Hello,
With all that we’ve seen with some of the front runners from past seasons of “The Bachelor” and “The Bachelorette”, do you think the lead from these shows made, at the end of the day their best decision? That’s not for me to say. I think those who had short relationships post show have spoken out against it and made it known. DeAnna is the first that comes to mind.
When I say from what we’ve seen, I’m talking about persons like Blake, who has had a rough one in Mexico; or Tayshia who seems to be flipping all over the place.
What is your definition of a strong woman or an empowering woman? This year alone I’ve seen the phrase be thrown around in the same conversation with the likes of Demi and Hannah. Tough to say. I think everyone has a different definition of what that is, so saying what mine is I don’t really think matters. But someone who is low on insecurities and stands up for what she believes in, not only with her words, but her actions, is empowering to me.
What do you think of these Bachelor Alums who just settle to be “Instagram influencers” in comparison to person from this same franchise who actually go out to further their formal education, namely Cassie and David (Becca’s Season)? I mean, to each their own. I just hope these people that quit whatever job they were in, move to LA, and try to just hang on by appearing on as many reality shows as possible and “influence” have a backup plan, because they’re gonna have a rude awakening when this bubble bursts.
Something I’ve come to realize; if someone doesn’t like another, no matter what good they do it becomes an issue.
Till next time
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Hi Steve!
Super random question for you – have you received thank you notes from the couples that you send wedding gifts to? Not asking you to name names of anyone who has or hasn’t, but would love to know how often it happens. I know my mama would have flayed me if I hadn’t sent one for a gift… but I also know that the couples often have their heads quite far up Fleiss’s ass, so curious to know if they acknowledge yours or not.
Haven’t watched the show regularly for the last couple seasons, but love keeping up with it through your site. Thanks for the spoilers and recaps!
Comment: Yes. Everyone I’ve sent a gift to has sent me a handwritten thank you note back.
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Hi steve,
I’ll keep this quick and short, any thoughts/insight on mike/Demi lovato? They were super flirty on Instagram this week, which probably means nothing, but figured I’d ask in case it meant something.
Hope you had fun in Vegas!
Comment: I have no idea.
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So, I agree with your critiques of both Tayshia and JPJ in their particular conduct this season (I actually don’t get why he was so into her when they don’t really seem to have much in common–I actually felt bad for Haley who came off like so much more of an actual person when freed from all of the “twin” bullshit and who I feel, personality-wise, if this were real life, is a much better fit for JPJ). But that coupling, along with Katie/Chris (who I am rooting for to actually work out as they both seem like real people) and Clay/Nicole kind of progresses this franchise if you think where it was back even five years ago. There have always been a couple of people of color on this show but they never made it very far and were never the main protagonists of any plot. I think it was on Andi’s season where some asshole contestant got caught on camera saying “wow, she picked ‘both black guys,'” as though that were somehow startling/noteworthy. (Especially because one of those guys–I think his name was Marquel–struck me at the time as one of the most professionally impressive and personally dynamic of her whole crop). Not like the show isn’t still pretty whitewashed, but I kind of like how much more diverse it’s gotten and how, in particular, the contestants themselves seem kind of color blind.
The most “desirable” people on the beach by superficial standards seem to be the hottest, most confident, and most ‘important’ to their respective bachelor/bachelorette seasons. While that is pathetic in and of itself and a sad statement about the fakeness of the show as a vehicle for social media influencing, I still think it’s a good thing that those categories at least seem to transcend race much more than they ever used to. (It’s obvious, for example, that Tayshia and Mike are two of the most sought-after people on the show). While I got what Jennifer Pozner was saying in her book and on your podcasts, I actually do think the show is evolving on the race front in ways that she didn’t really give it credit for. If trash television moves into a place where race is irrelevant to the other tacky drama I think that’s kind of a win for civilization.
Comment: They are taking steps, for sure. Small, infant, like 2-month-old baby steps, but steps nonetheless.
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Hi Reality Steve!!
Hope you are doing well!
I’m emailing you from up in Canada…been reading your site ever since my sister got me hooked during Emily’s season! We’re both big fans!
Tonight while watching Paradise during Blake and Kristina’s date/break off there was some footage of Kristina’s legs with GIANT circles/bug bites?/welts. One leg looked like it might have had blood on her knee….do you know what’s up with that? I’ve noticed some of the cast with bug bites, which seems normal if you’re outside/on the beach so much, but these just seemed huge. Maybe she has a skin condition?…but I didn’t notice it before.
