TheFinalRose

That was the first season I was "spoiled" and I could not believe that Vienna was the winner. Jake's On the Wings of Love season was nothing compared to the breakup special with Jake and Vienna. Watch it on YouTube -- it's amazing.

I think Charlie would have been a fantastic Bachelor if back then they were picking the leads from the reject pile like they do now. I remember being absolutely gobsmacked when Charlie got out of the limo first because 1) he was such a catch 2) I did not "get" Ryan at all. Back then, I honestly thought Ryan was a little slow--my apologies to Ryan who turned out to be a good guy. It was good to see Charlie again and his wife is a lucky lady. I laugh when I think about how horrified Alex Michel must be to have attached his Harvard/Stanford persona to a show that is generally considered trash by those who don't see the intrinsic human comedy in it like we all do! No wonder he has ghosted it. I was very disappointed that they did not show the very tender moment when Alex asked Amanda point blank what was the deal with her boobs. Were they real? That was so awkward yet all these years later, very memorable. Watching back, his final rose ceremony pronouncement to Trista that she was not the "winner" was so odd. He said his piece, she smiled and was quietly led away. Did Trista get an award for being the first to cry in the limo? What is Cassie doing to her face? She is starting to look very plastic and doll-like. I heard she was upset with the edit of her interview because they focused on her breakup with Colton. Did she think we wanted an update on her friendship with Caelynn? Sadly, I do not think Cassie is going to be the breakout star of Bachelor Nation. Very excited that Brad Womack is next. Looking forward to seeing if we get updates from Deanna, MIchele Money, Emily Maynard and also Chantal, who was Brad's runner up.

I think Olivia was a classic gloater. Got the first impression rose and a group date rose and thought she had it in the bag. But she hit her peak too early and Ben found temporary love elsewhere. Plus she made a lot of odd faces during the talking heads so the audience thought she was over the top. And the other girls made fun of Olivia's cankles ... surprisingly the producers were sensitive enough not to re-air that footage.

Ugh. Ben Higgins. He is a Bachelor famewhore who will never miss a chance to show up and talk about himself. His saying ILY to both girls was the height of self-indulgence--but he couldn't help it and didn't mean to hurt anyone! Ha. And I think he picked his fiancee off of Instagram because she lives near Nashville, Tennessee, where Lauren Bushnell ended up, so he can remain Lauren-adjacent. I wish they would recap Emily Maynard's season. That was a blast, great lead, great locations and we get to see the Sean, Arie and Jef bromance. Plus the debut of that other Bachelor famewhore, Chris Bukowski. I also think they should rerun Chris Soules' season. I need to see an update with that crazy Kelsey Poe and also watch a bunch of Hollywood-wannabees wander around a dead Iowa town and pretend that they could live there. Becca Tilly's deadpan appearance as the Number 2 was a thing of beauty--no fake tears from that girl! Then Chris Harrison can do an interview with Soules and Victoria F and tease an engagement with them as well. Do not give us Colton's again. Dealing with Colton the first time was bad enough. How can they spin anything on his season as a love story as Cassie was never that into him and it's already over.

I read it too. It's not bad writing, I just thought it was a bad story. You may feel differently when you finish it. What Remains, by contrast, I thought was beautiful and satisfying. I was really flabbergasted that both books could come from the same person. I know Carole said she was working on the fiction book for five years --- I thought it did have the feel of someone who really didn't know where they wanted the story to go.

And don't forget she can walk Strawberry and Shortcake over to the Sprinkles cupcake ATM. I know I would if I lived nearby.

She had that horrible fiction book coming out that she wanted to sell. The book that launched a thousand ghost writer arguments with Aviva. After reading What Remains and then Carole's second book (I'm too lazy to look up the title) I believe Aviva that Carole had some help with What Remains. Probably that sister-in-law or someone related to Carole who was a bona fide ghost writer.

Well that is truly tragic. I know when a polar vortex is coming they are always telling you to leave a faucet dripping so the pipes don't freeze. Too bad her family didn't get over there for Dorinda and prepare the house a little pre-vortex. Still, don't take it out on Tinsley. It says a lot about Dorinda that she goes for the gentlest, tiniest person to take her rage out on. Glad I'm alone in not greatly disliking Sonja. She is crude and attention-seeking and a sexual harasser. If a man said half the things she says to the help/waiter/repairman he'd be cancelled. Every time she's on screen I'm trying to figure out why everyone thinks she's such a great beauty. Old Man Morgan and his new wife must watch this show and cackle.

