Running Naked on THE BACHELORETTE

Tonight's episode of THE BACHELOR began Enniskillen, Ireland with Shawn and Nick having it out in Nick's cottage/hotel room.

Nick says Shawn revealed he's Eskimo brothers with a famous country singer, having had sex with the same girl. This is the second time Nick has accused Shawn of saying this. In the urban dictionary, Eskimo brothers is just that--sharing the same girl sexually. Who knew?

The show moves to Galway, Ireland the next day where Kaitlyn has a date with Ben. Kaitlyn loves the energy between them. I do too.

They mount huge horses and meander through a deep green pasture on these behemoths to feed a bunch of adorable but persistent donkeys. The donkey's, according to Ben, have "sick haircuts". I think the urban dictionary would say that's a compliment.
After a romantic picnic by a castle overlooking a lake they kiss, talk and end up inside the castle for dinner. In front of the fire, the overnight date card appears from behind a pile of cushions and Ben is as polite as he can be on National TV when presented with the prospect of sleeping with a girl who insultingly thinks he might be a virgin. "Best sleepover ever!" Ben says.
The next morning, outside their window, a sheep gives birth symbolically and Ben heads off to his cottage after only a half hour of shut eye.

At the Lough Erne Resort, Shawn has the next date and is given a present from Kaitlyn which happens to be a shocking pink golf shirt.

They are going golfing and Shawn must be humiliated! Oh joy. Apparently golfing is a fun thing and they have a wonderful day golfing which ends in Shawn having to take off his clothes to run naked to the next green. Why must Kaitlyn try to humiliate him first with colorful clothes, then no clothes? But Shawn won't be deterred! He calls her kiddo and tells her he's proud of how well she did. Maybe she's getting back at him for talking down to her.

That night they dine at a huge mansion/castle where Kaitlyn asks about the hatred between Nick and him, ruining the date and the moment. Nice touch Kaitlyn. Shawn's feelings about Nick are very intense so Kaitlyn pulls out the fantasy suite card and they head upstairs to have a private conversation. She shuts the door on us, pretty quick.
The next morning, Shawn leaves her hotel room, pulls up his hood and creeps back to his silo cottage stealthily. But no.

 Nick is lurking in his khaki's, waiting for him to 'talk'. Shawn lets him in to his room and then talks overtop of Nick and eventually tells him to leave. Nick says, "Are you threatening me?" Ah, no dude. That's not a threat. It's telling you to go. I'm tired of this pissing match.
That night is the Rose Ceremony. Chris Harrison arrives  and questions Kaitlyn about the three remaining men.


The situation is reminiscent of when Kaitlyn was in the last three with Chris Soules. She has a mini meltdown and talks to Chris H. in the hall who supports her decision. Ben is eliminated, making me yell at the TV, "The next Bachelor!"
Ben leaves with the dignity that Jared had. Such a gentleman! "I'll miss her a lot," he says, thereby revealing that he wasn't so deep in with his Kaitlyn feelings that he can't fall in love with someone in four months, as the next Bachelor. They begin taping in September.
While Kaitlyn says Bye Bye to Ben in the driveway, Shawn and Nick guzzle champagne in the elimination room and things are super AWKWARD!

Off to Utah! Why Utah? Did I miss something? Suddenly we are in Deer Valley, Utah, and if I'm not mistaken this is not hometowns, this is meet the families in a condo. Maybe they couldn't afford to fly the Viall clan anywhere because there are a lot of them. They drove in a bus, not unlike the Partridge Family tour bus. It could happen.
I remember from Andi's season how much I like Nick's mother, and not just because she has the Robin Wright haircut from House of Cards. She makes Nick seem less smarmy. Less juvenile. He actually has a mother who loves him! His large family are seated on a sectional. Nick's 12 year old sister, who we fell in love with last go around, questions Kaitlyn and adds a few points for Nick.
Nick has mentioned to Kaitlyn that last time with Andi, he needed a leap of faith to get ready to propose to her, but there will be no leap with her. That's actually pretty sweet. Hope it's true even though his body language, according to the FBI course on body language I took, screamed LIAR! Look her in the eyes DUDE!