Anyway, I was like, Reality Steve will know, so this is my first time ever emailing you!
Thanks for always keeping me entertained with your site!!
Comment: I didn’t notice it, but I do know the insect count down there is very high.
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Hi Steve,
I am an Astro Tarot Numerologist, and I was intrigued by Dean and Caelynn’s romance so I looked to their charts to see what drew them back together. They are soul mates as Dean 4/17 equals 21 and Caelynn 6/15 adds to 21. There are 6 numbers in a chart 3 in the name 3 in the Birthday so 1/6 of them is the same and being 21 they are both globetrotters and receive many invitations. When you add 21 and 21 you get 42 which is the mommy and daddy number. Caelynn is a stronger force than others realize. Dean in his heart is a Knight in shining armor, but he can be inconsistent, seems like his guardian angel gets him back on track. Love to work with you! This is just a Segway into Dean and Caelynn.
Numerologically Yours
Comment: I live in reality so I can’t get on board with any of this. Barf.
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Hi Steve (and Luca!),
Usual spiel: long time reader (from Australia), first time emailer, wouldn’t watch the show without your blog, love everything that you do etc!
A few assorted questions:
1. How come you have hidden/archived/removed previous season posts and spoilers? I went back to read some old ones as I was bored one day, and saw the ‘oldest’ posts from Bachelor Spoilers were Ben Flajnik’s season. Are you just bumping them out as new seasons come in? Or where can I find your S1, E1 so to speak? (The Mesnick stuff!) I don’t know if it’s still out there to be honest.
2. I love your spoilers, and I have no self control, with the last un-spoiled season I watched being Ashley and JPs, where I was on the edge of my seat screaming hoping Ben would get out of the helicopter first so she’d dump him and have JP as her F1. As much as I miss the mystery of it all (pre-discovering you, and pre-social media), the Australian seasons are such a borrrrrre to watch unspoiled as get no juicy tid-bits to keep me reeled in. Do you think you’d ever be able to expand/get sources over here so you could spoil our seasons? Can you start advertising for sources to approach you, please Steve, please? I have no interest in watching other countries versions. The US version is either filming or airing 44 out of the 52 weeks out of the year. It keeps me plenty busy.
3. Similar questions/ideas to this one have come out before, but…. Do you think the producers of the show would ever do a last minute lead-switch just to make you look bad or try to prove you wrong? I know the announcements are filmed in advanced (like Peter’s) so not so much in that instance, but when they used to announce it on the live finale…. I swear, if I was spoiled as a lead (but had not yet been announced), I’d be like “Steve Shhhh, don’t jinx me! They might go another direction now just to prove you wrong, and you’re gonna ruin my chances!”. We have seen them do a last minute switch with someone and Arie didn’t we? Arie was a last second decision, however, the last tweet I sent out that night before I went to bed and he was announced in the morning was it was going to be Arie. No, I don’t think they’ll do it just to spite me.
4. I’m a big dog lover. Could you post a weekly Luca segment? Even just a photo. Would be a super cute addition. Luka kinda does her own thing. There really isn’t much to update on, but when there is, I’ll be sure to post something.
5. Not a question, just a comment: you say you’d never spoil your sources; in my mind this puts you amongst the world’s greatest mysteries. I believe in an afterlife and I hope when I die all great (earthly) mysteries will be revealed: What happened to Madeleine Mccann? Who killed Jon-Benét Ramsay? What happened to a box of my belongings I shipped home from an overseas trip that never arrived? What came first, chicken or the egg? And WHO WERE REALITY STEVE’S SOURCES???? – I know, I know, I sound crazy (too much true crime when Bachelor/ette/BIP isn’t on) but I really hope you somehow reveal all one day. A juicy tell all would be to die for.
