Author: Jackie Strause / Source: The Hollywood Reporter
After Monday’s shocking “most dramatic” ending ever to The Bachelor, one big question is swirling around Bachelor nation — why did everything happen the way it did?
Here’s what went down: Bachelor star Arie Luyendyk Jr. fell in love with both of his two finalists, Lauren Burnham and Becca Kufrin.
He was conflicted until the last day of production, ultimately deciding to break up with Lauren and propose to Becca that same night. One month later, however, he couldn’t stop thinking about Lauren and he brought ABC’s cameras along to break it off with his clueless now-fiancee, Becca, in hopes of reconciling with Lauren. The devastating scene played out, completely unedited, during the last act of a three-hour finale. Tuesday will bring the first-ever second night of the finale, when Becca, Arie and Lauren all come face to face and Arie reveals the result of his bid to win Lauren back.Yes, there was a switcheroo — which happened only one time before in Bachelor history with Jason Mesnick in 2009 — but the dragged-out ambush on Becca, orchestrated by Arie, is what viewers can’t seem to forgive. Twitter has been an unfriendly place for Arie to visit, as both fans and former stars of the franchise vocalize their discomfort at how everything played out.
After watching it all unfold for a second time when being interviewed by host Chris Harrison during the live portion of Monday’s show, former Bachelor Ben Higgins tweeted a picture, along with Mesnick, covering his eyes. “We don’t belong in this conversation,” he
Higgins appeared on the finale because he could relate, in part, to Arie’s plight. During his Bachelor season in 2016, Ben also told his two finalists that he loved them. The moment made for a first on the long-running franchise and sympathy for his runner-up, JoJo Fletcher, propelled her to the top of the list for the next cycle of The Bachelorette — something the franchise no doubt assumes will happen for Becca (ABC plans to announce the next Bachelorette on Tuesday).
A little more than a year after getting engaged, he and his winner, Lauren Bushnell, called off their engagement, but Ben remains a familiar face within the ABC reality dating franchise. He recently appeared on winter spinoff Bachelor Winter Games and hosts a Bachelor-themed podcast, The Ben & Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast, with another member of the franchise, Ashley Iaconetti. In a candid chat below, Ben peels back the curtain on The Bachelor to tell THR what happens when the cameras shut down, why Arie might have felt pressured to deliver a proposal in the end and where the current Bachelor — who may now be the franchise’s No. 1 villain — made his biggest mistake.
Let’s get into some of the reasons about why this all played out the way it did. First, should Arie have proposed to Becca in the first place? Why does the show have to have a proposal in the end?
When I was the Bachelor, I never felt pressured to make a proposal. But I always knew that it was something that was expected. I think for the fans of the show, the women that are involved, the show itself — there’s an expectation that there could be a proposal at the end.
I would like the show to get back to a place where, as a fan, we’re watching and that last episode is about: Is he/she going to do it or not? Then we would know how far the relationship has progressed. If everyone is just going to get engaged at the end, then we don’t really know. With Arie, it doesn’t seem like a proposal should have happened and I wonder if he would say the same thing.One thing Arie has said that does make sense is about the pressure he felt to propose; where an entire show of people are surrounding you who want you to have your happy ending. What is that like, especially in those final days of filming?
It becomes a big family and that’s one of the beautiful parts about The Bachelor that nobody gets to see. I can’t speak for every Bachelor or Bachelorette, or every contestant, but I can speak to my experience. Even last night, as I showed up for filming, I have a bunch of friends who work on this show and there are hugs and smiles and stories. That’s what the Bachelor family feels like when you’re doing the show. Then at the very end, there are also tons of people around, who work on lighting or sound and who don’t know anything about me or any of the women left, but who also want you happy. You feel that towards the end, so I totally get where Arie is coming from. You feel a little pressure because you go into it hoping this will be a story that will be shared forever and that you’d be excited to watch back.
Reaction to Arie’s pick as the Bachelor was mixed. People loved Peter Kraus from the previous Bachelorette, but he couldn’t guarantee that he would be ready to propose in the end. Do you think that added to the expectation?
I haven’t talked to Arie. He came on the podcast [earlier] but I haven’t been able to get into his head. I’d love to talk with him and see where he’s at, but I wouldn’t be surprised. I remember when I was chosen as the Bachelor there were rumors that they should have chosen Nick [Viall] or some other guys out there they were interested in. As a result, I was a little self-conscious and thought, “What if they should have chosen those guys? What if I’m not the guy they hoped for?” So I can relate with Arie about that. Especially if you struggle at all with your own confidence, you can definitely slip into the mindset of, “I need to be the best for this situation because I don’t want to let anybody down.”
When you are the Bachelor, how is it explained to you about expressing your feelings when a contestant says “I love you”? And what were your conversations like with the producers when you decided you did want to tell both of your finalists you loved them?
It really wasn’t explained. I’m talking about my season here, but the big thing for me is that they always said, “There are no rules, Ben.” I don’t know if they said that because they knew I was always on edge and nervous to make anyone mad or ruin the whole show, but they always said there were no rules. Towards the end, I felt this pull where I had two amazing women, one of which I really did believe I was going to spend my life with, but the other one was a woman that in any other circumstance I would have been ecstatic to spend my time with. Any other world that didn’t have Lauren a part of it, I would be so happy with JoJo. I felt, “How do I express that so that JoJo knows this is real?” So that she could look at our relationship and find it legitimate and that her time was not wasted. When I went to the show, I said, “This is how I’m feeling. I feel like I want to tell her this. If I tell her this, is that OK?” They said to do what I had to do, and again that there were no rules. So when she told me she loved me, I felt free to say it. I never even really felt weird about it, until the storyline played out in the public’s eye. I didn’t realize the Bachelor or Bachelorette hadn’t said that before.
There is a difference when watching the end of your season compared to Arie’s. He said he made up his mind that morning and by that night, he was joking with Becca about making babies — quite a leap of love in less than 24 hours. What is it like after the proposal, when the cameras go away?
As soon as the proposal happens and you carry her away into the sunset or however that works, the cameras are down. That’s a wrap and the show is done. We had a nice big party that evening with everyone closely involved in the show. A big dinner and celebration, which was incredible. Then we had four days of freedom which for us was in Jamaica. It’s really just a vacation to unwind and decompress. I slept one full day. It’s this weird, very quick transition from being on the show and having someone telling you your schedule every day, and then going on all these dates and being involved in all these intense conversations, to then everything shutting down. There’s quiet and no people. For my case, I…
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