Hi Steve,
First time messaging you! Long time reader and I have faithfully watched the Bachelor series for years. When I first started spoiling the seasons I worried that it would make me less interested in the shows, but this isn’t the case at all. Weirdly it has made me enjoy them more. And the added (free?) publicity – ABC should be sending you a cut! Especially with a show like this where the “prize” is basically a failed engagement. All I’m doing is giving you a way to watch the show a little differently. We all know by now what I do doesn’t hurt their show. Hell, Chris Harrison admitted it two weeks ago in a radio interview.
Regarding Colton – I am completely and utterly annoyed by the way that the producers handled his BIP entrance. Tia basically decided for everyone that they were in a relationship the second she walked into paradise – Colton had no say in the matter. So by the time Colton got there, everyone knew that he was Tia’s guy, even though he had never decided that at all. He never had a chance to talk to people, shop around, get to know anyone else. He was immediately pegged as “Tia’s” from the get go, which I thought was utterly unfair. So when he wasn’t interested in her right off the bat, everyone ganged up on him and started acting like he was some indecisive prick. When he really just didn’t want to date Tia, which is his right to do. I thought that Tia was super crazy the whole season- deciding that they were in a relationship and staking her claim before he even arrived in paradise.
So all of this to say, I am glad he is the Bachelor. He did NOT get a fair shot in paradise to actually meet anyone or try anything new out.
Thanks for your blog and spoilers. Sending the best from Boston.
Comment: I disagree with that, but I do respect your argument. You made a good point. I just think Colton is more at fault for his behavior than you do, which is fine.
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Hey RS! Not one to put too much stock into all the fame whores from Bach nation. But watching Annalise legit makes me feel embarrassed. The desperation that she spews is either portrayed by a terrible edit or she has deep seeded issues. Is it pathetic or sad? ????? Anyways, I wanted to see if she was using her social media to defend her poor edit/who she really is. I didn’t see much, but I did notice that you’d be hard pressed to find a single negative comment on any of her photos. She’s clearly monitoring her comments very closely to secure a positive portrayal and following. It’s all so fake, I can’t deal with it. Thank you for keeping this dumb world real. I find it harder and harder to watch this show as I get older and start my own family etc. You make it tolerable. Thanks for that!
Comment: I haven’t followed her but if there’s nothing negative on her IG comments, then yeah, she’s definitely monitoring it.
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Hey Steve! Thanks for all you do and best wishes with your new fur baby Luka!
When you got the info about the 2018 Paradise couples, which one shocked you the most? I still find it weird that Krystal and Chris meshed so we’ll…but they seem to work!
Comment: Yeah, those two surprised me the most for sure. It was just random.
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Hi! Some questions for you this week…
1. I was listening to the chicks in the office podcast and they said they heard that Blake was BEGGING to be the bachelor. I know a lot of these guys want the gig and they’ll comply with whatever producers want, but begging? Lol made sense because of his post and the shadiness I felt when I read it. Did you hear anything like this from your sources? Begging? No, I didn’t hear that. But he definitely would’ve taken it if offered. He was interviewed, and wasn’t chosen.
2. Also, on another chicks in the office podcast, they had Ashley & Jared on and they asked about getting engaged in front of Kevin. And Jared was like, “we had this plan of getting engaged in paradise before Kevin was casted.” And Ashey’s stuttering in the background, “he… he… he had the plan.” And it was kind of laughed off by the hosts and them when Jared corrected himself. But oh my gosh. All my thoughts confirmed that I think this couple is fake and so manufactured. I know you don’t care or follow this couple but do you honestly think they’re going to go through with this sham of an engagement? I personally always thought it was. Obviously, she’s liked the guy, no questioning on her end, but it just seems so… calculated and showy of a relationship. Ad after ad after ad on instagram. It’s so bizarre. It’s just so hard to believe them when everything about their relationship has been about exposure from the minute they got back together. Of course people are going to be skeptical.