On Shawn's family visit, the mom couldn't come but his aunt is there with the two sisters and father and strangely, Kaitlyn actually looks like one of the sisters. They love Kaitlyn but the dad wants to know more about Shawn's feelings and how he got so emotional so fast. Up until now, Shawn hasn't told Kaitlyn that he loves her. After meeting the family and going back to her ugly condo (everything looks ugly after Ireland!), Shawn says those three words. Actually five. "I love you, Kaitlyn Bristowe."
And back in her suite, Kaitlyn is a mental mess because a) she had her mind made up to pick Nick and she's sad that Shawn has fallen so hard or b) she had her mind made up to pick Nick and now Shawn is back in the game.

Last Saturday they taped Men Tell All in Los Angeles and that's what we'll be watching next Monday. According to Mike Fleiss, the creator of this show, the men tell ALL! I can't wait to see the Bromance Brothers Clint and JJ!
In other Bachelor news, the Finals weekend is in early August in an undisclosed hotel in Los Angeles. This is where the producers interview the women in the final stage before getting chosen. They've been told to remain available from September through October in case they get chosen. It's here they are interviewed by a PI, the show's psychologist and have a blood test for STD's. They have an on camera interview and do a lot of sitting around in a private hotel room while waiting to be called on. They've been told bring something to do in the hotel room that day.
AND, Bachelor in Paradise, the abomination we love to watch, begins Aug 2nd, thereby locking down Monday nights in August for me and my hubby.

Kim Hornsby is a National Bestselling Author of Suspenseful novels with Romantic elements. She won the Chanticleer Best Mystery/Thriller Paranormal and was nominated for Best Indie First Book by Indie Romance Convention with The Dream Jumper's Promise.

Surprise Breakup on The Bachelorette!

It's been days since the Monday night installment of The Bachelorette and I can only account for my apathy by saying I'm disheartened to be so close to the end with Nick still in the running. His presence takes the wind out of my busybody sails. But I must press on...

We are still in Ireland, in beautiful Killarney National Park (west of Cork) where it's cold for April and Kaitlyn can wear cute boots and scarves on her dates with leather jackets. Hey, part of this is seeing what everyone is wearing right?
The remaining men are Joe, Nick, Ben, Shawn and Jared-- all good choices. Or almost all.
Ben gets his one on one date where he and Kaitlyn take a royal blue rowboat to the island across the way to play hide and seek at the ruins. Ben is a sweetheart but is he too nice for Kaitlyn who seems to like danger? More danger than hide and seek can provide.
They suit up for dinner and conversation later at a quaint old stone cottage with a fireplace that looks like a pot of gruel should be hanging over the flames, and Ben confesses he has worried in the past that he's unlovable. During this conversation, Kaitlyn thinks Ben might still have his V card and flat out asks him. His reaction is pretty cute. No, he's be around the block a few times. Phew!

The next date card says "Let Love Run Amok" and my thought is a 5K race through mud. Shows what I know. It's a three on one date with Joe, Shawn and Nick to Killarney National Park where they freeze their buns off on the picturesque grounds of yet another castle. They sit around in a vignette from Pottery Barn on the expansive and well-manicured lawn while Kaitlyn takes each man aside to talk, Joe being last. He's falling in love with her but she clearly isn't feeling the same and seems to tell him that. She kind of says sorta what's bugging her and neither us at home, or Joe, get the exact message. Is she going to work on her feelings or is this a breakup? He's not sure she's telling him to leave the show and we only figure this out when she asks for a hug and stands up. The standing hug after a conversation like that is the final stage of a Bachelorette breakup but Joe still doesn't get it and asks what he's supposed to do. Is she going to try to muster some love for him in the next week or what? I didn't understand either.Nope, she's done, and when she starts to walk away, he uses a profanity, she gets pissed, and that's that. Goodbye Joe! That was weird, I say at home. "Joe didn't understand what she was doing!!!" It was weird and cruel the way she did that!

