Bachelor 22 - Arie Luyendyk Jr - SM Media - *Sleuthing Spoilers* - #3

Minney wrote:

Kashathediva wrote:Never wish a favorite the lead role. Trainwreck.

So true!  Arie had one of the biggest fan bases and now they've either left the building, jumped ship, or have seen the light!

Oh, back in the day  I was definitely racing on the Arie track and followed his SM post-season... until pics surfaced (Facebook maybe?) of him hot&heavy with much younger females. BUT I was excited that he was the Bach because it’s 5 years later and I was curious. By epi 2’s end he had gnawed too many mouths for me to take him serious. Hungry like a wolf  .

I do think fans in general want a familiar face as lead. It’s something that has a history and even though people still watch when the pattern changes the Bette typically has lower viewership so I suspect the next one will be from Arie or Nick’s season... probably Arie’s.

bluwavz wrote:Haha I'm still a fan even if I think he's being an idiot. Look I truly hope this does work for him. I don't wish him badly or anything and I don't root for him and Lauren to fail. I want him to prove me wrong!

I totally agree ! I’m waiting to see the show as that has always been where we get the clues for sleuthing we have done all these years !

I wonder too if Arie really didn’t have a clear F1 and hence the switch !

Since this is a reality TV show where there is much manipulation by producers etc , I can get all shook up about the spoilers at this point !

There is so much more to come !
Lauren B hasn’t had a 1-1 date yet and we really haven’t seen enough yet !

I believe it’s coming and we will see how he fell in love with both and how conflicted it was !

I always remind myself that 29 or not contestants came on the show to “ fall in love “ with the lead!

Maybe Lauren did fall in love with him and if she did then she now has the chance just like Molly did yrs ago to make this work now in the real world where life and love are put to the test just like all the rest of us have to do on a daily basis !

Kashathediva wrote:Never wish a favorite the lead role. Trainwreck.

Absolutely... they get put on a super high pedestal.... and when they fall... (and they will) ..
They get trampled by the feet of those who lifted them up n the first place

I wasn't emotionally invested in Arie so I am totally fine with a train wreck. Even with the one's I am more invested in I never expect it to last so a trainwreck ending is fine by me

I don't know if Arie was really on a pedestal (maybe back in 2012) but I think a lot of people (including me) kind of ignored all the allegations from his exes saying that he was a cheater, a liar, immature, "the worst offender of women", all the talk about sorority girls, the shadiness with Jef, etc. It's much easier to do when it's just rumors and when it's being done to girls you don't know and aren't invested in. And, it was also easy to say "well, they should have known better! He wasn't posting pictures of them on IG, of course he was fooling around!". With Becca, she only knew about the guy that spent all season long saying he was looking for a wife and put a ring on it to tell the whole world he was committing to it. I totally admit to being a hypocrite and downplaying the chatter about him because I liked him, but I don't think I ever thought he was this stand-up guy who had been screwing around with college-aged girls because he was still hung up on Emily. I knew he was sketchy, but didn't think he was so disrespectful and lacking in compassion, which has been the most disappointing part of all of this.

But, I love a shocker and if Lauren/Arie can make it and have a monogamous relationship, I'll be the first to say I was wrong! IMO.

I definitely think a lot of fans put these folks on a pedestal and then tear them down when super high unrealistic expectations aren't met, but I also think there's a lot of fans who put these folks on a pedestal and then justify everything they do because they don't want to deal with the reality that their favorite isn't any more different or special than anyone else who goes on this show. As I said I do like Arie a lot but I also think I have a more realistic opinion of him now and I do think there's probably a lot of truth about his reputation.

All JMO.

My only knowledge really of Arie was watching him on Emily's season. I didn't follow him on SM or any stories or him afterwards and only got interested again when he was announced. Even when he was announced, I consistently posted that I don't expect Arie and his F1 to last (it's just math to me and not even a reflection of the lead). 

Then there were stories coming about Arie (some old, some new, which I wasn't aware of before) and I gave him the benefit of the doubt until Arie's own pattern of behavior seems to be proving those stories right. 

