Get Ready for the Finale!!

Well, Bachelor Fans, we made it through another season.  The finale is upon us and all of our questions will hopefully be answered.  As usual, my blog will be posted on Tuesday evening.

Today was the Fiance's birthday and we set up a little waffle bar here for a couple of his friends.  Then we played hockey tonight and he scored a hat trick (that's 3 goals for you non-hockey types).

Speaking of hockey, the poor Fiance does not know that Canada won the Olympic gold yet.  We're about to watch the overtime play that we missed when we had our hockey game.  I overheard some jerk who was all too excited to tell me that Canada won, but I managed to tell him to keep his mouth shut before the Fiance walked by.

Well, enjoy the finale and let's hear your predictions. 

Big announcement is still coming about this blog.  I'll give you a hint: some former bachelors/bachelorettes and a certain host have already talked about it on their Twitter accounts. 

-Stacey B

Jake Definitely Chooses Someone - and He's in Love

That's all according to Chris Harrison's interview with People while on his way to Molly and Jason's wedding.  So much for pulling a Brad Womack.

http://tvwatch.people.com/2010/02/27/the-bachelors-chris-harrison-jake-is-very-much-in-love/

It's interesting to hear Chris's comments re: Tenley not challenging Jake enough (aka - being really boring and Disney like).  Would he have said this if she was not the one picked? Did he give away too much?

Hmmm. Well we've got 48 hours to find out.  I kept the Fiance up until 4:37 AM working on wedding stuff. We are both zombies now, but have more to do. Yikes.

Ok, time to venture out into this ridiculous snow.

Stacey B

Rozlyn Denies Knowledge of Sex Tape, Pursues Hollywood Career

Amid rumors that she has a sex tape being shopped around, the hottest liar ever, Rozlyn, auditioned to be on camera for E!

No wonder she caused so much drama on the WTA - she was just trying to get some sort of publicity to building her TV career.  Rozgate combined with sex tape has certainly accelerated her B list celebrity status.

Here's the article: http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/watch_with_kristin/b168842_amid_sex_tape_rumors_bachelors_rozlyn.html

Have a great weekend, everyone and get ready for Monday's finale!!  For all of you New York/NJ/Philly people going through this snowstorm - hang in there!

Dumbest Story line Ever: US Weekly's latest on Jason and Molly

US Weekly announced today that Jason and Molly's wedding will be taking place tomorrow, however, Melissa Rycroft will not be attending.

I mean really, besides this weather, they must really have nothing to report on if this is the news they are coming up with.  Why on earth would Melissa attend? Is it common to expect ex fiances to attend the wedding of the person who dumped them?

http://www.usmagazine.com/celebritynews/news/melissa-rycroft-wont-attend-jason-mesnicks-wedding-saturday-2010262?utm_source=dailynewsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter

The Hottest Liar of All Time: Women Tell All Heats Up!

I am still not over last night's The Women Tell All ("WTA").  It's 7:24 AM and I am work bound, bleary eyed and exhausted after all of the madness which came to pass last night.  After the show ended, I was charging up my Netbook laptop for my morning commute so that I could blog on the train when I realized that the computer would not even turn on.  Two frantic hours later which included me searching for the computer's warranty, the Fiance blowing on the computer's battery like he used to do on his Nintendo cartridges and us trying every which way to make that damn computer restart, we gave up.  The Fiance announced that my computer was dead. Gone.  I asked him what we could do, I mean - there was no way in hell I was going to skip blogging about one of the most dramatic confrontations in Bachelor history (Roz vs. the World).  At about 12:30 AM last night, we debated bringing the laptop to a 24 hour computer repair place 8 blocks from our apartment - kind of like an Emergency Room for laptops.  Knowing I had to wake up in 5.5 hours and get to work, I decided to call it a night.

So here I sit, like a cave woman, with a pad and paper, jotting down my thoughts with shaky handwriting while the train bounces up and down. I will have to type this out later tonight when I get home from work on the other computer, which means it's gonna be a late one.  Looks like I'm without my netbook for at least 2 weeks while they fix or replace it.  I have a list of about 85 things that need to get done for our wedding (we leave 2 weeks from tomorrow!) and I'm driving the Fiance crazy with dozens of details - I hope he agrees to show up to the wedding at this point! And yet with all of this stress around me, I couldn't help but get sucked into the most gripping, shocking and entertaining WTA that I can ever remember seeing.  

First off, what does a person need to do in order to receive an invite to the Women Tell All?  Must they spend their free time writing a blog for free specifically on the Bachelor? Wait. This is what I do already.  Do they have to have invented and implemented the first ever podcast for the Bachelor?  Me again.  Where's my invite?   I think you have to live in LA and know somebody.   I've seen a couple of ads during past seasons telling people to call a number if they want tickets to the WTA.  Too bad I've been speeding through the commercials on my DVR this season. Must have missed it. 

Some of last night's show was a bit on the boring side and definitely used as filler.  Yes, we know Wes is a villain and gets lots of women both before, after and during the show.  Yes, we know "Princess Erica" from Lorenzo's season thinks a bit too highly of herself, and that her tiara line must have failed if she's now trying to be a judge (I hope that was a joke).  I still feel bad for Gwen from Aaron's season, because while her blonde hair got longer and prettier since the last time we've seen her, she still looks just as sad as when Aaron dumped her.  The Natalie with Jason, "I love bears," replay is still very funny, but if this segment was meant to be the Sportscenter highlights of Bachelor seasons' past, some new material is needed.  I did like when Natalie said that she hasn't slept with a lot of the guys on the show but that she's "taken a lot of naps with them."  Rumor had it she was dating Mike from New City (speedo Mike, from Jillian's season).  Obviously that didn't last too long.  It's evident that to be a former contestant on this show, is to be a member of some secret model society where you get to go on cruises and hand out food to the less fortunate. Who organizes these things?  Do the members have to pay?  Why didn't we see any in depth detail about what these people are up to since their seasons' ended? For example, we see a somewhat happy Kiptyn, but we don't know how he recovered since proposing to and getting rejected by Jillian.  We see a very happy looking Sarah from Charlie's season, and we see her with Charlie, but we haven't received an update as to how their relationship is going since they broke up and got back together.  It was also interesting to see Mike Stagliano and DeAnna Pappas working side by side together, but why don't they tell us that she is dating his brother and is completely in love with him?  I want to see her gush about it!  And I want to know what ever happened with Jesse C.  Nikki Sideburns seemed a lot more outgoing with some drinks in her than she ever did during her season competing for Jason.  What has influenced this behavioral change?  I am much more interested in knowing about these things as opposed to watching them drink together on a booze cruise or paint pictures with children.  It was nice to see some charity work going on, but it all seemed like a big ploy to boost the show's reputation.  Besides RozGate, the outtakes were definitely the highlight of the show.  Particularly, Gia's hiney in Jake's face made me laugh.  I was hoping that there would be another outtake from Tenley's dance where she twirls and twirls and kicks Jake in the face.

