I haven’t dealt with any Bachelor Nation fake accounts, but I have had with a musician named Doug Adkins. Funny thing is, I went to high school with the real Doug Adkins, so I knew certain things about him that’s not publicly known. In asking the fake Doug questions, it became clear to me it was a fake account as they could only answer the publicly known info. I reached out to the real Doug, who confirmed it wasn’t him. He remembered me by my maiden name. I continued to play with the fake acct for quite a while. The fake account tried 4 different times to scam me out of money, which were unsuccessful, by the way. I finally confronted the fake Doug and told them they were a fake and told them I was in contact with the real Doug and relaying what he was doing to him. They admitted it was a fake account and the person also admitted they were a scammer from Nigeria. I blocked them at that point. At least I was able to reconnect with the real Doug.
Comment: Good story. I was hoping I’d get more from people like this. Hey, if you were catfished like this or something similar, let me know. This all goes back to the post last week about the same guy, who seemingly every season pretends to be a popular guy in BN, creates a fake IG with a name similar to the real one, posts all the pics of the original guy, gives people his Snap name, then starts talking to them that way trying to get them to send nudes.
And you’re right, at least you reconnected with the original Doug. Nigerian scammers have been around forever. Those emails used to come like once a week back in the day. Now I’ll see one maybe once a month.
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I know you’ve had a million people ask you about who the next host will be, and plenty suggesting Wells. My question is, do you care who the next host is or have any pro- or anti- Wells sentiments (like are you for or against it being Wells)? I think someone wrote in and said they couldn’t stand Wells. I’m not necessarily a Wells fan girl, but it seems to me like he’d be a good fit for the gig: he already has “hosting”-ish experience having been in radio, he’s married to an actress so he’s in the Hollywood scene already to some extent, and he already has Bachelor nation buy-in since he’s been on so many seasons. He also has that approachable friend-zone vibe that wouldn’t make it seem creepy when talking to the Bachelorettes (and I mean that in a nice way!). If Wells got the gig (which he isn’t), I wouldn’t have any problem with him. He seems fine for that role. But I guess they want someone else and Wells will always be the bartender for Paradise.
The Challenge:
Shout-out to the reader (and you) who mentioned how awesome Ed is on the Challenge. He really is a breath of fresh air: funny ITMs, not scared to throw himself in to earn his stripes. He checks all the boxes and I think (and hope) you’re right that he’s around for a long time. Out of the current batch of rookies, who else do you think is around for multiple seasons? I think Michele, Gabo, Emanuel, Emy, and Hughie will be around for a while. Well, I’d like to agree with those you just mentioned, but this has become the small problem that I have with the Challenge. Every season they want to incorporate new blood, but if half the cast is already OG players, then the other half should be recycled “new” players from recent seasons. It seems like we’re getting TOO many new players every season that we all have to get to know. I think they need to scale back.
Back in the day I didn’t like the addition of newcomers, but now I’ve gotten used to it (and even enjoy it). However, each time a rookie becomes a series mainstay it means (in my mind) that one of the seasoned veterans will be booted permanently. Who will you be most sad to see retire? Im going to be crushed when CT, Aneesa, and Nany retire. Im worried that Bananas, Wes, and Jenna are already retired. Wes sounds like he is, Jenna just had a baby so I’d think it’d be at least a year before we saw her again, if ever. Bananas will no doubt do it again in the future. I don’t know when, but he will.
How come do you think the Challenge hasn’t included any more Bachelor Nation contestants? I think they’ve only ever had one (Chase McNary) and he didn’t last long. MTV casting has tapped into almost every other reality show casts, and it seems like they would be keen on having contestants from arguably the biggest/most popular Reality show. Do the Bachelor/ette contracts/showrunners restrict the contestants from going on other reality shows like The Challenge?
Comment: I’m not sure why they haven’t. I gotta believe it has more to do with BN contestants not wanting to get on ABC’s bad side by going on it. However, MTV pays way better than ABC and BIP do, so maybe they should reconsider. On one hand, the Bachelor franchise is infinitely more popular and seen by way more people than who watch the Challenge. So that’s probably a major reason. I guess it depends on what you’re looking for. If it’s short term pay, MTV is the place to go. If it’s about building a brand, and increasing followers, and getting in front of more eyeballs, then you stick with BIP.
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Hi, I think Courtney Robertson said in her book that Ben kept Rachel around cause her & Rachel mostly got along.
Comment: I read Courtney’s book but it was years ago. It’s possible she did say that. And I think Courtney is coming back on the podcast soon.
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Hi Steve,
Can you share details on what happened during the storm on BIP? I assume they went to a hotel nearby? How many days?
Comment: They went to a nearby hotel and came back the next day.
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What’s up RS:
Can people on the show go into the “Boom boom” room anytime they want? Yes, but you need consent now. Both people have to give consent to a producer that they want to go to the room.
