sleekandchic

Eek! No, no, and NO! Lol. I give Neil a lot more credit than that. :)I've read SM comments about Neil's supposed asexuality or virginal status. I don't buy those theories. I think Neil became Mr Turtle and pulled his head into his shell like pronto! He recognized a natural predator in Sam, imo. On the other hand, I could believe that Sam's experience with guys has been very limited. Her behaviors signaled defensiveness and fear to me -- and not necessarily because of Neil himself. I can't forget her behavior outside the venue before her wedding ceremony. Hyperventilating, walking in circles like a caged animal, sitting down due to lightheadedness. I'm pretty sure Sam was the bride who expressed fear that she was "gonna puke in my dress." And recently we have Neil's interview in The Knot mentioning that the bride made him and the guests wait one hour before she entered. Obviously, she was very conflicted. She had not seen or heard Neil yet, so I'm guessing her doubts were based on something deeper. And yet in the Matchmaking episode, Sam came across lighthearted and open to the experiment. She put on a good act, but why? (I don't think she believed she'd be chosen, actually.) Anyway, if Neil had made the mistake of sleeping with her, he would have NEVER lived it down. Descriptions of his penis, his technique, his expertise, his stamina would STILL be discussed on Sam's Twitter. She is relentless, and Neil hasn't heard the last of her, IMO. The only reason he continues to compliment Sam's "growth" and to express ongoing friendship is his desire for self-preservation, IMO. Thank God Neil used his intelligence to protect himself during the live experiment, as well as forevermore on the net.

I rewatched the Matchmaking episode last week. My memory might be wrong (and please correct me!) but I believe the show highlighted several seemingly-intelligent and attractive Black guys, three of whom interviewed on-camera that they did NOT date, nor wish to marry, Black women. No reasons given. Again, my memory might be wrong, but I seem to remember a guy named Sean, an attorney, who seemed perfect for Vanessa, imo-- on paper anyway. I liked his personality and manner. Then he said no Black women, and my admiration of him went POOF! I think the guy with a shaven head, former training-for-the-Olympics swimmer, stopped by leukemia, in remission now for 10 years, said no to Black women, too? Logan Levkoff did a TH that explained that while Black male applicants seemed to not want to marry Black women, the Black women applicants expressly desired Black husbands. This whole thing caused controversy at the time, with Cilona taking to SM to explain that MAFS was speaking only of its applicant pool, not society in general. Unfortunately for him, he came across as unnecessarily condescending in his reply to a challenger, so that turned into a mess. I believe Tres's TH during the Matchmaking episode said he dated whomever he liked, regardless of race. To my memory, he didn't express a preference or a proscription. I hate it when people ignorantly limit and deprive both themselves and society by excluding entire groups of people, but I can't crawl into their heads. (And I don't want to either! I value my sanity.) All I can hope though is that SOME of them can keep their hearts and minds open to the CHANCE that maybe there exists a surprising person or experience or career that could enrich their lives beyond all measure. Did the show ask the White guys if they'd date outside their race? If it did, I don't remember seeing it on air.

EQ and Gigi.....if you reply, I won't be able to answer until Monday, so forgive me please. My husband actually has a Saturday night off! It's a miracle! Poor guy, he works an inhuman schedule, but it's gonna get better soon, thank God. Anyway, we're going out to eat and slow dance! I want to recommend that you watch/rewatch the Matchmaking episode. It's a real eye opener for several reasons. (Thanks to Jack Sampson for the idea!) Some of the show was maddening to me. I already said Ashley was a different person. Well wait til you see Sam! Another one, happy, breezy and light! Eager to marry! In addition to talking about her love for her late grams, she also talked about her desire for a meaningful connection. I did not get any kind of manipulative loon, asshole, verbally-abusive, superficial-dolt vibe from her at all. My HUGE mistake. Re the Matchmaking candidates and montage: I know I sounded like a superficial idiot in a previous post! I apologize to all. Really, I used to date based on personality. I brought home lots of guys who were shorter, etc. If you made me laugh, I was yours! So just want to say most of the people on Matchmaking were ok. A couple were ridiculous, imo, especially in their requirements (like, perfect butts jutting from the curve of the spine! Omg! ROFL!) But most were ok. Would love opinions on Sean. I thought he was perfect for Vanessa, but, unfortunately, he said he wasn't interested in dating a Black woman. Other than that HUGE (imo, ridiculous) roadblock, I thought he and V would have been a great fit. Re names: I'm Swedish-American and was named for a beloved family member who died very young, and long before my birth. All my many siblings have good old American names, but I've got this unusual Russian name. Used to be self-conscious about it, but nowadays among the Norths and Saints, Reigns and Apples, Blue Ivies and Spurgeons, I'm comfy with it! ;) I will never find a keychain or plaque with my name, though, unless I create a stir myself, maybe on my fb! I'll let you know! :))))

