S10.E08: Andi Meets The Parents

[JudyObscure]

Was Andi always this emotional? Not just about Eric, but all the tears over everything just don't seem very lawyerly to me.

Being a lawyer doesn't require an unemotional personality, it requires a person to be studious and to be able to read and write thousands of pages of legal documents.

Oh sure, I didn't mean it was a requirement in passing the bar, just that Andi is a trial lawyer and I can't picture a judge putting up with a lot of tears in the court room.

 

[truthaboutluv]

Somehow I missed the Nick has ten siblings info.

He mentioned it the first night. Andi seemed fascinated about his sibling dynamic when he said he had 10. I liked Nick telling his family Andi gave him the first impression rose because she felt sorry for him.

Nick lives in Chicago, so it didn't really give Andi an idea of what her life would be like if she picked Nick. Too bad we couldn't have seen where Nick lives during the day and then drive up to Milwaukee for the family meet and greet.

Nick living in Chicago can actually be a plus because it means you're not constantly surrounded by his family which lovely as they are, if you're not a person who loves big families would get overwhelming.

[seb]

 

Did anyone hear Josh say, "I cannot wait to be married again."? I audibly said, "whoa." What?`

 

I thought I heard that too! No one else did? There is a big gap in his washing out and whatever he does now...

[Superpole2000]

The good news for the Murray family is that Aaron has a 4-year contract for $2.4 million total. The bad news is that only $180K of that money is guaranteed, so he can be released at any time and receive a small pittance. He also may not ever play (3rd in line to play QB), so they may show up to the next 40 Chiefs games and never see him make a throw. It has the potential to be very depressing. Josh is already a has-been, and you can still hear and see his pain about not making it. Aaron would have to beat the odds to avoid the same fate. Fortunately for Andi, she would get to hear all about every step of Aaron's career because there is nothing more fun than living vicariously through someone else.

 

I know it's part of the show and seems routine by now, but it still seems awkward to me that the lead of this show is not only willing but also excited to make out with and hear "I love you!" from multiple people. I don't know how the participants get past that fact.

[KYBlonde]

Correct me if I am wrong, but wasn't it after Eric's one on one that Andi stormed in the house and showed out big time (not sure if that is a southernism or not - she lost it big time)? Sqawling and telling the guys if they thought she was an actress and it wasn't real to hit the door?  If I showed out like that after letting a guy go that I had words with I would have felt horrible too. When she walked out of the rose ceremony I heard her say "I can still see him standing there".  She's got a lot of guilt and I would have probably felt the same way. I may be projecting because I lost my mom last week, but you just never know how you or anyone else is going to deal with grief.

[empirestates]

I honestly think that we aren't being shown the whole story with Andi/Josh. She is from Atlanta. If you are from Atlanta, and you have a father who loves Georgia football and probably lots of friends who love Georgia football, you know damn well who Aaron Murray is. And yet the show is acting like she's just now learning about who he is and what a big football player he was/might be in the NFL, and how life works in a Southern family with a huge college football star. And in Nick's HTD, when he tried to get her to say "Go Packers," she refused because she is a Falcons fan. I'm not trying to say she's a super huge fanatic, but I think she knows more about this whole football thing than we've seen.

 

Also, she's being given an unfair rap here. Her talking heads were not "look at meeeee" at the Josh HTD. They were "I know everything with Aaron is a really big deal right now, but I hope they pay attention to Josh because he's also going through something really big." Her comments were actually focused around him and how she wanted him to get some recognition in his family - again, IMO, because she has known the whole time just how much his family is probably all about Aaron. It wasn't some big surprise.

 

I think she is a lot more comfortable with the Murray family situation than they want to show us, because it may actually push things too far in Josh's favor.

Edited July 8, 2014 by empirestates

[Adeejay]

Chris’ family was my favorite.  His mom reminds me of actress Debra Monk.  They came across as down to earth, good people.  Andi seemed the most relaxed and comfortable with them, which didn't surprise me because Chris seems like a mellow, easy going guy.  Josh’s family appears to be very close-knit.  They didn’t seem interested in or impressed with Andi.  Maybe it was because they had other things on their minds.  Marcus is so much fun to look at, but he seems sad.  I don’t particularly care for Nick, but of the remaining three guys, I think he is the best fit for her.

[cgogis]

Did anyone hear Josh say, "I cannot wait to be married again."? I audibly said, "whoa." What?

 

I thought I heard that too, but went back & listened again, and I believe he actually said, "I cannot wait to be married at the end."