As for the actual WTA, some highlights and comments:

Gia looked amazing.  I know this because whoever can pull off a purple sequin sparkly gown has to be stunning.  At first I may have made fun of such an outfit, but she definitely came off as really classy and one of the most mature of the group despite sounding like Marisa Tomei in My Cousin Vinney.  She defended Vienna in a very kind away and had the most practical remark regarding Rozlyn: all Roz had to do was come forward and say she fell for the producer. Nobody would have faulted her, so stop bashing the show that gave her opportunities.  Excellent point, Gia. 

I found it amazing how many of the women last night got emotional.  Christina's bulging eyeballs made the Fiance and I crack up multiple times throughout the night, but I am glad that Jake pointed out that she was one of the women that he sent home too early.  Christina was ridiculously funny at the photo shoot group date. The fact that Jake got her humor, raises my opinion of him.

I was kind of bummed that Elizabeth the Pilot did not come back.  I'm sure enough people wrote in to request that she be the next Bachelorette.  She's probably too busy actually working as opposed to the majority of these women who are still working on their modeling career.  Did anyone else wonder how Ali had time to fly out for the Women Tell All? I know she mentioned in an interview that she was finally granted a leave of absence that was denied to her during her time on the show.  Perhaps she is enjoying some time off.  Kathryn seemed just a little too upset still that she didn't get her chance with Jake.  She really fell for the guy, and you can tell Jake is a bit taken back.  The vagueness he uses with her made me feel awkward.  I think he said something like - there were things about Kathryn that made him know that she wouldn't be wife material.  I wonder what it was.  Also interesting was that we heard nothing from Corrie the Virgin (we did learn that she has gas, though. How embarrassing that this was her only contribution to last night's show). I loved Jessie's hair extensions and found it interesting that we heard more from her last night than we did the entire season.  I also found it interesting how Jessie said that she never got involved in the drama of the house, so that's why people should believe her Rozlyn sighting on the stairs, but yet Jessie IS directly controversial when she tells Jake that Vienna is not the girl from him. 

Two of the women that I couldn't wait to see - the Nanny and Michelle.  So the Nanny admits that her behavior was game-like, but she still didn't seem to fully understand why her behavior was such a turn off.  She admits that in watching back the show, she looked "pretty stupid."  Classic self-description, but she's absolutely right.

Michelle's time with Chris was painful to watch.  I was so embarrassed for her. How could she not know what a lunatic she came off as?  She has "no regrets and wears her heart on her sleeve."  The girls called her emotionally unstable.  That was the understatement of the year.  The Fiance screams at the TV, "She's bipolar, leave her alone!"  I love how Chris asks the girls whether they edited Michelle and the girls are like, "No."  The only smart thing she does say is that she regrets forcing Jake to kiss her.  Other than that, she had no remorse, and while she did continue to giggle at some of her crazier remarks replayed to her, I don't think she'll really ever comprehend the extent of her scary behavior. I think I am still going to have nightmares about Michelle showing up outside my window.  This is particularly scary since we live on the 9th floor.

I want to make sure I spend an appropriate amount of time on Rozlyn. At first, I felt bad for her because if she had half a brain cell, there's no way she would have come back on the show.  Especially if it was to clarify that the producer and her (is this proper grammar?) were just friends. Because even if they were friends, she was guilty no matter what. She was the sluttier, model version of the Scarlet Letter. Let's just call her Hester.  It seemed like Chris was putting her on trial.   Chris prepares to answer the question about whether she was physical with the producer after a commercial break.  The Fiance says, the answer to that is, "Who cares? Because she's hot!"

Roz had no chance of coming off a winner last night.  First off, multiple girls announced their various circumstantial evidence against Roz which can be summarized by the following:

1.  Ella found Roz doing a downward doggie on a couch, hoping the producer would come tuck her into bed;

2. Valishia, her roommate, could not find Roz anywhere in the mansion at 4 AM;

3. Jessie claims to have seen Roz in a stairwell making out with the producer when everybody else wasn't around (she swears on her dog's life and Roz comes back and swears on her son's life. Holy crap - don't drag your son into this!  I double triple quadruple dare Roz to tell the truth! They really are in third grade);

4.  Christina claims she felt uncomfortable watching Roz touch the producer's thigh;

5. Ashleigh H says the two of them were very touchy feely with each other and it made her feel uncomfortable;

6. Chris the Host claims that the producer confessed that there was a physical relationship going on and

7.  The producer showed up at Roz's house after he got fired (and now we know he has a wife potentially - what on earth is he doing at Roz's house if he has a wife??!!)

Now let's say none of these things is actually true and everybody is lying.  Let's say Roz is just a flirtatious type and all of the women were just jealous of her good looks. If you start with these assumptions, Roz still loses.  This is because of the appalling way in which she handled herself.  After the ladies bring up their lines, Roz first starts attacking Ella.  Once she is done with Ella, she goes after Chris.  Her initial line to Chris,  "If you're going to ask me a question, you can calm down and listen to the answer..." took away any doubt as to whether Roz is a nice person. 

Then there's the whole, "Riddle me this, Chris" and she goes off on some strange tangent about cameras being everywhere 24/7 when the girl is being accused of sleeping with the producer who knows all of the filming schedules.  What sealed the deal was when she threw out that one liner about Chris hitting on the producer's wife in Australia.  Chris could not have handled this better.  Keep in mind that what Rozlyn had just said was probably one of the meanest, lowest things you can say to a person on national TV.  She is basically accusing him of trying to cheat on his wife (who he has been with since he was 18 years old).  Instead of blowing up, getting angry, cursing at her, strangling her, screaming out all of the additional information which you know Chris has access to, he kind of sits back, says he won't dignify her comment with a response and then wishes her well.  Now that's class, Chris!  Any shred of sympathy I felt for Rozlyn went flying out the window. Equally amazing is that ABC chose not to edit this out. But why should they? It made Rozlyn look that much worse. Her repeated incredulous facial expressions and the way she answered every question with, "Absolutely not," was so incredibly annoying that I wanted to smack her.  At the same time, I was so angry for Chris that I literally started sweating during the show.  My face was all red at one point. I wanted to yell at her for him.  I can NOT wait until the truth comes out - either with someone capturing the two of them together on tape or in a photo.  Stick TMZ on them!  Of course this is exactly what she wants.  Look for her in an upcoming edition of Playboy, "Liars and Cheaters" edition.

After such drama with Roz, I'll briefly mention Ali.  ABC is certainly lining her up to take on being the next Bachelorette.  The big concern with Ali was her trash talking Vienna.  Last night she defends Vienna - saying she doesn't deserve the attention from the tabloids, thereby trying to clear her name.  Ali actually apologizes (I am sure ABC suggested that she do this) just to once and for all clarify that Ali makes mistakes, but she's pretty, wears cute dresses and helped her grandmother.  Therefore she should be forgiven and become the next Bachelorette.  Ali had a lot to say about what she was scared of.  She was scared of being heartbroken, of giving up her whole life, and most of all, she was scared of Jake feeling like he owed it to her to pick her in the end.  I like when Ali said that she was a real person with real bills to pay and that if she lost her job, it's not like she can just move across the country.  Rumor has it that Ali works for Facebook.  At least she'll get the nicest fan page made for her if she becomes Bachelorette.