Back at the vignette she doesn't give out the rose, chooses Shawn for the evening date, and Nick goes back to the suite with his tail between his legs. Shawn is excited for a fun evening but Kaitlyn's plans for the date are anything but fun. She drops the bomb that she slept with Nick and kind of regrets doing that too early. Shawn has a moment with himself in the GENTS, and comes back saying he still wants to give this a go. He loves this girl.
Meanwhile Nick is complaining his face off to Jared and Ben back at the Bachelor pad. Shut up, Nick!
At the rose ceremony the next night, they line up like cattle ready for the slaughter and when Shawn is offered the first rose, he takes her into the next room to ask "Why Nick?" It's a fair question but Kaitlyn tells him it's her decision and shuts him down. Shawn accepts the rose, and the only one without a rose at the end of musical roses is Jared! What??? I thought she had a great connection with him. True to Jared's character, he tells her that he only hopes she ends up happy and leaves with such dignity that when he cries in the car pulling away, we realize how sweet that guy actually is.

The show moves to Cork, a seaside, gorgeous Irish town and Nick gets the next date. They walk around Cork, end up in another church and instead of making out, they talk about religion. That is a good talk to have before choosing a man for your husband! That night, they end up having drinks at the decrepit jail/ruins where a mock bedroom has been set up in a cell for their fantasy suit date. Prank! Nick tells Kaitlyn that he loves being next to her, while chewing on his knuckles like a love sick teen, and vents about Shawn.
Cut to the next morning where Kaitlyn looks satisfied in her robe and they're drinking coffee and reading the paper. Almost. Nick admits he's allergic to dogs and that would be a deal breaker for me but Kaitlyn keeps looking at him all blurry-eyed.
I'm disappointed at this point, like when Ben Flajnik chose Courtney.
Meanwhile, later that day Shawn finds Nick's silo number with the hotel operator and stomps over to his silo cottage to confront the man he believes is his nemesis. And that's pretty much where we leave it for this week. Shawn is so lovesick he can't stand it, Nick is going in for the win and Ben hasn't a clue.
here's only one reason why I'm rooting for Shawn Booth:

Any man who can pick up a full-grown Golden Retriever in one arm, must have crazy arm muscles. (Kidding-- he loves dogs!)

AND, Men Tell All was filmed yesterday (July 11th) in Los Angeles and apparently the men tell ALL! Everyone was looking suntanned and bright-eyed in the Instagram pics I saw.

Spoiler Alert: Don't read if you don't want to know the final two!
Apparently Kaitlyn let slip in a People mag interview that she's behind Ben H as the next Bachelor, thereby alerting us to the final two.

OVERNIGHTS BEFORE HOMETOWNS?? on The Bachelorette

I took a day to write this blog in an effort to get the bad taste out of my mouth from watching The Bachelorette last night.
I'm not sure why this season hasn't grabbed me like previous ones but something is very off. Things are being run differently, or Kaitlyn is crying too much, or Shawn B (is there another Shawn?) didn't read the show's description when it said "You might end up dating the same girl as 7 other men." It could still be that Nick Viall has not left the building yet. He continues to bug the bejesus out of me, (as my mother would've said.)

Let's recap last night, shall we?

The show is in picturesque Dublin or as I like to say Dooblin, to sound Irish. Shawn and Kaitlyn are having a heart to heart on her love seat and she is dying inside to think that he might know she banged Nick the night before in the next room. He doesn't know, or all you'd see of him would be the dust. And maybe smell his aftershave because I'm pretty sure Shawn is the kind of guy who has wonderful aftershave!

