Couples Therapy - Season 5 - Premier Sept 10 2014 - General Discussion

Being brought up spoiled and having everything go your way doesn't give you the life experiences to know any better. You have to go through challenges, hard times like a job loss, a break up, something you wanted really bad you felt it in your soul, but it didn't work out. These are things that define you, not because of the events, but how you re act and handle the challenges that are dealt to you.

It sounds like Nikki just reverts to her old ways of pouting or stomping out of a room, because that's the only way she knows how to deal with situations that are not to her liking.

It makes sense now, that she tweeted JPG back in August, for his birthday and thanking him for his patience.

GuardianAngel wrote:Being brought up spoiled and having everything go your way doesn't give you the life experiences to know any better. You have to go through challenges, hard times like a job loss, a break up, something you wanted really bad you felt it in your soul, but it didn't work out. These are things that define you, not because of the events, but how you re act and handle the challenges that are dealt to you.

It sounds like Nikki just reverts to her old ways of pouting or stomping out of a room, because that's the only way she knows how to deal with situations that are not to her liking.

It makes sense now, that she tweeted JPG back in August, for his birthday and  thanking him for his patience.

I go between wanting CT to have helped them, then I see the Josh quote and think that if she still wants to be bff with Andi, maybe if it is best if they part ways. If her friend's fiance is going to talk crap about the kind of person JPG is and she allows it, then honestly I don't want JPG to have to put up with that crap.

stuckinsc wrote:
I go between wanting CT to have helped them, then I see the Josh quote and think that if she still wants to be bff with Andi, maybe if it is best if they part ways.  If her friend's fiance is going to talk crap about the kind of person JPG is and she allows it, then honestly I don't want JPG to have to put up with that crap.

IA I'd rather see each of them part ways.

Ariela wrote:"What if Clare was actually "supposed" to be F1 and Nikki F2?"

I think he had a stronger sexual attraction to Clare, but Nikki was a better choice for Camila. JPG said that a woman with a good career was also important to him. After all, he doesn't have a career.

I guess I'm quite uncertain about how much a "better choice for Camilla" factored into JPG's decision making because I never thought he was actually making a choice for Camilla over the long term, for the very reason you note in the last sentence - JPG doesn't have a career himself. IMO he probably did quite well when he was playing soccer. But after he quit in 2008 he tried his hand in the music business, promoting two Venezuelan songwriters and then two Venezuelan singers (who haven't released any new material since 2010). He did a short stint as a Spanish language commentator for Mega TV in Miami but now all he really does is chase Venezuelan athletes for memorabilia which he takes back to Venezuela. And (of course) gets paid to appear on Reality TV shows.

Perhaps he did see Nikki's career in nursing as a more marketable career than anything Clare had going for her which may better explain his choice of Nikki over Clare.

What I haven't really detailed is that there is a VH1 preview of Episode 8 (but the only way to watch it is on the VH1 App on an iPhone) where Nikki talks (one on one) to Dr. Jenn about the magazine article that Cicely read about Andi and JPG and JPG's self-centered attitude. Nikki tells Dr. Jenn that "I've been sticking up for Andi this whole time because I felt the same way she did that night." Which makes me wonder exactly what she meant by this; did Nikki agree with Andi that JPG was self-centered - or did she perhaps want to leave the show because of it just like Andi did?

GuardianAngel wrote:In all fairness, JPG has a very busy career before TB and continues to post show without any assistance from TPTB. He is very involved in baseball, collect's baseball bats among other items, for under privileged children, and is very involved in a lot of the professional athletes activities with charities, within the baseball organization and other sports such as soccer and boxing. He travels extensively for work. Right now he's going back and for to KC and San Fran for the WS.

I detailed the best knowledge I was able to find about JPG and his career prior to appearing on TB. While he was involved in a number of different things, I can't clearly see how any of them (after he left soccer) were very lucrative. Yes he stays active but those activities don't seem likely to make him rich. The "easy money" is appearance fees for doing things like Couples Therapy (and before that The Bachelor and certainly the DWTS opportunity that didn't work out for him). Charity work doesn't pay well (most of the money does or should go to the charity).