[leighdear]

Josh did say "at the end", @cgogis is correct. 

 

 

There is a big gap in his washing out and whatever he does now...

He went to college, played football, got his degree and went to work for a Financial Services company.  Pretty much takes care of the time line

[kira28]

Did anyone notice that pretty much whenever  Andi talked about how much she wants kids, marriage etc she makes the grumpy cat face. I think it was with Chris's mom maybe? She was talking about how she loves kids, can't wait to have them and her mouth was all turned down like she smelled something bad. I have no doubt she wouldn't be happy with Chris and his town population 700. Marcus isn't even on her radar. I was thinking Nick is most smitten with her but she didn't seem much into him at his hometown date. While she and Josh were alone together she swooned over him and it was interesting that she was worried about his family treating Josh like he was less important than his younger brother but Josh didn't seem to mind his family (and him) being kind of rude to Andi as a guest in their home. Personally I would take Chris and his small town life (as long as there were so nearby big cities to escape to occasionally) over Josh's live-and-breathe sports fanatic lifestyle.

[JoannKB]

I'm not sure if they knew he was dead or if they were previously informed that he had an accident when it occured so they were kind of prepared to hear bad news.

 

Chris Harrison had been on the View that morning and talked about Eric being in an accident, so I'm sure they all knew that there was an accident, they just hadn't been told that Eric had died yet.

 

Can someone refresh my memory about what the messed-up family situation was with Marcus? They kept mentioning his "difficult family situation" but for the life of me I couldn't remember it, and it didn't seem weird on the home visit. His Dad wasn't there, but a divorced/absent Dad doesn't seem so unusual to me that it would have to constantly be referred to as a "difficult situation."

[Crumpet]

His mother was all, "I was a city girl and I love farming and you can be a lawyer in town or anything else you want and have pretty grand children for me please, please, please."

 

I wasn't feeling the love for Chris's family. They seemed fine but laid it on a bit thick for me between his mom exclaiming about how she would babysit their kids and his sisters emphasizing how successful he is. But I'm also not a fan of his looks or his role as the leader of the "We Hate Nick" club (or the plane flying the banner, cheesy).

 

I couldn't last more than a couple of minutes watching the date with Marcus. He was so obviously going home that it made me uncomfortable.

 

Now...the Murray family. WHAT A NIGHTMARE. That date reminded me of the line from Beaches, "But enough about me, let's talk about you. What do you think of me?" Big news will always be overshadowed by what's going on in the QB's life. And Josh's excuse for why he doesn't play baseball anymore is just laughably deluded.

[Primetimer]

The men bring Andi home to meet their families, and the memory of Eric Hill is summoned one more time for totally non-gross reasons.

Read the story

[AV8n]

I think a lot of the stuff about Josh and baseball is brought on by the show.  They probably thought "Financial Services = boring!  Tell us more about how you used to play minor league baseball.  Oh, your brother made the big leagues and you didn't?  Tell us some more about how that sucks."

 

Heck, they probably asked JJ what he was and he said "fashion designer", and they were like sorry, already got a wedding planner and a hair stylist.  Adding you won't help us deflect rumors that this sausage fest is some sort of gay Meetup group gone awry.  So JJ was like, well think of me as more of a pantsapreneur and, voila!, he's in.

[truthaboutluv]

IMO the moment you're giving a jock type edit on any of these reality shows people find it okay to poke fun at you or call you a loser, has been blah blah blah. Because jocks are narcissists! And dumb! Only the nerdy and quirky can survive!

IMO once you go on a reality show, you're at the mercy of the editing and if you're lucky, you're one of those who gets a positive edit. Yeah some people have mocked Josh's whole baseball past but I can't feel too bad for him when there's Nick who constantly gets labeled as creepy, stalker and Kelly from Juan's season (yes the dog lover) thought it funny and appropriate to make pedophile jokes about him.

People have referred to him as trash, evil, etc on other boards and even People magazine got in on the bandwagon in their live tweeting last night, tweeting a quote of his comment to his mom that he was Andi's favorite with the question "cute or creepy". Gee wonder what most people said. And this is all based on what, a couple of edits of a bunch of whiny guys ganging up on him. So yeah I can't feel too bad or think anyone has been "cruel" to Josh because of a few cracks about his baseball past.

 

Can someone refresh my memory about what the messed-up family situation was with Marcus? They kept mentioning his "difficult family situation" but for the life of me I couldn't remember it, and it didn't seem weird on the home visit.

