Season 18: Spoilers and Speculation

[ApprenticeFan]

Filming of the 18th season is reportedly to begin later this month.

In addition, Reality Steve posted his column on his Twitter feed:

 

Edited July 11, 2021 by ApprenticeFan

[Back Atcha]

Is TAYSHIA so inept or insecure that she can't handle this GIANT job on her own?  What does Kaitlyn bring?

Do The Powers that Be think it takes TWO WOMEN to replace something like Chris Harrison?

[phlebas]

7 hours ago, Back Atcha said:

Is TAYSHIA so inept or insecure that she can't handle this GIANT job on her own?  What does Kaitlyn bring?

Do The Powers that Be think it takes TWO WOMEN to replace something like Chris Harrison?

You definitely don't need two people, women or otherwise.  You barely need one.  Chris' former job can be done by cue cards.

I don't know if Tayshia is the one to blame.  ABC has been pretty terrible creatively since before she came along.

[Irlandesa]

Yeah, Tayshia isn't making this decision.  It's the producers who are probably hemming and hawing between two popular bachelorettes.  But I will be irked if they name one male host for The Bachelor.

[chocolatine]

Both Tayshia and Kaitlyn are most likely willing to do the job for a small fraction of what CH used to be paid, so there's no significant expense in having them both host. Plus it seems like TPTB really loves the dynamic of the group dates when three women judge and talk about the men. It wouldn't be quite the same with just two women.

[StatisticalOutlier]

On 7/12/2021 at 12:33 AM, Back Atcha said:

Is TAYSHIA so inept or insecure that she can't handle this GIANT job on her own?  What does Kaitlyn bring?

For me, a cautionary tale about fillers and plastic surgery.  I just can't believe she goes around looking like that.

[Back Atcha]

20 hours ago, chocolatine said:

It wouldn't be quite the same with just two women.

It depends on the woman/women.  The show could be a lot shorter with less worthless chit-chat.

And stop with the GAMES...especially the physical ones where too many have to PROVE how manly they are (including women).

[nlkm9]

On 7/11/2021 at 5:48 PM, ApprenticeFan said:

Filming of the 18th season is reportedly to begin later this month.

In addition, Reality Steve posted his column on his Twitter feed:

 

Oh BARF. I can barely stand looking at Katelynn, her face is so distorted and her teeth are so huge. I dont want to be mean but she needs to go on "botched" and see if they can help her. It is horrifying to look at her. Tayshia could easily handle it alone.

[ApprenticeFan]

Reality Steve has the details on the 18th Bachelorette season:

-Michelle’s season starts filming the end of this month in Palm Springs. I don’t believe it’s La Quinta again since they don’t have any dates blocked off for filming. But, I don’t think they’re going to be in Palm Springs long.

-After Palm Springs, Michelle will film some of her season in Minnesota. They are staying at the Marquette Hotel in Minneapolis. If you go on their site, they are currently booked out from August 5th-29th and I’ve been told it’s for “Bachelorette.” So maybe this season we will see more public dates since they are staying in a major city. Kinda like anytime this show goes to a US city, we usually always see dates happen. However, I don’t think that’s the last place they’ll be. I do think overnights and final rose ceremony will be in a different location based on the fact I’m hearing filming ends almost two weeks into September.

-I’ve also been told they plan on bringing back regular hometown dates this season, so they will be traveling to the guys hometowns. Which always helps since they usually do those out in public.

-I have a few guys right now for Michelle’s season, but filming doesn’t begin for another 2 weeks from what I’m told. End of July, which is about 7-10 days later than when Clare started filming her season. Hence the reason Michelle’s filming is ending a little later into September, where Tayshia’s ended I believe August 31st or Sept. 1st last year. So if they’re only booked in MN until the 29th, but filming doesn’t end for another 10 or so days after that, my guess is they’re headed somewhere after Minnesota. I’ll let you know when I find out.

-With filming beginning in a couple weeks, we can expect the list of potential guys on Michelle’s season to be released probably mid-next week. We’ve seen them release that list 3-5 days before filming begins in recent seasons, and we’re looking at end of next week for her filming to begin. I don’t have an exact start date, just heard “in a couple weeks.” Guys haven’t left yet for Palm Springs and neither has Michelle.

Link: https://realitysteve.com/2021/07/13/the-bachelorette-katie-episode-6-recap-justin-apologizes-exclusive-info-on-michelles-season/

[Thumper]

Public schools start here in MN after Labor Day, so I wonder if she taking a leave for awhile? 

[Irlandesa]

1 hour ago, Thumper said:

Public schools start here in MN after Labor Day, so I wonder if she taking a leave for awhile? 

She must be.  It probably wasn't going to feasible for her to teach and do all the promo that would be asked of her since things are opening up.

