Arie Luyendyk Jr Холостяк #22

barish

Though I once had very strong feelings for her, those feelings were now gone. It was time to say goodbye.

Ultimately, I had to remember why I came on the show in the first place. I was here to find a wife, not a drama queen.

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“The only thing that was ever wrong with me was my belief that something was wrong with me.” (c)

barish

My decision wasn’t just based on needing to say goodbye to Krystal.

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“The only thing that was ever wrong with me was my belief that something was wrong with me.” (c)

barish

I also needed to keep seeing Kendall.

My feelings for her were growing more and more every day. Getting to end the night kissing Kendall on top of the Eiffel Tower was pure bliss. We literally ran across town to catch the last elevator up and made it to our platform just in time to be able to kiss while overlooking Paris. What a beautiful end to a really stressful day.

__________________
“The only thing that was ever wrong with me was my belief that something was wrong with me.” (c)

barish

As I drove the streets of Paris in an old Triumph (English-made, for the record), I was really looking forward to the standard 1-on-1 after the stressful day before.

I really wanted to have a great day with Jacqueline, someone who I had been hoping to connect with for a while.

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“The only thing that was ever wrong with me was my belief that something was wrong with me.” (c)

barish

I know you haven’t seen much of Jacqueline on the show, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t notice her. Jacqueline intrigued me early on, whether it was her feeding me aphrodisiacs by the fire or making me a personalized chocolate Rorschach test. I knew she was smart, classy and beautiful, and I couldn’t wait to build upon our solid foundation.

__________________
“The only thing that was ever wrong with me was my belief that something was wrong with me.” (c)

barish

I arrived and picked up Jacqueline, and about 15 seconds into our date, the car decided it had other plans. After about an hour of me under the hood, we decided to abandon our car and do Paris via Uber! Seriously, though, as much as it sucked to have the car break down, it was amazing that Jacqueline rolled with the punches and laughed it off.

I was only slightly disappointed that we didn’t get to roll around the Arc de Triomphe with the top down.That would’ve been pretty incredible.

__________________
“The only thing that was ever wrong with me was my belief that something was wrong with me.” (c)

barish

Through the grapevine (the other women told me), I found out that Jacqueline really wanted to go to Maxim’s, so I planned the date around surprising her with that.

She told me that it was known for its Art Nouveau collection and it was a place where novelists, artists, playwrights, painters and celebrities would socialize and drink scotch and smoke cigars. Though you didn’t see it, I can’t promise we didn’t partake in such traditions.

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“The only thing that was ever wrong with me was my belief that something was wrong with me.” (c)

barish

My conversations with Jacqueline were real and deep.
We spoke of our potential future and how incredibly different our lives were. Going into this, I wanted to find someone with a similar lifestyle, and with Jacqueline I couldn’t have found someone more different. She still wanted to complete six years of school without knowing where that would be, but my life is pretty rooted in Scottsdale. We talked about literature and her romance with the written word and how her world related to it. I almost felt intimidated by her intellect. Even though I knew we were worlds apart and that our lives didn’t mesh well, I just couldn’t let her go. The romantic in me saw something more than just the obstacles we would face, I saw a woman with huge, beautiful brown eyes and so much depth.

I needed to spend more time with her. Giving her that rose was such an easy decision. I just wanted her to feel confident, because I felt so much for her in that moment.

__________________
“The only thing that was ever wrong with me was my belief that something was wrong with me.” (c)

barish

The rose ceremony in Paris was at the Musée des Arts Forains, a museum filled with old circus attractions and amusement park rides.

Walking through it, I saw so many pieces from old time French carnivals.

__________________
“The only thing that was ever wrong with me was my belief that something was wrong with me.” (c)

barish

It was so weird going to a rose ceremony and having so few roses to hand out. That first night, the pile was so large, and now there were just a few. At this point in the journey, the goodbyes were so much harder than before. I’ve spent so much time and had so many amazing moments with all of the remaining women. Jenna was so fun and energetic and beautiful, but I just knew she wasn’t going to be my lifelong partner. I’m so glad to have met her and really hope she finds what she is looking for.

__________________
“The only thing that was ever wrong with me was my belief that something was wrong with me.” (c)

barish

Saying goodbye to Chelsea was really hard, but I knew it was the right thing to do.