If I recall correctly, there was his father leaving and apparently his mother was very strict to the point of beating him and his siblings. He told Andi for a long time he and his mom weren't very close and he resented her for those things.

I've always said something about Marcus bothered me because I often felt like there was no "there" in his eyes. And hearing more about his childhood, plus the media report that apparently he was arrested for drug possession four years ago makes me think he's hiding a somewhat troubled personality behind the perfectly coifed looks, appearance and polite voice.

Edited July 8, 2014 by truthaboutluv

[Sapphire]

I've always said something about Marcus bothered me because I often felt like there was no "there" in his eyes. And hearing more about his childhood, plus the media report that apparently he was arrested for drug possession four years ago makes me think he's hiding a somewhat troubled personality behind the perfectly coifed looks, appearance and polite voice.

 

Thank you!  I said something to similar effect in my post -- there is just something "off" about Marcus, like he is going through the motions of what a gentleman in love is supposed to do.  I had no idea he was arrested for drug possession -- I didn't think people with priors could get onto this show?!

[b2H]

My fiance's watches this show with me, in part because it is also a topic of conversation at work the next day.

 

He is not on social media, so he had never seen Grumpy Cat, but I had told him, as had others, that Andi's 'grimace' made her look a lot like Grumpy Cat.

 

Over the weekend, he had occasion to see Grumpy Cat.  Last night, I pointed out the grimace and he began to laugh out loud, as it was so incredibly similar.

[truthaboutluv]

Thank you! I said something to similar effect in my post -- there is just something "off" about Marcus, like he is going through the motions of what a gentleman in love is supposed to do. I had no idea he was arrested for drug possession -- I didn't think people with priors could get onto this show?!

Chris has an arrest record, mostly for drinking and driving violations when he was much younger, Arie had an arrest record and so did Doug, although Doug's record was completely cleared of what he'd been charged with.

[leighdear]

I was briefly checking the Kansas City Chief's 2014 schedule, and saw this interview with Aaron a couple of weeks ago.  It's cute...Apologies if it's been posted before. 

http://www.kcchiefs.com/news/article-2/Chiefs-QB-Murray-roots-on-bro-on-Bachelorette/f686cb77-85fe-4c4d-b12b-b6e0ac117279

 

And as far as the family fanaticism of the Murray's, it HAS been that way up til now.  But no matter how much they all say it will never change, it will. 

Aaron is not married, has no kids.  Stephanie is not married, has no kids.  Same with Josh.  As soon as the first spouse enters the family and as soon as the first kiddies start popping out, those old "Just the 5 of us" days are over.  They will all let go by degrees, as time passes and life events and milestones occur. 

 

Andi will be the first to break in, but then it will be easier for Stephanie's future husband and Aarons future wife.  

 

And even if Aaron becomes the hottest QB in NFL history, the rest of the family will not be able to maintain the physical/geographical attentiveness to his career.  His parents will be able to keep participating, but Stephanie & Josh will gradually move into their own lives.   That's how it should be.  Emotional support for Aaron will always be there, but the face-to-face will change. 

Edited July 8, 2014 by leighdear

[Rhondinella]

Ok, I now want Chris' mother on speed dial so she can give me non-nonsense life advice in her soothing voice.

 

I've always wondered whether the producers get "set people" into the family's house ahead of the visit to "stage" it and make sure it looks nice for the cameras.  Because every house we go to seems just so perfectly decorated and appointed.  Or maybe my house is just an anomaly?

 

And Chris even said in his radio interview that he was willing to leave Iowa if that was what Andi needed.

 

 

I find this hard to believe.  If he has such a large and successful (as his sisters made sure to remind us) farming operation, I don't see how he could leave it to move somewhere else.  I mean, I guess he could sell out and start again somewhere else, but that'd be an awfully big commitment.  I suppose some of his business could be run remotely, but I'm not sure how much of the work he does himself and how many other workers he supervises.  In any case, it would be awful ballsy for Andi to ask him to walk away from such a successful and lucrative (apparently) business just to follow her around when she doesn't even have a job or a career of any kind to speak of at the moment.

 

Especially when it's at Chris Harrison's house, which we've never heard about contestants visiting.

 

 

CH clarified the reason for going to his house in his blog on EW today.  Basically, Andi had just gotten off the plane from Dallas (Marcus' hometown date), and at this point in the season the guys are scattered in different hotels.  So there wasn't one centralized place for them to meet.  So that makes some sense, I guess.  He also defends the show's decision to show the contestants and crew being told, of course.

 

I assume Josh had a few more days with his family before going back to L.A.

