I would take either Jason or Blake as next Bachelor!
davidrobinson
September 26, 2018 at 2:58 AM
I would take either Jason or Blake as next Bachelor too!