At the beginning of our relationship, I promised her that as soon as I knew that it wasn’t her at the end, I’d let her know and let her go back to Sammy. Chelsea is strong, intelligent and sexy, but my gut told me that it wasn’t us at the end. I have so much respect for her and cannot stress more what a truly wonderful person she is.

__________________
“The only thing that was ever wrong with me was my belief that something was wrong with me.” (c)

barish

After what was one of the most stressful weeks of my life, I didn’t think being The Bachelor could get any crazier. Of course, I was totally wrong. Come join me next week to see some of the most dramatic moments yet. I say goodbye to someone I potentially saw myself with at the end and have my most heart-wrenching goodbye of the season, which caused me to break down.

The excitement and stress mounts because I have just one week left to sort out my feelings and relationships before hometowns. Trust me, the decisions are not easy, and you won’t want to miss it. Thanks for reading.
Best, Arie

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“The only thing that was ever wrong with me was my belief that something was wrong with me.” (c)

barish

Sharleen Joynt on The Bachelor: Episode 6

It is a testament to this season as a whole that, when Chris Harrison materialized in Paris to tell the women there would be FOUR dates this week, I wasn’t filled with a familiar dread of a too-long feeling episode I’d have to prop my eyelids open to get through. (Pretty much how I felt about every Bachelor in Paradise 3 episode.) It’s a testament to Arie that my friend Jasmine (Americans, she was our first and only Bachelorette Canada), who’s visiting me, had only heard unfavourable things about him—the word she said she’s heard come up over and over again was “boring.” Yet when she watched last night’s episode with me (she hasn’t been following the season), she said, “I love him! He’s funny!” (We laughed out loud when he pointed out the cherub “ripping on a ukulele” in that oil painting.) “He’s sweet and can make fun of himself. He listens! What doesn’t he have that people would want?”

__________________
“The only thing that was ever wrong with me was my belief that something was wrong with me.” (c)

barish

It’s a testament to this season’s women that Lucia, my non-Bachelor-watching opera singer friend who agreed to watch with us, called the women “cool, smart, and beautiful,” and regarding Kendall, “an insanely together 26-year old.”

It’s a testament to the romantic relationships being built that there hasn’t been a peep about someone being around for “the wrong reasons;” the women seem genuinely VERY into Arie (as evidenced by a rattled Lauren’s conversation with a producer at the end of the episode), which unto itself should make anyone trashing him as the lead second-guess their judgment.

__________________
“The only thing that was ever wrong with me was my belief that something was wrong with me.” (c)

barish

Above all, it’s a testament to just how compelling and almost addictive Krystal is to watch that I was legitimately sad to see her go.

(I’m NEVER sad to see villains go!) I mean, that’s not to say I wish she’d stayed over Kendall, but rather I just wish I could continue to watch and analyze her behaviour for the sake of my entertainment. (When I put it like that it sounds kind of sick but you know what I mean!) Krystal brought a dimension to this show that I haven’t felt in years and that I honestly thought was lost. Perhaps this is why Arie’s season has, as many of you have expressed feeling in your tweets and comments, something of a “vintage”-feeling vibe. There’s a purity to it that I think hinges heavily on an exceptional villain. That sort of villain has to really grate on you, but that can’t be all—you have to feel for them, too.

__________________
“The only thing that was ever wrong with me was my belief that something was wrong with me.” (c)

barish

In a way, I felt like I understood Krystal, even if I didn’t agree with her and even when her actions drove me crazy.

__________________
“The only thing that was ever wrong with me was my belief that something was wrong with me.” (c)

barish

I could be way off-base and not understand her at all, but it’s that sense of understanding that captivated me.

__________________
“The only thing that was ever wrong with me was my belief that something was wrong with me.” (c)

barish

Kendall touched on this very well during their 2-on-1 date and managed to verbalize what I think many of us were thinking at home on our sofas (which, as a viewer, felt almost interactive). We don’t only love to hate-watch Krystal, but we feel feelings of sympathy for her, and those conflicting feelings make for an elevated (if not blood pressure-regulating) viewing experience.