 

 

Reality Steve and former contestants have reported that on hometown dates the guys do NOT get to stay with the family after the Bachelorette leaves.  They are only with their family for the time the cameras are rolling.  Then they get whisked back to whatever hotel the producers have them holed up in.  Maybe producers are concerned that once the cameras are gone the families would try to persuade him that the girl isn't "right" for him?  It would be interesting to know how often that would happen. 

 

I believe by this point each of the 4 remaining guys is in their own separate hotel or location with a "handler" who is responsible for them.  They can't go anywhere without the handler.  They don't see each other any more until the end.

[Missy Vixen]

The televised notification of Eric Hill's death to his former co-stars was gross. Using Chris Harrison's house to do so was hilarious. A multi-billion dollar TV network could not possibly locate a "suitable" location or keep a death notification off-camera? Please.

 

I really love football, but there were a lot of red flags in Andi's interaction with Josh's family. The Christ Child -- ooops, Josh's younger brother -- giving the toast and monopolizing all conversation? Was there anyone else in the room? All weekends will be dedicated to going to his games as well. It's sixteen weekends a year, but it's MANDATORY. Again, I love football, but I would have been heading out the door after that one.

 

It's a good thing Andi's passing on Chris. Obviously, a 32-year-old who owns his own home and a successful business might be too much of a challenge for her.

[ribboninthesky1]

It's a good thing Andi's passing on Chris. Obviously, a 32-year-old who owns his own home and a successful business might be too much of a challenge for her.

 

Ha, funniest thing I've read today. 

Though, to be fair to Andi, it's clear that she's not feeling it with Chris.  Just as well, I think their dispositions ultimately wouldn't mesh well.  Frankly, I've never thought Chris was that into her, either, secret love letters be damned.  

 

I wish the show would go off-script, just let Andi say it's Josh, and wrap the season up. This bad boy could have been wrapped up several episodes ago, really. The attempt at suspense is futile.  I think she likes Nick, but it's never been the same as Josh.  Even if I end up with egg on my face and she chooses Nick, I can't see them long-term as a couple.  I don't find Nick creepy, but I suspect that the competitive nature of the show is driving him as much as any genuine feelings. Once that's gone, what else is there?

[Rhondinella]

Heh. I just rewatched the death reveal scene again, and this time I was amused by the female crew person who was going around hugging all the guys, and got an especially long bear hug from Chris.  I mean, maybe she was genuinely upset; I know she probably was.  But there's at least part of me in that situation that would be thinking, "Oooh, a legitimate chance to get my hands on the hotties!"  

 

Voice offstage: "Rhondinella, party of 1, your table in hell is ready!  We put you right by the fire pit so you'd be extra toasty."

[MsPH]

I thought Nick was really cute during his HTD. His feelings are definitely the most genuine of this whole lot, probably because he came onto the show doubting the process as opposed to being already halfway "in love". I felt really sorry for him when Bella said Andi answered "yes" to the question about truly loving Nick and then changed it to "liking" when she realised that wasn't actually true. His face went from "OMG she really loves me too" to "Oh. I guess that's better than nothing". I would be a bit freaked out about joining a family that huge though and Andi did seem a bit less lovey dovey than before during that date, so I fear for Nick. He already looked like he was about to be sick, when it was between him and Marcus.

 

Chris would definitely be a dream for someone who doesn't mind living on a farm in the middle of nowhere and being a housewife. There have been more than a few cheesy romance novels written about hot millionaire farmers. There's no way I can see Andi living there though, no matter how hard Chris's family was trying to sell it. It was interesting that Chris seemed far more realistic about the whole thing than his mom and told Andi that if you don't like living somewhere, then it won't work no matter how in love you are. Then his mom tried to tell her the opposite. But I'm sure Chris will have no trouble finding a wife now that more than a few people know what a catch he is.

 

Dating Josh would be my biggest nightmare. I might watch soccer on TV sometimes, but that's as far as my interest in sports goes. His family seemed ALL about sports. And as excited as Josh may be about his brother's football career, it seemed pretty rude to immediately start talking about that when they sat down. It's as if their guest of honour and reason to be on TV wasn't even there. I honestly don't see what Andi sees in him. I guess she is a sports fan though and finds him hot, but I would think he could've found another boring jock on her own. He's basically a slightly more eloquent and intelligent Juan Pablo. I would hope it's the edit making him seem hung up on his baseball past, but it's been the topic of conversation a few times too many considering it ended, what, 7 years ago? If she chooses him then good luck to her! What a wasted opportunity to find someone she wouldn't find otherwise. Her infatuation with Josh, together with her much too fequent use of "like", makes me think she isn't really all that smart, just studious.

