What questions do you get tired the most? Outside of the standard ones about the driveway or remembering the names, I think the newest one is when people ask why don’t they show a love story or something along those lines. That only shows that those people are trying so hard to want this show to be about love and it never will be. Ever. They say they watch to be entertained, but then when you ask a question like that, you know secretly they think the show is about love.
I know you cannot tell us what bad stuff you know about Chris Harrison, but what Prince Lorenzo say about him, say it all? Or say what kind of person he is? To refresh your memory, he said he was never nice to him. Never talked to him. Acted like they were best friends in front of his boss. Someone told him that Chris was all about himself. He did not say he was the worst Bachelor even though he does not mind being called that. When Lorenzo told me that stuff, that was the first I’d heard of it. I had no idea he had beef with him.
Is Ben Higgins, Ashley I , and Jarod in your sh*t list? Would you have Kaitlyn on your podcast? Is Nick Viall the only lead you would not want to have in your podcast? How about Colton?
Comment: There’s a difference between having people on my podcast and people who would never do it. There a few I would never ask because they’d never do it. So it would seem to be pointless. None of them are on my sh*t list. Because I say something negative about someone doesn’t mean I hate them, or think they’re a horrible human being, or the worst person in the world. But I realize that by saying some things I have in the past about contestants, it pretty much means they would never want to talk to me. And I’m fine with that. My column is not about saying whatever I can to get someone on my podcast. If that were the case, every column would be butterflies and rainbows singing everyone’s praises and just kissing people’s asses. That’ll never happen.
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-I know you’ve seen some episodes in advance for Temptation Island and that you don’t know what happens with the couples at the end of season if they chose to stay together, leave alone or leave with someone else. Just for fun, as of Episode 5, what are your predictions on what each couple with do. Do you think any of the couple will stay together? After episode one I for sure thought if anyone stayed together it would be Kaci and Evan and I thought Javen and Shari had little to no chance of staying together but now I would be SHOCKED if Evan and Kaci stay together and I wouldn’t be too surprised if Javen and Shari stayed together. I think Javen and Shari will be the only couple that stays together. I’d be pretty surprised if any of the other three still are. And that doesn’t even have anything to do with what I’ve seen past episode 5. Just based on those first 5, it’d surprise me.
-What are you thoughts of the 1st episode/ previews for this season of the Challenge?? I feel this could turn out to be one of the best seasons in a LONG time. I’m LOVING how it seems as if they’re going back to focus more on the actual competition rather than the drama and it looks like there are multiple rookies that look legit!
Comment: Yeah, I’m liking it so far. The newbies I can tell will be really good, and there’s a good mix of veterans this year with them.
Just gonna say something for the record only because I told a couple Challenge people this privately in the last week. I know I’ll take sh*t for it because she isn’t too well liked in the house, but damn, Amanda does something for me, and I have no idea why. Not my type at all really, but I’ve kinda had a thing for her. You may now laugh at me til the end of time.
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Hi!
What do you think if Jason and Kaitlyn’s relationship now? Seems pretty serious. Personally, I like them together, they seem to have a lot in common. I have seen Shawn b post cryptic comments about them and he seems to be hinting that Jason was interfering in his relationship with Kaitlyn. What’s your take? I can’t have much of an opinion on two people whose relationship I know nothing about. All I’ve said is that I was surprised Kaitlyn went to someone in Bachelor Nation after Shawn. I didn’t think she would.
How are things going between Cassie and Colton based on what you’ve heard? I don’t hear details like that. All I usually hear is are they together or aren’t they. And they are.
Is it almost solid that caelynn is bachelorette?
Comment: Nothing is solid. We just have no idea where they’re leaning.
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Love your spoilers, have been reading since Jason and Molly.
So… my question is, why has there been no mention of Tia or how heart broken he was over Becca (I realize it’s because he wasn’t). But seriously it’s like it never happened. The Tia thing was huge that’s all anyone heard about all summer… and none of these girls ask about her?? Well to be fair, none have asked about Becca either. They just haven’t brought up his exes.
