Thank you to everyone yesterday for their concern about me, along with many others, who have been affected by this terribly tragedy. You know, the one where CBS and DirecTV are in a pissing match and now I can’t watch “Big Brother” or “Love Island.” I realize now I can watch it the next day on CBS.com, but it just isn’t the same because inevitably, I end up finding out the results. “Love Island” I’d like to watch, but I’m not nearly as invested in, so Tatum from “Paradise Hotel” just texts me the summary every night. I’m fine with that. Once I get those I really don’t feel like going back and watching. Although the six new people who came in on Monday’s episode I have no clue what they look like, just their names. But CBS being pulled from many TV’s in major cities all across America is killing “Love Island.” Their ratings Monday night were the worst of the season drawing only 1.88 million viewers and a .4 rating. Friday night (three days earlier), they drew 2.22 million and .5 rating, and Friday is NOT a big television night. The previous Friday was their worst rated show. So the blackout happens on Sunday, and now they’re under 2 million viewers. They’re screwed. “Big Brother,” because I find most of the cast so unlikable this year, again, I’m pretty much ok with just reading a recap of what’s going on. I think this situation between DirecTV and CBS will get resolved soon anyway, so, I’m fine with not actually seeing a couple of episodes.
Before we get to “Reader Emails” this week where an inordinate amount of people take up for Luke P., wanna point you to this article from Flare.com that ran yesterday regarding production’s role in Luke returning. They talked to me about it and my thoughts are pretty clear in the article: Luke certainly is the one who is ultimately responsible, but his return doesn’t happen at that rose ceremony without the instruction and the allowance by production. So they have to be held somewhat responsible for what took place as well. What % you put on it is up to each individual person, but lets not say everything is Luke’s fault in that particular instance.
All right, lets get to it. Close to 50 “Reader Emails” today. Enjoy…
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Hi Steve,
I am watching the 1st Bachelor season (Alex Michel) and when it gets to the Fantasy Suite, it was interesting to see contestant Shannon’s date where she was pissed that he had overnight dates with his remaining 3 women. I think Luke P is the first we have seen this much tension over the prospect of the lead sleeping with multiple people in the Fantasy suite. Nowadays we say ‘you know there is a fantasy suite, so all contestants shouldn’t be surprised’. Since this was the 1st season, there was so expectation. I love Shannon’s remark when Alex asks her what she thinks… she responds ‘I am just wondering about the card that says ‘Alex and Trista’ and ‘Alex and Amanda’. Then in a tone that you can tell she isn’t happy, she adds ‘Just being honest’.
We take it for granted that the leads sleeps with several contestants, but it is interesting to see how the 1st season ladies took the idea.
Trista even made a remark in the episode when Alex was trying to get her to open up and he said ‘pretend we are dating and you are my girlfriend. She replied, I can’t do that because then that means you are cheating on me.’
The episodes are on the app Tubi in case anyone is interested in watching original seasons. They are a bit cheesy and funny, and very little drama between the girls.
Comment: I can’t get believe the graphics and how low production value it has. I understand that was 2003, but still. Holy crap. Shows you how well produced the show is. Say what you want about the content, but the production value has increased 1000 fold since its inception.
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Hi Steve
Long time reader of your site and love all the insight. Two questions. Did Hannah sleep with Jed too? Also, I think it was a little insensitive of Hannah to tell the whole world she slept with Peter and then dump him the next week. It seems a little unkind of her when she could have just kept that to herself. In addition, it was clear to me that she was never going to pick Peter since their connection didn’t seem as strong as the others. She never mentioned anything about Jed so that is why I was wondering if they did have sex.
Thanks
Comment: We can only assume, but I’d say yes, she did. Girl was enjoying herself on the overnight dates. Can’t fault her for that.
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Hi Steve!
With the drama coming on the finale I was wondering… When do you think production first learned about the Jed & Haley situation? Did they learn he had a girlfriend when the People article came out or were they aware while filming was still ongoing? Did you catch wind of it during casting or filming? It’s very clear this show is heavily produced. I’m just wondering if the Jed situation was managed as well.
Comment: No, they knew earlier. I couldn’t give you an exact date, but Jed told Hannah about Haley shortly after their engagement, so that’s the latest they could’ve known. I’m sure Jed was telling production at some point during the process and they probably knew, but didn’t tell Hannah until after they got engaged.