I'm excited they're going to film in Minneapolis.  It'll allow for more of a variety of dates than we've had the past few seasons and bonus, I'll probably recognize some of the things they do. 

[One4Sorrow2TooBad]

On 7/12/2021 at 12:33 AM, Back Atcha said:

Is TAYSHIA so inept or insecure that she can't handle this GIANT job on her own?  What does Kaitlyn bring?

Do The Powers that Be think it takes TWO WOMEN to replace something like Chris Harrison?

Exactly, WTF does_ Kaitlyn bring to the show?  The show IMO has gone to shitsville.

[Back Atcha]

12 hours ago, nlkm9 said:

Oh BARF. I can barely stand looking at Katelynn, her face is so distorted and her teeth are so huge. I dont want to be mean but she needs to go on "botched" and see if they can help her. It is horrifying to look at her.

"You can't fix what you don't acknowledge."   (The great and powerful Oz ... I mean, Dr. Phil)

[Lamb18]

Marquette Hotel - I used to work across the street from there. And I will be working from home 20 miles away. But they might come out my way for a dinner cruise on the lake, or go to Minnetonka Orchards like Becca did with Arie. Or maybe go to a Vikings preseason game or a Twins game.

Right now downtown Mpls is a ghost town, with still a number of buildings boarded up. My guess is they will have the dates elsewhere. Maybe they'll go to First Avenue - that would be cool.

[phlebas]

I'm probably reading too much into it, but honestly I'm a little uncomfortable with dumping on Kaitlyn because of how she looks, compared to how she looked in her 20s.  Yes, she's apparently had some work done, but if she's content with how she looks, it just feels gross to me to be crapping on her about it.

Jason apparently sees something beautiful in her. I expect that's enough.

But that's probably just me. YMMV.

[tinkerbell]

14 minutes ago, phlebas said:

I'm probably reading too much into it, but honestly I'm a little uncomfortable with dumping on Kaitlyn because of how she looks, compared to how she looked in her 20s.  Yes, she's apparently had some work done, but if she's content with how she looks, it just feels gross to me to be crapping on her about it.

Jason apparently sees something beautiful in her. I expect that's enough.

But that's probably just me. YMMV.

I think it's not so much about her looks as it is about her decision to have doctors take what was a cute face and mess it up so that she is barely recognizable, looking very fake and mannequin- like.  It's a trend that seems to be aimed at having all women look identical, erasing the characteristics that make them unique.  

When I saw Kaitlyn on DWTS, I thought she looked vaguely familiar.    I was trying to figure out where I had seen her before.   I was shocked that it was Bachelorette Kaitlyn, she was unrecognizable.  I understand, especially women past 40 or 50, getting a little tuck or lift to bring back their youth.   But when it's to the extent that people don't recognize you, you've gone too far. 

[phlebas]

2 minutes ago, tinkerbell said:

I think it's not so much about her looks as it is about her decision to have doctors take what was a cute face and mess it up so that she is barely recognizable, looking very fake and mannequin- like.  It's a trend that seems to be aimed at having all women look identical, erasing the characteristics that make them unique.  

When I saw Kaitlyn on DWTS, I thought she looked vaguely familiar.    I was trying to figure out where I had seen her before.   I was shocked that it was Bachelorette Kaitlyn, she was unrecognizable.  I understand, especially women past 40 or 50, getting a little tuck or lift to bring back their youth.   But when it's to the extent that people don't recognize you, you've gone too far. 

I guess we disagree on this.  I think as long as you're happy with your face, it's all good regardless whether people think you look too different.

[Crashcourse]

Of course, if she's happy with her face, then good for her.  However, it doesn't mean that others who don't like what she did can't/shouldn't comment on it though.  

[phlebas]

2 hours ago, Crashcourse said:

Of course, if she's happy with her face, then good for her.  However, it doesn't mean that others who don't like what she did can't/shouldn't comment on it though.  

I'm not inclined to argue about it, really.  I just find it gross.

[Crashcourse]

Yeah, the work she had done on her face is gross.  

[One4Sorrow2TooBad]

LOL!  Ok CrashCourse, you just made me spew my coffee out all over my monitor.🤣

[Kiss my mutt]

Who’s to say she likes it? 

[hyacinth]

I think she still looks very pretty!    I like her personality and enjoyed it when she and Jason agreed that spying on Katie and Connor kissing was creepy.     

This season is strange.   But strangely watchable.    

[phlebas]

11 hours ago, Kiss my mutt said:

Who’s to say she likes it? 

I have no idea if she likes it.  I do know she's been suffering from anxiety and depression over body image issues.  I wonder if our collective eagerness to make sure she knows she's not meeting our arbitrary standards feeds into that at all.

