It's been a couple weeks now since Season 22 finale of ABC's hit show, "The Bachelor" premiered on March 5 and yet, it's safe to say that a good amount of people are still quaking from the drama-induced finale episode.
If you're a) like me and don't watch "The Bachelor" or b) re-adjusting to society after a few months of living "off the grid", here is a quick rundown of what happened.
Season 22's bachelor, Arie Luyendyk Jr., had successfully whittled down the group of 29 women, all competing for his ring, to two contestants- Rebecca "Becca" Kufrin (a.k.a. "Becca K.") and Lauren Burnham. Having made his decision between the two ladies, Luyendyk proposed to Kufrin and fans of Becca K.'s rejoiced. Their celebrations were short-lived, however, because in a surprising turn of events, it was revealed that shortly after the proposal, Luyendyk broke up with Becca in order to get back together with Lauren Burnham.
Arie Luyendyk Jr.; "The Bachelor", Season 22
Lauren Burnham (left) and Rebecca Kufrin (right), during their proposals by Arie Luyendyk Jr.
Needless to say, fans were very upset at the twist ending. So much so, that tweets condemning the bachelor continue to pour in even now, weeks after the shocking and emotional finale aired.
While fans may be having difficulty moving on from the betrayal, the "Bachelor" cast seems unphased.
In the time since the season finale aired, Luyendyk and Burnham have gotten engaged and are currently travelling, all while updating the public of their every move by plastering their social media with stereotypical couple pictures.
And as for Becca K., you ask?
Yes, Rebecca Kufrin, is the next bachelorette.
Which brings me to the point of this article:
This entire ordeal is all so obviously staged and merely served as a set up for the next season of "The Bachelorette", yet people are still so hung up on it.
Look, I know that people who watch reality television understand that it is staged, doctored, and scripted to an extent. But with all the undeniable evidence that points to "The Bachelor" being complete bullshit and furthermore, the insane amount of evidence that points towards this "proposal gone wrong" as being nothing more than a publicity stunt, I am completely taken aback by the number of people who are so unwaveringly invested in this storyline.
I mean, for God's sake, people have been PURCHASING BILLBOARDS in an effort to shame Luyendyk
for his actions.
The two billboards above, read, "Arie...not okay, just leave," which were Kufrin's final words to Luyendyk during their televised breakup.
Billboard dedicated to Minnesota native, Rebecca Kufrin.
And if the billboards aren't over-the-top enough, let's not forget about the Minnesota LEGISLATOR who drafted a bill to ban Luyendyk from the state, due to Kufrin being a Minnesota native. This is a public official, who took time out of their day to draft a bill, banning a reality television star from their state. And sure, it all seems more tongue-in-cheek than anything, but it's plain to see that fans of the show are emotional over the outcome of the season finale.
So, here is some evidence to support my very sound theory that all of this drama is totally and completely fake.
First of all...
Think about reality television shows as a whole. Think about the people that star in them. If you genuinely look back through reality television history, you will see that even seemingly "normal people" who got onto a reality television show, somehow or other got into show business (or at least attempted to) after the show was wrapped.
Angelina Pivarnick of MTV's hit reality show, "Jersey Shore", attempted a music career.
You can't buy this, "farmer's daughter from Nebraska with a heart as golden as the corn I grow" bullshit. Sure, bits and pieces of a reality television star's backstory may be true, but for the most part they are simply sugarcoating the fact that they're using this as a way to break into the entertainment industry.
To further support this notion, think about what being a reality television star nowadays, entails:
1. Living your life on camera.
2. Losing your privacy/ your loved ones' privacy.
3. Having to keep a constant presence on social media.
4. Having to keep up with the media, i.e. appearing on talk shows, engaging with fans, participating in events for the show, live tweeting during new episodes, etc.
Why would a completely normal person without any dreams of becoming a celebrity want all of that? That is the life of a celebrity. They are making money. They are being sponsored. They are constantly branding and working to keep up an image.
This is a dream come true for someone who wants to be in show business, but it's an utter nightmare for any small town girl, actually looking for love.
Now...
We've established that it's a fair assumption that, at the very least, 9 out of 10 reality television stars have big dreams of fame.
So, let's move on to examine the insanity of the premise of
"The Bachelor"/ "The Bachelorette":
1. 20-30 contestants, all looking for love with the ONE person cast as the bachelor or bachelorette for that particular season.
2. They've never met this person in their life, but they are willing to give up months of their life, their privacy, their jobs, etc. to fight for their hand in MARRIAGE.
3. The contestants always fall for the bachelor/bachelorette.
Which is weird, because from my experience with dating, a good portion of those original 30ish contestants would not find themselves vibing with the bachelor/bachelorette after hanging out with them a few times. That's nothing against them; just statistically speaking, it's highly unlikely that EVERY SINGLE contestant would catch feelings. It's completely unrealistic that the bachelor/bachelorette would truly end up having their pick of the lot.
4. They're all so "in love" with the bachelor/bachelorette after a few dates, however, they have to keep their cool about the person they "love" actively being pursued by other suitors and doing Lord knows what while out with them?
From a female perspective, I can say that a "Bachelor" scenario would never work out among girls who were actually all in love with the same man. It would be absolute chaos.
5. How often do the winning contestants on this shows actually stay married to the bachelor/bachelorette? The answer is not very often.
If two people do manage to fall in love, in spite of the spectacle of it all, then it's usually short lived.
