After watching “The Bachelor” finale, my mind is filled with emotions. Every season they tell the audience it’s the most dramatic season yet. This was always a lie, until Arie’s season.
Since the beginning of the season I have had a hard time deciphering who he really is as a person, but after the finale I came to the conclusion that he’s the worst Bachelor to ever appear on the show.
I’ve been a fan of the Bachelor franchise for years because of the romance, travel locations and most of all, the drama.
While there is always some kind of villain on the show, deep in my heart I know there is always going to be a happy ending. The Bachelor made me think that extravagant love stories actually exist. But this season’s finale changed that.
Arie Luyendyk Jr., 36 years old, decided to become the Bachelor after his heart was shattered just five years ago in a previous season. He dates 29 women who are all perhaps too young for him.
This season my favorite women went home week after week. But even then, I’ve continued watching the show because I began rooting for the women who deserve true love.
I was fine with Arie until it came down to the final three women. There are rules set in stone when you search for love as the Bachelor, and one is to refrain from saying say “I love you” until the very end to the person they decide to propose to. Arie breaks this rule, and more than once. He decided to tell the final three women that he loves them, and that isn’t okay.
I understand the women having to confess their feelings to him, but Arie saying “I love you” back just breaks their hearts even more when it’s time to say goodbye. Yet he won’t stop tossing these three words around every few seconds. That disgusts me. The show only got worse from there.
There were many heart-wrenching events throughout the finale that left audience members with jaws dropped multiple times. One such event occurred when Becca Kufrin met Arie’s family and they couldn’t seem to stop talking about Lauren Burnham.
That is just plain rude, and I can only imagine how stressed Becca was feeling. When the women meet his parents it should be focused purely on their relationship, and not the other girl.
Most of all, Arie’s toss-up between Becca and Lauren sure was cringe worthy. He decided a few hours before getting down on one knee, and then picked the wrong woman.
Twice in interviews Arie admitted he was ready to propose to both women in different scenarios. Love isn’t a thing to mess with, and proposing to someone is a lifelong commitment. Going back on that promise is not a good thing to do.
From the beginning, it was obvious Arie was into Lauren more, but the way he played with both women’s emotions is just wrong. The way he breaks up with both women is also terrible. When he initially broke up with Lauren he said “I love you” when she was leaving.
Becca’s breakup was much more brutal to watch on television because it was unedited and the emotions were raw. Arie planned to get back together with Lauren behind Becca’s back, and robbed her of her first proposal.
Arie shows no emotion during the entire segment, and it makes me question if he even cared for Becca in the first place. If Arie did, he might have cried, but he didn’t shed a single tear.
I’m glad the season is over. I can’t wait for Becca to be the Bachelorette this summer because she deserves to find true love and a real man.
Lindsay Trombly can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @lindsay_trombly