She's getting a very mixed reaction on this blog.  Some of you can't stand her and some of you love her. One things certain - she would be much better as the Bachelorette than Vienna or Tenley. I loved, btw, when someone described Tenley as pooping rainbows (or something close).  Vienna says that Tenley might actually dream in cartoon - which is by far Vienna's funniest line of the season - and quite a clever thing to say.

I'll mention quickly Jake's brief time on last night's show.  Normally they show far more detail of the actual Bachelor/ette and take questions from the audience but I guess the true excitement of the show was elsewhere.  Jake said he thought Ali was going to jump out of the limo after it pulled away.  Ali says to him with tears in her eyes, "I'm sorry."  The Fiance is also sweating at this point.  Jake says that more tough moments haven't aired yet.

One very subtle thing that ABC achieves by putting Roz in the hot seat last night, is focusing everyone's "OMG" factor on Roz.  She is the one that everyone hates.  She was rude to Chris. Mean to the girls. She was ready to "cage fight" and she came off as a terrible liar and actress.  By setting up everyone in America to feel negative toward Rozlyn, they have taken the spotlight away from Vienna, who seems to be one of the least adored finalists in Bachelor history.

So we once again see clips from next week's finale.  And again we see Tenley question whether there is any physical chemistry between her and Jake.  We also are left to wonder whether Vienna has this thing in the bag because based on her facial expressions, that is not the case.  Jake said he wouldn't propose unless he is 100% sure, however, Chris H says in his blog today that Jake is currently in love.  So what do you think? Did he decide to wait and propose to nobody?  Is he engaged? Did he choose one girl but said he wanted to wait to propose?  Did he go back for Ali (though that doesn't seem to be the case after seeing last night's show, though they definitely have some unfinished business).  I don't think either girl would last with Jake.  Therefore I think just for interest's sake, it would be awesome to see Jake end things with whoever he picks next week and go off for Ali, in a plane, with On the Wings of Love playing in the background.  They should interrupt Dancing With the Stars to show live footage of this event.  Now THAT would be the most dramatic season finale EVER.

Let's hear your thoughts on last night's show and what your predictions are for the finale.  Jason and Molly's wedding is coming up very soon as well.  Our wedding is the week after.  There will also potentially be a very exciting announcement about this blog ...so stay tuned!

-Stacey B

Best Women Tell All of All Time: Blog Post to Come

Just finished watching tonight's show. My heart is pounding, my face is red and I'm sweating.  This was such an awesome performance - by far the best WTA that I have ever seen!

My blog post will be up tomorrow evening.  Stay tuned...

Is it Too Late to Hope for a Shocking Ending??

With the Season Finale less than 2 weeks away, and the rumors flying madly, I am left wondering - is there any chance that Jake will surprise us with his choice?  If he picks Tenley, which the majority of folks believe is the better choice for him out of the two remaining, would that be shocking?  And if he picks Vienna, is there a single person that would be satisfied with such an outcome (besides Vienna?). 

Chris the Host says that we will be shocked at Jake's decision. I hope this means he rejects both women, gets right into a plane and flies off to San Fran to find Ali.  From St. Lucia to San Fran, maybe he'd stop off in New York first and tell Gia he's sorry once more.  Then he'd get a slice of pizza on the upper east side.  Then again, if he flew off to New York for Gia, that would be pretty awesome as well. 

I'm just not sure that there are that many scenarios which could prove "shocking." And yet, I'm sure ABC has something cooked up.  Perhaps Ali makes an appearance to beg Jake to take her back?  Maybe she hopes that seeing him would change things?  So first she pulled an Ed, and then she'll pull a Reid?  It would be even more exciting if she pulls a Reid and Jake takes her back. 

What do you think would be a shocking ending? 

Podcast IS up!!

Hello all - thanks so much for all of your encouragement and kind words. The Fiance and I recorded our first podcast of the season (sorry it took us this long!), but here it is. We attempted to answer some of your questions at the end. Please let us know if you have any additional topics you would like for us to discuss, as we are planning on doing another podcast early next week.

Find the podcast by going to this link: http://www.knottheone.com/id2.html

Go to "Links to Great Distractions" and click on "JaketheBachelorPodcast1"

Happy listening! THREE WEEKS until we leave for our wedding!

The Four Loves of Jake's Life

Tonight’s episode was déjà vu all over again. Playfulness by day, make-out in the fantasy suite by night. And at the end of it all, Jake is falling in love with all three women, not to mention that he was falling in love with Ali as well. How is this possible? If you are attracted to outspoken, mermaid, kinky blonde haired women (wouldn’t Vienna make an excellent “Madison” in the remake of the 80s movie Splash with Tom Hanks?) can you also be attracted to the quieter, more sophisticated and mature Gia?

St. Lucia is absolutely gorgeous. I once stopped there on a cruise for an afternoon and my only memory of the place, besides it being lush and absolutely gorgeous, was that every member of the snorkeling excursion I was on got stung by these mini jelly fish creatures. People were coming out of the water holding their fins and snorkel, with enormous welts on their legs. It took me about half a second to decide that I was not stepping anywhere near the water. Looks like Jake and his ladies found a different patch of water to roll around and make rated R music videos in.

I’d also like to say, for all of you who have heard about the rumors of who Jake picks in the end (and I will never ruin it for you by providing that information), the person who revealed that information really sucks. I mean, last night’s episode would have been a thousand times more enjoyable if I hadn’t heard that rumor, and therefore didn’t have in the back of my mind, who he would most likely eliminate. It would have been shocking, entertaining and I would have gasped. So for those of you who do not know anything – stay that way. And for those who feel the need to ruin the surprise for others – you have missed the entire point of why people love this show. Once this season is over, you might as well go running around to elementary schools telling children that there is no Santa Claus. Don’t you know that the thrill of this show lies in the drama, the unknown suspense and speculation that millions of viewers across the country feel when Jake asks Vienna what kind of engagement ring she likes and then are left to wonder – well, is she the ONE? What other tricks does this show have up its sleeve? We want to be left guessing. Don’t ruin it for us!

A few comments about each of the individual overnight fantasy dates (and it was somewhat disappointing to see that the format of these dates is EXACTLY the same as previous seasons, along with the written cards, word for word, that Chris Harrison provided to each of the ladies (“Should you decide to forego your individual rooms…”). Did they just put white-out on last season’s cards and insert the new names?).

So Gia gets the first date. I am wondering if Jake gets to pick the order of these dates. Despite Jake’s constant proclamations that Gia “is amazing,” “deep” and that she “makes his heart skip a beat,” I wasn’t really fooled. 99% of Jake’s statements to Gia related to her looks. Yes, we get it, she’s a model. She’s hot. And yet I was starting to like Gia’s personality. They seemed like a total mismatch though. Also, her past relationship issues are still alarming to me (she dated a jerk who was cheating on her with all of her friends). Gia is the queen of the off the shoulder tops.

