Hey Steve!
I your work and am so glad that you’ve gotten me into shows other than The Bachelor ones.
For Joe Millionaire: what are your thoughts right now on Carolyn and Kurt? Why do you think he’s so blind to how she’s acting? And who do you think Steven is actually wanting to end up with? It seems like he changes his mind every week! Steven? Seems like Annie is the only one he’s constantly with and talking about the most, unless I’m missing something. Kurt definitely seems to be aware the difficulties Carolyn will present. He talks about it a lot.
For Celebrity Big Brother: what on earth was Carson thinking?! I was about to yell at my tv last night when he went with Miesha over Shanna! I don’t know how they couldn’t see that Todrick was masterminding this and doesn’t want to actually go with them to the final 4. I feel like Miesha and Todrick will now have an easy path to finale night. It’s also surprised me how much I’m liking Lamar Odom. I didn’t know much about him before the show because I don’t follow the Kardashians but he seems to be someone that has really grown from his past mistakes.
I saw Temptation Island is coming back the first week of March and I cannot wait!
Comment: There is so much messiness on Celebrity BB. Will be an interesting finale because it seems like the only way Miesha and Todrick win is if they’re your final 2. Because then obviously, one of them HAS to win. But anyone else sitting next to either of them, it seems like they aren’t well liked at all and their game play isn’t respected. We’ll see though.
Lamar is a trip because he’s absolutely clueless about the game. Still. And he’s been playing it for 3 weeks now.
And yes, can’t wait til TI is back on March 16th. I’m sure I’ll be covering it, regardless of if I do a collab with them or not.
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Hello! I’ve written in many times, but since you said you needed a few more for this week’s batch, thought I’d contribute.
Who do you think are the shoe-ins for this summer’s BIP? Obviously we know they have a batch of guys to choose from after the next Bachelorette season, but who do you think will definitely be there from Katie/Michelle/Clayton’s season?
Any chance Blake Moynes is there? I’d be surprised if he was.
Greg Grippo? Greg’s been seeing someone a while now, so it depends on if they’re still together come summer.
From Clayton’s season I think:
Serene
Gabby
Shanae
Elizabeth
Genevieve
Cassidy
Could definitely see all of them. The majority of the women on Paradise every season are from the cast that aired that calendar year. So I’d expect at least 10-12 women from Clayton’s season showing up in Paradise at some point. The numbers bear it out over the first seasons.
What about contestants from older seasons? Any thoughts? Impossible to know that now in February. We’re still 2 months away from them diving in to who they’re casting.
Different note: I know you don’t listen to other Bachelor-related podcasts, but you should listen to Corinne on this week’s “She’s All Bach.” On the one hand, it seems like Corinne is actually a pretty good judge of character (re: Taylor, and Ellen Degeneres), on the other hand, she still seems completely full of herself and like she set the standard for the Bachelor “villain.” I have zero interest in listening to her.
Also, loved your podcast with Amanda Stanton. Thought it was a little weird though that she wouldn’t say who in Bachelor Nation her fiancé dated and wouldn’t even let you guess. As much as she has removed herself from the franchise (as she says), it seems like it would just be water-under-the-bridge/laugh to just be like “oh yeah way back in the day my fiancé dated [insert Bachelor villain contestant].” Being so coy about it made it seem like a bigger deal than it was.
P.s. to your readers/listeners: a simple google search will tell you exactly who it was.
Comment: I didn’t think much of it. And it didn’t pop into my head until we started talking about it that I remember Michael being linked to Corinne. I asked her about it not remembering it was Corinne, then about :20 seconds later I did remember, that’s why I asked if I guessed would she confirm it. Once she said no, I let it go. Wasn’t a big deal. And Amanda and I have texted numerous times since the interview. She’s never brought it up and I think she absolutely would’ve, or would’ve asked me to edit it out, if she had a problem with it. I just think Michael and Corrine weren’t ever dating like she said, and that’s what I didn’t remember, was the seriousness of it. And it wasn’t, so we just left it at that. I didn’t care she didn’t say Corrine’s name.
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Hi Steve,
On the 2-1 date, did Clayton and G really just walk off and leave Shanae behind? There was no let me walk you out? It seems like there is something we, the viewers, are missing. Where was the aha moment of Shanae needs to go? Or do you think the producers were like, ok you can send her home now? I’m just baffled because Clayton is kissing Shanae, calling G out on being an “actress” and “lying,” then he sends Shanae home. Good riddance, but it didn’t seem to add up.
In your blog you said Shanae told Clayton to F off. Is that something that happened off camera?
Thanks!
Comment: Shanae was bleeped out numerous times after she was let go. It sounded like she said “Clayton can f off.” And yeah, we’ve seen that happen numerous times in the past on the 2-on-1 where the lead just leaves them there. It’s almost iconic in show history to leave the person who didn’t get a rose there.
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Hi Steve,
Love the recaps and look forward to them every week. Quick question: Are all the episodes in a season put together and edited before the first episode airs? Or is there ongoing editing for episodes while the season airs? No. It’s edited as the season goes along.
Part of why I ask is I’m starting to find Clayton weak and unlikeable. It seems every time a woman (mostly Shanae) and last night Mara goes to him with “information “ he takes it as truth to be investigated instead of pushing back or asking more questions of the person giving him this information. Then it is almost accusatory when he asks the person in question. The way he asked Genevieve if she was an actress point blank was just painful to watch and came off as insensitive. Then the same with Sarah. And of course with Elizabeth being a bully in earlier episodes. I wonder if the producers see how poorly Clayton is coming off and if that was intentional? And based off my original question if there is time to course correct?
