MTA, Finale, and ATFR.......
I am going to start off tonight’s blog with a brief rundown of the MTA from last night. Some of the guys were brought back again to talk of their journey on the show, and to dish on Bentley, and others on the show. The “hotseat” had some visitors but before that happened, the guys partook in some ribbing of each other. The ribbing started with Mr. Sunshine(AKA Ryan) and continued onto the feud between Ben C and William....... how William dissed on Ben C, and how Ben feels that is why he was sent home. Then of course Tim(aka drunk guy) got his fair share of the ribbing by Chris H. and the other guys there. Then the ribbing switched to Jeff(AKA the Mask), before William finally took the hotseat. When the playback happened regarding how William treated Ashley at the roast, even William couldn’t watch it. Even though William was up there for a while accepting the ribbing that he was given, he also accepted how badly he acted and treated Ashley and has said how much he learned from his experience........Then Ryan got put into the hotseat and went through the process of re-watching his time on the show, only to be questioned by the guys and Chris at the end. Do I believe how hard it was on him, I can’t say.......guess that is for all of us to figure out. Obviously some of the guys didn’t believe him though and wondered if he was putting on an act.........Then Ames was brought out for a rewind on his journey on the show, and of course he charmed the audience. At the end of his time in the hotseat, Chris Harrison gave him the gift of the boxing gloves that he used in Chiang Mai, of course, he isn’t literally allowed to use them at any time, according to Harrison........LOL. Then of course it was time to re-hash Bentley’s time on the show and how the guys actually feel about him. There were varying degrees of emotions regarding how the guys felt about Bentley.........not a shortage of adjectives were used, to put it mildly. This is also the time that Michelle Money was brought up onto the stage to explain her part in sending Ashley the texts regarding Bentley. Then Ashley was brought up onto the stage to talk with the guys. While Ashley was brought onto the stage, DeAnna Pappas, Jason Mesnick, and Ali Fedotowsky was brought out to discuss with Ashley the Bentley situation. By the end, they all remained on the stage and everyone was treated to the bloopers reel........that contained a lot of funny stuff, including Chris Harrison coming out of the RC room and pulling up his zipper...........they caught you Chris.....LOL. Then the traditional look ahead of whether it is going to be Ben or JP that Ashley chooses.
FRC
First up is Ashley meeting with her family(stepfather-Mike, Mother-Lori, sister-Christy, and brother-Elliot) and telling them of her journey so far. Ashley tells her family that with one guy, she has the passion and it could go somewhere, but with the other guy she is more compatible, just the passion isn’t there just yet. With Ben, she says that they are goofy, funny together and he is much like her that way, he can be serious too and is very successful. With JP, there is the undeniable burning passion, and nothing else matters. So the dilemma.....does she go with someone that she’s very into but they are very different(JP), or does she go with someone that the passion isn’t there just yet, but is very compatible with(Ben)? The family meets JP first.
JP shows up first with a bottle of wine for the family. As he meets up with Ashley on the beach, she is surprised that he is clean shaven......hmmm. As the couple sit down and meet the fam, we get a PI from Ash of how proud she was to bring JP to meet her fam, and how excited everyone seemed. Then the sister starts in with the inquisition as they are sitting down to eat........there are a lot of laughs at the table. After lunch, Ash, her sister and mom head inside to have a chat. Christy starts off with saying that she isn’t digging JP with Ash, and Ash may be too much for JP. Both Ashley and Christy get into it, with lots of tears from Ashley as she is saying that she really wants the support and not to be left feeling all alone, with her family all around her. This of course puts Lori in the middle, figuratively and literally since she’s sitting in between the sisters..........LOL. Although Lori admitted that Ashley is different with JP than she was with Brad, she still doesn’t see the same turmoil that Christy is seeing though. Then Ashley sits down with her brother and tells him how Christy reacted. Again, Elliot affirms that Christy hasn’t talked to JP yet, so her forming an opinion without talking to JP isn’t right........ Then Christy comes to get JP for their talk. During their convo, Christy admits that she was hard on Ashley telling her that she really didn’t see the connection. Meanwhile, Ashley is talking to Mike and tells him what happened between Christy and herself..........Mike tries to explain that Christy judging JP when she hadn’t talked to him yet was wrong, he also carries on to explain that this is Ashley’s life, and she needs to do what is right for her. Then we head back to Christy and JP’s conversation, and of how Christy tells him that she really doesn’t see the connection. Then Christy asks JP what’s the part of him that tells him that this is right and he could propose to Ashley in a couple of days. JP explains that everytime he is around her, he is smiling, JP proceeds to tell Christy that 100%, he is in love with Ashley. A bunch of things come up in their conversation........the age card, the set in his ways, the honeymoon phase of their relationship. WOW, then when she admits that she wouldn’t be happy if JP proposes to Ashley.........holy crow.......... Then after JP said goodbye to the family, he and Ashley headed down the beach to talk. JP is frustrated that Christy might actually persuade Ashley to make a different choice than him and the fact that he was being compared to how Ashley was when she made her HTD with Brad......that really ticked off JP. The whole family meeting left JP more frustrated than ever and more unsure of where Ashley stood than ever before as well.
Next up..........Ben comes to meet the fam.
First up, Ashley heads over to talk to Christy about what happened with JP..........Ash explains to Christy that at the end of the family time they were talking and of how JP felt like a failure and how he feels that his relationship with Ash may be in question as he fears that Christy might say something to change Ash’s mind about him. The two of them got into a battle royale over how Ashley feels she isn’t getting support from her sister, the one person that she thought she would get the most support from, etc. Then Christy heads back into the cabin and gets Lori involved........yikes. Obviously Ashley filled her family in on the Bentley situation as during the conversation between Lori and Christy, they are talking about Ash’s feelings towards the guy that left.......Christy was saying that Ash had a gutt reaction towards Bentley, now is having a gutt reaction towards JP, and Christy is just trying to “Protect” Ashley from herself and hurting the way she did after Bentley left.