It was actually really sad to see how poor the local people of St. Lucia appear to be. This is actually the first season in a while where we haven’t had a “charity” episode where the Bachelor/ette gives back during a group date. Unless you consider models wearing ridiculously expensive clothes and shoes for a fashion magazine shoot a gift to the public. I’d like to see a group date where they take everybody to Haiti and build some homes, although I don’t think the earthquake had happened yet when the show was filiming. Anyhow, watching Gia and Jake try to dance together while a native St. Lucian man was playing music for them, was definitely awkward. As soon as Jake mentioned that Gia’s shoes were $1000, I knew this relationship was going nowhere. Yes, he’s surprised that Gia can hang with the locals, but this does not mean that they share the same values.

Jake gets Gia a cheesy shell heart necklace that she wears on her wrist (probably because she’s embarrassed to be seen with it). She swears she will never take it off. I noticed that in the car after she gets the boot, she was still wearing it on her wrist and wonder whether we will see it on the Women Tell All or whether she tossed it about 3 seconds after she realized it was still on her. Sorry to skip around here, but when Gia first greeted Jake, she snuck up behind him and the audience is supposed to believe that Jake didn’t know she was coming. Yeah. Right. Stick Jake in the middle of nowhere in St. Lucia – where he’s looking off into the ocean – I’m sure he had no idea that Gia was approaching him. It was only the day of his date with her that he had fully planned. It’s really windy and for a second you think either him or Gia may blow off the side of the mountain. The good news is that Gia is forced to put her hair back so we can actually see her face.

There was a cameo of Jake at the beginning of his date with Gia where, as I pointed out last week, he was wearing a Jamaican bead necklace and had a tan. He is describing his feelings for Gia. This cameo was inserted into last week’s show during his date with Gia, but it didn’t make sense to me because he was tan and had this necklace on that we hadn’t seen before. Now we know that it was inserted out of order, and it was correct to assume that Gia would advance last week since Jake was singing her praises in a scene filmed the following week. I find this annoying.

Once Gia and Jake are in the water together, kissing like teenagers, Jake is in seventh heaven. It’s kind of like the reverse of Molly Ringwald’s crush on Jake Ryan in Sixteen Candles. Anyhow, who else wanted to take Gia’s tiara and toss it into the ocean? What kind of accessory is that to bring to a tropical vacation? I’d say it might have been useful to keep the hair out of her eyes, however, she purposely brushes some bangs straight into her face while she’s wearing the thing. Jake likes it though, and I was impressed that even knew the word “tiara.” He says that she looks like a ballerina and calls her “doll face.” Gross. Yet another reference to Gia’s looks. Meanwhile, Gia wants her and Jake to exchange “I love yous” and to say that they want to spend their lives together. This time never comes, or at least we never see it. They do, however, find the time to jump into a petal filled bubble bath together in the fantasy suite. Again, if I’m the lady that Jake chooses, I am NOT happy about this. Jake says he is willing to take a “leap of faith” with Gia, meaning (he knows she’s probably not the right girl for him, but he’s willing to make out with her anyway). He does say that his life with Gia “flashes before his eyes.” How could he pick anyone but Gia at this point? The Fiance thinks it’s gotta be Gia.

The only somewhat serious conversation about marriage comes when Jake says that he loves to put other people before himself. So noble, Jake! And strangely enough, Gia finds Jake and his ability to talk about his feelings on marriage to be more mature than any guy she’s ever been with. I’m guessing this wouldn’t be hard if the last guy she was with was having affairs with all of her friends. Poor Gia!

On to Tenley. I think Jake and her are starting to look alike. If Jake says that Ten’s dance last week was his favorite part of their hometown date, could you think of a better match than these two? As Tenley runs to hug and kiss Jake, I’m wondering whether she can smell Gia’s perfume on him or see any hickies or lipstick on him. How much time does Jake have in between these dates? If there are three overnights and he is there for a full week, does he just get up, kick Gia out, shower and go meet Tenley? Anyhow, Tenley looks good with a tan, but her baby voice ruins the upgrade. She heads to the helicopter where she starts jumping up and down like a three year old screaming, “Cool!” As they fly over all of St. Lucia, I wonder if Jake points out the spot on the beach where he made out with Gia. Are the tikki torches still out from their date? Eventually, they land on a plantation in the middle of nowhere and Tenley asks Jake whether he’s ever been there before. Is she serious? I know Jake has traveled a lot, but I doubt he regularly hangs out in the sugar plantations of St. Lucia's mountains. As they lay out the picnic for themselves, we hear the first of so many references to Tenley’s ex husband. It’s almost like she’s creating her own doom – I just want to shake her and say, “STOP TALKING ABOUT YOUR EX!!” Jake certainly doesn’t want to be reminded of him at every chance you get! And then I see how innocent Tenley appears to be and I already am devastated for her if she is not the one that is chosen.

Watching Jake and Tenley together, it seems quite obvious that the passion they have together is not as strong as Jake’s desire for Gia. That said, Jake can’t help but to call Tenley “amazing” while she refers to him at one point as a “naughty boy.” I love how ABC is trying to trick us into thinking that there is anything less than a 150% chance that Tenley will stay in the fantasy suite with Jake overnight. Yes, we get it. It’s her first time staying overnight with another male who was not her husband. But this is the Bachelor. We know she can’t help herself.

Jake does love that he can be so manly around Tenley. I wonder how she got her teeth so white – and whether it’s possible to attain such incredible white teeth within three weeks. (Side note: Three weeks from tomorrow we leave for our wedding!). Maybe it’s her tan that makes her teeth glow, but I’m jealous. Anyhow, Tenley is very good at describing to Jake what she loves about him. She loves kissing him. Dancing with him. When Jake takes Tenley to dance to no music on their date this week, she actually gets tears in her eyes (we learn from Jake's blog that there were actually bats swooning around them during this dance, which might be why she is crying). Yes, she wants to dance with him forever. My question is – what on earth would these two talk about once she actually marries him? I think he would get bored pretty quickly after a couple months of dance lessons.

When they enter the fantasy suite, it looks pretty amazing – with a private pool! Jake says that this is one of those “moments in life when everything slows down…no doubt Tenley would be an amazing wife.” As I watch this scene, I wonder, how on earth could he not choose Tenley? This woman is made for him! If I am not Tenley and I am chosen by Jake, would I doubt whether he is over his feelings for her? So Tenley’s experience in having a sleepover with men consists of her ex husband and the Bachelor. I think she’s very sweet, but I am just not sure that Jake is head over heels for her.

Then we get to Vienna’s date. Mind you, I keep forgetting sometimes that Vienna is only 23. But then again, she certainly acts like it. Initially, when Jake is discussing what he likes about each woman, he refers to Vienna as “immature.” Yet he thinks this immaturity is something he can cure like a bacterial infection. He thinks marriage is the penicillin of immaturity. How could he be so blind? It seemed very appropriate that Jake brings Vienna to a pirate ship so that they can play on it all day. It seems like his time with Vienna is much more playful and lustful, rather than anything substantive. Is there anybody out there besides Vienna’s family that thinks she is a good match for Jake? And why oh why did they choose Vienna’s date to play the On the Wings of Love instrumental version song AS WELL AS the Bachelor passion music. It was a double dose of intensity. Jake admits that him and Vienna have a natural affection, more so than with any other girl. He describes his time with her as “Bam! Fireworks chemistry!” I am not male, so I don’t pretend to understand how someone would find Vienna and her kinky hair, gigantic smile and strong personality a catch. Perhaps we will explore this point at our next podcast.