Also if he’s so “ready” to be married then why not just have ended up with Tia??
He’s just so full of it and he’s so boring.. attractive but so boring.
I am not buying the whole virgin thing either!!
Thanks so much for all that you do!!
Comment: The relationship with Tia was never really that serious. Anything to the contrary is a lie. Wasn’t going anywhere.
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Hey Steve,
I started watching during Ben Higgins season of The Bachelor, so I missed Kaitlyn’s season of The Bachelorette. I haven’t ever gone back and read your column for her season, but I was wondering the reason behind them doing the whole ‘choose the Bachelorette’ thing, aside from the public reason they gave at the start of the season.
Do you think they would ever do that again?
Comment: I doubt it. It’s kind of a silly idea. A reason it’s only been done twice in 37 seasons.
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RS,
You’re gonna find this funny, but on Reddit today, there was someone on there after you did your iG story saying that they wanted to have sex with you. Then a bunch of other people commented afterwards “secretly” agreeing with them. Like it was a bad thing or something. So not all of reddit hates you!
Comment: Yeah, Ashley Spivey sent me that last week. And I’ll tell you exactly what I told her when I got it. I don’t know if I should take that as a compliment or feel horrified. I’m thinking the latter.
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Hey Steve,
How long on average do you think Bachelor/Bachelorette cast members are able to stay relevant or “instagram famous” after their season ends? It seems like some cast members are able to keep finding ways to stay relevant, but other cast members struggle to keep instagram followers, etc.
Comment: There’s no set answer to that question. All depends on your follower count and what ads you’re doing.
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Long time reader/follower first time emailer, your the best!!…this season has the worst group dates ever!!! If I was one of the girls I would have left on the first group date. It’s embarrassing for the girls and flat out wrong to have them fight each other. This has now happened twice this season. Two raunchy comedians (pointless) and not funny. Walking in jungles eating bugs, worms, fish eyes etc. These are not adventures but for the very few. These dates are starting to look and feel like a low budget version of survivor. I have a group of friends that watch and they all see it the same way. Classless, unnecessary, not fun or interesting to the girls or the viewers. The girl fighting is what most of us are really upset about. Do you have any way to get a message to the producers? email or physical business office address? We would like to contact them. Also what is your opinion on this.
Comment: The number is (800) DUM-DATE.
There are very few dates this show has ever had which most consider fun. Usually it’s just something to do to kill time for the episode before we get to the night portion where the drama usually happens.
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Hi, Steve,
I wanted to comment on one of your comments on a reader email. It was re: Bachelor couples waiting a while to get married. I don’t take offense at what you said, but I think one can mistakenly infer from it that marriage and commitment are one and the same. They’re mutually exclusive. Speaking from my experience, I’m polyamorous and don’t want to get legally married. Marriage in our society is this thing where you promise to be with somebody for the rest of your life and you get the government involved. Commitment and a lifelong promise are also not the same thing. I find it illogical to promise somebody something that is based on a large number of variables that are impossible to predict. As for the law of marriage, one of the factors there is that it makes it difficult to break up with somebody, therefore you’re committed to them. I think that’s just an unhealthy way to commit: I don’t want somebody being with me because it’s too hard to leave me.
All commitment is is a prioritization of a person: being a major part of your life, their needs, etc. Re: the reader email, my response would be that if a person has been with you for 3-5 years and the relationship has progressed and the person is able to fulfill your needs to a reasonable extent and does, then that itself speaks to their commitment. Marriage has nothing to do with it.
Comment: Well of course you have that opinion, you’re admittedly polyamorous. You are in a very, very small minority. Most people aren’t in relationships like that.
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Hey Steve,
Love your podcast, you conduct great interviews.
