Obviously, when you put thirty women in a house and tell them to vie for the same man, there are bound to be some issues. Every season of The Bachelor, the mansion is riddled with rivalries, competition, and women who are just plain enemies from the start.
Anything can cause a rift, from a woman 'stealing' too much of the bachelor's time, to a nasty glance over cocktails. Usually, these conflicts escalate with the women spending much of their interview time talking mad ish about their enemy woman. Then, one of the women, let's call her woman #1, takes it upon herself to notify the bachelor of the evil presence of woman #2. She typically believes that her tattle-telling on woman #2 will result in the man completely believing woman #1's side of the story and him sending the wrong-doer home.
However, instead, the man always pulls aside the woman in question and tells woman #2 exactly what woman #1 said about her. For example, in this week's episode, Colton pulled Courtney aside and said, "Demi raise to my attention that you are the cancer of the house." An incredibly harsh thing to say, btw Demi, but that is not the focus of this piece.
Demi roasting Courtney, while earning a blurred bubble over her mouth for her language. Hulu
Besides the Demi and Courtney clash, this season has also been showcasing volatile friction between two former pageant girls, Hannah B. and Caelynn. Coverage of their oppositions has been a focal point of the past couple of episodes. Here's a run-down: Caelynn and Hannah were roommates during Miss America. Besties. Caelynn was first runner-up in the pageant, while Hannah did not place. Suddenly they become mortal enemies. They both happen to be on this season of the bachelor.
Initially, nothing is said of the hate-filled past between Caelynn and Hannah. Hannah gets the first one-on-one date with Colton. Caelynn has no objections. Then, the next week, Caelynn gets a group date rose from Colton. Hannah sees that Caelynn is getting attention. Hannah immediately pulls Colton aside to tell him about her past with Caelynn, and about how Caelynn is a "manipulative and deceitful" person. The conflict intensifies with Caelynn defending herself to Colton, Colton basically taking Caelynn's side, and Hannah crying in a corner whimpering "I HATE her."
Classic Bach Conflict. I was wholeheartedly expecting this whole situation to conclude with a two-on-one, the infamous showdown where the two fighting contestants go on a date with the bachelor. Only one can survive, the other goes home.
However, I was very wrong. This drama concluded in a very anticlimactic way. At the end of the week, after Caelynn had a very successful and romantic one-on-one date with Colton, she chose to pull Hannah aside. She voiced to Hannah that their conflict was not relevant to the bachelor situation and was only making an already very difficult environment more toxic.
The two agreed to put their past behind them, specifying that they had no intentions of being best friends, but did not want any more of their limited time with C-man to be spent discussing the other woman. Bam. Done. Sealed with a hug.
This was the most mature and civil exchange I have ever seen between two women that The Bachelor pits against each other. Although I admit, I typically watch The Bachelor in hopes of seeing some juicy drama go down, it was heartwarming and a super girl-power-y moment to watch the two levelheaded women come to a rational decision for how to go one about their lives on the show instead of dwelling on this ancient, overdramatized quarrel.
All of this newfound hope I have in The Bachelor world may very well be washed away with next week's episode, I would not put it past the girls to forget their promises of cordiality and end up in a slap fight. However, for this week at least, I am thrilled to see the show exemplify such sensible women, empowering each other while vying for the same man's heart.