Keep up the good work Steve! Can’t wait to read Peter’s spoilers even though I’m bummed they chose him. Hugs to Luca (post pics please)
Comment: I wouldn’t lose sleep over it. It’s really not all that interesting if I’m being honest. I know it fascinates people, but maybe because I’m directly involved in it, it doesn’t really have that effect on me. But trust me, it’s not all that.
dogmomma
September 11, 2019 at 9:57 AM
There’s something I can’t quite figure out. I’ve been reading the spoilers pretty much since they started and I enjoy knowing what to expect as I watch the show. A few seasons ago I started following Twitter during the show because some of the comments are hilarious, but it’s almost disturbing how many people take the bachelor/ette/paradise shows so seriously and think that everything that happens is real and “organic”. For example, when Connor & Whitney’s cars passed each other on the road when he was leaving and she was arriving, people were going nuts on Twitter. Are those people gullible and naive or am I just more informed on how things really work because of the spoilers???
jlal
September 11, 2019 at 10:14 AM
dogmomma – I don’t do Twitter or any social media, but I’m guessing that yes, people are that gullible and naive.
As for Matt Donald, I wonder how he got on the show. Did someone nominate him as a surprise? Because he certainly doesn’t seem like he knew what it was about.
For a 26 year old, he seems pretty worried about what his Mommy will say. I get not wanting to embarrass your parents, but Dude talking about your Mom so much is a turn off. That tells any future woman loud and clear that you’re a Momma’s Boy and that is not attractive.
As for Caelyn picking Dean over Connor – hell yeah! I would have way picked Dean over Connor any day. Connor reminds me of a privileged, entitled, spoiled, frat boy. I also don’t think he really cared for Caelyn. Also, his vocal fry way of talking drives me nuts.
ctrealitygirl
September 11, 2019 at 10:52 AM
I’m with you jlal! What does everyone see in Connor? His quirky speech drives me nuts too! And, as far as his deep “relationship” with Caelynn…it was all of a couple of days between when Dean Left and Connor arrived. So, he’s sobbing over a woman he’d “dated” for one or two days…maybe three? Yikes! Dean definitely has way more sex appeal than Connor. Whether or not he and Caelynn will last is another story, but I’m not convinced about any of the “strong” relationships going on this season. Dylan and Hannah just plain bore me to tears! And I don’t really care for Nicole, and think that Clay dodged a bullet. She breaks up with Clay because he can’t say I Love You after 6 weeks of dating, and 6 weeks where she went on dates with two other men, and if it weren’t for the fight between Christian and Jordan, she’d probably have ended up with Christian. And don’t get me started on the Tayshia/JPJ nonsense. These women all need to get therapy to work on their self esteem issues. Almost every one of them jumps for any guy who pays them attention. I’m with Steve. I’m so OVER this season of BIP.
jlal
September 11, 2019 at 2:00 PM
I don’t understand why BIP is going the same route as the bachelor, as far as “forcing” an engagement. Sure it’s another chance to find love, but it doesn’t have to be a lifetime commitment after a few weeks.
ctrealitygirl
September 12, 2019 at 6:52 AM
I so agree with you again jlal! In her BIP recaps, Sharlene Joynt is always commenting that BIP is supposed to be a lighter, more fun version of the Bachelor shows, and not meant to be taken as seriously. The whole premise of bringing in new men and women to shake up the couplings is designed to create drama and keep the focus on dating, NOT becoming glued to one person with the expectation of an engagement at the end. I realize BIP has produced some marriages…time will tell if they last. Carly & Evan seem pretty solid as do Jade & Tanner. I’m skeptical about the Krystal & Chris pairing. BIP is a summer show…let’s keep it fun and flirty.
rob22
September 12, 2019 at 7:21 AM
Dylan and Hannah certainly are the most superficial couple in recent memory. Has either one said a single thing that’s remotely intelligent? Is there any depth at all? And that is the best relationship this season has to offer? None of the other couples are real. They’re TV couples, at best. JPJ/Tayshia? Really? Caelynn & Dean? Come on. Butkowski/Katie? Good Lord! I know that’s not really what the show is about, but they’re insulting our intelligence with those parings. I’m glad they’re moving on from Blake/Kristina and Clay/Nicole. Those couples were absurd.
rob22
September 12, 2019 at 7:31 AM
As for dogmommas first comment…. As absurd as the couples have been, the idea that Connor & Whitney’s timing was so poor that their SUVs just happened to pass one another is just really insulting. Obviously it was produced even if it happened real time. I’d be surprised if they it wasn’t two empty SUVs that they refilmed later when someone had a brain blast of an idea to kill another 5 minutes of air time (with a contrived couple who just disappeared from sight)…. once they realized that all the other drama and possibilities for interesting couples had flamed out. Gotta fill space!!! And there’s another episode to fill!! I have very low expectations for the last episode. I’m embarrassed that I’m planning on watching it.
