So a lot of stuff to get to today, but right off the bat, I’m going to tell you immediately that what I know you want the answer to, I will help with it, but I have nothing definitive. I’ll go over all of that later, but I know many of you were expecting all your answers to everything about the ending this season today, and I don’t have them. But I will fill in some blanks that hopefully will clear up a couple things. I know we’re 4 days away from the premiere and you don’t know the ending yet and it’s really never happened before since I started spoiling the “Bachelor.” Even if my initial spoiler was wrong, I had always released a “winner” before the first episode aired. Not gonna happen this season. Not because I don’t want to, or not because I don’t feel like it, or whatever rabid conspiracy theory you can come up with. The bottom line is I don’t have the ending yet, but I’m pretty sure there’s a good reason why I don’t. We’ll get to that in a little bit. First, some things to go over.
Today’s podcast is basically what you’re reading in the column. Although I can’t possibly remember every detail and every word I said in today’s roughly 35 minute podcast, I wanted to have it in written form as well. Next week, we’re back on the regular schedule here on the site. Tuesday’s with the recaps, Wednesday’s “Reader Emails,” and Thursday with the podcast and sometimes “Dr. Reality Steve” if I have some. That will never change. Because I didn’t write much the last 3 ½ months doesn’t mean anything is changing. In season, the schedule is always the same. I haven’t written much in the offseason the past 3 or 4 years, so I’m not sure why people automatically assume I just stopped writing. Same ol, same ol. You’re back to regularly scheduled programming next week.
You can listen to today’s podcast on a number of platforms, but you can also tune in by clicking the player below:
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Music written by Jimmer Podrasky
(B’Jingo Songs/Machia Music/Bug Music BMI)
You know for the last 20 or so seasons, I’ve been able to view the first episode of the season early as it’s given to the media to write their reviews with no spoilers. Of course, I’m not an approved media site but I have my ways to watch the episode early despite it being username and password protected. For whatever reason with the premiere only 4 days away, ABC hasn’t posted the first episode yet to their media site, so I haven’t seen it yet. I can’t review it if I haven’t seen it and honestly, I don’t know if it’s going up before the premiere. If it does, I’ll watch it and have your detailed episode 1 spoilers up on Monday. If not, then you’ll just get your episode-by-episode spoilers on Monday, and the night 1 stuff will just be the basics. It won’t have the order of the limo entrances or who got intro videos, etc. like I do every season. So either way, you’re getting all your spoilers on Monday in written form, and if episode 1 gets released before then, that’ll be a little more detailed.
Also a clarification to make when I say “episode-by-episode spoilers.” What I should say is “rose-ceremony-by-rose-ceremony” spoilers, since it’s impossible for me to predict how ABC is going to lay out their episodes. We already know that Monday’s premiere is 3 hrs and it will cover what we always see on the first night (intro videos, limo entrances, cocktail party, rose ceremony) but then it’s going to start in with what we would normally see in episode 2. You will see all 3 of the beginning dates in episode 1 – the “flight school” group date, Madison’s 1-on-1 to Peter’s parents wedding vow renewal, and the “sex” date planned by Hannah Brown. All my spoilers this season will also be on my IG feed and my IG stories as well, as I’ve gotten someone to do that for me. But they will say “Rose Ceremony #1 Spoilers” and that means everything you will see up through the first rose ceremony. Then “Rose Ceremony #2 Spoilers” will be everything up through the end of the second rose ceremony. It’ll continue on through each rose ceremony, and since not every episode will end with a rose ceremony, saying “episode-by-episode spoilers” not knowing what ABC is choosing to air in each episode will just confuse people. So just know all spoilers will be on the site Monday and on my IG feed and IG stories.