Yeah, I'm really just being facetious, Evil Queen! Ashley just continues to amuse and confuse that's all. I went back and watched a little of the Matchmaking episode, and, man, she was a different person! Very open to the experiment, light and happy, she told Pepper that all her friends were married now, having babies and so she felt life was "passing me by." She really wanted to be matched. Pepper did a TH that said something like, if a participant wasn't willing to work through a possible lack of attraction at first sight, then that participant was NOT a good candidate! Ha.ha.ha! ;)

At least it's self-published though! I was really scared she got a contract with a legit publishing house! Eta: Ashley should take a page out of Vanessa's book of class and grace. Seriously, what do Ashley, her mom and whomever else comes to forums or SM to constantly remind us about David's failings think they're accomplishing? Dumb.

Leanne! OMFG! Looked at Amazon and the book has an author and an editor listed, in addition to Jamie! It must be DEEP! lolGet ready for the book tour! o_O Eta: Imo, the cover photo is not flattering at all.

The "Ashley" satchel amuses me no end! :) Remember when she asked a friend over after David's "betrayal"? Her friend's name was Ashley, too!Poor, dumb David! Rhett Butler wasn't the guy Ashley wanted at all. Ashley wanted Ashley Wilkes!

Based on your experience then, what do you think of my theory that Ashley might resist kissing or other one-on-one contact (with "strangers") because she's self-conscious of her bristle/scratchiness?

Sam revealed in a tweet the other day that as of March, she's got a new employer (which she named). . Even if you don't have a linkedIn account, you can google her name + linkedIn and see for yourself. I'm impressed that she found a new job so quickly, but I am SO curious over the circumstances of her leaving the bank so soon after getting a promotion. Meanwhile, I am happy to let you know that Sam is open to doing another reality show! One of her fans tweeted "Would you do another TV reality show knowing what you do now?"

Neil's intelligence and sensitivity shine through in that interview, ctbabe. Make no mistake, he was deeply wounded by Sam's treatment of him. What quite a few observers interpreted as Neil's passiveness and asexual nonchalance, I always thought of as an astute guy holding himself together MIGHTILY rather than disgrace himself, his career or his family on camera. I'm impressed that he sought therapy after decision day. What Sam is currently playing at on SM is just evil. Vindictive and evil.

Ashley is so special. I know her mom thinks the sun and the moon rise and set on the snowflake that she is. Re Ashley's overdone makeup at the six-month check-in: Poor thing has a genuine facial-hair catastrophe going on. Her upper lip got lots of comments, but in the last couple of episodes, I noticed a true five-o'clock-beard-shadow, too. I'm thinking Ashley shaves, rather than waxes, lasers or electrolysis? Maybe that's why she doesn't want anybody kissing even her cheek? Rough and bristly? So the heavy-duty foundation, I think, was meant to mask her facial hair. I noticed also that her surgical-dent was better camouflaged. AND, maybe I'm misremembering, but I think Ashley sat left of screen, leaving Pepper sitting right. However, with all the other interviews, Pepper seemed to prefer the left position. Plus Ashley kept her face a little tilted away from the camera. I think she was hyperaware of her appearance this time. Maybe if she been a more pleasant person, production could have saved her a lot of angst just by working the magic of proper lighting and camera filters. I read a biography of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, and she was bothered her entire life with her very dark and thick facial and body hair. She resorted to bleaching the hair on her lower arms blonde, but she still hated the effect. And her facial maintenance was unbelievably annoying and time-consuming. I think of Jackie when I see Ashley, because the raven hair and French ethnicity are similar. But in 2016, there are many alternatives for long-lasting hair removal. If Ashley IS shaving, she must stop that! Go to a dermatologist and see what's recommended for her particular problems. Mary seems like a loving, involved mom. Maybe she can gently suggest to Ash that it's time for a change.

Is Erica even in the montage? The show went to a lot of trouble staging that bucolic phoniness for her!

