Day 80: When Reality TV...

When reality TV show hosts even realize the ridiculousness of their program.

Several years ago I was living in a house with 4 other ladies - all of whom I sought friendships with. One of them and I were amazing roommates but found it a roadblock that we didn't really hang out just for kicks. So... for some reason, we started watching The Bachelorette together.  It was silly and we recognized the production and comical nature of the show, but it was fun to laugh at it and discuss it together. It became our bonding ground.

We kept this tradition until we both moved away to different parts of the country.  Upon arriving in our new homes, The Bachelor premier caught our attention and we decided to watch it "together" from afar. At this point it moved into a new category of TV shows for me - something to tie us together.  After discovering some other "fans" (that also liked to watch the show just for laughing and talking about the ridiculousness) it filled two roles.

Of course, all of the time while watching such a reality TV show, I have always been reluctant to admit it to people. It's embarrassing because the TV show is just absurd. Perhaps there are people that watch with true hopes for the contestants to find love, but I have never been in that position.

Last night The Bachelor had its finale for the most recent bachelor, Juan Pablo. In the finale the bachelor/bachelorette choose the woman/man of his/her dreams (or is supposed to) from all of the other prospects on the show.

SPOILERS AHEAD (if you are also a closet Bachelor watcher..)

Juan Pablo goes on final dates with the remaining two women - who have met his family in their entirety.  His family kept dropping hints that Juan Pablo might not be committed, that he can be rude, and a few other key red flags people should note while talking to family.  Of course the girls don't hear these red flags - in the midst of being infatuated and on a TV show this long.

On his final date with one of the women, Clare, he sincerely hurts her feelings. There is speculation about what actually happened but I would be surprised if the story from Wet Paint is actually legitimate. Clare even references their claim in one of her camera interviews.  I'll let you look it up (HA...if you're a closet watcher ) and spare you the details, but she gets the urge to leave.

Understand that at this point, several of the women he liked the most have already left for one reason or another. She, unfortunately, doesn't leave when she feels the urge, but when he "dumps" her and chooses the other girl she does stand up for herself.  The live audience (and everybody watching from their homes) went wild. Bravo, Clare.

Note: I promise this is going somewhere beyond a review of a silly TV show.

This then left the final contestant, Nikki.  The build up to the last date Nikki has with Juan Pablo, she vocalizes countless times how she wants to hear how Juan Pablo feels. She knows she's in love, but she wants to hear it from him. Most of the seasons are like this to some degree, so it's exciting when the final day comes and the man/woman tells the remaining prospect that he/she loves him/her.

Nikki arrives to meet Juan Pablo, where she tells him again how in love she is. He then responds that he likes "a lot of things about her" and over a really vague speech says he doesn't want to propose to her because he's not 100% sure yet (which I actually respect since this show is filmed over a short period of time). Of course, all of the viewers hold their breath for the anticipated "I love you" only to be met with, "I like you.  A lot.  ...A LOT."

So now that I've narrated the show, bring it back to the studio audience where they meet Nikki and Juan Pablo for an interview.  Chris Harrison always asks good questions and proceeds to ask Nikki if Juan Pablo has told her that he loves her.  Nikki is slow to answer - and of course the answer is no.  Chris presses on whether there is a time limit to hear such a thing, especially since the show was filmed 4 months prior to last night, and Nikki says it's something you can't really put a time limit on. (I agree with her on this one.)

Chris continues to press about their plans and their future and Juan Pablo basically says that everything they are doing is "private."  Now... I consider being and advocate for people on reality TV shows that get bombarded with media for the rest of their lives, but as some of the earlier Bachelor/Bachelorette contestants noted, when someone signs up for the show, they sign up for the publicity. They are signing up for a show to "find love" (ugh, those words get old, I tell ya...) and they are signing up for the public to be involved in their lives to an extent. I thought Catherine, now wife of bachelor Sean Lowe, said it best when she said, "Don't slap the hand that feeds you," in reference to not shutting the show out that enabled Juan Pablo and Nikki to meet one another.

Juan Pablo basically refutes that once the show was done, they could be private. He refused to answer anything regarding the L question, he refused to reveal anything going forward, and as the interview progressed Chris Harrison got visibly more and more irritated. At the end of it, Chris even says that he's not sad to see this one be over.

It was during these moments, I felt like we could see Chris understanding how ridiculous this show and the people on it can be.  He seems to believe in the show, so I would never say that he thinks it's a bad thing, but he shared in our frustrations and ridicule for a moment.  For that, I appreciate him even more.