Jake goes on a quest to make sure his relationship with Vienna is not purely physical. This makes me a little nauseous. He says this repeatedly during their romp on the shorelines of the pirate ship is over (also made me a bit sick). When they sit down to dinner together, she gives him some song and dance of what she wants in a partner. Jake then asks her what kind of engagement ring she wants. Now here is the real question: if Vienna is the winner, would ABC show us this clip? We didn’t see Jake asking Tenley this question. So is the audience to be spoon fed so easily that yes, Vienna is the winner? Or will we be thrown off by something else later on?

The grossest part of the entire episode comes when they enter the fantasy suite and Vienna says in a very slow and what she deems to be a seductive voice, “I want to show Jake that I can be elegant and that I can be a woman.” Out she comes in a white, satin lingerie slip. EWWWWWWWWWWW!! Jake is psyched, thinking it is not going to be this easy to get a girl ever again. And then we see Vienna shut the bedroom doors on the cameras…insinuating that a full on, all night, rated X session is about to begin. I wonder whether Jake’s morals kicked in or whether spending a night being a gentleman to Tenley jolted his hormones into overdrive. Maybe Jake will reveal what went on at the women tell all. And once again, I ask you – if you end up with Jake and you are not Vienna, would you want to go anywhere near him after you see what him and Vienna had going on in the fantasy suite??

Let’s discuss Ali’s situation for a second. She’s filled with regret and we get to see her in a room looking at professional photos of Jake holding roses. This is just a little too staged for me. It looked like a hotel room that ABC had set her up in, rather than an actual apartment. So Ali’s life is loveless and she finally notices that her job can not love her back. Her phone call with Jake was kind of tough to listen to. Ali is begging for another chance. Jake gives her an “I’m sorry to hurt you” speech in the end. I’m wondering why ABC took so much time to focus on Ali’s regret. Is this a campaign to make her the next Bachelorette? Especially when Ali says, “I’m just never going to meet anyone like Jake ever again.” Can’t you see this as the introduction to the next Bachelorette? I know, some of you out there are groaning. Ali had her chance and blew it. I agree with Jake’s assessment – she made her decision. She chose to leave. The other girls have things going on too, but they didn’t leave. Ali seemed to realize how painful her decision would be before she left (crying and two hour conversations on Jake’s lap at the last rose ceremony). But watching Ali, with messed up frizzy hair, puffy eyes and tears rolling down her face and declaring “I’m going to regret this for the rest of my life,” can we not help but feel bad for her? Doesn’t ABC know that Gia, Tenley and Vienna would not make very good bachelorettes? Ali seems the most widely appealing (minus her angry Vienna tirade?). Certainly we, the audience, are being groomed to accept her. Do you accept her? Are you on team “She Made Her Bed, Lie In It” or “Give Her Another Chance?” It’ll be interesting to see what she has to say on the WTA next week.

The general consensus is that Ali doesn’t come back. But the preview of the finale showed Tenley and Vienna looking very hurt and upset. If Jake chooses nobody, does this open the door for Ali? Are we going to have another Brad Womack on our hands (he kept DeAnna Pappas around as his last girl, flew her father in to ask his permission to marry his daughter, and then told DeAnna at the finale that he couldn’t choose her. He left the show empty handed and earned a ton of criticism from Bachelor fans).

I have to say, that for someone who declares that he’s in love with three women, Jake did not seem too torn up about saying no to Ali's return or deciding which of the 3 women remaining should go. There were no real tears and no heaving over a railing. Jake claims in his blog today that Gia was not the obvious choice for him to send home last week had Ali stayed. And yet he does not seem to be too upset to say goodbye to Gia. Gia, on the other hand, handled the whole thing in an extremely classy way. She didn’t bash Vienna or Tenley, didn’t act confused, just wished him the best and says that she is actually happy for him. She also goes so far as to admit that the two girls left are wonderful. Talk about sportsmanship! She should take a plane directly to San Fran so her and Ali can cry together.

So for the record, both Tenley and Vienna have told Jake that they are in love with him. Ali admitted it last week as she cried it into his chest before leaving. Gia wanted to hear it, but we didn’t see her say it out loud - but then she says it on the video message. How on earth did Jake get these women to fall so hard for him?? Those video messages are ridiculous – they need to get rid of them. Tenley sees babies with him (she stole this babies line from Trista when she said it to Ryan at the finale). The Fiance thought Gia’s video message could have turned into an adult film. I can see that. She does manage to tell Jake that she is falling in love with him. These video messages totally stressed me out. What a big decision he has in front of him!

So next week is the Women Tell All and they are bringing back the crazies. I can’t wait to see Michelle. I really have missed her. I am also interested in the Rozlyn confrontation – can’t believe she agreed to be back on the show. It also looks like the finale will be pretty interesting. I’m still doubting whether Jake chooses anyone at all.

What do you think? Do you have any topics you want us to discuss? We are getting ready for our podcast and need your help. Is there any chance he ends up by himself? Is Ali really gone? Are you going to bust out your white lingerie in honor of Vienna? Does anyone know how to get really white teeth, really quickly? Has anyone found me a good rehearsal dinner dress online?

Looking forward to your responses.

-Stacey B

Gia Has a Man??

Us Weekly reports that the NY Post says (love these sources, btw), that Gia already has a boyfriend.

http://www.usmagazine.com/moviestvmusic/news/bachelors-gia-has-a-boyfriend-2010152?utm_source=dailynewsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter

Gia's alleged boyfriend says some interesting things - like the fact that they had dinner last week. This may not mean he is her boyfriend, but it may mean that Gia is not with Jake (which after meeting her family last week, is not going to be such a shocker). Tenley and Vienna have the best shot and while I'm kind of rooting for Ali to come back and win it all, I am very doubtful that this would happen. ABC would not give us the same ending for two seasons in a row (contestant leaves for work, comes back and wins it all).

So that's the story. My blog post will be up tomorrow night. Also, the Fiance and I will post our first podcast for the season later this week (this time, we're really doing it). We had to go to DC this weekend and just got back late last night (doing wedding stuff). I had my final dress fitting today and between that and trying to find a rehearsal dinner outfit (the Ali dress, who my awesome readers located for me, is out of stock on all of the websites). The good news is that I did get a bathing suit and a couple of cute summery tops, courtesy of the Fiance's mother, so that's good. Thanks, Nancy!

If anyone has any suggestions for cute rehearsal dinner dresses, I'm all ears. Also, thanks to all of you that have submitted questions for our podcast - we will definitely be using them. To the rest of you - if you have any additional questions or topics that you would us to discuss, please submit them via comment or email me directly.

