Editor's Note: Season six Bachelorette and current host of NBC's 1st Look Ali Fedotowsky is blogging exclusively on E! Online about the current season of The Bachelorette, giving her reactions and spilling behind-the-scenes secrets.
The Men Tell All last night started out with our girl time! Love! Seeing Desiree, Ashley, and Emily was so fun. Like all of you, I feel invested in Desiree's season. Not only because she has become a good friend of mine, but because she's a really down-to-earth, wholesome girl that deserves love. So it goes without saying that I was thrilled to chat with her and offer any advice that might help her out. I felt our advice really resonated with her because she totally let James have it! I'll get to that in a bit.
Bryan: Let's start by talking about how Bryan was absent (the guy who had a girlfriend that showed up on the show, in case you forgot). As it turns out Bryan and his girlfriend are back together, which is why he didn't show up to the Men Tell All. I honestly feel really sorry for them—such an unhealthy relationship. I was really shocked that she would take him back. But love is blind I guess...to a fault.
Ben: The guys totally let Ben have it, and I think most of them were really mature in the way they handled it. I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt, but I don't think I can anymore—especially because of the Vegas story. The fact that Ben's baby's mamma came up to Dan in Vegas is crazy! I don't know what to think though, because Ben is such a good talker. If he wasn't being genuine, then he should seriously consider running for office, because I believed every word he said.
James: Oh James...you drive me nuts. I don't believe a word that comes out of his mouth. And all the "plan B" talk that Mikey keeps bringing up...really Mikey? Are you serious? It's not ok to "hedge your bets" in a relationship. I don't care if Des is dating other guys. You signed up to date one girl knowing that she would be dating other guys. She didn't sign up to have her guys planning their future "hookups" outside of the show. Kacey was so dead on when he made the point that it's not okay to look at your wife on your wedding day and say, "well, if it doesn't work out there is always plan B" I'm a big Kacey fan—he knows what's up.
Juan Pablo: Juan Pablo was called to the stage by Chris Harrison last night because he could possibly be someone they are considering for The Bachelor. He wasn't a "huge" character during the season, so why else would he be called up during the Men Tell All? I actually watched the show last night with Desiree, and she told me that he's a a super sweet guy. She said that some people generalize him as this suave Latin guy, but he's genuinely a good dude. His talk about family and his daughter had me on the verge of tears. If he isn't the next Bachelor, I have a few girlfriends I'd love to set him up with.
Zak: Zak is a sweetheart. You can tell he really cared for Desiree. But did he really write her a song?! I seriously died inside after that happened. It was a joke right? I'm choosing to believe it was a joke. In the past, people have tried to get noticed musically through this show (I'm talking to you, Wes!), I just think it was in poor taste. That said... damn! He's not a bad singer. I'd sign him! But seriously...first he brought her to his family's business for his hometown, and then sings a song? This is a little too much self-promotion for me. Sorry Zak, I like you, but dial it down a bit.
Now let's talk about my beautiful friend Des. She handled the bulls--t from Ben and James perfectly. She told them exactly how she felt, but in a classy way. That's my girl! James still tried to manipulate her! I'm glad she stood up for herself!
Moving on to questions from my twitter followers:
Kellie (@Kell_Holt) asks @AliFedotowsky: is it hard to face the men again after you've sent them home?
Not really. I definitely had some nerves beforehand, but they disappeared once I actually saw the guys. I remember feeling excited and happy to see them all again. Enough time had passed that no one really had any hard feelings. It was like we were a bunch of old friends getting together.
Alison (@aliferguson13) asks @AliFedotowsky @eonline: do the men have to show up? And r u still friends with girls from your season?
I am still friends with a few of the girls on my season. The friendships you make on the show are some of the best parts of being on the show! But no, they don't have to show up. The producers definitely try their best to get everyone to show, especially the "bad boys". Desiree wants that closure, and in a way, all of us viewers want the closure, too.
Claudia (@ClauRec24) asks @AliFedotowsky @eonline: how long is the taping of the men tell all.
My seasons MTA was like seven or eight hours! Desiree said her Men Tell All went on for hours. It's very long. So you only see the super juicy stuff on TV. The rest is cut.
OK, my friends...who else is super excited for the next two episodes? I promise you that this next bit did not come from Des. She's a steel trap. She signed a contract prohibiting her from revealing information to anyone, so I really have no idea. But based on my experience with the show, I'm standing by what I've said all season: Des is engaged to Chris! I'm certain. The editing wants us to believe it's Brooks, and for this reason, there is no way it's Brooks in my mind. I've said it since the third episode and I'm sticking to it...Chris is the one. If it's Brooks, then I want to take this moment as an opportunity to apologize to my friend Desiree and her fiancé Brooks. Ha! But I still think it's Chris.
Make sure to follow me on Twitter (@alifedotowsky) because I live tweet during the show each week and I might answer your questions in my blog!
Until next week…
Ali