NOTHING would have been better than Molly saying. you are a total dog and I would be CRAZY to date you after you just did that to the person you thought was more worth it than me. Hmmmm.... wonder what will happen. Have to say Melissa annoyed me the entire season. However she totally came out shining like a rose in how she handled him crapping on her on TV. Hope her parents don't rub her nose in it too much.

REALITY TV. "It's not real, it's reality." It's a game show. GAME. SHOW. Like they all are. I didn't even watch it and would have lived happily not knowing about it, until all this blew up and it's all anyone is talking about at work. I do enjoy reality "game show" TV but ones that are manufactured to the point of insulting intelligence, like this one, bore me. Can't wait for Project Runway again, where at least there is some creative skill involved.

First of all, thank you for posting this so quickly. I know I have a lot to say!!!!

DeAnna's DiSasterous outfit was totally frumpy! That whole thing was such a waste of time and I have no idea why they would put her on a 14 hour flight for those 3 min. Couldn't she have done that via WebEx or video conference? IM?

His purple suit was tight! Way too small on him, and the shoulder had what seemed to me as a ruffle! He looked not good, and not appealing at all.

Also, how many times did everyone claim how freaking real all of this is. What is this about?

Comments about ATFR:
Jason sucks big time. And after watching the ATFR2, I am appalled at what people are saying - that he has "DIGNITY" for doing this. And the excuse that he's "following his heart" is such BS. It's totally fallacy, the case is NOT whether he should follow his heart or not. Those are not the sole two options. Not to even mention that his awful decision making got him into this situation. And then to dump someone on TV is mean, and disgusting.

I thought Melissa came off really well, and she handled it great. I almost wish she would have been more vitriolic. But good for her for keeping it classy.

Also, after he proposed marriage to her, they had SIX WEEKS of "dating" in private, he really couldn't have given this a greater chance? I mean, after watching the hot tub scene with Jillian approx. 3 days before he proposes
marriage to someone other than Jillian would have any woman question his intentions.

And I think that if he picked Molly, this would have happened anyway, but with Melissa in the runner-up role. However, on the flip side, I am believing the internet rumors that Melissa was sent to Seattle by ABC every other weekend, and Molly on the other weekends. Which means that they were cheating the whole time.

I can't even believe that Molly thought being the second choice, having seen a man she "loved" propose marriage to someone else, breaking off an engagement in a blindsiding manner on Television, and pretty much being a creep all around is a-ok with her. And why? Because she followed her heart. WHAT?

My theory is that these people are simple, and really dumb. Everything seems to be presented as black and white - I follow my heart, or I don't. This is real, or it's fake. How about if it feels real in a fake environment, therefore, probably not to be trusted. Getting along with Ty, like you said, but playing with him for two hours, proves the ability to be a good mother. Its all so flat.

Jason sucks. Hard.

gnomecorp, maybe that is what cooled the "romance" between Melissa and Jason. She watched the show and she saw what he did with Jillian, and his reaction to breaking up with Molly. It's one thing to know in your mind that this guy you're "in love" with is intimate with other women, but it's another to see it in all its glory. Especially the soft porn hot tub scene, and the scene with Molly buttering him up and having her way with him. And maybe her parents and friends watched the show and weighed in on it. That would give a girl second thoughts.

(I'm sure the timeline doesn't support this theory but I don't worry about timelines.)

I had another thought. Maybe Melissa saw him put ketchup on a taco and lost all respect for him. After all, she's from Texas.

(I heard that he and Molly were shown in their domestic bliss eating tacos with ketchup in his tiny kitchen.)

WELL!
I have to first say I'm no fan of Jason.
I didn't care for him on "The Bachelorette," and I definitely didn't care for him on "The Bachelor."

We had guesses going at work as to what the big surprise was going to be.
I said he was going to dump both girls for Chris Harrison. Imagine my surprise when that didn't actually happen. Oh well.

Melissa won out in this deal. He's fickle and obviously, he has some growing up to do.

I was shocked Molly agreed to give him another shot. But really, who cares? I didn't like her either.

Perhaps they were made for each other.

And now, on to the Bachelorette!
Any thoughts on Jillian being the one in charge?

One more thought that leads me to believe that the internet rumors are true and the people involved (Molly, Jason, Chris Harrison, etc) are liers:

Molly said that the last couple of weeks have been hard on her in the ATFR2 because of the public's reaction to the switcheroo. However, this was not live, and America only found out about all of this the day before. So even if it was taped live, there was only one day for America to react. I'm pretty sure they're under life threatening contract to keep their relationship secret.

I was totally confused by her statement. I'm pretty sure it was scripted, and obviously by someone who also doesn't care about timelines :)

Melissa can be proud of how she acted on the first AFTR. Even if she was acting, she was totally came out on top. Jillian as the next bachelorette, YUCK!! There was just something about her that irked me. I don't see this show lasting much longer.