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Hi Steve King of Everyone (is that the nickname Olivia gave you – it was something like that!),
I may be too late for reader emails but just in case – I like to go to the Jimmy Kimmel taping after the final episode, so do you think it would be safe to say that will be on July 30? When I book tickets they don’t say who the guests are you just have to pick the date so I’m thinking to get tickets for the 30th so that I can see the interview with Hannah. 🙂
Thanks for your wonderful articles and insights and btw Hannah is my favorite bachelorette in a long time – she’s so real and raw and true to herself.
Comment: Yeah, I’m guessing Hannah will be on the 30th. She’s on GMA the next morning, I know that. So per usual, she’ll take the red eye out that night.
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Far fetched, but do you ever see Luke and Hannah together in the future? In the episode where she sent him home, she said she had clarity and did not want him to be her husband, but when he was talking it felt like she wanted him to say something to save it, but he just kept backpedaling. I think if they were in a normal relationship setting it could’ve worked, but everything is amplified and edited on tv. Curious to your thoughts on that?
Comment: If he never came on the show and they met through church or whatever, sure, they could’ve at least tried it. But now? Zero chance. She’s seen a side to him she knows she can’t be with, and to be fair, Luke said she’s not his person either. So no. Not happening.
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One final observation – the final 3 guys: 1 lives with his parents. 1 can’t pay his rent without dad’s help, and 1 has his MBA and own company.
On hometowns, I’d want to see where the guy lived. Seriously, if they’re ready for marriage, the should be some independence being shown.
I think Tyler’s looks have played against him in Hannah’s case. She has said that he looked too good to be true, had to be a ladies’ man, and so on, commenting on how attractive she found him to be.
What I found especially interesting was how flustered she seemed to be with him on the overnight date. I’ve seen women do this when they felt shy or uncertain and it seemed as if she felt overwhelmed with a night with Tyler and insecure around him.
I believe that she never settled on believing that he was 100% there for her because of his physical looks – how could someone who looked like that not be a player?
I don’t know if she is unaware of how beautiful she is in her own right, and how lucky he would have been in the relationship as well?
It’s such a shame that someone like Jed came on the show with his purpose being to deceive a woman who wanted to fall in love. If he did indeed begin to fall for her, he should have stepped off the show so she could find love. Loving someone means caring more for them than yourself. He knew he was in a deceiving role, and he should have stepped aside. If you love someone, you do what’s best for them, not for you.
Comment: Hannah has admitted to many insecurities. Even as late as the first night of the show thinking that some of the guys there were maybe upset that she was the “Bachelorette.” If that played a role in her decision to not pick Tyler, yeah maybe she regrets it now, but you can see why it possibly could’ve.
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Hi Steve,
A few questions and comments,
1) From your knowledge of the Paradise spoilers, I am wondering if you know anything about Mike’s time/ edit on Paradise and whether you see it strengthening or weakening his case for Bachelor? Mike is in a different scenario than Tyler or Peter as a Bachelor candidate in that he gets another chance to be on our TV screens before a final decision is made. Curious on your thoughts. Nothing about Mike’s time on Paradise really screams “he’s gonna get the ‘Bachelor’ role” to me.
2) Do you think that Calee coming out with her story on Peter will have a sizable effect on his chances of being chosen for Bachelor? In my opinion, yes, it does totally suck for Calee to be dumped without full clarity or honesty, she deserves that. Peter should have given her that respect. But, whether Peter was fully transparent with her in the breakup or not, at least Peter had the decency to break up with Calee after being cast, and he had a few months to actually be single before going on the show…. sad that that’s the standard we are comparing to these days. Not really. Don’t think it’s gonna be Peter.
Jed Wyatt, you are making history, pal. Heck, Scott from night one looks good next to Jed— at least Scott broke up with his girl “on Monday.” Lol. These recent episodes are hilariously ironic with Jed getting protective over Hannah, not wanting her to end up “the wrong guy” in Luke. Look in the mirror, buddy. Glad you had your “honest conversation” about your feelings toward Luke… maybe next time the honest conversation should include your feelings toward the other woman you were in love with a month ago who is waiting for you back at home. Just a thought. Also ironic how on the date with Jed, Hannah keeps saying how trust is the foundation of a relationship (in reference to Jed trusting her with the Luke situation). Solid foundation being built here, super solid.
3) As a fellow Christian, sure Hannah did not act perfectly throughout the season, but she does own her mistakes, and that’s all Jesus asks. Not perfection, but admitting weakness and turning to Him for strength. Luke seems to be caught up in pride and self-righteousness. I was hoping he would use the MTA as an opportunity to own up to his shortcomings and apologize for his hurtful behavior. His defensive, unapologetic attitude and recent tweets are very telling. Fundamental to following Christ is admitting that you need Jesus because you are imperfect on your own. Luke seems to struggle with that (even if he says it, his actions show pride). Luke seems to boast in His own righteousness, just like the Pharisees (religious people of the day) who Jesus continually rebukes throughout the gospels.
