TO: Bachelor Nation

FROM: Melissa McKay

RE: The Bachelor – Peter, After the Final Rose

DATE: 5 April 2020

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Introduction

1. On 10 March 2020 at 8PM EST, the live After the Final Rose special aired, marking the end of what felt like the longest season of The Bachelor to date.

After the Final Rose

2. Peter enters the studio without Hannah Ann, which does not bode well for their second-rate engagement.
3. Host Chris Harrison asks Peter how he has been, and Peter says that he was excited to share his engagement news with his family. Host Christ Harrison takes on a serious tone, and asks that we turn our attention to the big screen in-studio, to see what happened after the proposal.

One month post-engagement

4. As this footage plays, we are given a live in-camera shot monitoring Barb’s face within the larger picture.[1] Both Peter and Hannah Ann acknowledge how hard their engagement has been, which I can’t imagine is the feeling most people hope to have one month after getting engaged, but as someone who has never been engaged, I cannot confirm. Hannah Ann tells Peter that she said yes to a partnership, to being teammates, and to working together, and if Peter cannot give that type of love in return, she does not believe that they have a relationship. He tells her that he never intended to give his heart to two people, and that he wants to be able to give her his entire heart, but, alas, he cannot. Hannah Ann is rightfully upset – she tells Peter that he took away what should have been her only engagement. Hannah Ann asks why Peter just didn’t let her go.
5. I think it’s because Peter is selfish and entitled.
6. Peter, on the other hand, doesn’t have an answer. He just says that he is sorry. Hannah Ann asks what he is sorry for. Peter clearly has no idea what he intends to apologize for, so he says, “for taking all that away from you, and for confusing you.”
7. Hannah Ann has prepared a monologue. “For not being man enough[2] to follow through, for not being true to your words or your feelings? Is that what you’re sorry for?” Peter tells her that he “never envisioned this”, a response that would enrage me, and it has the same effect on Hannah Ann, who venomously responds with, “Torn and conflicted Peter, and all throughout, I stood by your side. You took the most precious moment I could ever imagine away from me, because you selfishly did not want me to walk away or send me home.”
8. I feel like I just wasted a lot of time recapping this season when Hannah Ann summed it up in two sentences.
9. Peter tells Hannah Ann that she is right, and she tells him that she doesn’t need anything more from him, because he has “done enough damage.”
10. Peter opens his mouth, and Hannah Ann righteously shuts him down by telling him that she knows that he cannot be true to his words, so she has no reason to hear him out. She wants to “get her life on track, where it was before” she met him.
11. It is so satisfying to watch someone tell Peter that he is the human version of a tepid can of V8 juice,[3] that it almost makes the rest of the season worth it. Not quite, but almost.
12. Once Hannah Ann gets in the limo, Peter tries to say something else, and she just holds up her hand, à la Stop Right Now.[4] It is a glorious moment.

Back in the Studio

13. Even Host Christ Harrison looks as though he thinks Peter is a moron.[5]
14. Hannah Ann comes out, and says that she was blindsided by Peter telling her that he couldn’t give her his whole heart. Prior to the breakup, he told her that letting her get away would be the biggest regret of his life – Hannah Ann states that he either doesn’t understand the weight of his words or doesn’t understand how words impact people. She asks which one it is. As she eviscerates Peter, we see reaction shots of his mother, Barb, who applauds more and more aggressively the harder Hannah Ann twists the knife in Peter, and wow, I would not have wanted to break any of Barb’s curfew rules as a teenager.
15. Hannah Ann goes on to say that Peter said and did things to manipulate her into staying with him, including reaching out to her parents to tell them that he wished they had met outside of reality television. Just when you think Peter can’t get any lower, he pulls out a shovel and starts digging.
16. Hannah Ann then tells Peter that he should have told her the reality of the situation in Australia,[6] and Hannah Ann’s self-awareness and logic are really rendering my recap moot. She says that it was inappropriate to wait until the last minute to tell her that she was the only woman left, that she was put on the spot, and was excited during the proposal, so said yes. She calls him out for downplaying his ongoing feelings for Madi, and states that she had no idea what she was saying yes to. She claims that, had Peter sat down with her and had an honest conversation sometime in the two days between Madi’s departure and the proposal, she would have known that he wasn’t ready for a commitment, which would have led to a different outcome. She says that this was the most hurtful part – he didn’t respect her enough to have an open conversation about where his heart was before letting her walk into this mess.
17. I don’t know if Hannah Ann just went to a really good therapist to prep for this show, or if she is genuinely this reflective and articulate of a person, but she is really crushing this takedown of Peter.
18. Hannah Ann ends her soliloquy with, “word of advice: if you want to be with a woman, you need to become a real man.” It’s not the most satisfying kiss-off, and I wish she had just told him to grow up as opposed to dragging their genders into it, but whatever.
19. Barb liked it and clapped some more, so there’s that.

