CRAIG SJODIN, ABC[Get the update to this story, with exclusive scoop, by clicking here!]
In case you missed the season finale or last night’s “After the Final Rose” special of The Bachelor (and let’s face it, most of you probably did), there’s something you should know: It was bonkers. Like, looney-tuney, screwy-Louie, someone-went-off-his-meds bonkers.
Not only did Bachelor Brad choose neither girl (ouch), he offered no real explanation last night for this colossal diss. And one look at my email in-box will show you that the Bachelor-viewing fan base is Up. In. Arms.
“Why, why, whyyyyyyy would he do this to Jenny and DeAnna?” begs reader Teresa K. in Indiana. “Is there no hope that a guy can actually willingly commit? Why would he walk away?”
I'll tell you why...
Brad Womack was paid off by the Writers Guild of America to kill reality TV.
Okay, so that’s not true.
Not even a little bit. But they should cut this guy a big, fat check anyway, because he has helped destroy what little faith the fans had left in this six-year-old reality-relationship staple—and with strike talks resuming Monday, it couldn’t have come at a better time!
More seriously, though, based on what I’ve heard about what went down behind the scenes, the problem with Brad is the same problem The Bachelor has had from the very beginning: The last thing these guys want to do is settle down after dating 25 girls all at once.
While the series does have two “success stories” (namely, Trista and Ryan and Byron and Mary, who were paraded last night as a reminder), the fact is that most ridiculously good-looking, thirtysomething single guys aren’t exactly freaking out trying to find someone to settle down and knock up.
And when you put a guy in a house with dozens of hot girls who are all clawing one another’s eyes out for the chance to jump in bed with him, suddenly “making a lifelong commitment” is right up there with “take advantage of that root canal/testical wax special” on a Bachelor’s to-do list.
Wanna know how noncommittal these guys can be? Well, let’s just say I’ve heard stories over the years about there being a little “friendly competition” to see which Bachelor could sleep with the most bachelorettes. I know...Ewww.
So, all that said, when the ring was bought and the father was flown in for the big season-finale proposal (by the way, how much do you think DeAnna’s dad wants to kick Brad’s ass?), and words like love and family and commitment were being tossed around, it seems only right that Brad would freak out, choke up and walk away.
If you ask me, it’s a miracle it has ever happened any other way.
What did you think of the finale and Brad’s intentions? Was it better that he was honest, or should he have given one of the girls a shot? And will you watch The Bachelor next season? Post your comments below…