__________________
“The only thing that was ever wrong with me was my belief that something was wrong with me.” (c)

barish

To me, it’s imperative that this master villain cannot be too “in” on things. This is why I could never hop aboard the Corinne Olympios train; I’m not watching The Bachelor to watch one’s performance piece (I can watch actual television, with actual talent, for that). With Krystal, you could see her wheels turning, thinking she was outsmarting everyone and manipulating everything around her: Arie, the other women, her edit, us.

That misguidedness is key, and by the same token, in the moments where Krystal became more of a traditional or textbook villain (meaning she became way too comfortable with her producer and began simply and openly talking shit about the other women—something she never would’ve done in the beginning), she actually became less entertaining to me. It’s not watching someone being bitchy, but rather someone who thinks they know better than you, who behaves in a way they think will result in them being perceived a certain way, that is interesting and entertaining. I’m not sure I’m in the majority with this, but Krystal, you will be missed.

__________________
“The only thing that was ever wrong with me was my belief that something was wrong with me.” (c)

barish

1. Tia, 26:
Despite the fact that Arie gave Bekah M this week’s Group Date rose (and the Moulin Rouge prize), Tia isn’t budging from my top spot. Tia received the exact right amount of post 1-on-1 date screen time, meaning we saw her conversation with Arie, she was a constant throughout the episode (girl chats, ITMs and the Group Date itself) but she wasn’t alarmingly omnipresent. One of the major things I think Tia has over some of the other women is that I think Arie finds her funny, which is a big deal. (I mean, who could be with someone they don’t find funny??) This relationship continues to truck along and grow with every step, which is how it should be both on this show and in life.

__________________
“The only thing that was ever wrong with me was my belief that something was wrong with me.” (c)

barish

2. Bekah M, 22:
Arie’s cautious optimism regarding Bekah M seems to be morphing into plain optimism. I can admit that I have a hard time viewing Bekah—in terms of her relationship with Arie—not through the lens of her age (to use her own words). That said, there were some truly beautiful moments between the two of them this week. When Arie gave her the Group Date rose, it really looked as though she might cry from happiness. It was very touching and broke my heart a little bit because I think Arie is a thinker and, under these circumstances, a careful one at that. (His fear about Jacqueline being “too smart” for him is a good example of this: “I wasn’t sure I’d know how to interest you.”) As I said last week, Bekah M is a risk, and he’s fully aware of it.

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“The only thing that was ever wrong with me was my belief that something was wrong with me.” (c)

barish

3. Kendall, 26:

What a phenomenal showing on Kendall’s part this week. How many unfortunate 2-on-1-ers have we ever seen confront her nemesis (whom, as is tradition, has just thrown her under the bus) with anything but blind rage? Instead, she approached Krystal with (debatably undeserved) compassion and a sincere desire to connect. It was a beautiful moment that I found myself legitimately moved by. Arie said it well two weeks ago when he described Kendall as “analytical” and this is proving wonderfully true. I have my doubts about them being the last couple standing (I basically have doubts about any woman chosen for a 2-on-1; just seems like a cruel thing for the lead to do to his future fiancée) but I really appreciate her.

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“The only thing that was ever wrong with me was my belief that something was wrong with me.” (c)

barish

4. Lauren B, 25:
Sigh. I finally had to bump Becca K and it’s giving me the sads We didn’t see a second of 1-on-1 time between her and Arie at the Group Date cocktail party! I actually groaned out loud when the show skipped from Seinne’s 1-on-1 time to the handing out of the Group Date rose (it was the sound of Becca K dropping off this Top 4 list). Meanwhile, official dark horse Lauren might have a hard time with trust and opening up, but Arie remains intrigued which, considering his huge selection of readily open women, says something. Despite the fact that I’m not sure Lauren can get to a point of getting engaged (or rather, opening up enough to get engaged) by the end of this process, the sweet credits clip of them dancing—which they DID NOT have to show—bumped her onto this list.

__________________
“The only thing that was ever wrong with me was my belief that something was wrong with me.” (c)

barish

__________________
“The only thing that was ever wrong with me was my belief that something was wrong with me.” (c)

barish

__________________
“The only thing that was ever wrong with me was my belief that something was wrong with me.” (c)