On March 14, bachelor Ben Higgins fought with the choice of proposing to either the blonde beauty Lauren Bushnell or bubbly and fun-loving JoJo Fletcher after having confessed he loved them both. Higgins, after intense deliberation, eventually chose Bushnell in front of 9.58 million viewers, leaving a heartbroken Fletcher behind.
Much like its counterpart “The Bachelorette,” in the reality TV show “The Bachelor,” one man tries to find a potential wife by dating about thirty eligible partners at the same time. The contestants travel around the country and the world as the Bachelor narrows his selection to one person over the course of two months.
Although the prospect may seem wrong, masses are addicted and support this show for various reasons.
For freshman Megan Pangilinan, the show is a family event. “Every Monday, [my family and I] have quality family time where after we watch the show, we get together as a family and actually discuss, during dinner time, some of the most important things that happened and whether or not the relationships will actually work out,” she says.
Many believe that this show draws in people that love the idea of love. Pangilinan says, “I think the show not only caters to those who are hopeless romantics but [people who] like the idea of romance and want something to entertain them, since it’s not only about love.” Senior Casey Vanderlip adds, “It also caters to teenagers because they have a lot of relationship problems and they can relate [to the issues on the show].”
Many watch purely for the entertainment. Senior Jeffrey Kishiyama says, “The women and men that are cast on the show are always entertaining and it makes it fun to watch. It’s also nice, in a twisted way, to watch people have drama within themselves and me not really have anything to do with it.”
As Kishiyama mentions, one main aspect of the show is the constant drama between the contestants. Pangilinan says, “I dislike that sometimes ‘The Bachelor’ producers showcase people that show a side of them that isn’t actually who they actually are. So it kind of disturbs me that they portray drama in an insulting way,” she says.
The most controversial aspect of the show is probably the fact that one person is dating multiple people. Caila Quinn, who was the second runner-up in season 20, said during filming, “It’s just hitting me that it’s not a competition, but there are other girls here. It’s just hitting me that I could have my heart broken if I really fall for [Ben]. He could potentially fall in love with other people.”
Liwag defended the weekly “eliminations” by saying, ”You need to find who you fit or who you’re comfortable with. If you’re the Bachelor or the Bachelorette you’re trying to find people who you connect with, and that’s not every person.” Kishiyama talked about how this factor of the show is expected, saying, “To be honest, I feel like by going on the show, you are agreeing to have your potential significant other date more than one person at once … But I also like it when contestants are able to look at that — I think JoJo’s brothers pointed out that she had only been on two dates with him and that he was dating like 20 other people and I pretty much stood up on my couch and applauded.” Yet Vanderlip voiced his dislike of this aspect of the show, saying, “I think it’s a bad role model for kids and I think it sets up a bad marriage because the couples have less trust in each other since the girl or guy knows that he or she has been with other girls or guys.”
However, at the end of the day, the hope is that the Bachelor finds love. As Quinn says, “I might do it again, because I did fall in love, and it did work for me … Who cares how you meet somebody as long as they’re the right person?”