Sure, Hannah and Luke may not see eye to eye on how sex “should” be handled… but this goes a lot deeper than that. It’s a heart issue, and I think that is why Hannah felt so betrayed by Luke. Luke was clinging to his own self-righteousness on the basis of one action (abstaining from sex), instead of looking at Hannah’s heart, and the heart of Jesus for that matter, which is grace and unconditional love.
Hannah isn’t perfect, but I do believe that she genuinely loves the Lord, admits her own weakness, and understands that Jesus died on the cross to set her FREE from not only sin and death, but also FREE from guilt and shame. Seeing Hannah walk in joy, love, freedom and grace (with herself and others)— that’s where I see the beautiful heart of Jesus shine through. As a Christian, I believe that God created us to walk in unapologetic joy, freedom, and confidence in the unconditional love of the Father, and Jesus removed all barriers to that 2000 years ago. Hannah gets that. Many (Christians and non) don’t.
Just my two cents on the situation as a follower of Christ.
Thank you for all you do, Steve. You add so much value to the show and to society by empowering the voiceless to speak the truth, and for respecting women and men alike.
Comment: Good insight. I agree that I think Hannah just handled everything better than Luke did. Luke is unaware of how condescending he comes across. Just look at the MTA and you can clearly see even when he’s thinking of the perfect thing to say (and god knows we waited long enough sometimes for him to spit it out), it still didn’t come across great.
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Hi Steve,
I have a request. Would it be possible to post about only one show at a time?
I go to your website for spoilers as so many fans do. But I don’t like to read them before a show starts.
For example, I would like to read more about the ending of the Bachelorette now. I’m getting antsy watching the show at that pace. But I don’t want to know any spoilers at this point for BIP.
I can’t read one without getting the other according to the titles of the articles.
Thank you!
Your fans appreciate your accurate investigative reporting on our favorite shows!!
Comment: No.
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Hi Steve!
While watching the latest episode, I realized how happy I will be when Hannah is no longer doing the jump-and-straddle greeting every single time she sees one of the guys. Good lord, can we retire that move? I think people forget, but we see this EVERY season with EVERY “Bachelorette” lead. Trust me, come next May when “Bachelorette” starts up again, you’ll see it numerous times again.
Random question: if you could choose 3 people from the franchise to shut down their social media/podcasts and never to be heard from again, who would they be?
Comment: Oh geez. I don’t follow enough of them to know who’s the worst and the only person from Bachelor Nation whose podcast I even listen to is Olivia. I’d say anyone who posts nothing but ads on their IG, just cancel them. That’s obnoxious.
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Hi Steve!
I have a couple questions… At what point in the year do you usually start hearing what girls are going to be on the next season of the bachelor? And when do you start hearing what guys will be in the bachelorette? Not when they are confirmed/going through final casting, but just rumored to be on the next season? I’m just curious about the timing of all of that. 365 days a year. It never ends.
Also, why do you think we don’t see more people coming back for a second season (kind of like Becca Tilley did on Chris and bens season and Nick on Andi and Kaitlyns season)? do you think the producers don’t want that to happen, or do you think the contestants aren’t interested in coming back? The reason I ask is it’s pretty clear a lot of people come on the show for fame/followers. If someone came back for a second season that would instantly bring more attention to them, because it would be a story line on that season. I just find it interesting that so many people are willing to do paradise but not a second season of the bachelor/bachelorette. Nick and Becca are still extremely popular because of the multiple seasons they were on. If they both only did the first season and that was it, I’m sure everyone would’ve forgotten about them by now.
Comment: I think the last time we saw that happen was Becca on Ben’s season, and that was what, 5 seasons ago? I just think there’s no point anymore. There’s Paradise for these people to appear again. And of course contestants would WANT to. There’s contestants that would pay the show to be on another season of the “Bachelor” if they could. But they want and need fresh faces every season. Throwing one person from a previous season on just seems too gimmicky.