Lucas15 wrote:

Ariela wrote:"What if Clare was actually "supposed" to be F1 and Nikki F2?"

I think he had a stronger sexual attraction to Clare, but Nikki was a better choice for Camila. JPG said that a woman with a good career was also important to him. After all, he doesn't have a career.

I guess I'm quite uncertain about how much a "better choice for Camilla" factored into JPG's decision making because I never thought he was actually making a choice for Camilla over the long term, for the very reason you note in the last sentence - JPG doesn't have a career himself. IMO he probably did quite well when he was playing soccer. But after he quit in 2008 he tried his hand in the music business, promoting two Venezuelan songwriters and then two Venezuelan singers (who haven't released any new material since 2010). He did a short stint as a Spanish language commentator for Mega TV in Miami but now all he really does is chase Venezuelan athletes for memorabilia which he takes back to Venezuela. And (of course) gets paid to appear on Reality TV shows.

Perhaps he did see Nikki's career in nursing as a more marketable career than anything Clare had going for her which may better explain his choice of Nikki over Clare.

What I haven't really detailed is that there is a VH1 preview of Episode 8 (but the only way to watch it is on the VH1 App on an iPhone) where Nikki talks (one on one) to Dr. Jenn about the magazine article that Cicely read about Andi and JPG and JPG's self-centered attitude. Nikki tells Dr. Jenn that "I've been sticking up for Andi this whole time because I felt the same way she did that night." Which makes me wonder exactly what she meant by this; did Nikki agree with Andi that JPG was self-centered - or did she perhaps want to leave the show because of it just like Andi did?

Hmmm... very interesting.

I do think, however, that the handlers instigated Andi to leave since Nikki was pretty tight with her and hated Clare with a passion. You know they like competition all the way to the end. Intriguingly, Nikki and Clare were NEVER on a group date together and were clueless as to how Juan was with the other. Likewise, silly Juan seemed clueless that they were ever fighting with each other between dates.

Ugh. That whole season left a yucky aftertaste in my mouth in the way it was set up.

stuckinsc wrote:I don't think they were upset that she didn't have a bad childhood.  I heard no negative words about Deena or Chris who probably had pretty good childhoods.  But the cluelessness of sitting at that table as they were eating right after they heard Jenna and Treach's stories and Nikki was complaining how she got thrown off of track, even though she was the best, because she broke the rules and played powder puff football.  I think that annoyed the crap out of Jenna, Treach and Cecily.  Now what I would have admired more is if any of them had said to her, um, we talked about abuse and neglect and not knowing our parents.  Can you maybe talk about how hard to was to get in trouble for being selfish and disobeying your team rules later?  

You don't have to have had a bad life to have a little humility and not talk about inane stuff when others are still raw from discussing real personal tragedies.

I have many good friends who grew up in great homes with wonderful parents, they had everything and never wanted for anything.  They are some of my bffs.  But they have the sense when they hear about what I went through growing up to not try to tell me how something in consequential scared them.  We have talks about those things at another time and place, but right after hearing about really bad stuff they usually want to help me decompress, not make it all about them.

What Nikki did came off as vapid and self-centered.  Now Jenna running out to tell Cecily that Nikki was complaining about her?  Totally wrong and just as immature as Nikki deciding to talk all about Nikki right after learning how hard others lives were.

What makes this show so silly is that we only heard about FOUR childhoods, edited for content. I was mighty curious about how Dick became "Evel". The commercials came and went... and I was still waiting to hear HIM.

Treach definitely had the worst upbringing, yet complains the least and has yet to say anything particularly negative about ANYBODY on the show. He is even calm and mild mannered with Cicely despite all of her cheating accusations. I forget... is he the one getting a visit by Daddy?