So Cameron Diaz and Steve Carell's long-lost bro- recently-released-from-San- Quentin-for-running-his-porn-empire were maybe the original third couple, huh? ROFL!!! Cameron dodged a bullet man.You might be right, Jack. Sam Role is really hidden away in that shot, and Neil is pictured pre-trim, when you KNOW the matchers were first thinking of him as no way/no how. Then they got desperate I guess. I think the blonde right next to Ashley is the 5 ' 10" Catholic/Baptist? She stuck in my head because she refused to be matched with any guy shorter than her when she's wearing heels. I'm close to the same height, and I used to date shorter guys all the time. I thought she was being ridiculous and myopic. Look at that montage! I mean, really look at it! I see problems galore. Anger, purposeful "quirkiness," bad hair, bad teeth and bad attitudes. Throw in a couple of budding serial killers and repeat offenders, too. Yeah, I know it's not fair to judge books by their covers but I'm doing it anyway, man! :) Okay, top row, far left: douchenozzle! THAT was his best picture, @MAFS?! And, top row, far right: headband! Who told her that's a good look for attracting a normal guy? Thanks for the laughs! :)

Sam is just not letting up on Twitter. She is "keeping her fingers crossed" and "praying" that Neil might change his mind. She could never hate him cause he made her "the person that she is today." She promises to "continue to be the best friend I can be to Neil." Neil is "still amazing." And this, from 43 minutes ago: She doesn't stop, and, imo, those "sweet" little sentiments are more like threats than kindness. She tags Neil on all that stuff. To me, it's a form of stalking.I wonder if the show ever took the possibility of stalking by a disappointed participant seriously? Since the Twitter account is associated with MAFS (and not Sam's personal account) I think they should tell her to cool it.

Thanks, Aja. Your post makes sense and talked me down a bit from my, I don't know what to call it, my shock (i guess) at this crew. But you're right. There's absolute method to their madness and manipulation. They found the golden goose in TLC, didn't they?BTW, the Duggar guys all look like dissipated, dyspeptic, balding 40 year olds. That ain't happy on their faces.

I caught the promo.for Counting On today and couldn't believe my eyes! Thought I was hallucinating. Is TLC kidding? That commercial is casting the girls as inspirational survivors! The sugary song in the background punches up the word, "courageous," and Jessa can be heard in voiceover saying "2015 has been very hard on the family." Then the ad ends with Jessa interviewing "family is everything. So what's going on here? Are they wallowing in/exploiting Josh's current problems? Cause the parents, girls and TLC sure fought very hard to convince us that the molestations of 10 years ago were barely blips on the radar. They were sleeping! It was over their clothes! A curious young boy! We hate the media for making problems out of NOTHING! WTH? Now the girls are role models for survivors? Omg the phoniness and manipulation make me mad. And Josh' s ongoing problems with cheating, etc, are his and his wife's concerns, not his sisters' business! Josh is a creep, but now he's home and being used (even off-screen) as fodder for his family's comeback? That's so wrong to me. Will he need to hide during filming? Also, what is that annoying rotating the Duggars are doing in the promo? Looks stupid.

Oh how I wish Vanessa had brought up Tres's rejection on camera during the regular season! She was too embarrassed and hurt to do it, I know, and she blamed herself. But I would like to have seen Tres squirm through his excuses while facing the camera. He really got away with murder, imo. I'm sure The Experts would have had platitudes galore to deal with Tres's shutting down. On second thought, it's probably better that Vanessa remained mum. Levkoff probably would have blamed her and made her feel even worse. In season 2, LL was openly contemptuous of Davina, while believing Sean's b.s.

First, Vanessa's generous and loving nature really shines through The Knot's interview. Makes me that much more pissed that Jessica/season 2 tweeted that the only one of the ladies in Season 3 that Jessica&Friends considered "genuine" was the horrible, phony, spoiled Ashley. And, BTW, I'm happy to see that Ashley continues her love of crotch-couture, even in dresses. Second, did I understand the interview? Did Vanessa say that Tres started rejecting sex BEFORE Decision Day? Yes, I think so, because she said when viewers see her so insecure, part of it was due to the lack of intimacy. So, why, why, why would Vanessa say yes to staying married? Now, I can understand Tres saying yes -- he wanted to be perceived as the Good Guy. But Vanessa? She explains exactly how Tres shut down on her, unwilling to discuss the sex issue. She was CRAZY to agree to stay married. I'm wondering if Tres got the surprise of his life on Decision Day? Sounds like he put a plan in motion to ensure Vanessa would say No. No sex, no communication, no kindness, no friendship. Drive her a little bit crazy. But Vanessa still said Yes! Omg, it's funny! I bet Tres went home to family and friends on Decision night, and said, shit, I can't get rid of this girl. I need a shower after reading the article. Slimed by Tres's slick and oily machinations. Man, knowing what we know now, how I wish Vanessa refused that reconciliation lunch that Pepper encouraged! Unfortunately, I think Vanessa is still wanting contact with Mr "Luxury" car salesman. She needs to SEVER. NOW! Last, I posted in various episode threadss throughout the season that maybe Vanessa's moodiness and sullenness were based on something we the audience didn't know about. One of my guesses was that Tres was lousy in bed. Maybe selfish, or unskilled. Little did we know it was worse. He withdrew completely. Permanent premature ejaculation. Season 3! Sexless in Hotlanta! Who'd a thunk it?