 

I hated watching Marcus's HTD. It's was so obvious she wasn't that into him and then he had to go and do a striptease. I would NOT want to be turned on just before meeting someone's family. I hope she really wasn't into it or brought a spare pair of undies. Gross. It was a bit creepy how even in the exit interview he seemed to think that if he hadn't told her he loved her so early he would still be in it. He just came off as one of those guys who think they can control everything. You can't make someone love you if they don't feel it! Doesn't matter what you do or don't do.

 

Maybe I'm just really jaded, but I didn't really mind them showing the reactions of everyone to the news about Eric. Showing the clip over and over in previews was in poor taste, but since this claims to be a reality show and it's probably the most real thing to ever occur, I can understand them wanting to include it. Especially since Andi was still a mess in the rose ceremony the next day. I don't think any of them knew about the death before Chris told them. I mean the guys probably thought something had happened to Andi or that she wanted to stop the whole process and that's why they looked so worried. Andi had most likely been told about the accident at least or that there were bad news, so she knew something really bad was coming. I too noticed Josh looking less bothered than the rest, but it's hard to say if it was shock or just that he couldn't really muster much grief over someone he barely knew.

[Bugs Meany]

If I recall correctly, there was his father leaving and apparently his mother was very strict to the point of beating him and his siblings. He told Andi for a long time he and his mom weren't very close and he resented her for those things.

 

Didn't he say it was his mother's parents who beat her when she was a child?  I recall him saying "they literally beat [their values] into her," something like that.  Which may have predisposed her to marry an abusive guy.  Did Marcus say anything about his dad other than his being out of the picture?

[crgirl412]

 

Chris would definitely be a dream for someone who doesn't mind living on a farm in the middle of nowhere and being a housewife.

ABC could easily parlay this into a totally different yet the really the same reality show.  "Love on the Farm", "Harvest of Love", "Picking Love."

[truthaboutluv]

I too noticed Josh looking less bothered than the rest, but it's hard to say if it was shock or just that he couldn't really muster much grief over someone he barely knew.

 

 

Yeah I really don't like judging how people respond to situations like that because everyone responds to grief/tragedy in their own way but I just couldn't get a read on Josh. Honestly, he came across as almost blank - like I don't know he was trying to process and understand what Chris Harrison just said. It was just weird. Like Chris was clearly stoic in my opinion, how a lot of men tend to come off in these situations and Nick was clearly affected and a bit in shock too and of course Marcus had to leave the room. But Josh just had this frown and somewhat blank expression on his face the entire time. It was weird. Honestly, at one point I was just like, "does he not get what just happened - is that it?"

 

Didn't he say it was his mother's parents who beat her when she was a child?  I recall him saying "they literally beat [their values] into her," something like that.

 

 

You're right he did say that and I may be remembering wrong, since I haven't watched the scene since last week but I definitely think he alluded to her passing that along to her kids because it was what she knew. I know he definitely stated that for awhile he resented her and that their relationship was not great until recently. As for his dad, I don't think he mentioned anything other than his leaving and he seemed to have some guilt attached like maybe he thought it was his fault.

[alexa]

Dating Josh would be my biggest nightmare. I might watch soccer on TV sometimes, but that's as far as my interest in sports goes. His family seemed ALL about sports. And as excited as Josh may be about his brother's football career, it seemed pretty rude to immediately start talking about that when they sat down. It's as if their guest of honour and reason to be on TV wasn't even there. I honestly don't see what Andi sees in him. I guess she is a sports fan though and finds him hot, but I would think he could've found another boring jock on her own. He's basically a slightly more eloquent and intelligent Juan Pablo. I would hope it's the edit making him seem hung up on his baseball past, but it's been the topic of conversation a few times too many considering it ended, what, 7 years ago? If she chooses him then good luck to her! What a wasted opportunity to find someone she wouldn't find otherwise. Her infatuation with Josh, together with her much too fequent use of "like", makes me think she isn't really all that smart, just studious.

 

I don't dislike Josh, but I agree with this.  He seems kind of out of it much of the time.  He reminds me of a friend of mine--I can't watch Josh and not see my friend.  Everything from his mannerisms to his looks, and how though he is smart, he has moments of just not being "all there".  It is too eerie to watch.  

 

I think he is a nice guy, but I don't think he brings enough substance to keep Andi happy long term.  I would be very surprised if they last if he is the one.  

