I broke free of the Bachelor/Bachelorette shows in 2009(ish). I happily avoided getting sucked back into the nonsense… until the summer of 2014. TV shows were lacking as they usually do during the summer months, when I saw that Tenley would be making a Bachelor come back on Bachelor in Paradise. Always a Tenley fan, I decided to check it out… Only to become totally hooked on the entire franchise of shows again! Seriously, I am obsessed.
Bachelor in Paradise is better than any of the other Bachelor shows because they it features past Bachelor and Bachelorette contestants, looking for love. No prize money, no air conditioning, just sweaty love. You get to enjoy their personalities at lot more as they poke fun at themselves. It's more about personalities and relationships than everyone obsessing over the same person. Basically it's both funny and romantic (the last two seasons have ended with engagements which have actually led to marriages!).
In honor of tonight's finale, let's take a walk down memory lane and recap the life lessons from this season of Bachelor in Paradise:
1. You have to laugh at yourself. Seriously this opening gets me every time.
4. There are three sides to every story: his, hers, and the truth. The Caila, Ashley, Jared love triangle was cray-cray… and heavily edited! Especially during that conversation between Ashley and Caila right before Caila decided to leave. Did anyone else pick up on that? Well apparently Ashley I took over FabFitFun's Snapchat the other week and right before meeting Caila and Jared for their Ellen appearance decided to get real about the entire un-aired situation from Paradise. DID ANYONE CATCH THIS?
I've only read recaps that basically boil down to: Apparently right before the rose ceremony Caila told Amanda off camera that she did not have feelings for Jared. Amanda then told all the girls. Ashley told Jared Caila didn't like him, the producers continue to make her look bat sh*t cray.
This all appears to be backed up by:
- Lace throwing shade at Caila and saying how much she doesn’t like her on camera when Caila walks by
- Nick telling Ashley I she did the right thing (and let’s face it, Nick wouldn’t give Ashely props unless she deserved it)
- Carly tweeting that she was on Ashley’s side and they all had concerns… which Amanda retweeted.
As a viewer, before watching all of this, I said to my fiance that it appears Caila is leaving because she has no friends, not because of the Jared situation. So this whole truth bomb that went off last week doesn't surprise me. But again, moral of the story: there are always three sides to every story, in BIP's case there are four: hers, hers, the producers, and the truth.
5. Taking responsibility is attractive. Ok who else is beyond excited for Nick to be the Bachelor?? Seriously, can we talk about his comeback? Sure he ruffled some feathers when he disclosed what happened in the fantasy suite, but unlike his arch nemesis Josh, who deflects and gets aggressive when asked about the truth, Nick owns who he is. Nick has continuously taken responsibility for his actions, the good, the bad, and the ugly in a non-defensive way, and who doesn't love that?
6. Privacy settings (aka throwing a blanket over a camera) aren't always full proof! Yeah we know what you guys did… Thanks Bachelor Interns!
7. Who Rob Thomas is. Oh wait, they never actually explained that… can anyone tell me who Rob Thomas is?
8. Animals are our friends.
On a side note, I actually like both Caila and Ashley. They both remind me heavily of myself at different points in my life. I think people aren't paying close enough attention though when “taking sides”, Caila straight up says her defense mechanism is to smile, mine was too for a long time so I get it girl; Ashley's is to emotionally vomit all over everyone, mine was too for a long time, so I get that too. However at the end of the day Ashley really got the sh*t end of the editing stick. So my defense and love for Ashley is in no way putting Caila down, but more just in the defense of editing. Plus I can't leave another Hanson girl out to dry like that.
9. Daniel and the Twins are National treasures. Okay maybe this isn't a life lesson, and probably not legal or constitutional or whatever, but it needed to be said. Can someone please get these three their own show? Or let's campaign #TwinsForBachelorette!
10. Never leave the one you love for the one you like because in the end the one you like will leave you for the one they love. Yeah if you're afraid or have concerns talk to the person you're with… that's why its a partnership. Don't got for the next person with nice hair and a lamp.
Can we also just talk about how well Vinny handled that whole situation? Seriously, could you imagine if he took her back then saw she only left Paradise after Lamp guy said he wasn't interested? I am even willing to give Izzy the benefit of the doubt she was missing Vinny before, but she leaped into action when Lamp got there, she could've leaped into action a little sooner than 24 hours before the rose ceremony… Also, I am totally bias since Vinny lives in my town.
Alright, enjoy tonight's finale, and until next season folks!
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