I’m currently listening to your Amy Kaufman interview where she tells you how great Love Island is. I agree wholeheartedly! She left out a few key pieces in her description of the show though. When the show is filmed, it’s airing at the same time live. When new people arrive, they have seen what was shown on TV before their arrival which causes more drama. Also, a “power couple” is voted on and wins 50 thousand pounds at the end, which gives the show a Bachelor Pad element. I have to watch it with closed captions turned on due to some heavy accents. It’s as if bachelor pad and bachelor in paradise had a raunchy Brit baby. Truly a great show currently on Hulu. Give it a watch, you won’t regret it.
Comment: So is it similar to “Paradise Hotel” in that aspect, which Fox is bringing back?
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Hi Steve! I’m a long-time reader of your blog and listener of the podcast.
Apologies if you have discussed this in the past but I heard something recently (well, last summer but I’m now just getting around to writing to you) that I was shocked by. On Olivia Caridi’s podcast, she interviewed Michelle Money on June 19, 2018. Between 35:00 and 37:00, they talk about Bentley William’s edit from Ashley Hebert’s season. I remember him being the ultimate villain, talking trash about Ashley during the ITMs but leading her on in person. On Olivia’s podcast, Michelle Money (who is good friends with Bentley) says that he got a horrible edit, and that all the mean things he was saying about Ashley were actually about his ex-wife. Michelle even says that Bentley tried to sue ABC over this. IS THIS TRUE??? I always thought Bentley was a horrible person (and one of the worst villains in Bachelor history), so I was shocked when Michelle said this. Any information you can provide about this would be very appreciated, thanks!
Comment: I didn’t hear that podcast so I can’t speak on it, but I know that most of those things he was saying in ITM’s could’ve no doubt been responses to talking about past girlfriends or his ex. I don’t know anything about suing, but if he even thought about it, it’s a waste of time. He needs to read the contract. It’s the worst contract in television. You sign on to go on this show, you basically lose all your rights to do anything legally to this show, no matter what they do to you.
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Not sure if you scooped or saw this but Realitytv is saying Colton actually quit the show ie; jumped the fence etc. thought you might find that interesting.
Comment: No sh*t? Thanks for the heads up. I need to look into that. What else did “Realitytv” say?
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Hi Steve!
Love your work. ABC should be paying you, I have always been of the opinion that the show is way more entertaining knowing your spoilers.
Questions:
I agree with you that Caelynn’s storyline definitely fits the Bachelorette role given we are well within the “#MeToo” movement. However, to play devil’s advocate, the whole bachelor/ette franchise has not been great in vetting contestants in recent years. You have also said that nothing other than a huge scandal will end this show. Knowing (hoping) someone from ABC keeps an eye on your column, do you think it’s been considered that IF they cast Caelynn as Bachelorette, but accidentally let some guy through as a contestant that has a sexual harassment or inappropriate background, that could be the end of them?? I really hope IF they go the Caelynn route they are EXTRA careful looking at every single guy’s social media and background because it would look (AND BE) horrible to have a shady guy as a contestant with her being a sexual assault survivor. Just a different perspective on that. It would be a good storyline, but high risk for them if they aren’t extra careful. Curious to your thoughts. If Caelynn gets the gig, I gotta imagine after last season’s embarrassment, that they will thoroughly vet these guys and you won’t see anyone with any sort of background like that. And not just because of it possibly being Caelynn. Just because this show is under the microscope now.
So far in my opinion, Caelynn hasn’t had a great edit other than her 1:1, which was handled great by her, Colton, and production. But after last week’s episode with her commenting on Hannah G. relying on her looks and not having much depth, yikes. As a normal human that has never participated in reality TV or any sort of attention receiving event, that seems VERY hypocritical coming from a pageant girl. They’re trained to “perform” and gain a positive opinion right?? Have you seen any backlash on Caelynn for that conversation? Feels super shady and at least within my friends that watch the show, that comment seems to have rubbed people the wrong way. Definitely was not a smart thing to say and for sure came across as catty. Not to mention, like you said, basically pot calling the kettle black being a pageant girl herself. Just seemed rude.
