3 ways the Bachelor was the worst

Even though it's 3 weeks since the finale and After the Final Rose aired, I find that I am still incredibly annoyed by Bachelor Arie Luyendyk's behavior.

My daughters and I are big Bachelor/Bachelorette fans, and just like every other season, we were once again glued to the TV on Monday nights to watch Arie's journey. We remembered him from Emily Maynard's season but we didn't really have any preconceived notions about him.  (Although we LOVED Peter from Rachel's season and were sad that he wasn't the one.)

I'll admit it - I did read spoilers on Reality Steve's site. And you know what? Although I knew Arie was going to choose Becca in the end, I also saw how absolutely ridiculously smitten he was with Lauren and found it hard to believe he wouldn't choose her. So it didn't surprise me when more spoilers emerged that he had broken up with Becca to be with Lauren. (One of my daughters was aware of the spoilers but the other wasn't, so we kept our mouths' shut as the entire 48 hour debacle unfolded.)

I'm not going to comment on Becca's vivaciousness or Lauren's silence in terms of the validity of Arie's choice. At the end, he should be with the one he loves. Really. That's not what I have a problem with.

Here's what's still bothering me weeks later about the whole thing:

1. All he wanted was Becca to tell him that it was okay. He never showed any remorse. At all. Completely emotionless. Not a single ounce of compassion or emotion. How could he turn the switch off on his emotions, to be so dead with the girl he supposedly loved minutes before?
2. He went behind Becca's back to get in touch with Lauren. Not only that, he wanted to make sure that he would have a relationship with Lauren if he broke up with Becca. Was he going to stay with Becca if Lauren said NO? He should have been man enough to break up with Becca regardless and not privately string her along so he didn't end up alone.  He just wanted to be in a relationship. And, also reaching out to Bekah, too ... it was all just so slimy!  
3. The utter lack of caring about what he did to Becca when he visited Lauren, gave her googly eyes about what she had to suffer (albeit in private so no public embarrassment) and then said how he was 1000% over Becca. That total lack of caring in the pursuit of his selfish goal was what made and makes me want to scream. 

Okay, end of rant. In the meantime, while we wait to hear about Becca's Bachelorette Season, I traded in some Swagbucks for a $3 Amazon gift card and redeemed some Shopkicks for a $10 Amazon gift card and bought Amy Kaufman's new book over the weekend. I read it last night.

My thoughts: 
It was well-written, which isn't surprising given Kaufman's journalistic background. It offers some interesting insights into the history and development of the program (and creator Mike Fleiss). It also features interviews and insights from well-known former cast members and production team members. Some dirt, but I thought there would be more. Although I'm a fast reader,  I was surprised when I came to the end so quickly. Maybe I was just gobbling it all up - but I was disappointed when I tapped/swiped my Kindle for the next chapter only to find that that was it.

Of course, given the timing of its March release, none of Arie's shenanigans were featured. Reading it has made me want to check out some of the other cast members' books out there. So, if you're interested in the history of the show, and reading how the producers manipulate the cast, and about the connection to the TV show, UnREAL, I recommend it.

Now back to scouring the web for Becca spoilers!  I can't wait until May 28th when we get to watch her (hopefully more satisfying) journey.

This post was proofread by Grammarly

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