The one who needs a visit from Daddy is Jenna. That gal has MAJOR daddy issues. As tragic as losing Mommy at a very young age was, it seems that 75% of all of her problems either directly or indirectly involved a tug of war with Daddy. There seemed to be no notable attempt from either side to "compromise" with the other. Even her tragic R-situation (i.e. we can't type that word here) involved strange men that I am quite sure Daddy did not want her associating with. No doubt so much of what she has done in life is what she knows Daddy doesn't want.

... and John is like her long lost Mommy in the way he consoles her. Does she even view him as a MAN? Or are most men just like Daddy?

Regarding Nikki... her family probably was not always as well-to-do as they appeared on Bachelor's hometown. What she didn't get early in life, they helped provide later when they could. My overall impression is that Nikki is embarrassed about SOMETHING in her background and has worked hard to associate only with those she wants to be seen with... namely, those of good "breeding".

Many posts I have read here and on the abc.com have this common theme associated with her. Often she reacts strongly to comments that aren't necessarily mean (although there ARE mean comments too online). It is her TONE in both online comments and her conversations ON SCREEN (particularly on Couples Therapy, more so than Bachelor) that seem... well... "I am a little better than you". Maybe she doesn't always THINK that way, but so much of what we hear coming out of her mouth makes US view her that way.

There is that old Bette Davis movie NOW VOYAGER that frequently gets quoted (paraphrasing) "in order for people to like you, you have to learn to like THEM". I am not getting a good "read" on Nikki, but many times she is so critical of others who aren't critical of her. Also Juan jokes about how much time she spends in the bathroom and the image I keep getting in my warped space cadet mind is her constantly washing her hands after being around these "lesser beings". I am sure she is the SWEETEST nurse in the world and absolutely adores babies. Yet she is one of those Reality TV Contestants who will have me briefly in her corner when sobbing about Juan, then abruptly turns me off when she open her mouth to giver her OPINION about somebody else. "Snooty" is the word I think of. Again, she may not THINK that way, but that is the overall TONE of her vocabulary. (Some day, we will need to quote sections of her dialogue and pick out what key words are causing the trouble.)

Perhaps Juan is a little that way too? Only he seems sweet enough. Personally I think they are like two peas in a pod, meant for each other. Why associate with those of lesser value? Those two would have been fun to watch on the TITANIC.

Lucas15 wrote:

Ariela wrote:"What if Clare was actually "supposed" to be F1 and Nikki F2?"

I think he had a stronger sexual attraction to Clare, but Nikki was a better choice for Camila. JPG said that a woman with a good career was also important to him. After all, he doesn't have a career.

I guess I'm quite uncertain about how much a "better choice for Camilla" factored into JPG's decision making because I never thought he was actually making a choice for Camilla over the long term, for the very reason you note in the last sentence - JPG doesn't have a career himself. IMO he probably did quite well when he was playing soccer. But after he quit in 2008 he tried his hand in the music business, promoting two Venezuelan songwriters and then two Venezuelan singers (who haven't released any new material since 2010). He did a short stint as a Spanish language commentator for Mega TV in Miami but now all he really does is chase Venezuelan athletes for memorabilia which he takes back to Venezuela. And (of course) gets paid to appear on Reality TV shows.

Perhaps he did see Nikki's career in nursing as a more marketable career than anything Clare had going for her which may better explain his choice of Nikki over Clare.

What I haven't really detailed is that there is a VH1 preview of Episode 8 (but the only way to watch it is on the VH1 App on an iPhone) where Nikki talks (one on one) to Dr. Jenn about the magazine article that Cicely read about Andi and JPG and JPG's self-centered attitude. Nikki tells Dr. Jenn that "I've been sticking up for Andi this whole time because I felt the same way she did that night." Which makes me wonder exactly what she meant by this; did Nikki agree with Andi that JPG was self-centered - or did she perhaps want to leave the show because of it just like Andi did?

GuardianAngel wrote:In all fairness, JPG has a very busy career before TB and continues to post show without any assistance from TPTB. He is very involved in baseball, collect's baseball bats among other items, for under privileged children, and is very involved in a lot of the professional athletes activities with charities, within the baseball organization and other sports such as soccer and boxing. He travels extensively for work. Right now he's going back and for to KC and San Fran for the WS.