If people listened carefully last night, they heard that Tres was the one who stopped having sex with his wife. His lame excuse was he thought the couple could focus more on their problems if they left sex out of the equation. Alert! Alert! Alert! He was cheating. That's it. So anybody still blaming Vanessa is an idiot, in my estimation. (And no, I don't equate David's SM griping toward another woman at all to Tres's infidelity, in case anybody asks.) It's really too bad that V and T didn't try counseling during their six months. But I think V realized it would be a waste of time with Tres. Ach!

Pathetic Sam! "I'll keep trying...." !!!!!!l Cut it out. David gets the too pushy/too clingy rap, but he's staying far away from Ashley, as it should be. moonxyz, laughing at Tres's message. He forgot to write about his JOURNEY!! Journey, journey, JOURNEY! ;)

Absolutely agree! I'm really shocked at the crew aligning with Ashley. And Jessica tweeting that Ashley was the only genuine woman of Season 3? Misguided and sad------- Yep, Sam has reverted to her manipulative, game-playing self on Twitter. I think she's trying to foment some kind of gang-up, fan-shaming on Neil. Trying to get her FANS to do her dirty work. Jeez. She's gonna stalk that guy, I feel it in my bones. She doesn't want him; she just wants to make his life miserable. She is so damn touchy! Nasty to somebody for calling her Samantha! (As well as for not being a sycophant.) WTF?

Yes! I said at the time that there was a hiccup -- a tangible sign of selective editing -- when Neil was shown saying he was "committed" to a divorce.I also noticed that Neil said that on Decision Day, each participant had a one-on-one interview with the experts to give them his/her decision. So that means, the decisions are not sprung on the experts and they must choose the order of who goes first for maximum melodrama. So, for example, for all of Peppers empathy for Sam tonight, she knew very well on Decision Day that they were setting up Sam for news of Neil's rejection. Poor Vanessa. I think she was played big time. If Tres initiated the end of sexual intimacy, there is no question in my mind that he was cheating. No question at all. However, Vanessa, sweetheart, you looked gorgeous at that reconciliation-lunch. I'd say she lost about 5-7 lbs which left her jaw chiseled and her beautiful collarbone prominent. As she walked into the restaurant, her waist, hips and legs looked perfect. Beautiful, inside and out. Don't look back!

I read this forum before watching the episode, so I admit I was especially watching Farmer Shep for any signs of WTF? In the farmer's market scene, when Liza first meets Shep and admires the softness of his wares, he gets a little bit dreamy. He says yeah the wool is from Stella, and "she's a good (or great) girl." Is he in love? Then, when Liza decides to drive upstate, unannounced, the first time, I really found that scene hilarious. She parks her car, the sheepdog jumps on the window and the flock gathers around her. Shep walks over, at first to say "I guess you didn't see the No Trespassing sign," then to be pleasantly surprised to see Liza. As they begin to walk back to the house together, the flock follows close behind, with ONE (I'm assuming it's Stella) leading, glued to the farmer's side, gazing up at him like a jealous gf. It's an amusing and comical sight. Well-executed, I thought. Definitely a wtf ending, but Younger tries to push the envelope for basic cable whenever it can, I think. I like the show, and because of it, I've been introduced to the New Adventures of Old Christine, which TVLand runs a lot, and makes me lol. :)

Yes, but if we, the audience, are still supposed to believe in MAFS's supposed raison d'etre, then it would serve the producers well to tweak SOMETHING, anything, about their methodology and instruments.Now that Cilona and Levkoff are gone, the show has a perfect opportunity to get fresh perspectives. Of course, it's a reality show, and I doubt that truly-competent pros would be willing to bite, but who knows? Otherwise, MAFS is just another dating show. If so, they should be honest about how they REALLY match (they look good together; they're both tall/short; they both have googly-eyes; there were only ten guys who didn't look like trolls) instead of pontificating on the great and noble, daring social experiment. It just doesn't wash after TWO seasons of 0 for 3. People will still watch, wanting to see two strangers marry. But just stop with, they were matched for "a reason," implying something lofty. Be brutally honest.

I found Sam to be the most disingenuous of ALL 18 participants over three seasons. I could never deal or keep my cool with a personality like hers, day in and day out. Her volatility and anger, fueled by a kind of self-loathing, are too draining for anybody to take. Whereas, Ashley is a whole other story. Just cross the street when you see her approaching.