Tanner walks with Nick outside trash talking Shawn and leaving me to wonder why Tanner turned Team Nick all of a sudden, even revealing to Nick that Shawn cried when he didn't get the one on one. Hey, Shawn has it BAD for Kaitlyn. Haven't any of you out there had a relationship that might have made you drive for two days in diapers to go and kill your rival?

The two on one date is next with Joe from Kentucky (remember he had his left one hanging out of the sumo diaper?) and JJ, the confused father who popped his bestie's back pimple weeks before at the Bachelor mansion? Hmmm, let's see, which one is better husband material? That is such a tough one seeing Joe is funny, intelligent and is said to kiss like a dream. And JJ wears pink socks and looks like a deer caught in the headlights. And he's stupid enough to tell Kaitlyn that she needs to know he cheated on his wife. He does this just before she has to eliminate one man. It's you JJ! To rub salt in the wound, Kaitlyn leaves with Joe on the boat and JJ is left standing on the edge of the cliff, wondering if he should just jump now after he admitted on National TV that he cheated on his wife.

After this date, Shawn tromps that familiar path to his girlfriend's room while she's doing an on camera interview in her bedroom, and they sit down for their nightly heart to heart. Someone needs to take Shawn aside and feed him a chill pill. He's got weeks left to go, not to mention she's falling for about 5 other guys, even though she mistakenly told him off camera in San Antonio that he's the one. "Oops, did I say that?" Kaitlyn wonders. "I meant to say 'you're so much fun!'" Once you tell someone they are the one, you can't keep dating other guys. Not in Shawn B's book. He might have been the one two weeks earlier. Now he's the fifth or sixth. On twitter, people think he sounds drunk but I think he has a dreamy Hollywood voice. And he has an old fat dog back home so that gets him points with me.

It's the rose ceremony! We don't have to wait until next week! Ben Z is hunky and sweet, Ben H is tall and getting more interesting every week, Cupcake Chris has nice teeth, Nick is hanging around like a weed, Tanner is nothing, Jared is cute and sexy in a werewolf way, Shawn is high maintenance, and Joe has a rose already. Oh, Nick has a rose for great sex too.

I think at this point it's a nice gesture to take the losers out kindly, but no. Kaitlyn lines them up and when all the roses are gone, Ben Z and Tanner are left standing. Awww. Poor Ben Z.

 

The next day the Paddy Wagon Bus comes to take everyone to Kilarney, home of the Blarney Stone, but WAIT! Kaitlyn drives up in a mini, chooses Jared to road trip with her, driving on the left side and the rest of the men take the bus. SMACK. In your face men! Jared is actually pretty cute and has the best philosophy of living in the moment.
Once they kiss the Blarney Stone, Jared helps Kaitlyn check in to her castle while the men find their one size fits all suite at the Randles Hotel in town. Chris Harrison has flown in by private helicopter and recommends that Kaitlyn be fair and give all the other men (besides Nick and Shawn) some off camera/alone time with her. Nick and Shawn had their time already. New Twist: This season the overnight dates will take place BEFORE hometowns so that if you sleep with Kaitlyn on the O/N date and you do really well, you can take her to meet your nice folks.
Chris the cupcake has the first one on one and they take a helicopter ride to the Cliffs of Moher for a picnic in what looks like a Black Hawk, not a tour helicopter.

This is the golden moment for Chris to sell himself, take Kaitlyn in his arms like a man and wow her. She gives him several chances by asking leading questions about what their life would be like in Nashville and Cupcake just smiles and answers like he's on a half hour game show. Kaitlyn realizes she doesn't want to be off camera with this guy who is sweet but has no connection with her. The helicopter can't get there fast enough for Kaitlyn and her tears and the Dentist is left crying on the cliff, wondering whether he should jump or not. I'm imagining what the producers said to him to make him cry like that. Maybe your performance in Aladdin lacked a little something. Next week, we continue with one on one overnights.

 

Now here is an Irish joke for you: Say these words very fast several times--Whale Oil Beef Hooked and now you are swearing like a true Irishman!