If ABC didn’t have such a strict contract with every contestant on this show and everyone was willing to do an interview with you, who would you like to talk to from this season and why? Easy. Cassie. You can probably go in order of where they finished in terms of who I’d want to talk to and when.
Regarding your last podcast, have you thought about spoiling any other shows at all? I understand your response about survivor because there’s a large prize, but your social media and website has to draw a large audience. Any ideas about how to grow this business further or create some job security on the off chance that the bachelor franchise ends? Curious about your career goals. I’m very job-security driven so I can’t relate to something like this and your bachelor career is intriguing. I mean, at times I think of it and at times I don’t. Do I have a long term plan right now? No. I’m just enjoying this as it goes. Every day my site is live I make money, so I’m doing what I can to set myself up financially for the future while also enjoying the present. I think once “Bachelor” ends, whenever that may be, I’m going to turn my attention to podcasting. That’s where the advertising money is now, it’s what I feel most comfortable with, and the response has been great. I wanna talk to more people from different avenues. Just need to see how to make that work.
I also LOVE Temptation Island! Awesome recommendation and Kaci is a great podcast addition every week, I wish we could hear from more of the main couples! I can’t wait for the rest of the season and if there’s a reunion…all kinds of YES GIVE ME THE DRAMA. Need to know the ending and all details. Even if there’s a reunion, I hope you have all of the main people from the starting couples on your show at some point.
Thanks, keep up the great work!!
Comment: Evan will be on the podcast tomorrow as well as Kaci (separately) to talk about what we saw Tuesday night. Once this is all over, I do want to have a lot of the people from this show on to talk about their experience, even some of the singles. There’s a lot to digest with this show, no doubt.
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Hey Steve…you mentioned that there aren’t many other contestants from past seasons you could see being Bachelorette on your podcast I just listened to. What about Becca Tilley? She’s got a lot followers and seems to be popular among the fans?
Comment: Ummmmmm…errrrrr…uhhhhhhh…no, Becca is not going to be the “Bachelorette.”
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Hi Steve,
A few questions:
1. It made me laugh seeing all three women who were sent home last week give the same cryptic message about other women in the house not being ready for marriage. Obviously, I’m sure there was some producer manipulation involved. But how do you think that occurred? Especially since two of those goodbyes (Demi’s and Katie’s) were unexpected? I definitely think they could’ve been egged on by producers to “tell him how you really feel” before they left.
2, This is something Sharleen wrote about, and I wonder too: Why do you think the show would literally never show us a single conversation of Colton with Kirpa, but then give her a one-on-one, vs. Katie, who we saw almost every episode? What kind of reasoning goes into decisions like that? Sometimes it’s just a matter of time. We get 80 minutes a week, and editors know what the end result of the show is. They know that ultimately Kirpa never really got involved in anything until her last episode, so I guess they felt like they didn’t need to spend time on their “connection.” As to why Katie didn’t get a 1-on-1, that’s a question production needs to answer to. I have no idea.
3. Just a comment – you’ve mentioned how no one outside of the top 4 has ever been the bachelorette, but Britt was almost the bachelorette, and she finished in 6th. Why do you think she was an exception to this? She was the only one, and she ultimately wasn’t the “Bachelorette,” nor was she ever going to be. When they did the two “Bachelorette” thing, it was apparent they were doing it so the guys would choose Kaitlyn. I still don’t know why they did that other than just to try something different. It really was kind of a waste.
4. Finally, thanks to you, I’m obsessed with The Challenge. I started watching a few months ago and completely caught up on Vendettas and Final Reckoning. Which did you prefer out of those two seasons? I’m loving War of the Worlds, but I’m so disappointed in Cara and Paulie. 🙁
Comment: Vendettas probably. I mean, it’s not like Jemmye and I didn’t lay out exactly what we thought Cara would use as her reasoning if she ever decided to take Paulie back. Almost word for word. Her life, her choices. Can’t say I agree with it, but lets let it play out.
