Editor's Note: Season six Bachelorette and current host of NBC's 1st Look Ali Fedotowsky is blogging exclusively on E! Online about NBC's new reality series Ready for Love. Check back every week for her insider's take on the most recent episode.
I really hope you caught the premiere of Ready For Love last night! If not, you need to start watching. Why? Because this show is the next big thing in reality dating shows. If anyone knows about the reality TV world, it's me. I've been through it a couple times; I understand it. I know what works and what doesn't work, and I really believe this show can work! It's taking a lot of the things we love about dating shows and bringing it to the next level. Let's start from the beginning…
First of all, is it just me or did you learn a lot from the matchmakers? Their advice was so great. I studied relationships in college, and I've always been a big supporter of seeing a couples' therapist. You can tell that they're out to create real loving relationships. They're professionals, and they know what's necessary for a strong, lasting relationship.
I really like that we immediately see how the journey (yep, I said journey) ends for each of the three guys. As soon as I saw that "this season on Ready for Love" montage, I knew I was hooked!
I also think it's super cool that the girls know about their guys before signing up for the show. That's something we haven't really seen before. They signed up for the show because they were interested in this particular guy, which is very cool. When those girls were talking to Tim, they already knew that they had feelings for him.
I thought Amber (the first matchmaker) described finding your life partner really well. It's definitely the most important thing in your life, so why not invest in it? Some people are fortunate enough to find a perfect match on their own, but others need help. Matchmakers and couples' therapists can be quite helpful in building and maintaining relationships for a lot of people.
Before Tim met his first group of girls, he told them not to treat it like a competition. I'm glad he said that. If you find love, great! If not, it wasn't meant to be. Sometimes on dating shows, the contestants feel a need to beat the other contestants. It should never be about that. You shouldn't be looking to win; you should be looking for love. On this show, more than others, first impressions are very important! You can be sent home before you even meet the guy! That's a lot of pressure. Based on those initial greetings, I have to say that I really liked the girls that matchmaker Matt picked! They were my faves for sure. Amber's picks all seemed kinda cheesy to me. Maybe they were just nervous, but I wished they would've calmed down a bit. It's better to come into something like this not super serious. You should be serious about why you're there, but still laid back and normal. Be yourself. It always freaks me out a little when a girl first meets a guy on reality TV and says she loves him right away. Dial it down a bit. Pump the brakes.
Who's your favorite matchmaker? While I liked Matt's picks the best, I'm really looking forward to hearing Tracey's thoughts and advice throughout the season. I thought she was great. They're all professionals though. It's cool to have their input on a show like this. It really does set it apart from any dating shows we've seen before. I wish I had advice like this when I was on the Bachelorette! Ha! I actually think they've already done the majority of their jobs by picking the girls. At the end of the day, I don't really think it matters if a girl mentions an insecurity or talks about farts (like Hailey did). If "the one" is there, those things don't matter. I do understand what they're saying though, because when your time with someone is so limited, it's important to stick around long enough to explore that potential. If you're sent home, you'll never know if there was something there. There are a lot of sides to this, and I really like that this show gives us the input of these three professionals.
I wasn't expecting this aspect of the show, but I also really liked that the matchmakers choose the bottom three girls and pick which girls get special one-on-one time during their dates. They know Tim and they know the girls. When it comes to choosing a potential partner, they know more than we do (at least at this point in the process). They're making these choices with their heads on top of their shoulders. Sorry guys, but many of you tend to think with something else when it comes to this sort of thing...and physical attraction is only a piece of it.
I think it was smart of Matt to put Leah up for elimination. Having known each other for six years, she definitely stood out to me. This was a chance to see how Tim really feels about her and ultimately, I think Tim made a smart choice in sending her home. As I was watching, I was thinking that if he had any real feelings for her, he would've made a move sooner. Women tend to over think relationships. Guys seem to know what they want right away. I just wasn't too sure that he was ever all that into her.
Everything about that first elimination has made me a believer in this show. It was a bold move to send Leah home, but it seemed real and raw. I can't wait to see how the show progresses! I think many of us can learn a lot from watching these matchmakers, and from the looks of it...the three love stories as well. Some entertainment and a few life lessons for all of us singles along the way!
I'll leave you with my top picks for Tim. Right now it's Christina, Jenna and Hailey. But, I will be the first to admit that I might be way off! Ha! We still have so much to learn from the girls and from Tim.
I'll definitely keep watching to fine tune those choices. Follow me on Twitter (@AliFedotowsky) and on Facebook because I will be live-tweeting and posting each week. Send me any questions you may have about reality dating and I will try to answer some of them in my blog next week!
Are you guys Ready for Love? I most definitely am!
Until next week…
Ali
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