Rollins Alumnus Prince Lorenzo Borghese
(Class of 1995)
Hi! It's 12:38am and I just had to get online to post about Lorenzo to his faithful Jokersupdates Bachelor fans.
I got to campus at 6PM just to make sure I had good seating. When they opened the doors I ran in and got a seat on the first row, on the left side of the podium. A few minutes after 8 he walked in and sat with some people (I'm assuming friends and people from PR dept at Rollins) two seats away from me.
The presenter made a brilliant introduction. When Lorenzo was formally called up to the stage he blushed, which I think is a sign of humility. He basically opened up with a speech he loosely had made with info about the show and other questions people have asked. He wasn't reading, they were more like notes he was using for reference.
He explained how he decided to go on the show; in the end he didn't want to turn 85 and wonder what if and regret not doing it. He decided to take a risk. Afterwards he read some really dreadful emails that he's received. Some were funny, some were insulting and some were just down right crazy. He gave some comments on them, but even while doing that he was pleasant and didn't lose his wit and calm.
One of the emails he received was about how people like to see others people's misery, which he said was very poignant and was sad because we should all wish success for others as well as for themselves. We should all be happy for other people's success and happiness instead of critizing. He said that he feels the best thing we can do in life is do our best to live a happy life, and wish that on others.
He read the Page six article in the NY Post where he was at the ASPCA event and they said he was hounding the women and needed to be on a leash. He explained he went to the event due to his relation with the pet care industry. He was instructed by the show producers to be nice and friendly with everyone and during the event he greeted and took pictures with every one and they ended up turning it into a big gossip.
He also read a letter where someone criticized him for dropping Agnese. He explained that when he was growing up he started developing a stutter. His parents took him to see some doctors and they recommended that they only speak English to him, not Italian. So everyone in his family made an effort to speak only English to him. When he was in H.S. he took Italian but he had a very hard time with it. But he has tried.
He said that in a relationship communication is too important and due to the language barrier he didn't feel the relationship would work.
When we got to the Q&A session, he went around through the entire auditorium and answered every one's questions.
About Jen he stated that they are no longer together. Someone asked if they had already broken up when they were doing their interviews, and he said no. They broke up about a week later. He also answered that during the time they were apart they had "secret rondevous" in places he couldn't disclose and they were able to spend time together in a house. He confirmed that Jen still has the ring, it was her prize for "winning."
Regarding the rumors about Sadie, he said that he is not dating Sadie. He stated that Sadie had been looking for a job in New York and she had received six offers and her choice to move to NY was a career move she made and had nothing to do with him. They are just friends.
I actually asked him what was the most important thing he lost, and the most important thing he gained from his experience. He said the most important thing he lost was his privacy. The most important thing he gained was friends. He said he's remained friends with many of the girls, and he seemed genuine when he said that was important to him. A lot of people have made comments about him just hitting on the other girls but I really believe he's just a caring friendly person.
They asked him about his time at Rollins and he said that his saddest experience there was when he got his diploma and knew he wouldn't be there any longer. He said that while he was there he wasn't a great student. He said he graduated with a 2.80. He said at that time of his life his priorities were different. He preferred to be at the pool than in class and during his first semester got a 2.10. But then towards the 3rd and 4th years he really studied and started making better grades.
He said of all the places he visited that he liked the best --I'm not sure if I missed if it was home dates, but he answered he liked Oregon the best. It reminded him of Vermont and Switzerland. During the hometown visits he only got to visit the parents at their homes and the next day he was on a plane, so he didn't get to do much sightseeing.
A lady asked if he played piano because there was one on the stage and he mentioned he plays drums and saxophone but not piano.
He also explained how he got into his business and he explained the condition his dog had and how he researched the problem and decided to create a dog shampoo that would eliminate this problem. He sounded very knowledgeable.
Throughout the entire Q&A session he looked at the people who asked him questions and smiled and didn't say no to any questions.
He stated that his dating life is still the same as when he started the show. Now a bit easier because of the media, but still basically the same.
I actually asked him "what about dating did he find difficult since he expressed several times that he had problems dating?" He stated that he is shy, and usually likes to have some of his friends with him when he's around a lot of girls.
When asked how it felt to be a prince and he said he didn't know how to answer that because it would be like asking her how it felt to be a girl. He's never really focused on it, it's a title and he doesn't really know how it feels because it's normal to him. He doesn't think of himself as a prince.
Just for the record Lorenzo said that he did not get paid for going on the show. The show is about finding love, not about making money. He also clarified that the production crew did not influence him to keep any of the girls in particular. He kept Erica because she had an interesting personality, and a different opinion and he wanted to learn more about her. While not ruling out the possibility of being on TV again, he emphatically said he wouldn't do any more dating shows. Who can blame him?
When asked which publicity interviews he enjoyed the most he said "Ellen" was really nice to him, gave him some presents and he really had a nice time with her. He also said that he loved going on Jimmy Kimmel. He couldn't believe he was going to be on his show. He took a group of about 10 friends and they hung out in the green room, which had pool tables, big screen tvs, all sorts of games. He loved it. He also loved going on Kelly & Regis. He said he's a very big Kelly fan!!! I thought that was cute.
Afterwards one of the college officials gave him a proclamation and named Jan 23, Lorenzo Borghese day at Rollins. He was a bit surprised, but everybody loved the idea and applauded. The audience was very polite and respectful. He deserved that.
Me and Lorenzo
As he started to leave the stage surrounded by the college staff I took a risk as he had said we should earlier and I ran to the stage waved my camera and asked him if he would take a picture with me. I couldn't believe it; he smiled and said yes! He walked over to me, got off the stage, stood next to me, put his arm around me and smiled. Then he patiently waited while the lady taking our picture figured out how to use my camera. At that point every one came towards the stage, cameras in hand and he was absolutely charming. He said "absolutely" to every one who asked for a picture with him and amicably chatted and smiled. Then I asked him for his autograph and he signed the back of my ticket stubs "thanks for coming Love Prince Lorenzo Borghese". While he was writing I mentioned that I was inspired by one of the episodes on the show I took a helicopter tour and we exchanged a quick animated comment on that.
All in all it was a wonderful experience to meet the person that I admired and rooted for throughout the show. This was my first bachelor season and it was Lorenzo who made it a worthwhile experience. I definitely will not watch the next season though. Once was the charm for me.
Everyone told me Lorenzo would not be at all what I expected and I would be disappointed. Well he is absolutely charming. I am very impressed. I truly wish him all the best. There aren't too many nice guys like him out there. Oh, by the way he's absolutely gorgeous in person.
View Lorenzo at Rollins College - Video - Click Here
