Lets get this out of the way first since you won’t hear much more on this until next January. Some people that have contacted me about next year’s party already know this, but I can now make it public. Next year’s 6th Annual Reality Steve Fan Appreciation Party will be Friday, June 5th, 2020 at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas. One thing I can tell you is that there will be a maximum number of people I set next year, and it’ll be lower than this years. This is first come, first serve. Anyone can come. I won’t have the hotel discount code until next January probably. I don’t even know if airlines are offering flights now for June of next year, but anyone who books a flight and shows me their itinerary is confirmed for the party, as long as it’s not already full. If you’re local and driving, a hotel booking is all I need. And if you’re a Vegas local, I understand that emergencies can happen, but I ask that you please stick to your RSVP. So anyone who’s interested let me know. Flight itineraries are automatic confirmation, and I will set aside “x” amount of spots for Vegas locals. Once those fill up, all others will have to be on a waiting list. If you’re interested in going, just know this is going to fill up fast, especially since I’m taking less than I did this past year.
The talk of the last week continues to be Haley Stevens and her making the interview rounds on her relationship with Jed pre-show. She first gave an exclusive to People.com last Tuesday, about 4 hours after my column came out. Then there was an interview with E! Online. Then she did a Skype interview with Lauren Zima, which was quite interesting since the day before, Lauren was on Juliet Litman’s “Bachelor Party” podcast and didn’t seem to jazzed about Haley’s story. Then yesterday, Haley gave an interview to US Weekly. I know that people will jump all over her for speaking to 4 different outlets, and while I don’t think it’s a great look, it doesn’t mean what she’s saying isn’t true. One could look at it as she feels she was played, so she wants as many people to hear about it as possible. I personally wouldn’t have taken the route she did (meaning how many outlets she spoke to), but that’s neither here nor there. It’s her story, she wants it out there, and plenty of people are giving her an outlet for it.
She’s getting skewered by plenty of people online calling her an opportunist, and she’s just as bad as Jed, and…just stop. If you think she’s just as bad as Jed, you have every right to think that. But Haley isn’t the one on the show. Haley isn’t the one with Hannah. The focus after her story came out should still be on Jed. You all want the tea, and when you don’t get it, you’re pissed. And then if you get the tea but there’s no receipts, then the person must be lying. Here’s a woman that gave you tea AND provided texts messages and a card Jed sent her right before leaving – and she’s STILL getting a ton of heat. And you wonder why women are afraid to come forward against men in any situation. Yes, Jed has his side to come (probably at the ATFR), but we pretty much already know what he’s gonna say. He will downplay his relationship with her, or he’ll say he fell for Hannah more during filming and didn’t know what to say to Haley after he got back. Not good enough. Jed deserves whatever heat he’s getting. While Haley may have been complicit by allowing him to go on the show as his girlfriend, that’s not what we’re arguing. This is about Jed’s role as a contestant on the “Bachelorette.” Haley’s is separate. Just because you don’t agree with her allowing Jed to go on as her “boyfriend” doesn’t mean her story isn’t true. That’s where I see people have a hard time separating the two. You should. We’re talking about two separate things.
Hell if Jed and Haley planned this giant diabolical scheme from the beginning, and it’s playing out exactly how they wanted it to play out, it still doesn’t change the fact of where we’re at right now. The guy was seriously involved with someone before filming and now he’s with Hannah. People don’t see anything wrong with that? Haley’s the bad one in all of this and Jed is Mr. Innocent? I don’t see it. The crazy thing about this is, when looking at it from a distance, why is this even a story if Jed isn’t with Hannah? If Jed was single, he would’ve come back from filming and picked up where he left off with Haley, just like most guys (and women) do from this franchise when they get back. You’re single. You can do what you want. You just can’t be public about it until you’re eliminated from the show. But from the second Jed got back, he ghosted Haley, never called, didn’t return texts, finally called after two weeks, then they ran into each other at CMA Fest. It certainly isn’t adding up to a guy who was single coming back from the show. But for anyone trying to read into that last sentence, no, that’s not why I changed the spoiler last week. There’s other reasons and sources I’ve spoken with.
One thing that’s also come up a lot is people asking me how this has happened with so many guys in recent seasons and if there’s something they will/can do about their vetting process of contestants. I don’t think this is a vetting issue at all. Every man and woman that goes through the interview process on this show is grilled about everything. If stuff was coming up about legal issues in the past that criminals were getting cast, yeah, that’s a vetting issue. Do you think any man or woman applying to be on this show, when questioned by producers during the application process and then in final casting weekend in LA, is sitting there saying, “Yeah, I really think you can find love on this show. Granted, I already have a girlfriend/boyfriend at home, but trust me, I’ll dump them if I fall for the lead.” Of course not. No one’s admitting to someone back home. And honestly, how’s the show supposed to know who this person is sleeping with before they come on? It’s just not realistic to know every single thing about every one of their contestants personal/dating lives. Yes, they know a lot. But they couldn’t possibly know if you were texting someone a week before filming and/or sleeping with them.
Recap begins on Page 2…
