Bachelor Brad: The Queen of Hearts is Always Your Best Bet

The Bachelor season ended not with a romantic proposal, a twirl, and declarations of undying love, but with a breakup. It was no secret Brad would propose to Emily and she would accept. The question was going to be, are they still together?

The final rose ceremony was filmed in South Africa on November 19. The “After the Final Rose” show taped last week, which means while both aired tonight, one occurred four months after the other in real time. A lot can happen in 4 months.

As soon as the ATFR began, Chris Harrison, looking tired, stressed or botoxed, take your pick, announced that the couple had already split once since leaving South Africa, and hadn’t seen each other in the past month. Later, Chris throws in another bombshell: Brad and Emily were supposed to get married on the ATFR show, which had been planned to film in Anguilla, where the couple fell in love. But Emily called it off.

Chantal came out first, looking terrific in red, then Brad came out, and Chantal, like the good-sport she is, asked the pertinent questions aimed at getting closure. It didn’t go the way she wanted.

Emily also looked beautiful, with a new hairdo in a darker blond (or maybe just added lowlights) and a shorter cut. We also got to see she has a personality, something the show tried to hide all season. She was tough, spontaneous, and funny — who would have guessed? She complained about her “edit” — the boring, poised lady edit — and insisted that if she had gotten the dates Chantal got, she would have had fun too.

So why did they break up? According to Emily, it was Brad’s temper. They have been having knock-down -drag-out fights. Emily says she has a temper too. Continue reading

Trouble in Bachelor Town?

Every season, the day after the airing of the Final Rose ceremony and After the Final Rose show, the happy couple from the Bachelor/Bachelorette do a teleconference call with the media and answer questions. When they are done, the rejected Final 2 contestant comes on the call to answer questions.

Another staple every season: The happy couple begins their media tour right after the final show. Usually, they go on Jimmy Kimmel Live, and then a morning show. Then they hit the talk show circuit. Within a few weeks, they fade into obscurity as attention focuses on the next season.

The first sign of trouble in paradise came earlier this week when ABC posted its press release of the post-show teleconference. Brad Womack and the woman he chose, whom everyone says is Emily Maynard, will not be on the call. Instead, host Chris Harrison will be on the call to talk about them (translation: dto do damage control.) After that, Brad’s rejected F2 (Chantal O’Brien) will answer questions. The second sign of trouble was learning that the couple won’t be on Jimmy Kimmel Live after the final show airs. Instead, he’ll be announcing the next Bachelorette.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that interest in Brad and Emily will be greatest — and ratings highest –in the hours and days immediately following the final show’s airing. ABC and The Bachelor aren’t in this for a love story, they are in it for money. The contestants are bound by contract to appear on media shows as requested. There’s no way the Bachelor would give the couple a pass. It’s contrary to their financial interest. So, the question is: Did Brad and Emily break up? And, are they together now, or not? Continue reading

Bachelor Brad: Preview of Meet the Family and Last Chance Dates

TV Grapevine has an extended video of Bachelor Brad Womack as he brings Emily Maynard and Chantal O’Brien to meet his family and on the last chance dates. It’s pretty obvious from the video that Brad is telling Emily she’s the one. He keeps saying he wants to be Ricki’s real father.

It’s also pretty obvious that Chantal knows on the last chance date that Brad is not choosing her. (Its usually the F2 who gets the shark date. ) I think she has known since their treehouse date — another unromantic date (Outdoors, lots of bugs, no jacuzzi, no real bathroom, no luxury. It was worse than a camping date.) Props to Chantal for being the good trooper and going through with the Final Rose Ceremony knowing she was being rejected. I’m not surprised she turned the Bachelorette part down, even before she had a new boyfriend. The show was not kind to to her in the editing.

Ashley Hebert, who will be announced as the next Bachelorette on the Jimmy Kimmel show Monday night, is a disappointing choice for the role. All we can do is hope the guys are worth watching in her season.