Ah, see, this is why I'm such a big fan of reality television. The producers of this show have established a new level of cynicism. It's going to be hard to top --although with the cast of losers on this season's American Idol, we'll see.

Remember people, it's reality television--it's supposed to go down like this. Reality tv is not real life. Reality tv is a freakshow.

FWIW, it should be noted that the dumping Melissa episode was taped back in January. Presumably that was before she watched Jason dryhump Jillian. But long enough afterwards for her to realize that he is a complete putz.

This was all planned from the beginning. Obviously Molly was in on the score the whole time. I'm willing to believe that the producers kept Melissa in the dark, so that the cruelty of the moment felt 'real.'

I still maintain that Jason is not interested in women. The purple suit helps.

And every time he bull-charged his kid like that, I was half-expecting him to lose his balance and pile into the kid and give him a concussion. I mean, sure, I was a bit of an obsessive father with my first kid (lucky for him he has a brother), but still...kissing his kid on the lips? Ick.

Although frankly, his whole behavior toward the kid was as fake as the rest of him.

Good stuff Ms. Gangsta. I registered just to throw in my two cents regarding your last paragraph (well, second to last) about the change in the bachelor/bachelorette's attitude from the beginning of the show to the end, and how many viewers begin liking them but end up finding them unbearable. I guess I'm not typical because I rarely hate or dislike any of them. Given the situation they're in, I'll make a rough estimate that 90 percent of the people who watch the show and start to hate, and who post comments about how the people are complete scum or otherwise deranged would act in roughly the same manner under the same conditions. The only real difference is that most people are never exposed to a camera crew 24/7 to catch their every flaw, which makes the best material for the editors, which gets repeated endlessly for everyone to see.

I will agree that it seems like all the attention begins to go to their heads about midway through each season, but again, how does a person's ego not become inflated when they are fawned over for weeks on end and nobody is in a position to slap them back to reality? I think a lot of the ill feelings people have towards the bachelor/bachelorette comes from this "perceived" (whether real or not) shift in their attitude, and the fact that they are also perceived as disingenuous for sucking face with so many different people they purport to have deep feelings for. I'd have to guess that this is where most of the hatred comes from, but I see it as only natural if a person truly wants to discover whether someone is right for them. Should a person go through an entire season without kissing a single potential life partner? That seems ridiculous to me, and if you are going to kiss one person should everyone else then be off limits for the remainder of the show? That hardly seems fair to anybody - or realistic.

For the record, if I were the bachelor I'd bang every one of the women in the house if the opportunity presented itself. I'd feel guilty about it, I really would, but how often does an opportunity like that present itself.

All that being said, I think your reviews are great. I hope you'll be writing for the upcoming Bachelorette, featuring the endlessly doable Jillian.

I thought the rules of engagement were if the guy broke it off with you then you can keep the ring. She should have just walked off stage and headed to the nearest pawn shop.

Jason is GROSS!!!

What was up with DeAnna's eyes? She kept blinking and blinking and when she walked it looked like she was limping. I did not watch her season so I kept wondering what was so special about her, did she have some kind of handicap?

And Melissa's hair at the proposal on the grassy knoll, could she not have done something better with the hair? It looked like a greasy rag on her head.

I just read that Melissa and Jason had mutually ended their relationship prior to the taping.
But, she adds that she had a feeling there was more to it than just feelings changing.

She also said that, once the taping of ATFR got moved up, she asked if she was about to be blindsided. He said no.

Obviously, he lied about that.

And didn't Molly say she had not talked to Jason since he put her in the limo?
According to Melissa, he talked to her at least once to "check on her." Hm.

As far as the ring goes, wornsey, here's the general rule (i watch Judge Judy.)
If the couple doesn't follow through on the marriage, the ring is returned.
They had a mutual agreement to end the relationship, so she should have returned it.
Given the circumstances though, and the blindside, I agree she should have just walked off with the ring.

LisaMay, I seriously just cracked up reading your comment. Deanna has had that crazy blink as long as she's been on these shows. I didn't notice the limp but it's hilarious that you thought she was handicapped! The greasy rag comment was spot on too.

I never picked up on any real chemistry between Jason and Molly. I don't see what all the fuss is about her and her stupid bug eyes. I'll be happy when the interviews and publicity are over and Molly realizes she doesn't want to be a 24 year old stepmother and dumps his lame azz. I'm sure "winning" is all she really cared about. Jason is not anywhere near being a once-in-a-lifetime catch, as the show claims.

I think it was scripted, that's why Molly kept saying "you're making a big mistake" - foreshadowing. blech. In ATFR 2, I was REALLY pissed at the trained seals in the studio audience who kept cheering and clapping for Jason and Molly. I would have thrown a shoe at them.