Do all the couples hook up while they are in Paradise?
Comment: By “hook up” do you mean have sex? No. Not all of them.
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When everyone was evacuated for the hurricane why did they have to be separated? Why couldn’t they all stay together? I’m not sure. Maybe not to develop feelings and ruin storylines because cameras wouldn’t be running on them would be my guess.
Do you think Tia was asking too much of Blake?
Comment: I think there seemed to be a giant miscommunication based on what both of them put out on social media last week.
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Hi there, long time reader, first time writing in. For such a fan favorite that Abigail is, I’m amazed that they aren’t showing more of her and Noah! We’ve seen their first date, and a few scenes here and there, but no real airtime to see their connection or lack thereof. BN loves her, Noah has been presented as far more likeable, they connected early on line Serena and Joe/Kenny and Mari–I’m just so confused why they’ve limited her storyline. Thoughts? Probably because there wasn’t any major drama.
Also, good point in the Tammy/Chelsea/Aaron situations/backlash. Thanks for that!
Comment: Yeah, no one seems to be talking about it because, well, I guess you’re not allowed to say anything negative about Chelsea. And again, this isn’t to say she did anything wrong out there. Anyone can do whatever they want. But their situations seemed to be quite similar yet the backlash for Tammy was way more than Chelsea.
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Do you think that Kendall Long would ever be considered for The Bachelorette?
Comment: I mean, technically anyone that’s single and who was asked in the past can technically be “considered” in the future, but what does that really mean? If she isn’t brought in for interviews, then she wouldn’t be considered. But as I said earlier, this show in the history of choosing leads has never given an interview where they addressed why they DIDN’T pick someone. So once a lead is picked, the question always comes up “Why not so and so, or this so and so” and it’s just pointless to address. They pick who they pick, people will watch, and they don’t care to answer why they didn’t pick someone else.
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Hi Steve,
I had a couple of thoughts I wanted to run by you. None can be proved, but it’s where my logic has led me, and would love some thoughtful feedback!
1. I know they’re saying Ivan “broke protocol” when he went to see Alexa during the evacuation, but the producers can do what they want, craft whatever story they want. Making him leave the show entirely seems a bit extreme to me, and I started wondering if perhaps there was a reason they were so hard on him.
I’m wondering if Ivan angered production with his remarks earlier this year about not feeling comfortable going down to Paradise if Chris Harrison was there, and they decided to give him a bad edit in retaliation. He was the first high-profile, current (at the time) individual contestant to speak out; as opposed to the collective letters that Matt’s women wrote, that Clayshia’s men followed. I wonder if perhaps producers were inclined to be harsher with his edit because of it.
I strongly suspect that before Ivan’s remarks, they were hoping to sneak Chris back in for Paradise, and Ivan’s comments prompted other individual contestants to speak out – including their next lead Katie – and then there was no way they could put Chris back in for BIP. I mean, that never even crossed my mind. And even if that were the reason, they’d never admit to it. So really tough to ever say that for sure.
2. My second thought was that perhaps Kendall (and Tia) coming on the show were production’s way of dangling a carrot in front of Becca to entice her to go on BIP (in part, beyond whatever they paid her). “Come on BIP! It’ll be fun, your friends will be there and you can sip margaritas on the beach for a few weeks! You’re one of our pod hosts, we’ll make sure you get a good edit!” etc.
Production gets their first former lead on the beach, and gets a potential Joe-Kendall-whoever storyline (turns out it was Serena, but pre-show, it could have been anyone when production was planning). Two birds, one stone, so to speak. And they entice Kendall and Tia to come on in a similar way, with a promise of a girl’s trip.
Obviously, this is all speculation, and I don’t want Bachelor Nation to think there’s ANY evidence to what I’m saying, but this is where my brain went when it gamed out why Ivan’s edit was so bad, and why the heck Becca or Kendall would ever go back to BIP (which A LOT of people are confused about). I would love to hear your thoughts on my guesses!
Comment: I absolutely think that those 3 all went on individually knowing the other two would be there. And if there weren’t guarantees their friends were gonna be on, I assume they wouldn’t have gone. Not far fetched to think those 3 were a package deal.
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Do the BIP engaged couples get a safe house and help with meeting up privately like the Bachelor and Bachelorette?
Comment: Based on the fact that Joe & Serena, Kenny & Mari (and the not engaged couples of Becca & Thomas, Noah & Abigail, and Chris & Alana) have all been seen hanging out numerous times post show, it’s not used as a Happy Couple visit like the Bachelor/ette, but yes, I have heard in the past they have given them an opportunity to meet up like that, just not as frequently.
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Do you know why there won’t be a BIP after the show this year? I feel like this year was full of drama and it would be really juicy. Is it possible to still record this week or the next one live?
Comment: Probably because they don’t have a crew to film it since they start filming Clayton’s season tonight.