[Adeejay]

I'm sure Chris will have no trouble finding a wife now that more than a few people know what a catch he is.

 

 

If I were single, 20 years younger and 30 pounds lighter, I would be in Iowa at this very moment.

[sistersledge]

My word, Chris is such a catch! I would be all over that in a heartbeat - farm life and all (if I didn't have my own awesome Midwestern husband). He looks so much like this 3rd string NFLer (NOT Josh's brother) I was friends with in my early twenties. Unfortunately that dude hasn't aged well (the power of Instagram!) but I think Chris will make any woman really happy (except Andi).

[leighdear]

 

and as excited as Josh may be about his brother's football career, it seemed pretty rude to immediately start talking about that when they sat down. It's as if their guest of honour and reason to be on TV wasn't even there.

In all fairness, it's been documented that they spend at least 10 to 12 HOURS filming each hometown date.  So a 15 minute recap is going to be out of sequence, chopped and spliced to tell whatever story the producers want. 

[JudyObscure]

If Andi picks anyone but Nick, I won't understand her at all. I think he would be within his rights to feel "led on."

I think Chris might feel led on, too, but with far less reason. It's always been a fantasy of mine to live on a farm, but I don't find Chris attractive at all and his 16 arrests in his wild youth, while far in the past, would be something I would worry about. We've all done dumb things when were very young but fleeing the scene of an accident is a biggie to me. I would think Andi might have less tolerance for that sort of thing than most people because of all the petty criminals she's had to see in her work.

[TheFinalRose]

I really love football, but there were a lot of red flags in Andi's interaction with Josh's family. The Christ Child -- ooops, Josh's younger brother -- giving the toast and monopolizing all conversation? Was there anyone else in the room? All weekends will be dedicated to going to his games as well. It's sixteen weekends a year, but it's MANDATORY. Again, I love football, but I would have been heading out the door after that one.

 

 

I agree. Plus, she didn't actually look, uh you know, HAPPY with him when she was being ignored. The whole Josh/Murray family football emphasis is never going away. This is the biggest moment so far in their family and they are probably looking at it as "isn't the timing great that Josh went on the Bachelorette right when Aaron was going to be signed so Aaron could get some good publicity? Let's have him make the toast at dinner so he gets maximum camera time!"  It reminds me of the Maya Angelou saying "When people show you who they are, believe them."  

 

[lids]

CH clarified the reason for going to his house in his blog on EW today. Basically, Andi had just gotten off the plane from Dallas (Marcus' hometown date), and at this point in the season the guys are scattered in different hotels. So there wasn't one centralized place for them to meet. So that makes some sense, I guess.

But why wouldn't they just go to the mansion? The crew knows how to set up there very quickly and they ended up shooting there the next day anyway. I just think CH had some renovations done at his house and he can write part of it off now as a business expense.

What killed me is how they tried to act like it was just so natural that the camera person left the camera on when he/she put it down and it just so happened to get a pretty clear shot of them all hugging it out. Not staged at all. Why do you ask?

I remembered that when Andi asked Josh how it would be to meet his family last week, he pretty much said it was going to be liked that. He said they would ask about him. He never really said that they would be interested in her. So at least he and his family were pretty straight up on how she fits in the celebrity family. She's b-list. Second interview. Speak when the boys are done.

Josh says the same thing over and over again without really saying much. We haven't ever learned one deep thing about him. And if they have kids, he is pushing the kid to excel at sports. I hope they don't end up with a kid with a bum knee or something.

Marcus kept saying that this was the happiest time in his life in the most monotone, sad, lonely voice I have ever heard. No wonder he uses drugs. If they ever bring back Celebrity Rehab, he's a shoo-in.

[Bellalisa]

"This just puts it into perspective, like there's so much more to all this- like there's life - like people have lives here, you know?"

 

God she is an IDIOT. 

[leighdear]

 

isn't the timing great that Josh went on the Bachelorette right when Aaron was going to be signed so Aaron could get some good publicity? Let's have him make the toast at dinner so he gets maximum camera time!"

 

???  

 

That episode was taped April 20th.  Aaron Murray was drafted on May 10th.  How could that have anything to do with anything?  

Edited July 8, 2014 by leighdear

[Alapaki]

CH clarified the reason for going to his house in his blog on EW today. Basically, Andi had just gotten off the plane from Dallas (Marcus' hometown date), and at this point in the season the guys are scattered in different hotels. So there wasn't one centralized place for them to meet. So that makes some sense, I guess.