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Boy has this season been entertaining! I’m looking forward to the AFTR Show. I realize Hannah has cut off her engagement and relationship with Jed, but she may have calmed down after the discovery of his actions and contemplated renewing communication with him. Often on the show, Hannah demonstrated her quick volatile, tantrum-like, or punitive outbursts and then calmness after the storm. While I found it refreshing seeing the lead display real emotions some of her “realness” was over the top. Now I’m not saying her decisions made after discovering Jed’s deception wasn’t warranted. I would have done the same thing. However there is a MAJOR difference with me and Hannah. First thing, I would never want to be on TV, let alone a show like this. But if I “slipped up” or made a bone-head decision to do the show, I would not have sex, let alone with multiple persons – that’s me. I also would not want or expect a proposal at the end when I just broke up from an emotional relationship with another individual.
With that being said, on the AFTR show, if Hannah slashes into Jed for his actions, I hope, I hope Jed asks Hannah how his relationship with Haley and what he did differs than her relationship with Peter, especially sleeping with Peter while supposedly in love with Jed and expecting Jed to propose to her. It does not matter Jed was aware of Peter and signed up for this show; I’m sure Hannah didn’t reveal she slept with him…TWICE. Jed had relations with Haley, conveyed his love for her, led her to believe he’d return to her, sealed it by giving himself to her before taking off on a jet plane, leaving her behind, and connecting with Hannah. Hannah had relations with Peter (and others), communicated in various ways their strong connection, strongly encouraged/pressed Peter to express his desires and feelings for her, knew Peter was in love with her, then she gave herself to him…TWICE before dumping him and accepting a proposal from Jed. At least there was some distance and time between Haley and Jed in comparison to Peter and Hannah! Jed got on a plane, flew to another state and eventually other countries. He at least had a couple of days/weeks between the time of a “real” connection with Haley vs. Hannah. Apparently, days is now a lot of time; go figure! I don’t know how long it takes to tape the show, but there was at least a month between the time of Jed sleeping with Haley vs. with Hannah. On the other hand, what was the time frame between Peter and Jed? Jed at least put some miles/distance between himself, Haley & Hannah. Heck, Peter & Jed are in the same house. Months between verbal/physical expressions of love for Haley vs Hannah. One or two days max between verbal/physical expressions of love for Peter vs Jed. Steve you know the time frame of filming; my goodness, how soon after Hannah led Peter on did she dump him? How many days between sleeping with Peter did she accept Jed’s proposal?
I get it, the issue with Jed was he did not disclose his relationship with Haley and COMPLETE/HONEST intentions for being on this show. Who knows, his initial intentions of planning on returning to Haley may have changed after being in the exclusive bubble with Hannah. But I don’t think Hannah was COMPLETELY HONEST with Jed and her emotional and physical interactions with the other men, especially Peter. Do you think she told Jed, during their overnight, she just had relations with Peter? Do you think she told Jed before he proposed? I don’t think so; therefore she was just as deceitful as Jed.
Jed, if Hannah comes after you, give it right back to her! I’ll have my popcorn ready watching the match!
Comment: I couldn’t disagree more with your main point of Hannah getting engaged to someone after just having sex with someone else (Peter) days before. If that’s your take, then you’re gonna have to go down the line to many previous “Bachelorettes” who all did the same thing. Some even still engaged and/or married to the person they chose to this day. So that can’t be the basis of your argument as to why Jed should retaliate. You’re treating this show as real life. It’s not.
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Hey Steve-
Do we know what happened between Andi Dorfman and Nikki Ferrell? They were incredibly close and Andi even referenced her in her first book, but now it appears they don’t even follow each other on instagram?!?!
Comment: No. But lets tap the brakes on someone not following someone else from a season that was 5 years ago. Really? Are people keeping track of this stuff? Who. Cares.
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Steve,
I love your website and have been a faithful reader for sometime now. I have really enjoyed this season and love Hannah. I was a HUGE Tyler fan, I even started following him on Instagram. But the more I follow him the less I like him. He is all about himself and promoting himself and his company. What ever happened to him being a contractor? It’s not a bad thing, everyone does it. But if he was so into Hannah then why doesn’t he try to go after her now that she is single. Because loves the fame, not her. I believe it was all an act! Just like Jed, just like Peter. I just wish someone would call him out on it. I remember when Emily Maynard talked about Jef after the show and how he feel in love with fame and not her. It makes me feel bad for the lead bachelorette because most of them they are not there for her. I really thought that Tyler was different, but he isn’t. I really wanted Hannah to find love. And I am really rooting for Mike to be the bachelor. Especially because Tyler’s mom is blabbing her mouth saying Tyler is it. Mike would be so fun and it would be awesome for the franchise to have their first black bachelor.
Comment: Well, he’s definitely not doing anything in the contracting business, that’s for sure. But have you seen what ABC Food Tours does? Like, you’re gonna jump on him for promoting that? I’d rethink that one.
