The Bachelorette Producers Sink to a New Low

They couldn't just leave it alone. They had to show the moment Chris Harrison told the remaining cast of The Bachelorette that Eric Hill had died. This is a new low for the show.

I understand that it affected the people on the show, the people running the show and even watching the show, but did they have to use footage of the exact moment and exact facial reactions for teasers to get viewers to stay tuned? If there was still any doubt about how SMARMY this show is sometimes, this locks it in. That's not to say that we won't watch the show anymore because, hey, it's smarmy/fascinating but I wanted to say that I was offended by how they used Eric Hill's death for teasers. Harrison says they thought about how to do it, tell the remaining cast members the terrible news, and felt that bringing everyone to his home would be best.
The only person smart enough to leave the room after the five Bachelorette members got the news that Eric had passed away was Marcus. Andi went outside to bring him back in the room. Then the producers and staff moved in to hug everyone. It seemed real enough and I'm sure the news was shocking. Staff moved from person to person to hug but Nick remained sitting on the couch and yawned when a hairy man tried to hug him from behind. Turn off the damn cameras!
This is my opinion on how they handled things, still trying to do damage control rather than pay a quiet, respectful tribute.

Moving on...

Here's a quick re-cap of last night's show:

Hometowns

The first stop was Milwaukee to reunite with Nick. The excited, boyish version of Nick took Andi to the public market to food-taste, then on to a brewery to drink-taste an ale called "Nick and Andi", then to a bar to learn how to polka. Cute.

The fact that Nick can polka and thinks it's a "Milwaukee Dance" was adorable. Andi was 'down' with the polka, she said. At the family home, armed with a bouquet of flowers, we got to meet Nick's enormous family gathered in front of a portrait gallery of childhood photos. I lost count of siblings at eight. What confused me was his introduction of everyone with their spouses, taking the count over 15. I had another sip of Sauvignon Blanc instead of counting. My favorite sibling was Bella, the 11 year old girl who was such a cutie. I think Andi would be better off with a younger sister than Nick. The mom was freakishly stylish and put together for someone who birthed all those kids. I liked her a huge bunch and Nick's stock went up considerably.

Next stop was Arlington Iowa and farming country to see Chris. Andi loved his checked shirt and vest (?) and was turned on by the fact he owns a nice house, a huge tractor, and hired a plane to fly by their picnic pulling the words "Chris loves Andi". I'm hoping his family uses that verb a bit loosely because I see heartache for this big Iowa farmer. The flat cornfields of Chris's homeland don't seem to be enough for Andi, even though she vowed she hunted with her Dad and wasn't a city girl. (Have you seen how much makeup she wears to hunt bad guys in the slums of Atlanta?) Even Chris's mom later said she loved Andi which melted my heart. In turn, I loved his family who even left the house after dinner to play Ghost in the Graveyard outside with Andi. I wanna live in Iowa now.

On to Josh's hometown--Tampa Florida-- where the Aaron Murray fan club reigns. Aaron this, Aaron that. OMG. Shut up about the brother! Oh, unless this Bachelorette thing was all about the brother being drafted into the NFL. Josh's devotion to his younger sibling was touching and we witnessed another side to the baseball lovin' jock--a side that might involve a good life partner if Andi doesn't have to join the Aaron fan club and get on board the love train for football watching. The mom was nice enough but the whole date was clouded by the family's excitement about the upcoming NFL draft for the little brother. Only Aaron got off topic with Andi and actually talked about his beloved bro Josh. Even though Josh talks like Elvis on speed, I have a new appreciation of the big galoot and his possible feelings for Andi.

Dallas, Texas was the scene for the next hometown visit. Apparently Marcus is German/Polish, raised in Canada but now lives in Texas. This is a wee bit confusing. Andi did a ton of smiling on this date and when Marcus drove her around Dallas pointing out pretty parks, then took her to a bar to strip for her (a la first date,) her smile got bigger. "He's really hot" was heard three times, leading us to believe that Andi meant "I can't think of anything else to say about this embarrassing occurrence." Is hot good husband material? If Marcus is that buffed, how much time does he spend in the gym? Maybe Andi was wondering these things. The family was nice. The mother was a bit stoic, the Fergie-looking sister was pleasant, the older brother was nice and Marcus cried when Andi drove away. His deep feelings for her led me to believe that Marcus's love is genuine. We see Marcus and his bedroom eyes again next month in Bachelor in Paradise so hopefully he gets over his reality show crush.

Back in L.A., they went to Chris Harrison's Bachelor pad to hear the news of Eric Hill's death and they next day the five contestants were back at the mansion for the rose ceremony. It was too soon after bad news to do this elimination. The fact that they allowed Andi to stand up there and cut Marcus after saying to the men that they'd all get through this grieving process together was crass. Boom. Bye Marcus. You won't get through this together. Not you. Not with this group AND you will now have to go through a breakup with the girl you wanted to marry. And, you will walk away knowing she's off to a tropical vacation with fantasy room dates. Good luck with that broken heart. And grieving.

I'm severely disappointed with THE BACHELOR this season. I didn't mind the Juan Pablo season so much. He was fun to watch but this season has had some pretty awful moments. I know the producers are doing damage control for all the fans who didn't like J.P., and now damage control for Andi after kicking Eric Hill off the show, but as a devout fan I'm being asked to watch entertainment that makes me cringe more than I like in an 2-hour show.
Oh, and Bachelor in Paradise is coming up in August and it looks like anything but Paradise with all the tears and backstabbing. Will I watch? Probably. Like slowing down at an accident scene on the highway, I probably will tune in. Dammit.

Kim Hornsby is the author of THE HUSBAND HUNT, a free book on Amazon that resembles a season of The Bachelor. She lives in the Seattle area where she also writes Bestselling novels.