Happy Bachelor watching tonight!

-Stacey B

Life is About Minimizing Regrets...and Choreographing Swan Dances for Your Boyfriend

Last night’s Bachelor was every reason why I watch this show. The hometown date visits were nothing short of spectacular. At each one, we are led to believe that Jake is falling in love. And of course, each lady is ready to get engaged. How is it that Jake can ask more than one parent for his or her daughter’s hand in marriage in the same week? Does he feel guilty about this? Do the parents know that he is asking more than one mom or dad for one of the most precious gifts a parent could possibly give someone? Would their answer change if they knew that 48 hours later, Jake would be asking somebody else’s parent for the same thing? I would have loved for one of these parents to say, "Absolutely not, unless my daughter’s hand is the only one that you are asking for." Why can’t they say this? I don’t have a daughter but that is exactly what I would say. If Tenley’s family is so concerned about Tenley getting hurt again, then why didn't they try to find out more about what Jake’s intentions are with the other women? I would have liked to see a little more grilling, a little less crying.

But anyhow, let’s discuss each of these spell binding dates. First off, as a New Yorker, I have to say that seeing the city by boat is definitely the most touristy way to do it. Jake is a tourist, so I bet he loved this. But usually it's a pretty cheesy crowd who takes those boat tours (unless you're going to Ellis Island, in which case a boat is the only way to get there). She could have taken him on one of those duck tours, which seem like more fun. And please tell me that there was a good reason for her to point out to Jake the Empire State Building to Jake. I mean the guy may be from Texas, but if he’s a pilot and he’s ever left his house before, there is a very good chance he knows what the Empire State building is. Knowing Jake, he loves the movie Sleepless in Seattle, and since that movie prominently features the Empire State building, it’s a good bet that Gia’s tour guide mode was a bit too basic.

The physical chemistry between these two is definitely high. Jake is extremely attracted to her, and yet I have yet to hear them have an intellectual conversation much beyond learning that Gia’s been dumped and that they were both nerds growing up. When you have nothing to talk about, I guess you can just start taking pictures of one another – which seems to be the highlight of their New York tour. It is confusing whether Gia lives in Queens with her family or whether she is on her own on the Upper East Side. I was thrilled, however, to learn that the actual meeting of the parents took place in an Italian restaurant only a couple of blocks from our apartment! You could see the street signs "85th" and "2nd" when they shot scenes outdoors, diagonal from Mustangs, the dive bar, near the restaurant where they ate. Guess where the Fiance and I are going to have dinner this weekend?? Just kidding.

So we meet Donna, Gia’s mother, best friend and accent twin who we learn during the outtakes after the show that she reads tarot cards (and of course happened to bring them with her to meet Jake). We learn that Donna could have easily fit into the cast of Moonstruck as herself.

Side note: in a couple of the cameos where Jake is discussing his hometown date with Gia, he is wearing a Jamaican beaded necklace and has a tan. Did anybody pick up on that? Did he take a “bathroom” break during dinner and head to Jamaica when nobody was looking? This was definitely a little strange, and confusing and shows that this was filmed way after the actual date. If this wasn’t foreshadowing that Gia sticks around, not sure what else could be.

I was absolutely horrified when Gia tells Jake that her ex boyfriend cheated on her with all of her friends. What does that say about Gia’s choice in men or her choice in friends? You are the company you keep, right? What a disaster. I think this must be part of the reason she hides behind her hair so much. There were multiple scenes last night when I wanted to brush aside Gia’s hair so we could actually see her face. Come out, Gia! But I guess if my boyfriend had cheated on me with all of my friends, I’d hide too.

Back to the dinner. We meet Donna, her step father Tony and “Spikes,” her brother Erick (with a "ck"). I think Tony and Erick are at least half Jewish as is the younger step brother Dylan who didn’t say a word. So Donna gives Jake the typical momma speech – Gia’s special, Gia’s got this thing about her. Jake agrees that she’s different from all the other girls. Yes, she’s the only one from New York with an accent. Jake even goes as far as to admit that he has fallen for four women. As a parent, this would not win me over, but you have to give credit to Jake for being honest. Meanwhile, Gia speaks to Spikes outside (which is where we can see that they are on the Upper East Side) and the brother says he doesn’t want to see her get hurt again. Does Spikes live on the Upper East Side? I think I saw his twin on the subway this morning. Hmmmm. Anyhow, Donna falls in love with Jake during their alone time and gives her daughter false hopes.

“Honestly, I think I see the love in his eyes for you …Don’t give me that look!” says Donna, as Gia rolls her eyes. Donna makes this conclusion by reading Jake's body language. Gia emphasizes that he has the same body language with all the girls (did any of you laugh when Ali’s legs were pulled over Jake’s body when she came to see him before the rose ceremony?”) Donna tells Gia to reach for the stars, but keep one foot planted on the ground. Gia wants the fairytale. Mom and daughter are both in love with Jake. Meanwhile, Spikes is laying it on thick to warn Jake not to break Gia's heart. “If I have to hunt you down and break a couple of legs.” The Fiance says that Spikes needs more hair gel.

After the date, I was really annoyed that the Fiance and I were not out strolling our neighborhood when Jake and Gia were having a moment on an Upper East side stoop. Whose stoop was that? Does Gia live there? I’m guessing no since we didn't see any scenes of them in her apartment. Can you imagine if you were coming home from the gym and you see Jake on your front stoop? It’s probably better I didn’t see them. I would have had a heart attack.

Meanwhile, in Gia’s cameo side chats to the audience, she’s back to her bright red lipstick and matching red top. I really hate this look for her. She doesn’t need all that crazy makeup. I also hated the “Have you ever kissed on a stoop?” line from Jake. Gross.

Williamstown, Massachusetts seems like a very nice place to live. Ali looked adorable in her white wool coat, high brown boots and wavy half up do. It’s amazing how Jake can just snap his fingers and forget about his incredible date with Gia’s family all to focus on Ali. Jake starts saying all of these cheesy lines to her (like the fact that this is really her second hometown date since their time in San Fran counts as one as well and this “puts her ahead.” Way to tease her, Jake. Then they play some childhood game (Jake LOVES the childhood games – spin the bottle, etc.) where they catch a leaf and make a wish.

Ok, so here’s where it gets a little nuts. Ali discusses her sick grandmother. As she describes that she came to live with her and take care of her, I suddenly felt Ali’s redemption levels sky rocket. Ok, so she was definitely rude in bashing Vienna and extremely aggressive and opinionated. But the girl has a “heart of gold” according to her mother and she was taking care of her sick grandmother while she was a freshman in college. That definitely shows a caring side to Ali. I’m ready to like her again.

But here it comes – she tells Jake all about Grandma, who is like a mom to her. Then she says she wants him to meet her Grandmother and brings him to her house. The Fiance was very confused. At first he thought we were being taken to a graveyard. He thought this was a terrible idea and I reminded him that one of the other bachelorettes (I believe it was Meredith, who ended up being the Bachelorette), took someone to a graveyard on their hometown visit. Once he realized we were not going to a graveyard, he was even more confused.