The John Hancock building is on Michigan Ave on the north side of Chicago which is highly residential and an extremely desirable urban location with city views and Lake Michigan views. The Hancock is right next to Water Tower Place where Oprah lived. Yes, there are tourists but it's a very nice place to live. The North Shore suburbs are gorgeous, but it's not where a single guy like Scott would live because it's not where the action is. I just binged the past three episodes this weekend and Dorinda is absolutely unhinged. I've had water issues in my basements and it's awful when you have to throw out things that you didn't plan to and dealing with contractors probably makes her feel that each guy is ripping her off so I get it. It's AWFUL. What I don't get is how did Bluestone Manor flood and create such extensive damage on the main floors? It looks like it's on a hill so the water would possibly enter the basement but the main floors? It looks like water came in through the roof to get into her kitchen cabinets. I don't get it. Dorinda just needs to be taken away. Now Leah is a drunk nut but that I get; she's just trying to make a splash as the new girl. Leah's sister is so pretty; I'm glad she came. They should sign her up.

Mike was a great option to be the first black Bachelor but instead we got wimpy Pete. Matt James looks like a catch and is also a good choice. This is way overdue on the part of the creators of the show but they need to do more than one and done after 24 seasons. I would have loved to see Tayshia instead of Clare as the Bachelorette.

I remember this date she went on with poor Luke, who was just stupidly head over heels over her. They were in the hills somewhere and she was trying to get him to "open up" and he kept answering her questions in what I thought were reasonable enough answers for someone being put on the spot with a camera crew in front of him but nothing he said was ever good enough and she stomped off and whined to the producers how frustrated she was and what to do? And it just felt to me as if she thought Luke's job was to quiet her internal angst but of course, how could he do that when she is just a raging mess inside? I always think that he was the one that had the lucky escape, although most BN see things the other way around.

I briefly followed Hannah B on Instagram but quickly got annoyed at the constant videos of her exercising or dancing in her crop top. I thought "Does she ever read a book?" I mean, it was constant and IMO inane and I unfollowed her. But here is my point. For a young woman who spends so much time live online, Hannah's single Instagram post apologizing seems proportionally inadequate. (The drunk live apology will not be presented as evidence because it made her look worse). This is a girl that practically lives online so to be suddenly offline since the post while her fandom melts down makes it look like she is hiding. Bad look. If I don't see her then I'm just assuming she's curled up in a fetal position crying woe is me. Could be that she had a PR person tell her not to go live with Rachel, but I'm not sure that was wise. Just from the tone of Rachel's own live Instagrams, I believe she would have been pretty even keeled with Hannah and this dumpster fire would have been nicely addressed. (I'm a fan of Rachel--you can be a lawyer and be nice at the same time.) The adulation this young woman has been receiving (BN Queen with 2 million + followers) is completely over the top. Sure, she's cute and she's quirky but her not showing up now when the heat gets hot is exactly her MO. She was always crying and cancelling cocktail parties because she was upset for one reason or another. I understand that production enjoys the shock of announcing "The cocktail party is cancelled we are going straight to the rose ceremony," but Hannah seemed to stomp out more than one would expect someone with a signed contract should/would do. And the outbursts supposedly continued during the DWTS filming as well. Hannah has said that she wants to be a role model, well, here's her big shot. Although I am sure she didn't picture modeling humility and sincere sorrow, that's where she is. So I'm curious to see what she does next ... the clock is ticking.

Kristen's finding out that she was only slightly interesting when attached to Jay. Fingers crossed that E! is inking the deal for Just Jay! soon.

This show was the worst. The format sucked in that they were forced to couple up to stay on the show. A better way would be to be kicked off for singing badly, not for not being able to caress a stranger's face while performing to prove a connection. The producers must have done a number on Matt, who really seemed like he took the connection part way too seriously and didn't want to lead Rudi on. The producers blew their own finale show with too much meddling. It was LAME with only two couples performing. I don't think I looked up from my laptop more than a couple times while the show was on last night. Fail.