Oh no . . . here's where you're all gonna spank your screen and hiss . . . Not to defend Jason in any way, he's a total tool and that was a total act, COMPLETELY UTTERLY FAKE--they all knew what was about to happen, esp. Molly, who, bless her heart, can't act to save her life. What dejected contestant would be smiling when about to face the rejector!!! Talking about her wishing he would change his mind, c'mon!!! Am I the only one . . . . I realize there's a lot of anger over the douchiness of this, and I guess, since i was tipped off in spoilers, it didn't come as a shock.

Well, I don't think this was scripted tho, I really believe when the camera's stopped things did change. I bet without all that excitement, and the burden of a step-son, it just changed the game completely, and perhaps he should have stuck it out with her, but my theory is that Melissa has some issues, and I know of what I speak. I could always play along and get the guy hooked, but once that was done, out comes the baggage, and it's never pretty for anyone, nor does anyone deserve to try and fix you, but alas, I do think Melissa had some past shit, and Jason wasn't into dealing with all that, and wanted to just try Molly instead, coz she had better, more stylish baggage, and pretty eyes--ugh!

Maybe I'm crazy, but my sense was Jason could not wait to get far-far away from Melissa, and felt little remorse, as he was skerd of her and her needy issues, or whatev . . . Molly is a fool to take him on, and I so doubt it will work. I'm not sure if Jason just has no idea of the work a relationship takes, or if he, like your theory Honey, got so full of himself, he felt invincible and worthy . . .

Oh well, just know, I'm totally single, and I would be very reluctant to enter a relationship again, tho I've done my best to deal with my baggage, some things never die!

Thanks for all this, Honey, and hope this isn't salt in Melissa's wounds--it does just seem to be life to me, and when you know you're going to be the most hated man on TV for the rest of your life, I have to believe this is something he really had to do.

I also find it slightly odd that Melissa wasn't chosen to be the new bachelorette (guess it's the parents . . . )

@juddfan

The producer was interviewed and Molly was originally asked to be bachelorette but she wanted to wait to decide (sounds suspicious a bit), then they asked Melissa after she was dumped and she said no (awesome answer by the way) and then they asked Jillian so she gets 3rd place a-gain.

I still can't believe I wasted my entire Monday evening watching this.

Ty will appear on Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew before his 17th birthday. Mark my words.

That Chris Harrison bullshit merchant is blogging at the Entertainment Weekly site about "how they had to do this to stay honest to the viewers," and a bunch of other ridiculous crap about how it's all just how it went down. Harrison's got his own cult of middle-aged women posting about how they love him and how they think it's terrible that "people's disgust with Jason are getting taken out on you!!!!" It's kinda disgusting, actually.

juddfan, what you said makes a lot of sense to me. Melissa's comments always made me uncomfortable ("He makes me feel worthy") and I think that she was so anxious to be exactly who he wanted her to be it was probably hard to deal with. No excuse for his behavior, however.

BTW, juddfan, can I be your "girlfriend"?

tricky, Molly supposedly was too upset about Jason to be the next B'ette. Melissa is already dating an ex, whose name is Ty.

I agree it is pretty silly to expect that a show like this would produce any lasting relationships. Hey, when I'm dating I try to always wear a bikini and be drunk as often as possible. Oh, and my perfect date? A helicopter ride followed by dry humping in a hot tub. What am I doing wrong?

I think that the Bach has the option of buying the ring himself (in which case he could get it back or, as happened in one case, it was sold and the couple split it) OR the show buys it, in which case it is returned to the producers.

Jason may be "feeling like a fool" but he is acting (and looking) like a tool.

I could not believe how lucky the producers were that a helicopter with a camera happened to be hovering over Tool's balcony as he wailed over letting Molly go.

Oh, I dunno, pretty much any time I need to cry I run for the nearest balcony. Much better than, say, finding a dark private place where no one need to see how stupid a look when I'm bawling like two-year-old who lost his bunny.

I never liked Jason. He tried to come off as Oh-Shucks-Don't-Mind-Me-I'm-Just-An-Average-Guy, but reminded me of men who drag their toddlers to the kiddie park to pick up single women a la "About A Boy." Or buy a cute dog to pick up women. He seemed completely insincere the entire show and I love the way ABC stocked the ATFR shows with "You go, Jason!" comments. TG for DVR. I found myself fast-forwarding through most of it. Jason, man, get some new lines. By the time you dumped Melissa, you'd already used the break-up words 25 times. How boring. And Molly? Don't become an actress.

Thanks Pixielated, I'll be your BF anytime--as long as you can deal with the cat lady that is me! ; )

Trickydick, thanks for that too--tho I think Miss Molly knew he was a comin' back . . . why keep looking when your very own tool's about to do a switcharoo!!!

And Thanks again, Honey, for taking us on this ride of rides!