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The other night I watched The Bachelorette season finale. I kinda can’t stand that show. (He’s the most amazing person you’ve ever met…in your whole entire life? Now that's serious. And eloquent.) But there was nothing better on and I was determined to veg on the couch for the first time this decade, so there it is.
In the (Most Dramatic Ever!) finale, the bachelorette chose this goofy, fun-loving guy who also proclaimed endless sappy superlatives about her. He got down on one knee, proposed, she said yes, and they lived happily ever after.
Following the finale came the hour-long “After the Rose” segment, so that viewers—still high from rose petals, icky real-people French kisses, and words like "soulmate"—could catch up to the couple in real time. Are they still together? Did she choose the wrong man? Find out, after these messages.
All throughout the “After the Rose” show, the commentator guy kept teasing the viewers further at commercial breaks: “Coming up, the happy couple makes a shocking announcement!” Which was perfect for me because I happen to love shocking announcements. I continued watching.
After 45 minutes of assurances that the couple is still together, they finally come to the shocking announcement, which is…. drum roll please… are you ready for this?…. The engaged couple SET A DATE for their wedding!!!
But don’t you worry about the Bachelorette and her most amazing man in the whole wide universe. They’re soulmates. We can make fun of them all we want, but at least they understand the action that is supposed to go with the commitment.
This month, anyway.
The other night I watched The Bachelorette season finale. I kinda can’t stand that show. (He’s the most amazing person you’ve ever met…in your whole entire life? Now that's serious. And eloquent.) But there was nothing better on and I was determined to veg on the couch for the first time this decade, so there it is.
In the (Most Dramatic Ever!) finale, the bachelorette chose this goofy, fun-loving guy who also proclaimed endless sappy superlatives about her. He got down on one knee, proposed, she said yes, and they lived happily ever after.
Following the finale came the hour-long “After the Rose” segment, so that viewers—still high from rose petals, icky real-people French kisses, and words like "soulmate"—could catch up to the couple in real time. Are they still together? Did she choose the wrong man? Find out, after these messages.
All throughout the “After the Rose” show, the commentator guy kept teasing the viewers further at commercial breaks: “Coming up, the happy couple makes a shocking announcement!” Which was perfect for me because I happen to love shocking announcements. I continued watching.
After 45 minutes of assurances that the couple is still together, they finally come to the shocking announcement, which is…. drum roll please… are you ready for this?…. The engaged couple SET A DATE for their wedding!!!
Woo. Hoo.
But get this... then the commentator turns to the couple’s families, who are sitting in the front row, and says, “So what do you guys think? Not only are they engaged but they’re getting married!”
Ummm... Am I missing something? Isn’t “being engaged” supposed to mean that you’re “getting married”? Isn’t the whole purpose behind a proposal to make a statement that you plan to marry someone?
This has been a gripe of mine for some time now. About two years ago, a coworker told me that his brother had just proposed to his girlfriend. A few months ago I realized there hadn’t yet been a wedding, so I asked my coworker if they’re still engaged. He said yes. "So when’s the wedding?" I asked. His reply was, and I quote, “Oh, they’re not getting married.” As if he were saying, “Oh, you don’t eat the crayons, silly.”
Somewhere along the line, the rules of commitment have changed. The engagement ring has become nothing more than a super-duper promise ring. I know that I broke off my engagement, but at least up until that point I had planned on actually marrying the guy. Why do some people even bother getting engaged if they have no intention of getting married?
But get this... then the commentator turns to the couple’s families, who are sitting in the front row, and says, “So what do you guys think? Not only are they engaged but they’re getting married!”
Ummm... Am I missing something? Isn’t “being engaged” supposed to mean that you’re “getting married”? Isn’t the whole purpose behind a proposal to make a statement that you plan to marry someone?
This has been a gripe of mine for some time now. About two years ago, a coworker told me that his brother had just proposed to his girlfriend. A few months ago I realized there hadn’t yet been a wedding, so I asked my coworker if they’re still engaged. He said yes. "So when’s the wedding?" I asked. His reply was, and I quote, “Oh, they’re not getting married.” As if he were saying, “Oh, you don’t eat the crayons, silly.”
Somewhere along the line, the rules of commitment have changed. The engagement ring has become nothing more than a super-duper promise ring. I know that I broke off my engagement, but at least up until that point I had planned on actually marrying the guy. Why do some people even bother getting engaged if they have no intention of getting married?
I just don't get it.
But don’t you worry about the Bachelorette and her most amazing man in the whole wide universe. They’re soulmates. We can make fun of them all we want, but at least they understand the action that is supposed to go with the commitment.
This month, anyway.
2 comments:
Last Friday I had a training program at work and during one of the breaks I was talking to a manager guy and one other girl.
Manager guy mentions that his seven-year anniversary is coming up and the girl makes this awful scrunched-up face.
"I've been engaged for, like, forever," she says. "But seven years is just way too long to be with anyone."
I was baffled, but also quite curious as to how long "like, forever" is, since it's obviously less than seven years. Which means I have lived like, forever more than three times, which should probably qualify me for some sort of trophy that doesn't say "participant" on it.
I think that whole show is a crock of doo-doo. They boil down the entire relationship into a couple of months. During that time, the final couple aren't even mutually exclusive.
So, there is no trust, there is no real basis for their feelings. It's just a lot of adrenaline and selfish fighting amongst the contestants until one is left. And I'd love to see the behind the scenes selection process. It's probably a 2 hour meeting with the producers where she has to bargain for a couple of guys she wants while the producers have a standard list of ratings boosting guys. Love is most certainly never found.
Don't even get me started on the shows false sense of what love is. "I totally picked her because I think she'll put out..."
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