 

 

But, gathering everyone at Chris' house for hummus and "hey, Eric's dead" is one thing.  Deciding to film it is another thing.

 

The alternative wasn't to just ignore the whole thing.

 

They've already acknowledged what happened to Eric.  They could've very easily just inserted a taped segment from Chris explaining that the day before this RC they all learned that Eric had died, and that the news obviously had an emotional impact on the RC.  

 

"This just puts it into perspective, like there's so much more to all this- like there's life - like people have lives here, you know?"

God she is an IDIOT.

 

 

Staaaaaaahhhhppp!!!!  I mean, like, she's a, like, litigator.  Of course, she's been a licensed Bachelorette almost as long as she was a licensed attorney.  So, there's that.

 

And this week we learned that if a guy apparently drove a tractor with a rifle in one hand and dribbling a basketball in the other, Andi's vagina would probably explode.

[againstthewind]

 

That was a normal reaction on her part, not self-centered. If your last conversation with a friend turns ugly, even if it was 50-50, you'll remember it as 100% your fault.

 

I so felt for Andi when they told her about Eric because of this. I had a friend who died last year, and my final conversation with him was an argument over something really, really stupid. He killed himself a month later. I cried on my mother's lap for days. I'm 26.

 

Chris, Chris, Chris. Coming into this season, I thought I'd be all about Josh because I love me some jocks, but I am about to drop everything and move to Iowa. And I am a city girl through-and-through. He's gorgeous, successful and seems kind and centered. I can't believe he's still single.

 

Nick does not do it for me AT ALL, but I think he'd be the best choice for Andi. Which of course means she won't pick him.

Edited July 8, 2014 by againstthewind

[TheFinalRose]

 

That episode was taped April 20th.  Aaron Murray was drafted on May 10th.  How could that have anything to do with anything?

 

 

 

I'm not saying Aaron's camera time influenced the NFL draft. More like it was a great opportunity for the family to show off their big success story son, and it's not Josh.

[leighdear]

More like it was a great opportunity for the family to show off their big success story son, and it's not Josh.

That was my point.  He was NOT a "success" yet.  He hadn't even been drafted.  He was just a good college player amongst HUNDREDS.  They had big hopes for him, sure.  

 

Show him off to who?  Andi?  She knew who he was long before the show.  Show him off to the overall Bachelorette audience?   Most have no clue who he is, so who exactly are they supposed to "publicizing" him to? 

[sistersledge]

I am 99% certain his toast was "arranged" by the show.

[IslandGirl]

I thought Chris said, I'm joking after the homemaker comment? Anyone else hear that?

Yes TiredMe, he said, "I say that sarcastically!" after his homemaker comment.  

KYBlonde, I'm so sorry for the loss of your Mom.  I agree that Andi was probably feeling really guilty about their last conversation, especially since her friend Sharleen (the opera singer from the previous Bachelor season) mentioned in her blog that she didn't understand why Andi had been so hard on Eric. In that same blog, Sharleen said she really liked Eric and thought Andi misunderstood what he was saying.  My heart went out to Andi as her grief was palpable... :-(

Superficially, what the heck was up with the ugly coffee table in Chris Harrison's house?  We paused on it, and my husband thinks it was "painted" that way on purpose.  I thought it was taped or something.  

I feel sorry for Josh.  He's not my normal type, but I suspect he feels like he let his family down by not succeeding in baseball...

 

[MsPH]

 

Superficially, what the heck was up with the ugly coffee table in Chris Harrison's house?  We paused on it, and my husband thinks it was "painted" that way on purpose.  I thought it was taped or something.

 

He must've got it from Sean's shop The Factory Girl. That place sells, or at least used to sell, some hideous furniture painted just like that. I browsed the site after his season ended and nearly clawed my eyes out.

[Merneith]

I can't seem to get the Spoiler buttons to work. When I click on them, nothing happens. What am I doing wrong, do you think?

[Kbilly]

Now I love the NFL like a crazy person but I found Josh's family to be ridiculous prioritizing Aaron's football career. What they are going to travel around the country every Sunday to watch him hold a clipboard? He's a rookie, take a relaxi-taxi. I really hope that the producers made Aaron give the toast. Andi was grumpy cat facing all over that date, whether bc Aaron was outshining Josh or bc he was outshining her, she still really does not give a good impression. And that's her listening face.

 

9-year-old: Why do you like my brother? GirlWhoObvsIsNeverAroundKids: "We have an emotional connection" She should have said his fluffy hair or something. PS didn't Nick's parents look super young? When did they get started???