Thanks for the recaps!!
Comment: I mean if that’s what he said, the only thing they can do is not show it. But clearly they don’t look to be going that route. It’s interesting to see play out because Clayton hasn’t come off great, he admitted the social media hate has gotten to him, and he’s definitely bothered by the fact that people are not thrilled about his season.
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Hi Steve,
You’ve probably answered this before, but I’ve always wondered about the luggage. They always show one piece of luggage for each person going on a date. Surely the contestants have more than one piece of luggage–especially women. The person who doesn’t get a rose, do they come back and pack up the rest of their stuff or maybe it’s already packed in their room or someone does it for them?
Thanks–enjoy reading your stuff and the podcasts. Well done, truly.
Comment: Yes, they have more that one piece. But for that particular shot where one stays and one goes, they just use the one piece of luggage.
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Hi Steve,
I have questions/ wanted to hear your thoughts on some things.
First, what are your thoughts on Sarah going home next week/ were you surprised when you heard she didn’t make it to hometowns?? I just find it a bit odd that she was the first one to get a second one on one date THEN all the sudden is eliminated. I know stuff went down this week with Mara, but I just find it hard to believe that Clayton would base his decision off what Mara told him (considering he 110% knew he was sending her home). At the time of filming in real time, I didn’t know anything about Sarah or her storyline, I just knew she didn’t get a hometown, so it never really mattered to me why she didn’t. Watching it now, it seems like she could’ve been until the Mara stuff came up, but only Clayton really knows the answer to that.
Second, do you think its “safe to say” that whoever went home #3 either self-eliminated or went home at some point before the rose ceremony? I know editing is a factor, but to me it just seems like whoever was in that #3 position was not there anymore because Clayton said in the preview at the rose ceremony “I am in love with each of you and was intimate with both of you” (with his face/background showing).
Thanks in advance!! I appreciate all your bachelor spoilers!!
Comment: He also said “I was in love with her, and I am in love with each of you, and I also was intimate with both of you.” Without knowing every detail yet, if we’re just to look at that sentence and know that at least Gabby and Rachel are standing, one could deduce “I WAS in love with her” is a reference to Susie, who is not there in that moment.
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Hey Steve!
Thanks for keeping the show intriguing by pulling back the curtain with your work. I keep watching this show purely because the psychology behind it fascinates me and your commentary/spoilers help with seeing those things such as producer manipulation. That brings me to my main point. While there’s no excuse for Shanae’s behavior with faking her emotions to serve her own self interests and then claiming she did no wrong, I think it’s fair to say the bachelor has gotten to the point now where it seems disingenuous for contestants and even some fans who follow bachelor nation outside of the show itself to be shocked and outraged by Shanae’s behavior. Past leads and contestants have been completely open about knowing how the show can lead to lucrative business opportunities in the influencer sphere and that they understand that the show can be a great opportunity where finding love is just an added bonus but still a byproduct. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think I even saw that one of the contestants reached out to Game of Roses for strategy tips on how to get far into the season. It’s hard to believe that the other contestants actually think to themselves “Shanae is here for the wrong reasons, and that truly makes me angry” when this era of the bachelor is very open about knowing that there is a science to increasing their level of fame for future endeavors. It feels like the fourth wall has already been broken (see Brendan and Piper) to the point where being shocked and angered by the “villain’s” actions isn’t believable and that this show is more and more about being strategic. Do you think the show has reached that point of no return? If you end up responding, thank you for your thoughts!
Comment: I don’t think people’s problem with Shanae, whether it be the other women or the fans, has to do as much with her being there for the right reasons moreso than it has to do with how she treated people. I don’t think anyone is mad at Shanae for using this show as a platform to whatever. All of them do in some way, shape, or form. But her behavior goes far beyond that.
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Hey Steve,
I really enjoyed last week’s podcast with Amanda. It’s wonderful seeing her doing so well.
I’d love to see other past favorites on – Sharleen, Olivia, Michelle Money, etc. Of course, I’d say Ashley too – but I know she’s staying away from Bachelor Nation. Thoughts? Occasionally I’ll bring in an old school favorite, sure. I still talk to people behind the scenes, but sometimes I feel weird asking them to come on the podcast. I don’t know. Hard to explain. I’d rather them just be an acquaintance behind the scenes, someone I can bounce stuff off of, without having it become a podcast.
By the way, Rachel Lindsay’s book is an excellent read/listen, beyond any tea. She confirms a lot of what you’ve said about Peter, her feud with Vanessa, etc.
Also wondering, are you watching Celebrity Big Brother? If so, what are your thoughts?
Comment: I think that Celeb BB is a hot mess this season. And some of the storylines are happening off show. The Kattan rumors about who he’s dating, Lamar infatuated with his ex-wife from years ago, the Shanna and her boyfriend stuff that looks to be a dumpster fire. It’s nuts. And then what you got going on in the game where Todrick seems to be disliked by a lot of people watching, yet liked in the house? Very weird. But I’m enjoying the hell out of it. And I’ll always watch Celebrity BB because of it’s brevity. Isn’t it over soon?