I mean, his ex literally tweeted when Arie was announced that the hardest thing would be Arie having to choose just one girl.  That it seems Arie literally had that exact issue is telling to me that there's truth to the rumors about him and his player ways are known.

I don't wish ill will on him or Lauren. If it works out for them great! But based on the pattern of his behavior I won't hold my breath

@bluwavz OR .... or maybe some of us just don’t really mind if they’re not perfect.

bluwavz wrote:I definitely think a lot of fans put these folks on a pedestal and then tear them down when super high unrealistic expectations aren't met, but I also think there's a lot of fans who put these folks on a pedestal and then justify everything they do because they don't want to deal with the reality that their favorite isn't any more different or special than anyone else who goes on this show. As I said I do like Arie a lot but I also think I have a more realistic opinion of him now and I do think there's probably a lot of truth about his reputation.

All JMO.

Well said here and by @aria. I’d love to be an Arie Apologist but he’s now shown his utter disrespect on how he treats women. Just some tail. What Arie wants , Arie gets. Rich playboy race car driver with looks and charms that he uses as his bait . He knows how to be in the moment and present with all his simultaneous hookups all the while he’s searching for his next conquest . I bet he keeps a journal for his RL just so he can keep up and keep straight who’ll he’ll be with that day/night. Jmo

Minney wrote:

Kashathediva wrote:Never wish a favorite the lead role. Trainwreck.

So true!  Arie had one of the biggest fan bases and now they've either left the building, jumped ship, or have seen the light!

I speak only for myself, I gave him the benefit of the doubt and believed all the words coming out of his mouth but now - the light is blinding.

bluwavz wrote:Haha I'm still a fan even if I think he's being an idiot. Look I truly hope this does work for him. I don't wish him badly or anything and I don't root for him and Lauren to fail. I want him to prove me wrong!

No, sorry, he lost me. Never liked wimpy men and always hated and stirred clear of messy relationships. I have never been one to wish another girl in a situation I would never tolerate myself in.

Ladybug82 wrote:

Aria wrote:snipped...
And, unless someone can explain to me how producers were able to trick him into liking Lauren's IG pictures two weeks after the proposal and the day after he spent a SHV with Becca, I still maintain that this is all on him. He's disrespectful and shady all by himself, IMO.

Agreed.  Yes, TPTB are all kinds of manipulative and poke and prod and play all kinds of mind games.  But Arie knew that going in, he's been there before.  He himself contacted Lauren and liked her pictures and posted and said things that are insensitive after breaking up with one and immediately asking the other to date.  I get that TPTB are in his head and ear but at some point he has to take some responsibility himself.  He's 36 not 2 and capable of making his own decisions and standing his ground.  He even told us he did things his way during filming.  So, maybe all this post filming drama is more of him doing his own thing, who knows...  If so, doing his own thing isn't the wisest or most thought out, IMO.  

JMOAA

Agree with all this @Aria @Ladybug82   

Imo TPTB is a given denominator for all these leads/contestants so to me it's essentially a non-factor when it comes to what a lead chooses to do. Arie is an adult, what he chooses to do is on him. I don't buy into "TPTB made me do it" narratives for any of these leads even the ones I like what they do is on them. Arie doesn't get a pass from me because of comparison to past leads or TPTB or anything else. This is Arie's season and his choices and my opinions are based on that (same as with any other lead and season). And if Arie liking Lauren's pics and doing a switcheroo or any of that stuff is because he feels forced to do so then I have even less respect for him. It's how he has gone about it and that it is tied into his own pattern of past behavior (so not just this show) that makes me think that it's just Arie being Arie and the big bad TPTB aren't to blame.

jmo

@Pirouette speaking for myself it comes down to 2 things. She follows Tomi Lahren (ironic) who makes very offensive statements on a CONSISTENT basis and shares trumps views. But the fact that she may have been somewhat complicit in this whole thing with Arie kind of leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I agree as others have stated that he holds most of the blame. If that turns out to be the case then I was wrong. All JMO