 

Did the guys all go shopping together and each get a pair of those hideously colorful shorts in different colors of the rainbow? Someone call the panstapreneur.

[truthaboutluv]

9-year-old: Why do you like my brother? GirlWhoObvsIsNeverAroundKids: "We have an emotional connection" She should have said his fluffy hair or something.

Seriously. I loved how you could see poor Bella's eyes just glazing over. It's like she's 9 Andi. I'm not saying to be condescending to her like some people do when it comes to kids but what is a 9 year old really going to understand about emotional connection and all else she was blabbing on about. She could have said he made her laugh or he's pretty cute, just something not that serious. She had the older sister and her piercing stare for the serious conversation.

PS didn't Nick's parents look super young? When did they get started???

I was baffled by Nick's mom. Not only because she looks like that when her second oldest kid is 32 but she apparently carried and birthed 11 children. Nick never said though so I wonder if there is a set of twins or two in there. Edited July 8, 2014 by truthaboutluv

[FlyingEgret]

Hated Josh's hometown date. If Andi picks him I will be shocked because she's all me me me and he doesn't seem to make her a priority.

Although with his brother around Josh is used to not being the priority in the house so she could easily stop into that role.

[StatisticalOutlier]

I do agree that the cities [in Iowa] are smaller, thus if you are used to the larger cities there would be some adjustment.

 

Some adjustment?  She's from Atlanta.

 

I know a law professor in Iowa who says it's fun being a big fish in a small pond--and that's referring to the whole state.

 

 

But they are really nice size cities for daily living.  You have everything you need, traffic isn't a huge issue, and there is a lot of feeling of community in cities like these.  Plus they do have a large number of working professionals so it isn't like she would be hanging out with just a bunch of farmers.

 

Technically, as long as you lived in a town with a Walmart, you'd have "everything you need." 

 

Besides, she'd be living out on the farm, not in any city.  It's an hour, hour and a half to one of these 100,000-person cities.  That's going to eat into her ability to take advantage of the "daily living" opportunities they offer, or to do a lot of hanging out with the working professionals there.  Nope--she'd be hanging with farmers.

 

 

I do think Andi would get bored with it all though, and I am quite sure Chris isn't a frontrunner anyway...so it is a moot point.

 

Yep, she'd get bored either with living on the farm or spending all her time driving to find something interesting to do, presumably without Chris because he'd be working.  Isn't she 27?  That's way too young to settle into this sort of lifestyle if you're used to something more vibrant and/or cosmopolitan.

 

And let's talk about the weather!  Scroll down to the calendar for January in Arlington (or, well, Oelwein, the closest weather station to Arlington):

http://www.wunderground.com/history/airport/KOLZ/2014/1/8/MonthlyHistory.html 

 

Her stints in Winston-Salem, Baton Rouge and Atlanta are not going to prepare her for a high of -11 and a low of -20.

 

 

If I were single, 20 years younger and 30 pounds lighter, I would be in Iowa at this very moment.

 

My impression of Iowa has been that you needn't fret about the 30 pounds.  Plus, just show up in January, when nobody will be able to tell what someone weighs within 100 pounds because they're wearing 25 layers.

[NikSac]

Was I the only one totally relieved that the conversation with Bella ended where it did?  (or at least where it seemed to)  When Andi was going on about the different types of connections - emotional, mental, etc. I was practically yelling at the TV "NO NO NO stop!" before she got into "physical."  I was so relieved when she didn't tell Bella that her brother's "hot." 

 

After re-watching, I really liked Chris' family but I could see where that just wouldn't 'fit' for her. I wouldn't be able to stand being with Josh personally, but maybe she's okay with the all-sports-all-the-time thing. I've never been a Marcus fan but I liked his family, and felt bad for him when he was sent home. I really see her picking Nick at this point, but I'm curious to see what happens.

Edited July 9, 2014 by NikSac

[Rhondinella]

Honestly, he [Josh] came across as almost blank

 

 

He always looks blank.

 

I feel sorry for Josh.  He's not my normal type, but I suspect he feels like he let his family down by not succeeding in baseball...

 

 

YES!!  I think you've put your finger on exactly his problem.  They are sports fanatics, his brother was a nationally-known QB at a major football school, now draftee to the NFL and he couldn't make it out of the minor leagues.  It's clear that his family considers him a lesser star than his brother.  And although they kept saying how supportive Josh was of Aaron's career, and maybe he truly is, I think there's not a small amount of envy and pain there.  It almost makes me feel sorry for the guy and I haven't cared for him at all this season.