So on Tuesday, this is what I put out on Twitter:
I will answer as much as I can on Thursday’s podcast and column. I will also address what Peter said here in his https://t.co/cEd3t75Rsi interview yesterday: pic.twitter.com/PIePpojLOp
— RealitySteve (@RealitySteve) December 31, 2019
Certainly never something we’ve heard a lead say before his season ever. No one’s ever said this will be “the first unspoiled season in a while” and “there’s a reason no one’s gonna find out.” First off, lets make one thing clear. He’s talking about the ending. Peter, your season is not spoiler free. Far from it. Everything about your season has been spoiled up through the final 2, and most of it was spoiled in real time. So what he’s saying is that no one will know the ending because “there’s a reason for that.” I know this perked everyone’s ears up on Monday since so many of you sent to me, but what I can tell you now is I’ve heard this exact same thing behind the scenes since Thanksgiving. Hence the reason for the last month, anything I did hear, I weighed it against the “this ending isn’t gonna be spoiled and there’s a reason for it.” When I first heard it, I took it like I take everything else, which is a wait and see approach. And over the last five weeks, it’s proven to be true. Then once Peter said it publicly on Monday, I knew what I’d heard behind the scenes 5 weeks earlier was legit, although over the course of the last 5 weeks, it was becoming clearer and clearer that something was different about this season.
A couple weeks ago I told you I didn’t have the ending, but the only thing I did know about this season was that it wasn’t a normal ending. Meaning it wasn’t “here’s two women, choose one, dump the other, and leave the final rose ceremony as a couple.” So on Nov. 17th in Australia when the finale was filmed, that’s not what happened. However, what DID happen I’m not fully sure of. On any given season, there’s essentially six possible outcomes when you get to the end. For the sake of this season, this is how this season could possibly end:
1) He’s with Madison, but they’re not engaged
2) He’s with Madison and they’re engaged
3) He’s with Hannah Ann, but they’re not engaged
4) He’s with Hannah Ann and they’re engaged
5) He’s single a la Brad Womack where he got to the end and told both women he wasn’t interested and rejected both of them and he’s single and plans on staying that way
6) He’s single but that doesn’t mean he’ll be single either by the time the ATFR rolls around
Two other things to take into consideration when contemplating the ending is this:
1) Peter alluded to it in that People.com interview that he “couldn’t be happier” with how the season played out.
2) Chris Harrison did an interview with “Good Morning America” and in it he specifically says “you truly aren’t gonna know how it’s going to end until the very end” and “It’s possible it’s still not over” (it’s item #7). Factually speaking, one person in this history of this franchise went through a whole season, got to the end, and said, “Nah, I’m good. I’m choosing no one and I’ll just stay single. Bye.” And that was Brad Womack’s first season. I understand that all the leads are coached in what to say in interviews, and essentially we hear some form of “I’m very happy with how things turned out” every single season, but I honestly don’t think Peter is telling America he “couldn’t be happier now” if back on Nov. 17th in Australia he told both Madison and Hannah Ann thanks but no thanks, I’m just gonna continue being single. I don’t think that happened. I don’t buy that.
What I can tell you now though are two specific things to help with the puzzle:
1. Peter did not get engaged to anyone on final rose ceremony day. Doesn’t mean he won’t be by the ATFR or ON the ATFR. But what I do know is that there was no engagement on final rose ceremony day in Australia.
2. Madison’s dad did not give Peter his blessing to marry his daughter during his hometown date visit. Could he have gotten it later? Sure. Have I heard that he did? No, I haven’t. But doesn’t mean he didn’t. The extent of that information in particular ends at the hometown date where Madison’s dad didn’t give Peter permission to marry his daughter. So I’m sure that played a role on final rose ceremony day as well.
Now there are other things I’ve heard about things that happened on or around final rose ceremony time, but none of those are 100% confirmed, so I don’t wanna throw them out there since it’ll only muddy the waters. But those two above I know to be accurate, so those may (or may not) help with this puzzle about what happened at the end. I don’t think there’s any easier answer. When it comes down to it, and when you combine what Peter and Chris Harrison have said post show, I pretty much have the same feeling a lot of you do. And that’s that there was no “finality” on the day of the final rose ceremony. I don’t really know any other explanation of how I’ve heard twice that the ending won’t be spoiled and there’s a reason why – and that’s because the ending hasn’t happened yet. I can’t spoil something that hasn’t happened yet. In all my years doing this, even if I initially had the ending wrong, you had a spoiler for the “Bachelor” usually within a week or so of filming ending. All I can tell you is that if the ending of the season happened on Nov. 17th in Australia, I would’ve found out about it by now. But I believe it’s not over and that’s why Peter and Chris are teasing that there’s a reason it won’t be spoiled. Pretty bold to claim that if you just think I might not hear something over the next two months. So that’s the good news. Today is only January 2nd. We have about 10 weeks until the finale and ATFR. I’m sure more will come out during that time, and when I hear stuff that I can confirm, I will share it with you.
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