The Bachelorette

Ok, so I know that most people probably hate this show and that there are only a handful of people who probably watch it.  If you hate it, I'm sorry, and you should probably just skip this post.

But I thought this season was really touching for a number of reasons and I wanted to give Ali (the bachelorette, for those of you still reading who aren't at all familiar with the show) some credit for the way that she rose above contestants from previous seasons.  (Contestants is probably not the right word but it's all I can come up.)

Chris and Roberto (Photo from ABC.com.)

1. She showed true compassion
The first time I really felt like she was compassionate was when there were only 5 guys left and she had already decided to let Craig R go.  Instead of having a cocktail party and letting him think that he had a chance, she asked to cancel the cocktail party and just let Craig know that he wasn't the one.  It was sad - I really liked him! - but I loved that even though those weren't the rules of the show, she changed them so that she could feel ok how she "broke up" with some of these guys. 

2. She had her heart broken, and we got to see that
When Frank left the show to go home to his ex-girlfriend, she bawled her eyes out.  Frank was a front-runner for her and she really did have feelings for him.  When he just left her like that

3. She seemed like a real person
Although her make-up was always flawless, we got to see a lot of other flaws in her, that made her seem more human.  Her hair wasn't always perfectly manicured.  She had tan lines from her bathing suit.  She had a pimple on her chin in the finale!  You never see that in these shows, and those weird little things made me like her more.

4. She wasn't afraid to get pissed on TV
After she talked with Justin's girlfriend, and Chris (the host) was like, "Where do you want go from here?" she basically said that she wanted to go down to the room and confront Justin, and that's just what she did. You could tell that the camera people weren't even 100% prepared for it. 

5. She showed even more compassion than before
Once she was down to the final 2, she knew that she would be breaking someones heart.  I think that Ali truly liked Chris L, and he was my personal favorite as well, but she was clearly in love with Roberto and that had been clear for some time.  As she said, her and Chris were more friends than anything else, although I think he truly loved her.  I hate, hate hate hate hate the usual finales of these shows, where they basically make both guys think that they have a chance to get with the girl, and they both have to get down on one knee to propose, only to be told no.  Is that not a guy's worst nightmare???
She didn't want him to go through that, and refused to put him through that at all.  So instead of going on her final date with Chris, she went to his room and told him that she was in love with Roberto and that she was going to chose him the next day.  Did it suck for Chris to hear that? Absolutely.  But did it save him from the shame, embarrassment, and heartbreak of dragging him along for another two days only for her to turn down his engagement ring in the end? Absolutely.
I loved that Ali went against the usual "rules" of the show - which say that the final two guys hopefully propose and she says yes to the one that she wants - and eliminated the person that she wasn't in love with right off the bat.  The morning that she went to Chris L's room to tell him this, it's another scenario when you can almost tell that the camera people weren't ready for it.  The lighting was horrible, the shots were pretty bad, and she wasn't dressed up or done up or anything to suggest that they were expecting this to happen.

So, after watching this and loving the way that she handled everything, I have to ask myself - Did the Bachelorette's from previous season's really love both guys at the end?  Because that's what they always suggested.  "Oh my god, they're both so great and amazing and I just can't decide!" and then at the last minute, she picks one and "it was meant to be!"

Photo from aceshowbiz.com

I know that if I had been the bachelorette it would have been really clear to me which guy/guys I had feelings for, and it would be hard for me to act like I was interested in them all.  You would definitely have stronger feelings for one over the other, right??!?! Even if they were both amazing, there would always be one that like better.  But every season they act like it's such a hard decision. Ali didn't fake it.  She just said, "I'm in love with Roberto, I'm going to do things my own way."

Amen, Ali! I have so much respect for her, and could on and on and on, but I'll just leave it at that. I think that all of the guys and many of the viewers would say that they really respected the way that she handled things.

In closing, I would like to add that I do think that this is one relationship that is going to last. They seem to genuinely love each other and I think that the way Ali approached things is going to lead to greater success.

Great season overall. I am NOT sure if I'm going to watch it though - seems a little too trashy even for my tastes.

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