15 hours ago, Crashcourse said:

Yeah, the work she had done on her face is gross.  

I suppose it's important for her to know that.

[ApprenticeFan]

From Reality Steve on his Twitter feed:

 

[Lamb18]

The Semple Mansion is just to the south of downtown on Franklin Ave., a major east west street in south Minneapolis. It was a bank when I first moved to that part of town in the 80's. There's a few of those older houses in the area from when that part of town was the edge of the city.

[ShellsandCheese]

On 7/15/2021 at 9:37 AM, phlebas said:

I have no idea if she likes it.  I do know she's been suffering from anxiety and depression over body image issues.  I wonder if our collective eagerness to make sure she knows she's not meeting our arbitrary standards feeds into that at all.

I suppose it's important for her to know that.

I highly doubt she’s patrolling the forums on Primetimer. 

[phlebas]

6 minutes ago, ShellsandCheese said:

I highly doubt she’s patrolling the forums on Primetimer. 

She's hearing it from somewhere. I'm not saying anyone here is sliding into her DMs with this crap. But there are those defending the people who do.

[ApprenticeFan]

From Reality Steve on his Twitter feed:

 

[Ivana Tinkle]

ABC has released the 35 potential men competing on Michelle's upcoming season:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/entertainment/news/meet-michelle-young-s-potential-bachelorette-contestants/ss-AAMzq8P?li=BBnb2gh

The men are...yikes. But one important thing to note is, no Bao. It's possible he could be brought in later (which would make sense given Michelle herself was a late entry), and 35 seems awfully low for the initial batch of guys. Don't they usually have like 40+ potentials before they whittle it down to the final 30 or so? 

 

[deSchenke]

They seem to be an older group.  I see

25 x2

26 x5

27 x4

28 x5

29 x5

30 x6

31 x1

32 x3

33 x1

36 x3

 

So 14 of them are age 30 and older!

Edited July 26, 2021 by deSchenke

[nlkm9]

On 7/14/2021 at 4:11 PM, phlebas said:

I'm probably reading too much into it, but honestly I'm a little uncomfortable with dumping on Kaitlyn because of how she looks, compared to how she looked in her 20s.  Yes, she's apparently had some work done, but if she's content with how she looks, it just feels gross to me to be crapping on her about it.

Jason apparently sees something beautiful in her. I expect that's enough.

But that's probably just me. YMMV.

the way I see it, jason was in love with her as she was transitioning to this new look. it wasnt all of a sudden for him. but yes obviously he loves her, but I personally wish women did not feel such pressure to do themselves over. ugh. and yeah I feel lousy too, but i think its a big lesson for women out there--you are ALL beautiful!!!

Edited July 26, 2021 by nlkm9
edit

[chocolatine]

3 hours ago, deSchenke said:

So 14 of them are age 30 and older!

Hopefully that means they're trying to get a more mature candidate pool for the next Bachelor. Someone who can convince the audience that he wants to settle down soon, unlike Matt and Peter.

[Irlandesa]

5 hours ago, Ivana Tinkle said:

The men are...yikes.

Yikes in a good way or bad way?  I think it's a damn good looking group.  And international which will be curious.

2 hours ago, chocolatine said:

Hopefully that means they're trying to get a more mature candidate pool for the next Bachelor.

From what I've been reading, it looks like it'll be kind of be tough to pull the next Bachelor from Michelle's season because of when her season airs.  If the show is going to air in Jan, they will likely start filming at the end of Sep./beginning of Oct.  That's when Michelle's season will start to air.

Announcing the bachelor will spoil the season.  It'll likely be from Clayshia's season, Katie's season or maybe from an earlier season. 

[chocolatine]

18 minutes ago, Irlandesa said:

Announcing the bachelor will spoil the season.  It'll likely be from Clayshia's season, Katie's season or maybe from an earlier season. 

That's a good point, I hadn't though of that. In that case, I'd want either Dr. Joe or Michael as the next Bachelor.

[Ivana Tinkle]

45 minutes ago, Irlandesa said:

Yikes in a good way or bad way?  I think it's a damn good looking group.  And international which will be curious.

Haha, yikes in a bad way for me. I think there were only a handful that I found attractive. But I also know that a lot of these pictures are never very flattering and in most cases, they all look better in motion. 

I was also reading somewhere that Michelle might already know one of the contestants: Joe, 28 from Minneapolis (incidentally, one of the more attractive guys). I think it said they both played college basketball for the same school or something. 

[Irlandesa]

32 minutes ago, Ivana Tinkle said:

I was also reading somewhere that Michelle might already know one of the contestants: Joe, 28 from Minneapolis (incidentally, one of the more attractive guys).