Host Chris Harrison Gets Messy

20. Host Chris Harrison would like more from our finale, so decides to stir the pot.
21. Once he found out that Hannah Ann and Peter had broken up, he flew to Auburn to lure Madi back to the sparkling lights of The Bachelor As Host Chris Harrison tells Madi that Peter got engaged and then broke up with Hannah Ann because he had feelings for Madi, we get another reaction shot from Barb.[7] Madi asks what is appropriate for her to ask of Host Chris Harrison regarding details of the breakup, and his enthusiastic response is, “I’ll tell you anything!”.
22. Host Chris Harrison really wants this to be the most dramatic season yet.
23. Madi asks Host Chris Harrison what Peter wants. Host Chris Harrison says, “I think in his dream, he would be with you.”
24. This is so poorly done. Madi made the right decision in ending things with Peter, and now she is being manipulated into trying to make things work again, because the producers want to make it seem as though at least one of the twenty-some odd women they amassed for the hot glass of chardonnay that is Peter might possibly want a future with him.
25. Host Chris Harrison flies Madi out to L.A., and she goes to what is described as Peter’s house, but is in fact what I believe to be a house rented by The Bachelor, considering Peter still lives with his parents.[8]
26. Peter tells Madi that he made a million and one mistakes, but he knows that he fell in love with her. Peter literally asked another woman to marry him, and it is absurd to think that Madi, who was so hurt that Peter had sex with another woman, would be fine getting back together with him after he promised to spend the rest of his life with another person mere months ago. But sure, let’s all pretend we believe that she will take him back.
27. Peter asks Madi what she thinks they should do, and we cut back to the studio.

More After the Final Rose

28. Host Chris Harrison drags Madi out on stage, and asks whether Peter has seen Madi since that day. Peter says that they have not. Host Chris Harrison pretends to be baffled,[9] and asks how this will end. Peter says that they intend to take things one day at a time. Madi says nothing – she is but a prop now.
29. Host Chris Harrison, knowing full well that he has yet to reach his requisite drama level, turns to this season’s most willing lightning rod – none other than Barb Weber, who sits in the audience, guns at ready.[10]
30. Barb tells the world that she liked Hannah Ann because she was organic and loving towards their entire family when they met her. With Madi, she says that their family had traveled around the world and was exhausted, and then had to wait three hours while Madi spoke with Peter outside. When she and Peter finally did come in to see the family, Madi did not apologize, and further told Barb that she would not be ready to accept a proposal from Peter. Barb says the family clicked with Hannah Ann, but did not feel any connection with Madi.
31. Madi responds by saying that she is not a mother, so cannot know what it is like for Barb to go through this, but that she won’t say a negative word about anyone. Peter says that he knows his family has his best interests at heart, and that he wants his family to give her a chance and to trust him, because he loves Madi.
32. Barb, who has decided that this is her show now, says that their whole family wants the best for Peter. There were two completely different people before him – one who was willing to compromise and one who was not. Barb further says that Hannah Ann gave her heart to Peter, whereas Madi did not, so of course she loved Hannah Ann, because Hannah Ann loved her son.
33. Barb is the type of in-law who would never let you have Christmas anywhere but her home, but then would still get upset with you for not compromising.
34. Host Chris Harrison asks Barb how she can give this a shot. It has literally become The Bachelor: Overbearing Mothers
35. Barb responds sassily: “Peter has to fail to succeed… all his friends and family know this is not going to work.” [11]
36. Like Hannah Ann, Barb is really taking my job away from me, and I don’t appreciate it. I think they planned this beforehand. I would not put it past Barb.
37. Peter falls back on his defence: he loves Madi and that should be enough for his family. Peter is so selfish, why can’t he think of his poor brother, who just wants to spend quality sibling time at the local line dance clubs?[12]
38. Host Chris Harrison, wanting to bring yet another person into this disaster, asks Peter’s dad what he thinks. Peter’s dad strokes his moustache, and proclaims that he hates this situation.
39. You and me both, Peter’s dad. You and me both.
40. Barb snaps at Peter’s dad under her breath and tells him to “be honest.” Peter’s dad says that it is very telling to see so many obstacles in the way to even get to this point. He does not think you should start a relationship like that. He thinks the beginning of a relationship should be the brightest spot, and this is anything but.
41. Maybe Peter’s dad can be the next Bachelor. He is much more likeable and reasonable.
42. Madi concludes by saying that this is about her and Peter, and that is does not help to rehash the past.
43. Host Chris Harrison wishes Peter, Madi, and their families the best. “All relationships are hard, and you need all the help you can get.”