The spoilers ruined this season. First with Reality Steve being wrong about Chantal being F-1, then saying 100% that it’s Emily, and then that Ashley will be the next Bachelorette. Even if he turns out to be right about the last two spoilers, it doesn’t make up for the first false spoiler about Chantal. His cocky insistence it positively was Chantal colored our viewing the whole season, until we learned he was wrong (and he later confirmed it.) It was nice of him to do a mea culpa, but it doesn’t restore his credibility. The only good thing to come out of Reality Steve’s false Chantal spoiler is that next season we’ll return to sleuthing, because Reality Steve’s information just can’t be taken as the final word. Continue reading

Celebrity Apprentice: Welcome D-Listers

The train wreck that is Celebrity Apprentice premiered tonight. 60’s hearthrob David Cassidy was the first to go home. Why? Because Survivor’s Richard Hatch, who should have gone home, bullied him? No, it’s because Richard’s abrasive personality is better for ratings.

On to the contestants:

Who has had more plastic surgery, David Cassidy or LaToya Jackson? It’s a toss-up.

Gary Busey is looney-tunes. Survivor’s Richard Hatch and Starr Jones have surprisingly similar bossy personalities and inflated opinions of themselves.

Marlee Matlin is probably a very nice person, but having her accompanied by a guy who repeats what’s said to and by her in sign language is an unwelcome distraction. I can’t imagine how disjointed the show will be when she’s project manager.

Rapper Lil’ John has attitude issues. Jose Canseco sis one of the more likable contestants, but seems to have some nerve-related physical issues. Maybe it was just a shaky camera.

Dionne Warwick is inept at even the smallest task, like running a credit card through a machine. She rationalizes “I’m used to buying things with credit cards, not processing them.” Translation: She thinks it’s beneath her.

Lisa Rinna is overly-opinionated, b*tchy and has no filter. I don’t think she’ll last long. Unless they need her to play the role of major trouble-maker, pitting people against each other. Continue reading

Bachelor Brad Ending: Who Makes Him a Better Person?

We don’t need Reality Steve’s spoilers or even sleuthers when we have Brad Womack himself giving away the ending to this season’s The Bachelor. He does all but shout he’s picked Emily Maynard:

Teleconference with Brad 12/15/10, after filming but before show began airing on what he’s looking for:

I’ve always wanted to wind up with somebody that is just genuinely sweet and that is just as much of a friend as anything else and so I found that and you know it’s someone that makes me want me to be a better person.

Discussing Emily in last week’s South Africa episode (in video clip above):

Emily is one in a million….the person I am around Emily, I’m a much better person. I’m myself, but a much better self.

Brad on Emily (3/5, People)

“She went through a tough situation with the plane crash,” Womack, 38, says, “and becoming a single mom. But she rose to the occasion beautifully and I admire that. She makes me a better person when I am around her.”

Game over. Congratulations, Brad and Emily.

Chris Harrison: No Decision Yet on Next Bachelorette

While Reality Steve remains confident Ashley Hebert will be the next Bachelorette, Chris Harrison said today no decision has been reached. He said it could be Ashley, or it could be (of all people) Michelle Money.

“It will not be announced at the Women Tell All,” he tells TVGuide.com, clearing up recent reports. “I can promise you as of Sunday night, I was with the creator of the show, Mike Fleiss, and when I left him in the wee hours of the morning we did not have a Bachelorette picked.”

Chris is known for his over-the top description of upcoming shows, and his description of Michelle at the “Women Tell All” is no exception:

Michelle will blow your mind, and I mean that in a good way and bad way. I’ve seen it all and I never saw this coming. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever experienced in 10 years, and I was so thrown off I didn’t know what was going on.

Chantal would obviously be a better choice than Ashley or Michelle. So the question is, did she turn it down, or, despite all the recent spoilers saying Emily and Brad are engaged, is she the one Brad picked?

The evidence is mounting Brad picks Emily. If he does, is it because Chantal was too ready to get married right now, and he could take things more slowly with Emily, because of her daughter? Would Emily really agree to pack her daughter up and move to Austin, after just a handful of dates over two months? Or would she agree to get engaged and see how things go over the next several months? Maybe Brad, despite all his protests to the contrary, isn’t ready to commit to more than getting engaged right now.

He certainly has Emily on a pedestal and seems enamored of the idea of a ready-made family. But, it’s now an open question who ends up as F1. Once again, good job, Mike Fleiss. You fleeced Reality Steve and no one would be surprised if you have more twists and turns in store for us. And on the topic of the next Bachelorette, take it slow. Ashley is not the best choice. Neither is Michelle. Please keep searching.