dogmomma
September 12, 2019 at 7:57 AM
And the whole story line of Dylan and Hannah was basically showing a glimpse of them together kissing until this last episode where Hannah said a few lines. They got hardly any air time and we had to watch JPJ almost every episode being a big immature kid. Ugh! If the show continues to be this ridiculous going forward, I think they will lose viewers. Along with the rest of the group of people who know how fake the show is, my intelligence is also insulted. I’m also embarrassed that I’ll be watching the final show 🙂
ctrealitygirl
September 12, 2019 at 10:42 AM
I, too, am ashamed to admit I’ll watch the finale…but it’s THREE hours! That will be torture! Two hours wrapping up overnight dates and fake proposals, then an hour “reunion” …what a joke! I will say, though, that i have yet to watch a full show on the night it’s aired. Most nights set the DVR then watch the next night and fast forward thru commercials and stupid stuff – which adds up to at least 1/2 the show! I would really love to know what these airhead contestants think of themselves after watching back the season. If I were most of them I’d go into hiding. But it appears that they all have huge egos and a skewed sense of importance. If BIP continues to go this route (boring couples, immature contestants like JPJ) then I will lose total interest.
tinyred500
September 12, 2019 at 2:53 PM
I can’t be the only one who’s just about given up with the franchise. I record all the episodes. I struggled through Colton’s series, I’ve seriously struggled through Hannah’s series, and watched part episodes here and there; so far I’ve got up to MTA. BIP is recorded, but seeing the commentary and feedback from those who have watched it, I just don’t know if I have the inclination to even bother to start watching. The simple fact is, as silly and as cheesy as the whole franchises premise is, at least in the past some of the contestants were serious or partly serious, now they’re just vacuous and fame hungry.
All I remember from Hannah’s series, is Jed’s atrocious singing interludes, and Hannah’s thing with Luke, and the monotonous, stupid drama that follows.
Maybe the franchise has reset their audience target, or maybe they think the viewers are imbeciles and will want to watch and believe anything they show, I really don’t know, nor do I care to ponder on it. 🙁
adelina
September 12, 2019 at 8:32 PM
A few of my observations from this season that I swore I wasn’t going to watch:
*I agree with everyone. Dean>Connor any day. Connor’s voice alone is a deal breaker. While we’re talking about deal breaker voices, throw Clay in there too except Clay’s voice is how I envision paint drying would sound…if paint drying could make a sound.
*The only thing I missed after Blake left was Blake’s moronic dance move in the opening sequence. I actually lived to watch that little move. It was so desperate and comical to me.
*Can BIP producers force the women to tone down the makeup while on this show? Who wears a face full of makeup and full on lipstick while on a beach? I get it’s for the cameras but it was too much.
*Let’s not diss Dean’s “van lifestyle.” Have you watched any Van Life videos on YouTube? There are some amazing converted Sprinter Vans out there that make me so envious of that lifestyle. I highly doubt he’s living in a van down by the river.
That’s it!!!
dogmomma
September 13, 2019 at 6:40 AM
I will definitely be recording the final episode next Tuesday and fast forwarding through it to hit the “highlights”. I won’t spend 3 hours being tortured by nonsense.
On an interesting note, there was an article that came out where Luke said that he was upset at Chris Harrison and ABC for editing the final rose ceremony to look like he was desperate and rejected and that the part where Chris Harrison said “Well this has never happened before” after Bri turned down his final rose was totally edited in and that it never actually happened that way. More proof that nothing should be taken at face value and everything is manipulated.
sfleming
September 16, 2019 at 5:33 AM
Those weren’t bug bites on Kristina’s legs, they were rose petals that got stuck from when she was kneeling/sitting. I thought the same thing at first, but took a closer look.
amhaack
September 17, 2019 at 8:35 PM
I have an answer to the question about Blake’s scar. He had a hair transplant. You can tell the front of his hair looks unusually thick and doesn’t really move. He also never runs his hands through the front of his hair nor did they ever show his hair wet or him in the pool going under. If you Google hair transplant scars you will see the exact scar Blake has on the back of his head.