The Bachelor Finale Shocker!
In an unprecedented move, Jason Mesnick changed his mind.
Does anyone else have whiplash after last night's finale of ABC’s The Bachelor? We're still trying to process everything. For those of you who didn’t watch it (and for those who are chatting it up around the water cooler this morning), let’s recap. On last night's finale Jason Mesnick, this season's single dad Bachelor and a fan favorite, is down to his final two women: former Dallas Cowboys cheerleader Melissa Rycroft and Molly Malaney. With a surprise (not really) visit from former Bachelorette DeAnna Pappas who claims to have made a mistake by picking her now ex-fiancee Jesse Csincsak over Jason, we get thrown our first curve ball. Luckily for those who believed in Jason, he decides to stay the course with Melissa and Molly so we've got our shot at our Hollywood ending. Then at the final rose ceremony, he sends Molly packing in an emotional exchange where she tells him "I think you’ve made a mistake, a big one." He asks Melissa to marry him in a very emotional exchange and they jump in the pool for a happily ever after.
Cut to the After The Rose show and the happy couple isn't so happy. Mesnick tells Bachelor host Chris Harrison that the "chemistry is completely different" than he expected with Rycroft and that he hasn't been able to stop thinking of Malaney! In what has to be the most complicated move since coverage of Olympic diving, he then tells the completely shocked and justifiably upset Rycroft, "We're not right for each other." Rycroft gives him the ring back, the show brings Malaney out, where he asks her for another shot at a relationship, to which she replies, "I think we can see where things go."
As the only successful marriage out of this long-running television series belongs to former Bachelorette pairing Trista and Ryan Sutter, any takers on this relationship making it past the next six months? Could you safely give your heart to someone who broke up with you on national television to propose to another woman and THEN take a chance on him after he dumps her on national television to change his mind and pursue you? If you do, you're way braver than we are about the situation.
Additional scoop courtesy of Us Magazine. Photo courtesy of Splash News.
Discussion
The thing about shows like this is that they don't make sense for how most men process chemistry. The concept of the Bachelor gives men too many options, like a kid in a candy story, and he will not be able to make the "right" decision under such pressure. I don't think any bachelor on this show's format will ever make it successfully down the aisle with the woman they pop the question to on the show. It's too contrived and clearly, never works.
Good call, Melanie36. I think an over-abundance of options is bad for women too. While women may have the ability to decide early if they will never want anything to do with a man, romantically, too many options can paralyze their decision-making ability too. The pacing and production pressures make it nearly impossible not to lose perspective. Clearly, most of these participants just want to be on TV. I feel a little bad for the ones who are earnestly just looking for love. It's incredible that Ryan and Trista have made such a great go of it. The franchise (both The Bachelor and Bachelorette) are now 1 for 17.
