Category Archives: The Bachelor

The Bachelor Reaches Back for its New Star

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On January 1, 2018, a new season of The Bachelor begins. There’s a bit of a change this year. Instead of picking a contestant from last season’s Bachelorette (featuring Rachel), the show reached back to Emily Maynard’s season in 2011, plucking rejected suitor and race car driver Arie Luyendyk Jr. The show synopsis says:

Six years ago, Arie Luyendyk Jr. was in love and a day away from proposing to the woman of his dreams. And then, she broke his heart. Emily Maynard (now Emily Maynard Johnson) may not have been Arie’s future wife, but he hasn’t been able to find a love like hers since. Now Arie is back and ready to race into America’s heart yet again when he returns for a second shot at love, starring in the 22nd season of ABC’s hit romance reality series “The Bachelor,” returning to ABC in January 2018.

What has he been up to the past 6 years? According to the show:

After a tearful exit on Emily’s season of ABC’s “The Bachelorette,” Arie has stepped away from the spotlight and focused on his new career in real estate, which has brought him tremendous success. Even though he has been gone from Bachelor Nation, America hasn’t forgotten Arie’s rugged good looks and charm. After mending his broken heart, Arie is finally ready to start his own journey for love.

At 36, he’s definitely older than most Bachelor contestants.

Here are the women who will be competing for him:

Continue reading →

Bachelor Creator Mike Fleiss Sounds Off on “Goofballs”

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Bachelor creator Mike Fleiss explains the show’s success today in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. Shorter version: The Bachelor owns the romance field, everyone else can just step aside. He’s right about that.

He also has a favorite word. “Goofball.” As in Reality Steve:

EW: Reality Steve spent most of the season predicting that Chantal will be the winner. Once he owned up to being wrong, fans crowed that he had been `Fleiss’d.’ Did you or anyone involved in the show feed him misinformation?

FLEISS: I wish I could take credit but he duped himself. He’s nuts, a goofball. He says these things with 100 percent conviction but he’s right only half of the time. It doesn’t matter that much to us, it’s just that he acts like he knows everything. He’s the Michele Bachmann of reality TV facts. But the leaks are not really coming from production. They’re coming from former cast members. That’s a hard thing to police. The best way to combat him is to let himself shoot himself in the foot.

The Michele Bachmann of reality tv facts? Ouch! But it’s nice to know Mr. Fleiss has his politics right. Makes me like him more. Continue reading →

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

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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?

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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

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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 →

Bachelor Brad Ending: Who Makes Him a Better Person?

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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.

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

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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

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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.

Brad Womack Lights Up When Discussing His New Love

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Brad Womack, for those that watched his first stint as The Bachelor, know he can be a pretty uptight, serious guy. Watch him here, in this interview this morning, and you’ll see how he’s changed. He’s looser, happier, and practically giddy about having found love. It’s also refreshing to hear a Bachelor/ette with a vocabulary that contains a word other than “amazing.” In discussing the 30 women on the show, he uses phrases like “bold personalities.” He’s also very complimentary to all of them.

Tonight Brad was on Jimmy Kimmel Live. He was just as happy sounding as in the interview clip above. He also revealed he didn’t sleep with any of the women while on the show.

I’ve always thought of Brad as a pretty straight shooter. I hope this new love works out for him.