3. I’m not going to tune into the bachelor because I can’t stand Colton but I’m curious why a 26 year old? Sure women can date younger and you’ll get a few older than him but for the majority they have to be what, 22-25? No one believes in this day and age these girls want to settle down. Why don’t they try anymore to at least make this show a bit believable? It’s a bit different when it’s a bachelorette that’s young because women dating older is not that taboo. And nothing wrong with a younger guy dating older, but it’s less likely, you know? I know Ben Higgins was around 27, I believe, but he didn’t have a history of being indecisive, going from girl to girl in the franchise.Ben was 27 when he was the Bachelor, so is it really that big of a difference if Colton is 26? Ben wasn’t indecisive? He told two women at the end he was in love with them both?
4. Are you liking this season of the challenge? It’s so weird to me how the only two teams winning are Brad and Kyle or Amanda and Zach. Bananas hasn’t won a challenge at all. And do you read spoilers for the show?
Comment: Honestly, I’m way behind. I need to catch up.
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Hi Steve
Two questions:
Didn’t you have Cassandra on from just Pablo’s season/paradise? I think you forgot her when you talked about his girls…No. She hasn’t been on.
Do they make them get up at certain times in paradise or is it more laid back?
Comment: I’m not sure how strict it is versus Bachelor but I thought I did hear they don’t have to be up nearly as early.
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Hi Steve!
Do you know if it’s possible to be cast on Bachelor in Paradise without being on the bachelor/bachelorette first?
Thank you!
I’m new to watching this show and reading your blog, but I am hooked!!!
Comment: There have been 5 seasons of Paradise, and every contestant has been on a previous season except Ashley’s I’s sister, Lauren. That’s been the only outlier.
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I saw this on twitter earlier. Apparently the Property Brothers have been offered to be the Bachelor multiple times?? Are the constantly trying to recruit celebs and just end up with a former contestant because everyone else says no?
Thanks for doing what you do!
Comment: They interview a bunch of people, but considering it’s now 23 seasons in a row where the lead has been a former contestant, them talking to “celebrities” is obviously just window dressing and those people really don’t have a chance.
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Hey Steve! Congrats on your precious new dog. What a cutie! I could not be happier for you. She’s been a handful but I’m so glad I have her.
Here’s my Q. I notice that Joe the Grocer is going to be on Dancing with the Stars and the last 3 bachelors they have chosen were unexpected. Plus Juan Pablo.
Do you know if the Bachelor production does some kind of testing or Q rating to see who is most appealing to their audience? Using polling, surveys and demographics? They absolutely do that. But we’ll never know for sure if their choices are strictly based off the results of those tests. They’ll never share that.
I know a lot of companies do that, and perhaps there was more of a reaction to these guys from those that were polled?
Colton, Nick and Arie all had some name recognition from previous seasons, BIP and other avenues (though with Arie, it was more his crazy following that I know you complained about).
During Desi’s season, online forums were buzzing about Juan Pablo, even though he was eliminated early and turned out to be so unliked in the end.
The expected runners up who were not chosen tended to be less-than-compelling, too.
Could this be part of how production chooses their leads?
Just trying to figure out some of these head scratchers.
Also, is it just me or is BIP a complete snooze this time? I’m struggling to get through 4 hours a week of it.
Comment: Well you don’t have to worry about that anymore. It’s finally over!
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Hi Steve!
I want to start off by apologizing if you have already been asked these questions before.. I don’t always get a chance to read every reader email/response, so I am sorry if you have!
Anyways.. I have been watching Unreal again lately (just finished the 3rd season) and it had me wondering if any of the drugs and/or hooking up (between producers and contestants) incidents, like in the show, go on behind the scenes on any of the Bachelor shows?
Comment: Hookups have absolutely happened. Drug use? I mean I’d be naïve to say, “No, no one has ever used drugs on that set in 16 years.” But can I pinpoint any particular person or incident? No.
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Hi Steve,
Just curious about the contestants’ living arrangements for BIP. Are guys and girls kept separately? Is it like The Challenge, where they just pick their rooms? Are they allowed to sleep with their “significant other” throughout filming or kept apart after a certain time of the night? I don’t think I’ve ever seen the inside of where they stay.
Thanks!
Comment: They do have separate areas, but once you pair up with someone, you absolutely can stay in their bed every night if you want. Plenty have.
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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.