I detailed the best knowledge I was able to find about JPG and his career prior to appearing on TB. While he was involved in a number of different things, I can't clearly see how any of them (after he left soccer) were very lucrative. Yes he stays active but those activities don't seem likely to make him rich. The "easy money" is appearance fees for doing things like Couples Therapy (and before that The Bachelor and certainly the DWTS opportunity that didn't work out for him). Charity work doesn't pay well (most of the money does or should go to the charity).

Nice pragmatic assessment.

Jenna's father died in 2010. No hope for closure or anything else there, but acceptance. She actually wrote a lot about him in her book, but in a much more positive light than what she's revealed on this show. Maybe now she's ready to tell the real story.

Oh... whoops! Didn't figure THAT out.

So... like Dick, Jenna is on the show to tell viewers something.

Lucas15 wrote:snipped

I detailed the best knowledge I was able to find about JPG and his career prior to appearing on TB. While he was involved in a number of different things, I can't clearly see how any of them (after he left soccer) were very lucrative. Yes he stays active but those activities don't seem likely to make him rich. The "easy money" is appearance fees for doing things like Couples Therapy (and before that The Bachelor and certainly the DWTS opportunity that didn't work out for him). Charity work doesn't pay well (most of the money does or should go to the charity).

My point was that he works, before and after the TB in response to the poster who stated he doesn't have a career. He has continued to work in the various sports and music industry. I don't think he's ever said or behaved in a manner that he's looking for easy money to be rich.

GuardianAngel wrote:

Lucas15 wrote:snipped

I detailed the best knowledge I was able to find about JPG and his career prior to appearing on TB. While he was involved in a number of different things, I can't clearly see how any of them (after he left soccer) were very lucrative. Yes he stays active but those activities don't seem likely to make him rich. The "easy money" is appearance fees for doing things like Couples Therapy (and before that The Bachelor and certainly the DWTS opportunity that didn't work out for him). Charity work doesn't pay well (most of the money does or should go to the charity).

My point was that he works, before and after the TB in response to the poster who stated he doesn't have a career. He has continued to work in the various sports and music industry. I don't think he's ever said or behaved in a manner that he's looking for easy money to be rich.

And unlike other people who go on this show with a career and then abandon it to do entertainment, both Jake and Ali come to mind, JPG is doing the same thing he was when he went on Des's show.

It may just be me, but not everyone is obsessed with being wealthy, some people are actually happy being comfortable. JPG and his family seem comfortable. The child support thing happened, but I have seen that in wealthy situations as well.

As for JPG living with his family. I also see this in Hispanic families as well. I actually dated a Cuban man for a while who lived in one state, while his parents and daughter lived in another state, he got a great job and didn't want to uproot his daughter from her life and her mother's family as well. When he was with her he lived with his daughter and parents, then he had a small apartment where he worked.

I may give JPG too much leeway for the cultural thing, but I think a lot of people here don't give him enough.

So... like Dick, Jenna is on the show to tell viewers something wrote:

Exactly!  But it's pretty much impossible to tell exactly what that is.  If she's trying to repair her erratic public image in some way, it's not working.  Her relationship with John had barely begun, so is it some sort of precautionary therapy to avert potential bad communication or interactions?  If so, I don't think that's working either.

Maybe it's simply just for the money.  They aren't married, so maybe he needs it.

metalgirl wrote:Maybe it's simply just for the money.  They aren't married, so maybe he needs it.

In "reality" if a couple wants to work on a relationship that has some problems, they meet with a therapist - in private - and the therapist leads them through some discussions and at the end they write the therapist a check. In "Reality TV" some people with some degree of fame or controversy surrounding them go to a therapist and talk in front of a bunch of cameras, act up on camera as they talk to each other, and get paid $50,000 to let it all get televised.

I think everyone who went on this show did it for the money, not for any therapeutic value.