Bachelorette New Zealand - Season 1 - Dr Lesina Nakhid-Schuster - Lily McManus - Media SM - Discussion - *Sleuthing Spoilers *

When I was a smaller Lily, I grew up with a male figure in my life that believed that young men should deal with what they felt by “toughening up” and chasing that with a shot of dirt. He didn’t believe that mental illness was something that generally existed. He grew up with a father that had the same beliefs. It’s a common misconception that the perfect man is tough, cemented, never drastic or fragile. Expressing warmth and weakness isn’t something that has been normalized for men of our past generations. I saw these beliefs pushed onto the young man I grew up beside, the first man I ever personally loved. I saw how this torn him in two. When he was breaking in half he didn’t feel like he could talk about it or show the people he loved his hurt. This later lead him to make a choice that torn my little heart into so many pieces. More pieces than I ever knew. When I eventually grew into a woman, I knew this was never a way that I wanted to make the men in my life feel. When I was asked to be the bachelorette I knew I was going to get the chance to meet a lot of men and all men have issues. The thought of being able to potentially be a part of creating an environment where these men felt that they could be vulnerable and emotionally expressive struck a soft cord for me. Having been in the exact position these men are in before, I had more empathy for them than I ever thought possible. Watching the show through a screen, it’s hard to understand what these men are really going through. At times we are all impulsive, sporadic, dramatic, delicate, unsure, insecure, confused, possessive, confident, shy and proud. I knew that every single person on this show was going to have a meltdown at some point. I did. I once saw Art green eating full gluten bread, so I know he did too. This is fine. These feelings are valid in life. Having these boys be able to feel comfortable enough to show me how they are feeling and what they are going through is the biggest compliment a girl could ever ask for. No matter what happens from here on out, all the good, all the bad, I’m so greatful. You men make me the luckiest Bachelorette alive.

Norcalgal wrote:@Bobette   Lesina has been a disappointing lead. Lily on the other hand is phenomenal! I see a person being so true to herself!

Idlemess wrote:On the other hand, I would like to know what happened between Lesina and TPTB

Bobette wrote:Meanwhile that friend of hers upthread is still mouthing off in IG comments.  She tore strips off a 15 year old girl here who (correctly IMO) commented that Lesina just wants the guys to dote on her and Aaron is the only one obsessed enough to do so.