After After the Final Rose: Nothing will free me from this nightmare

44. On 13 March 2020, a mere three days after the After the Final Rose special aired, Peter posted a photo on Instagram, of himself standing alone, as he should be.[13]
45. Peter revealed that he and Madi “mutually decided to not pursue our relationship any further. Believe me this was not easy for either of us to be ok with, but after a lot of honest conversations, we have agreed that this is what makes most sense for the two of us. The love and respect I have for Madi will continue to endure.”
46. This truly was the worst season of The Bachelor.

Love in the time of Corona: Peter is such a terrible human that he isn’t even practicing social distancing

47. On 25 March 2020, Peter and Kelley, Esq., were spotted canoodling on the Chicago waterfront, despite the stay-at-home order pronounced in Illinois.[14] Peter now appears to be isolating at Kelley, Esq.’s apartment.
48. I have now lost all respect for Kelley, Esq.
49. I will never get back all the bottles of wine it took to get through this.

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Exhibit A

Exhibit B

Exhibit C

Exhibit D

Exhibit E

Exhibit F

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[1] See Exhibit A.

[2] I appreciate her anger, but wish she wouldn’t have conflated the masculine gender with the basic honesty and decency you should treat someone you are in a relationship with.

[3] V8 juice is a brand of vegetable juice, akin to soup, but meant to be consumed in juice form. It contains the juices of tomatoes, carrots, celery, beets, parsley, lettuce, watercress and spinach, and for some reason, was quite popular in the late 90s and early aughts. For more information, see V8 FAQ, available online at <https://www.campbells.com/v8/faqs/>.

[4] See Exhibit B.

[5] See Exhibit C.

[6] The reality being that Madi had decided to leave on her own account and Hannah Ann was Peter’s default proposal.

[7] See Exhibit D.

[8] Monica Sisavat, The Bachelor’s Peter Weber has a simple explanation for why he still lives at home, Popsugar, 11 January 2020. Available online at: <https://www.popsugar.com/entertainment/why-does-bachelor-peter-weber-live-with-his-parents-47081010>.

[9] See Exhibit E.

[10] See Exhibit F.

[11] Barb is entirely correct, but her approach is so wrong. Madi is not a toxic person; she is just not the right person for Peter, and it is not the end of the world if he figures that out on his own. Peter and Barb should probably both hit the therapy to work on their communication, to be honest.

[12] See “The Bachelor: Pilot Peter – Episode 3,” 26 January 2020, para. 4. Available online at <https://melissmckay.com/2020/01/26/the-bachelor-peters-season-episodes-3>.

[13] Peter Weber (username “pilot_pete”) Instagram post, 13 March 2020. Available online at <https://www.instagram.com/p/B9qPjN1AjlJ/>.

[14] For more information, see Morin, Alyssa “The Bachelor’s Peter Weber is seen hanging out with Kelley Flanagan in Chicago”, eOnline. Available at <https://www.eonline.com/ca/news/1134547/the-bachelor-s-peter-weber-seen-hanging-out-with-kelley-flanagan-in-chicago>.