Joe's cute but he didn't wow.  Not that it says anything for me.  The guys who ended up being my faves from Tayshia's and Katie's seasons weren't exactly awe inducing for me in their photos. 

The advantage he does have is that he's geographically appropriate which I do think is a barrier for many of these couples.  I hope he makes it to the Minneapolis portion of filming.

[CraftyHazel]

I thought there were a few cute guys in there (hello, PJ!), but a couple were extremely underwhelming.  But they’re not choosing for me, so who cares what I think?  And I’m old enough to be mama to any one of them, so I’m not even looking for leftovers, lol.

[ApprenticeFan]

For anybody who is interested in spoilers:

Courtesy: Reality Steve/Twitter

Edited August 15, 2021 by ApprenticeFan

[JenE4]

12 hours ago, ApprenticeFan said:

For anybody who is interested in spoilers:

Courtesy: Reality Steve/Twitter

It took me a good 4 seconds to try to figure out why in the world Kaitlyn was “talking into a banana phone” until I realized she wasn’t.

[Thumper]

They must have filmed before the game. I think I heard all of 3 people clapping for them! 
 

It will be fun to see where else in this area they film.

[ApprenticeFan]

For the first time since Peter's season of The Bachelor, overnights and FRC will be back in standard exotic locations.

Credit: Reality Steve/Twitter

[deSchenke]

That's only 25 minutes away from where Bachelor in Paradise films.

[DEL901]

40 minutes ago, deSchenke said:

That's only 25 minutes away from where Bachelor in Paradise films.

That’s a good thing since Europe just announced non essential Americans are not allowed to visit. 

[rlc]

On 8/30/2021 at 9:08 PM, DEL901 said:

That’s a good thing since Europe just announced non essential Americans are not allowed to visit. 

That’s good, because I can’t think of anyone less essential than a Bachelor/Bachelorette contestant.

[ApprenticeFan]

Reality Steve posted on his blog about the winner of this season:

Quote

Michelle’s season begins two weeks from tonight and there’s been a few spoilers that I’ve given out during the season. Certainly moreso than any other season that was shot in the proverbial “bubble.” But still, not a whole hell of a lot known in regards to dates, eliminations, etc. And I don’t know if I will get that breakdown. We know that 12 men made it to Minnesota, and the two 1-on-1 dates on that first episode in Minnesota were Joe Coleman got the Minnesota Twins date, and Nayte Olukoya got the boating date on Lake Minnetonka. Then there was a 10 person group date that I have video of but it’s tough to make out who everyone is besides Clayton.

We also know that Peter Izzo got a date right before rose ceremony #6, and then Nayte got the first date after rose ceremony #6 by pictures I posted. After that, nothing else really. Don’t know who made final four, or how hometowns worked and if they followed through with traveling to four guys’ hometowns. So there’s still stuff to find out. HOWEVER…

The main thing you want to know is what happened at the end, right? Well, I got that for you. Had heard rumblings since the season ended but got the confirmation I needed the end of last week.

Michelle is engaged to Nayte Olukoya.

Link: https://realitysteve.com/2021/10/05/reader-emails-clare-dale-saga-luka-meets-her-son-exclusive-spoiler-who-does-michelle-pick/

Edited October 6, 2021 by ApprenticeFan

[funnygirl]

1 hour ago, ApprenticeFan said:

Reality Steve posted on his blog about the winner of this season:

Link: https://realitysteve.com/2021/10/05/reader-emails-clare-dale-saga-luka-meets-her-son-exclusive-spoiler-who-does-michelle-pick/

I thought Minneapolis Joe was a shoe-in. Looking forward to this season and hope Mr. Nayte is the real deal because I'm really rooting for Michelle + happy ending. 

[Lamb18]

Lake Minnetonka - that's my part of town! Now I'm wondering if they'll take the boat out of Wayzata, Excelsior or take an Al and Alma's charter about a mile or two from where I live!

[TVMovieBuff]

On 7/12/2021 at 3:41 PM, chocolatine said:

Both Tayshia and Kaitlyn are most likely willing to do the job for a small fraction of what CH used to be paid, so there's no significant expense in having them both host. Plus it seems like TPTB really loves the dynamic of the group dates when three women judge and talk about the men. It wouldn't be quite the same with just two women.

I agree. Having Tayshia & Kaitlyn on The Bachelorette lends a feel of "us gals" to the 3 way discussions of what's happening. Chris couldn't bring that. On The Bachelor, one guy host is enough, as guys don't band together and dish the same way women do.

[tinkerbell]

I can't read Reality Steve's site -  the pop-ups and warnings from Bitdefender won't let me - 

Since this is the spoiler thread - did he name a winner?  I heard it was Nayte.   Who it the runner-up?