“Wait, is the grandmother living in the house?” the Fiance asked.

“No,” I said. “Grandma is dead.”

“Who lives in the house?” the Fiance asks.

“Nobody, I think.” I responded.

“So why is there still a picture of the grandmother in the house looking at them?”

All legitimate questions. We learn pretty quickly that Grandma was extremely important to Ali and that hours before she died, Ali had told her that she was going to be on the Bachelor to pursue Jake. Ali concludes once they leave the house that Grandma has met Jake and approves of him. The Fiance was convinced a Ouija board was going to be set up somewhere with candles and roses, but this never happened. Jake doesn’t seem disturbed at all by this unique hometown visit. He calls it “sad and intimate.” Chris the Host said in his blog today that it was an extremely touching moment. Ehh, part of me thinks it's nice in theory to want to show Jake her grandmother's house. Another part of me thinks it's just a bit too creepy and soon.

So after meeting Grandma, Ali takes Jake to her mom’s house. While they are hugging and exchanging pleasantries, some creepy person in black runs up the stairs in the background. I was wondering whether this was a camera guy or Grandma’s spirit. If you still have the show on your DVR, check it out.

Mom Elizabeth, or “Beth” seems like a very nice woman. I instantly loved her. She was down to earth and quite in the loop on the Bachelor. I liked that she admitted to doing some online research about Jake, learning that he said something about physical beauty being part of it, but that we all grow old and it’s what’s inside that counts. The mom says that Ali is beaming (this seems to be a common theme throughout the night with all of the girls). The questions the mom asks Jake are softballs.

Example: “What does family mean to you?”

Jake knocks this one out of the park. Beth is hooked. I am a bit floored when Jake asks for Ali’s hand in marriage - this makes Ali's departure later even that more of a shock. Beth gives her blessing, saying that Jake is very genuine.

Ali and Mom gush together. Mom is ready to plan a wedding. She also, like Donna, has intuition that this is going to work out. Ali and Jake’s alone time at the end reveals that Ali is ready to be there for Jake in the end. She wants the whole package. He is everything she has ever dreamed of. For a split second, Jake just stares at her and says nothing. He looks like he may cry. I thought he might even send her home - because he's done it before with other women. And then he pulls his gloves off and just makes out with her. A split second later, the camera flashes back to more kissing and strangely enough - his gloves are somehow back on. Another poor editing job. Out of sequence make outs drive me nuts. Go back to your DVR and check it out.

Off we go to Newburg, Oregon – which also looks like a very nice town. Tenley is tinier than ever with more makeup than ever. Jake is into her core values. Tenley wants to know that Jake can make his own decisions. Jake says he runs “everything by his parents.” Gulp. For some reason, this response from Jake gets Tenley really excited. What exactly did her ex husband do to her?

Probably my favorite part of the evening – Tenley's dance. I think my mouth actually dropped open as she started doing this dance for him. What on earth was she thinking? What would you do if your date suddenly performed a choreographed dance for you? What inspires someone to do that? The dance is to Pahelbel’s Canon in D, a very popular song choice for a wedding processional - is she trying to give him any ideas? She truly is a Disney character. Tenley said she was putting her emotions and heart into the dance. Jake’s expression during the dance is priceless. The fact that he didn’t go running out of the studio means he might have actually been touched by it.

How many guys get their own dance? What a completely awkward thing to do. I guess it’s the equivalent of singing a song for someone if you’re a singer, or writing a poem if you’re a poet, but making up a dance? It just seems way over the top and unnecessary. I just felt like she wanted to show off her talents - to a broader audience than Jake. If she had done this with no cameras, then perhaps it would have come off as a bit more sincere. Unusual? Yes. But at least it would have been heartfelt. I am now entirely convinced that Tenley is on this show to make her acting debut. She's not trying to land Jake. She's trying to land a role on Broadway.

So then the cry fest begins. Tenley brings Jake to her father Robert, mother Beth and sister Carly. As soon as Tenley hugs her family, she is in tears. It is very apparent that they all hated her ex. Dad takes Jake upstairs where he pours his heart out. I loved that he admitted to watching the Bachelor last season and that he was hoping Tenley could meet Jake or someone like him. When he starts saying how the most painful thing for a father is to watch his daughter go through heartbreak, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house (literally).

Later on, Tenley speaks to her father about her time with Jake. Again, they are both in tears. This family really needs some group therapy – they are so overcome with emotion. I guess if nothing else, it’s nice for them to see Tenley happy again with someone. If things don’t work out with Jake, at least she knows that she can fall in love again. Jake asks the mom whether Tenley is ready for him since she still seems so hurt about her ex. If anybody could be ready, it’s Tenley, according to the mother. Now the mom is in tears, saying that it is her pleasure to be Tenley’s mother.

One interesting point – Tenley’s parents seemed extremely affectionate with each other. They were holding hands and seem to be in love. Jake should take note of this as well as all the emotion going on in that family. I think he would really fit in well with them. He loves the mushy gushy stuff. I don’t see him as a city boy in the NYC area nor do I see him chasing alligators down the river with Vienna. In Jake’s blog, he reveals that Tenley’s family all salsa danced later on in their date and Jake participated. That would have been too clear of an indication that she’s in the final 2, if not the actual winner.

Of course, just when we think that Ali has it in the bag, we see Jake out on the porch, asking Tenley’s father if he can marry his daughter. Jake gets tears in his eyes. The father is choking up. I have to admit, Jake is pretty damn eloquent in all of these very stressful, emotional scenarios. He seems to always know what to say, and he’s definitely very open with his emotions, admitting more than once on these dates that he’s scared. It’s almost like ABC brings in a coach to help him envision these types of situations, and work out how he would react. Is there such a job? A visualization/social scenario coach? What a great gig that would be!

Jake is really into kissing Tenley on the nose. I haven’t seen him do this with any of the other girls, so maybe he’s trying to build out his signature moves. It’s like he’s kissing a little child. Of course Tenley put on a recital for him, so a kiss on the nose is probably appropriate. Tenley’s reaction to all of this is that her “heart feels safe with Jake.” Uh-oh. I think all of the girls feel safe. Come on, Tenley, hopefully you have seen this show before. Nobody is safe. People that leave come back. People that fall in love have their heart broken. Please stay grounded!

Finally, we’re off to Florida. We get to see Vienna in her hometown and I once again realize that she is only 23 years old. Straight out of college, practically. What on earth does she have in common with a 31 year old pilot? Nothing. Jake says he wants to “narrow the gap” between what the others in the house are saying about Vienna and the real Vienna. They start heading down a river and discover lots of wild life. Vienna’s smile has been driving me nuts for a while now. Does she really need to smile with two rows of teeth showing? She gets so much energy when Jake’s around, that if she had a third row of teeth, they would for sure be showing as well.

Vienna warns Jake about her dad, and Jake knows he has his work cut out for him. They arrive at the house and all of a sudden, the dog that Vienna couldn’t get enough of in her initial appearance on the show, she suddenly had no time for. It was all about Jake. Poor Chloe the dog! What I don’t get is how when Vienna hugs her father upon entering the house, they both start crying. She again admits to being a Daddy’s girl. Why are there tears already?

