First, let me start with the positive. Sabi Sands, South Africa is an animal lover’s paradise. There is a pure primal quality to the surroundings, an awesome beauty that overwhelms the senses and blows the mind. If anyone’s looking for a piece of heaven on earth, Sabi Sands is the one. Safari experience in that part of the world must be totally exhilarating!
It gave me pause to ponder why a place teeming with wild life would be the setting of Bachelor Brad’s final odyssey in finding love. Maybe it’s a symbolism… that just like the members of the animal kingdom, man finds his mate by carnal instinct. In reality, despite all the verbal connections that often get lost in translation, man ends up with the one that the Universe brought forth for him to be with.
Watching the Fantasy Dates left me with a gigantic question mark. No matter how many versions in the English language that Brad Womack communicated his sentiments to the three women, I distinctly heard the same exact message: “I’m the most comfortable when I’m with you.” Isn’t that what people feel when they’ve found their soul mate? They bask in the coziness of their comfort zone. No hidden agenda, only sheer spontaneity of actions and the meshing of souls. He must have said the same lines to throw viewers off, to give them a tough time deciphering which lady received the most assuring heartfelt message.
It's possible that Brad got help from “The Bachelor” writers, but bottom line… he gave the same sales pitch, not once, but three times. Even as he let Ashley go, he made her think that if they didn’t have such a rollercoaster ride, she would have certainly ended up in the Final Two. Their first one-on-one date was a lot of fun, but somewhere along the way, Ashley got off the Womack train perhaps because she wasn’t feeling it anymore, or that the prospect of marrying Brad wasn't really her goal to achieve. Maybe she was there for the fun and the short-lived fame, not for the long-term commitment. To Brad’s credit, he did the honorable gesture by not letting Ashley go through the embarassment of a Rose Ceremony when he had made up his mind to set her free.
Although I’ve seen evidence that Brad had the coziest connection with Chantal (translation: the I've-known-you-all-my-life kind of interaction), my previously posted prediction as to who he picked might be proven wrong if the latest spoiler information floating around is to be believed. Of the three women, Chantal’s Fantasy Date sets it apart from the other two because she spent it with Brad on top of a treehouse, a most romantic setting. Emily and Ashley spent their Fantasy Dates in the typical pretty, comfortable lodging, with walls and a roof over their head. Nothing extraordinary about that! I'd like to think that Brad would have preferred to do something unique and special with The Chosen, but in "The Bachelor" world, nothing is really special and sacred. It seems that everything is manipulated to deceive the hopeless romantics... the same people who contributed to the network ratings. For a television show that has captivated viewers on the premise of the lead finding love and romance, it has spiraled down to nothing but a shameless sham season after season.
Now the news going around is that Brad’s final rose was given to the blonde single mom. If he and Emily did find love during the process, well and good. But I struggle in believing that their rapport during the journey came from a place of ease and comfort. There were just too many awkward moments when they spent time together. Other viewers might have seen differently, but that’s my read on their body language.
Now the news going around is that Brad’s final rose was given to the blonde single mom. If he and Emily did find love during the process, well and good. But I struggle in believing that their rapport during the journey came from a place of ease and comfort. There were just too many awkward moments when they spent time together. Other viewers might have seen differently, but that’s my read on their body language.
When I shared with my Reality TV buddy Doug the rumor that Brad’s pick would be Emily, he gave me a look that screamed utter disbelief. I told him days before the Hometown Dates episode that Brad would pick Chantal (because that was the talk from the grapevine), Doug, who previously made up his mind to quit watching the show, reneged on his promise. He watched the meet-the-families episode as his way of giving Bachelor Brad a second chance. You see, Doug, too, picked Chantal for Brad because he saw the natural easy-going repartee, even romantic connection. He also liked the fact that Brad and Chantal often got into little arguments because he thinks that the sooner they get things out of their system, the better for the relationship. Not only that, they seemed to pick up where they had left off every time they reconnected. Just like me, Doug wants to see the love story.
However, if the Final Rose leak is true and Emily did end up with the final rose, then Brad might not have been looking only for love, he was, perhaps subconsciously, searching for a trophy wife. I can only wish them the very best.