He's the reason I tuned in initially, not ever having watched Kristen in her previous reality roles. Watching Mr. Grumpy Cutler turn domestic? I was in and he delivered. He was very entertaining. I ended up usually fast forwarding through a lot of the scenes without Jay. If E! really knew what they were doing they would do a Jay-only reality show: Jay on the Farm! or Just Jay! Watch the hilarious antics of a burned-out NFL quarterback as a menagerie of farm animals warm his heart and teach him the true meaning of life. We really don't need Kristen wiping down her counters or her "model agency" retail staff breaking up with their hairy boyfriends or her L.A. hairdressers house hunting. Those were my thoughts too! I didn't know if Randolph was actually changing into more retail, but glad to know that another Chicagoan is side-eyeing that choice of a location. UJ is a perfect fit for Halsted or Armitage in Lincoln Park, or even up on Southport.

Yeah, I tried to go to the Chicago UJ store once during the day after going out to lunch and we could not find a parking spot and we tried. We even considered parking in a loading zone with the blinkers on to just run in but we didn't care that much. Point is, that location has to be so insanely pricey and I don't know what she was thinking. Randolph St has some of the hottest restaurants but every restaurant has valet--they have to, otherwise good luck. So retail in that spot? IDK. I would love to know how that space is doing. With everything nonessential in Chicago shut down due to the Corona that lease has got to be a major drain. I wouldn't be surprised if that location ends up being a corona casualty. I think it's hilarious that today's Bad Jay story is that Jay was rude to fans and friends and Kristen couldn't stand that. But in Chicago, Jay was famous for ALWAYS being rude to fans and friends ... way before Kristen came on the scene, so nice try. You are not telling us anything new.

I can't imagine being vocally talented and then being judged by someone as insipid as Lauren Burnham Luyendyk for my "connection." This show is ridiculously stupid. It might have had a chance at being entertaining if it made every contestant sing solo every week and then the winners get paired up on and go on a date and see what happens, but keep the "connection" and the "music" separate. This current format just forces everyone to unnecessarily grope each other on stage in order to stay on the show. And what is the prize again? (Besides love?) When even the winner of American Idol nowadays remains a nobody, why would anyone cry over winning this lame contest? They should have done Nashville Bachelor, where the Bachelor is a country music singer and the contestants are singers too and they they could have mashed the love and the singing together. But no, we got this mish-mash mess.

I can't with this show. Do the producers understand that we have to be somewhat invested in a character before we care that they are crying? Instead, they hand us crying characters we don't know and do not care about. And judging the couples on their love connection right off the bat? Sean and Catherine would never have happened in that universe.

ABC had to pay for the rights to sing these songs on air so the contestants probably all got a list of approved songs and have probably been practicing them or carrying the lyrics in their pockets. Cuz otherwise, how could they just perform like that?

At least he saved her the un-refundable deposit.

This blonde warlock beeyotch had her marching orders from production to create DRAMA. Why does this Trevor dude feel he has to answer to her? And Jamie is in tears already after knowing this guy for 48 hours? This show is terrible.

I'm here. Still reeling from that weird Imperial Emperor from Star Wars-looking black jacket Chris Harrison rolled in wearing. Yeah! And there are only six episodes, so it's not like everyone will get their screen time in the next ten weeks.

This is just Bachelor in Paradise in California, right? Same setup, but we get musical interludes, which slightly raises the quality of the viewer experience. All these folks have musical careers on the line, so I'm not sure the producers are going to be able to convince them to do their bidding the same as their usual crop.

Poor Jed. He would have been perfect for this show. Instead he's the resident Bachelor Nation villain. We need a forum!

Word on the street is that Peter and Kelly were "together" over Super Bowl weekend, right after he broke up with Hannah Ann. Apparently, Pete's jester brother spilled the beans to his friends about that one, and his brother and Barb have mysteriously been following Kelley on Insta too. So its no wonder why Peter didn't high-tail it to Auburn to reunite with his true love Madi. Madison and Peter are toast. That they hadn't met after the pool reunion shows how fake and made for tv their status is now.