Reality Steve Throws a Fastball: It’s Emily, Not Chantal

Oh, no. After believing Reality Steve all season that Brad Womack’s final rose goes to Chantal O’Brien and the couple are happily engaged, he now tells us he was wrong and Brad is engaged to Emily. He also says Chantal turned down the Bachelorette gig for next season, and that’s how we end up with Ashley in that spot.

RS says it doesn’t matter why his sources were wrong. I’m not convinced of that. I think people will still follow his spoilers in future seasons, but no one will rely on them. They will be just another piece of the puzzle. Which is a good thing, because sleuthing the seasons, as they do at FORT, is the most fun.

The final question: Is this latest spoiler from RS what really happens?

In tonight’s episode, you will see Brad tell Emily on their overnight date that he’s falling in love with her. He hasn’t said this to anyone else this season
-Ricki is NOT part of the finale and is not brought to South Africa
-It is a regular final rose ceremony in terms of the presentation. Brad doesn’t pull an Ali and let Chantal go early. He makes her do the whole song and dance, says whatever he says, then rejects her

At least RS copped to his mistake, didn’t try and pass blame and apologized to those affected, from Brad to Chantal to readers. And thanks to FORT for breaking the new ending over the weekend.

Bachelor Brad and the Final Three in South Africa

Who does Brad pull aside to talk to before giving out his final two roses? Is it Emily (who must reassure him since she moves on to the F2) or Ashley (who gives a wrong answer and gets the boot?)

Reality Steve says Ashley will be the next Bachelorette — apparently Emily didn’t want the gig. Definitely no “wow” factor in that choice, but maybe the dates, locations and guys will be great. One can only hope.

The best part of Reality Steve’s latest column is the description of the casting process, provided him by one of the contestants from a former season. Psychologists, private investigators, blood and urine tests, 1000 questions and total seclusion. I’m surprised there are enough people willing to put up with it. Bottom line: No one would go through all that for a chance at love with a stranger. They would only do it for a shot at fame and fortune. Just another sign this show is far from real.

I’ll bet Ashley is about to get inundated with offers from clothing stores to provide her with outfits and jewelry to wear on the show. What she really needs is a great hair stylist to cover up her incredibly big forehead. It’s so distracting, and reminds me of Herman Munster. Sports Illustrated tried here, but a comb-over isn’t enough.

The “Women Tell All” episode tapes today in L.A.

Bachelor Baby Noah Arrives

Former Bachelor winner and Colorado snowboarder Jesse Csincsak and his wife Ann Leuders (also a Bachelorette contestant during a different season) welcomed their first child, Noah Theodore Csincsak at 4:00 a.m. this morning in Breckenridge, Colorado. TooFab has exclusive photos and video.

So far, all Bachelor/Bachelorette offspring have been born in Colorado. It probably won’t be long until Noah is having play dates on the slopes with Trista and Ryan Sutter’s son Max.

Welcome Noah, to the planet and Colorado, and congratulations to Jesse and Ann. Well done!

Golden Globes Live Blog

Christian Bale wins the first award of the night for The Fighter.

Katey Sagal wins Best Actress for Sons of Anarchy, beating out Julianna Margulies, Kyra Sedgwick,Piper Perabo (Covert Affairs) and a Mad Men’s Elizabeth Moss. Was that an upset? This may be Mad Men’s last season, as the creator’s contract expired today. No word of renewal.

Carlos wins for best miniseries or tv movie.

Michael Douglas will present Best Picture, and Robert DeNiro is getting the special lifetime achievement award.

Bruce Willis is introduced as Ashton Kutcher’s dad. He introduces “Red” a movie about the CIA nominated for Best Comedy. The kid from Glee wins best supporting actor in a comedy.

Michelle Pfeiffer looks beautiful and she introduces Alice in Wonderland, as the camera flashes on Johnny Depp. He’ll win for something tonight.

This is such a fast show. It’s 6:40 pm and it seems most of the awards have been given out. I wonder how they will stretch it out till 9:00 pm.

Best Song: Alan Mencken is still writing songs? He has one of the nominees. I went to elementary school with him. I wonder if I’d recognize him. Diane Warren wins for Burlesque.

I think Ricky Gervais is boring. Is he ad-libbing his jokes? Robert Downey Junior looks very handsome and happy. I’m glad for him, he had a rough road for a while. Continue reading