When Vincent the dad asks Vienna how she feels about Jake, her responses are intense. She’s never been in love before and thinks she’s really falling for him. She’s never had this feeling of falling for someone. This makes Vincent need to intimidate the hell out of Jake. He wants to make sure his daughter is treated like a princess.

But here it comes, my favorite line of the night. If Jake chooses Vienna, according to the father, he’ll “come home, the house will be clean, the kids will be raised right.” WOAH. Is Jake looking for a nanny, a housekeeper or Mr. Belvedere? In what decade is Vincent living in? This is not the 1950s! If Vienna didn’t want to do the dishes and be a housewife, would that be acceptable to Jake? And just then, we get a tiny glimpse into perhaps what Jake sees in Vienna – and in what he wants in a wife. And if this is actually what Jake wants, we see why the others perhaps would not be as a great of a match.

I also found it interesting that Vienna’s family revealed that Vienna has always had a problem with other women liking her. They say it’s because she’s competitive and being herself. Then they all giggle about how many times she’s wrecked a car. Awkward. I wonder why all of these women don't like Vienna. Perhaps, just perhaps it may actually have something to do with Vienna? Then we learn the dad gave Vienna some sort of “stay single” ring to wear until she gets engaged. Also strange. There may certainly be some daddy issues here. The father and his mustache were a little too much and his rough and tough speeches to Jake seemed scripted. Jake seems to take it all in stride and handles the dad wonderfully. The Fiance definitely thinks it was scripted that the dad walked in on Jake and Vienna making out. I tend to agree with this. Interesting that they don’t show Jake asking the dad permission to marry Vienna. Don’t believe for a second that he didn’t ask. ABC is certainly messing with us.

So all the hometown dates are over. I have no idea who he is going to eliminate at this point. It’s so intense and he seems to really be falling for each girl and of course each girl is in love. I am completely drained from watching all of this, but since there’s about 45 minutes left in the show, I know something big is coming. And it does.

Now what are the chances that Ali’s departure was a scripted idea from the producers? I can just picture a discussion behind closed doors. A conspiracy theory: Ali leaves the show for her job, then decides she made the wrong decision and comes back (the Bachelor LOVES when the departed contestants return). This worked very well for Ed on last season’s show. He won the whole thing. I wonder if the same would occur with Ali.

I also noticed that while Ali seems so distraught while she is trying to figure out her problem (sitting down and crying in the middle of the hotel hallway), then later on when she went off to speak to Jake for over 2 hours (Jake says it was 3 hours) during the rose ceremony, Jake is definitely not as upset as she is. He is sad, concerned, but a little too at ease. Does he know that she is coming back at some point? Does he already know who he is picking and therefore isn’t so concerned if Ali leaves? Interesting that he told Ali that her rose was not in question last night. So if Ali was going to the next round, who would have gotten the boot? It had to have been Gia. Before Ali comes to talk to him, Jake seems a little too relaxed even though he is technically going to have to send one of these ladies home at that point. If he really was falling in love with four women and knew these women were falling for him, wouldn’t he have had a bit more angst over what he was about to do? Did he know from the start of the rose ceremony that Ali was going to leave? It all seems a little convenient for him. And then of course we see in the coming attractions that Ali calls him while they are in St. Lucia. Who knows where that will lead? The coming attractions don’t really show any additional footage of the girls beyond next week’s episode so we don’t know if Ali actually returns or not.

I felt bad for Ali. Mostly because whatever Jake told her did not persuade her to stay. Even his whole “life is about minimizing regrets” speech couldn’t shake her. If this was not a conspiracy and Ali genuinely needed to leave for work reasons, then my respect level for her completely went up. Good for her for making the smart move. Who else would turn down a job they love in this economy for a 3 in 4 chance of having your heart broken? It shows a lot of maturity. It also may line her up to be the next Bachelorette.

It’s interesting that Jake wants Ali to make the actual decision as opposed to him trying to convince her. You’d think that if he was definitely into Ali at that point enough that he had a pretty good feeling she’d make the final 2, he would have said something. Chris the Host was wise to point out that if Ali does choose to stay, that this would be an enormous amount of pressure on Jake.

Side note: there was a commercial on after all of the girls arrived individually. It was for Kay Jewelers. A couple is stuck in a thunderstorm and the guy gives his girlfriend a necklace and they hug in a romantic way. I could not stop laughing at this – of course they are trying to appeal to the romantic crowd watching the Bachelor.

Anyhow, back to the show, Ali says she didn’t know she would “have to choose between the loves of her life.” My thinking is that if you love a job as much as a you love a guy, you don’t really love the guy. A job can’t keep her warm at night and love her back. Her confusion was growing, directly proportional to the messiness of her blonde ponytail. She just kept holding her face and crying but she didn’t seem to get whatever she wanted out of Jake. Ali listens to Jake babble about weighing whether she is falling in love into her decision. Then she says her wisest words of the season, “If you were mine, the choice would be easy.” But then she blows it by whispering to Jake that she loves him. Another one bites the dust.

Chris finally interrupts them (thank goodness – I was sick of watching the torture) and Ali starts crying because she hasn't made up her mind. At last, she states she is leaving. HOLY COW. I didn't think she would actually do it! Jake tells Ali that she’s slipping through his fingers and he doesn’t know how to stop her. Yes you do, Jake. Tell her she's the one!

Finally we get to see to some real crying in the limo and Ali saying that she doesn't know if she made the right choice. I think the audience already understood that she was confused. I really like Ali's dress by the way. Does anyone know who makes it? I'm in the market for a rehearsal dinner dress these days.

Meanwhile, back at the rose ceremony, three ladies in waiting have no idea what is going on (according to Chris H's blog). So they were standing there for 2-3 hours in their heels and dresses just waiting for Jake to come back. Jake, meanwhile, seems to make a pretty quick recovery. His philosophy is that he "doesn't think it's in his cards to be devastated at the end of this process." Chris the Host announces that Ali has left. Tenley's arms look like they are missing in her dress (it freaked me out at first). The girls squeal with delight when they learn they are headed to St. Lucia. (and probably relieved that Ali is gone) The Fiance immediately declares that they must be going to Jade Mountain (when we researched Caribbean honeymoon spots, all of the online travel reviews declared Jade Mountain as the #1 most romantic resort of all time. We looked into it, but could not justify spending over $1000 a night on a room).

The coming attractions look amazing - lots of bikini time and making out. Then there's a phone call from Ali coming. It's three weeks until the finale! Four weeks and counting until my own wedding. Overall, A+ for this episode. Highlights being Tenley's insane dance, Ali's surprise departure, Jake asking for at least two women's hands in marriage and learning that Jake was only a couple blocks away from us!

UPCOMING NEWS: The Fiance and I are going to be podcasting later this week about this season's The Bachelor. If you have any questions or topics that you would like for us to discuss, please post them and we will try to cover them. Looking forward to hearing from you, as always!

-Stacey B