6. If the people and emotions on the show were real then hearts would really get broken on-screen. I have a hard time believing that anyone would be cool with a) having their heart publicly broken, b) having to live-tweet while watching their heart get broken all over again when the show airs, and then c) working the talk show circuit to relive the pain and humiliation daily.
All I'm saying is that a person who is actually looking for a deep and meaningful love connection isn't going to sign onto a dating show like "The Bachelor"/ "The Bachelorette" to find it. However, a person looking for clout and some buzz around their name would see casting for a reality show as an opportunity to build their brand and make connections.
Now that we're viewing "The Bachelor"/ "The Bachelorette" as more of a soap opera than hardcore reality, think about a twist that would trend through social media, bring newfound attention to your show, and promote the next season.
Suddenly, it makes perfect sense to have Luyendyk propose, change his mind, and then turn the dumped fiancé into the next bachelorette, doesn't it?
And, here we have Rebecca "Becca" Kufrin.
Degree in Mass Communications from Minnesota State University. She worked as a publicist before her time on the show.
With her work experience in publicity, it stands to reason that Kufrin HERSELF may have even been the mastermind behind the bombed proposal.
Think about it:
Perhaps Kufrin was already slated to be the next bachelorette (meaning she would have to be the one dumped by Luyendyk somehow or other), but she thought the buzz around her casting would be greater if she got royally screwed over, making "Bachelor" history, rather than just being another weeping runner-up, turned bachelorette.
Here's more evidence that the proposal madness was a publicity stunt:
1. The Timeline leaves very little time for Kufrin to grieve the loss of her engagement, before committing to "The Bachelorette".
According to "The Bachelor" timeline, Luyendyk ended his relationship with Kufrin on January 11, 2018 after having been engaged since shooting the proposal in Peru in mid-November.
"The Bachelorette" is scheduled to start filming in mid-March. Kufrin was already confirmed as the next bachelorette when the season finale of "The Bachelor" aired in early March. ABC had been waiting to release the information until after the finale.
This means that in under two months, Kufrin got over her broken engagement and committed to doing another show like the one that was responsible for her heart break?
I'm not saying that the girl isn't strong, but I've taken long than that to get over a cold. Definitely points towards the theory of Kufrin not having any real feelings towards Luyendyk in the first place.
2. This is a trend with the show.
In fact, Arie Luyendyk, Mr. Heartbreaker himself, was originally a contestant on Season 8 of "The Bachelorette", where he had his heart broken by Emily Maynard.
The Season 21 bachelor, right before Luyendyk, Nick Viall, had found himself as a runner up, not once, but TWICE on "The Bachelorette"-- Seasons 10 and 11.
Before Viall, Season 20 bachelor, Ben Higgins, was originally famous for having gotten his heart smashed in Season 11 of "The Bachelorette" by Kaitlyn Bristowe.
The pattern continues--
Season 19 bachelor, Chris Soules, originally on season 10 of "The Bachelorette".
Season 18 bachelor, Juan Pablo Galavis, originally on season 9 of "The Bachelorette".
Season 17 bachelor, Sean Lowe, originally on season 8 of "The Bachelorette".
Season 16 bachelor, Ben Flajnik, originally on season 7 of "The Bachelorette".
Season 14 bachelor, Jake Pavelka, originally on season 5 of "The Bachelorette".
And so on and so forth.
"The Bachelorette", follows the same trend.
So really, getting on "The Bachelor"/ "The Bachelorette" is like signing onto a long term television role. You know if you progress and poll well with audiences then you're likely to be the star of your own season in the future.
3. Camera crew breakup.
Referring back to the timeline mentioned previously, Luyendyk proposed to Kufrin in mid-November, in Peru at the very end of filming for the show.
This means that they had been officially wrapped for about two months, come January 11th when Luyendyk broke up with Kufrin.
At that point, when every episode is filmed and all is well, it is no longer necessary for those on the show to have a camera crew present for personal moments. However, for whatever reason, Luyendyk brought a whole camera crew to Becca's when breaking up with her. They got a whole extra episode from footage shot by the camera crew after wrap.
When fans attacked the choice to film such a seemingly private moment, so long after the show had wrapped, Luyendyk defended himself stating that he filmed the emotional exchange because he knew it would cause Kufrin to be picked as the next bachelorette.
You can take this however you'd like, but to me it sounds as though Luyendyk is poorly attempting to cover up the fact that the whole thing was staged, hence the camera crews, as well as attempting to hide the correlation between the broken engagement and Kufrin becoming the next bachelorette.
4. No emotion on behalf of Rebecca Kufrin, after breakup.
Luyendyk broke off his engagement to Kufrin on January 11, 2018.
Look at these Instagram posts surrounding that timeframe.
This was posted on January 16th, so just a mere five days after the breakup. And she's having a wine night with her girls and referencing "The Bachelor". Obviously, she has to do these types of posts for the show, but in light of everything, one would think if she was truly hurting as she should be, then the network would cut her a break as far as social media sharing goes.
Posted January 17th; six days post-breakup.
Posted January 23rd; 12 days post-breakup.
Of course, this doesn't mean anything, necessarily. Everyone grieves differently. However, it just seems as though you would at least take some time off after the man you thought you were going to spend the rest of your life with dumps you.
Although, perhaps not if you're trying to keep the buzz around your name for when you're announced as the next bachelorette.
5. Kufrin coming to Luyendyk's defense.
While certainly admirable, in my experience, it's usually not like a jilted lover to defend the moral integrity of the person who led them on and broke their heart.
However, it would very much be like a friend/co-star, who feels bad because the person they are defending is getting attacked over ending a fake relationship with them.