Ben then arrives to meet the family.........he too is bringing a bottle of wine for the fam. As they get inside and Ben meets everyone, they have some quality time laughing and then Ashley and Ben both do their doggie voice imitations and things get carried away for a bit.......LOL. Then Ben and Christy head outside for their chat. During their conversation, Ben admits that he has thought everything out and completely is in it. Then Christy admits that she see’s Ashley being herself and that is something that she was looking for. Ben admits that he is 100% in love with Ashley and knows that she’s the one that he wants to be with........they started out as friends and has gone a whole lot more. Ben has also admitted to Christy that he has had to go into this with confidence or the process will eat you up.........Christy admits in a PI of how she appreciates the openness and honesty that Ben spoke with. The family sat down for lunch, and afterwards went back into the house for some more time for talking before Ben left. In a PI, Ash admits that Ben brings out the more kooky side of her and one that she likes....he’s successful, funny and a really good guy. After the family goodbyes, Ashley and Ben went out to say their goodbyes as well. In a PI, Ashley admits that with Ben she could have everything, but she can’t forget how she feels with JP and has come to the realization that she needs to make this decision on her own as all her family has done is left her more confused than ever.
Ben’s last date...............
As Ben comes to meet Ashley for their LCD, Ash says in a PI that the last few dates with Ben have gone great. She’s looking forward to spending time with him. They are doing some small talk while they wait for the heli to come and pick them up for their date. They tour around Fiji on their way to the landing site where they partake in a mudbath. The spot that they are at, has healing properties and people around the world come there to partake in it. As they strip down to their bathing suits and climb into the mud pools, we get a PI from Ben stating that mud is never a great thing till you find yourself doing it with someone that you really like, then it becomes a very sexy thing. As the two of them are spreading mud all over each other, you can see that they are totally enjoying each other’s company. They continue to rub the mud all over each other and stay there for some time. After their day, they head back to the resort where Ashley goes to Ben’s place for the evening portion of their LCD. After they pour the champagne and sit down, Ben begins telling Ashley how he feels the family time went, of how he talked to her mom and Mike, and Christy.........Ben tells Ashley of how he got Christy’s approval for the engagement, then he finally tells her that he loves her and has tried a few times to say it. They immediately start kissing again. Both Ash and Ben say in their PI’s of how they could see themselves kissing each other for the rest of their lives.
UP next............JP’s LCD
Ashley is down on the beach waiting for JP to arrive when she is giving us a PI of how her date with Ben the day before went unbelievable, and of how today is her last chance to be with JP and to find out where they stand together. As Ashley states, how her sister feels about JP has made Ashley step back and really think of how the relationship is going and what it means to her. She wants to make sure she could really see a life with JP beyond the passion and the moment. As JP and Ash heads upstairs to talk, JP admits that he’s worried that the conversation with Christy might actually hamper their relationship. They both realize that their relationship just works..........JP states that he thinks that they are a perfect fit and Ash is thinking now of the reality of their relationship. Ashley then asks him if he is wanting to actually start a life with her and not just let her fit into his.......you could see he is frustrated with that question and asks her what she thinks. Hmmmm, JP is calling Ben, the other guy.........that seems strange in a way, but all right. Probably something that he is doing with himself as a coping measure........but he does say that he will take all day long to make sure she knows how he feels about her. Then he proceeds to tell Ashley that he got a piece of advice from her stepdad about putting everything out there. Then JP admits to Ashley that he told her entire family that he is madly in love with her. You could see her melt with that. As they head down to the beach for a walk, Ash admits in a PI of how JP proved himself to her today by telling her how he feels and she could see his sincerity in it.
They head back to JP’s place and have some more convo.......JP pulls out a gift for Ashley...........a letter that he has written to her about his feelings and where he could see them going from here..............Ashley admits in a PI of how she gets lost in JP and it feels so good. In JP’s PI, he says that it is love or nothing........either he walks away completely in love, or he walks away with nothing and it is the not knowing that eats you alive.
Up next..............Ashley’s reflections
Ashley wakes up on FRC day writing in her journal, and reflecting on her journey to get to where she is now......especially stating that she isn’t going to let outside influences make her decision for her.........she needs to make it on her own. With JP, she feels so good about her relationship, his smile is captivating, and their relationship is built on this unspoken attraction and romance, she feels so safe with JP and trusts that he’ll never let her fall. Ben, so easy to be with him, fun and playfull, be herself, sees Ben as everything, a friend and a lover, the relationship is so easy and comfortable, feels like she’s known him forever. She’s made her final decision and hopes that he feels the same.
Ben is getting up and heading off to pick up a ring, the whole while telling us how he feels so comfortable and natural with Ash, how he loves her completely and then with picking out the ring, he is feeling so good and confident in the one that he chose..........As Neil Lane says, the one that Ben chose is a forever ring, with the two overlapping lines, it is an infinity ring.......and Ben tells him that their relationship started out as friends and has gone completely beyond that now..........
JP is now reflecting on their time as he is getting ready to head out to choose the ring for Ashley. As he states in his PI, he has been in love before, but this is completely different as he has never felt this way about anyone before. As JP is looking at the rings, he is going in a completely different direction and is looking at the princess cut diamonds............hmmmm. As JP tells us, he knows that he is going to propose, the ring decision, the future.......he is completely confident of all of it.
As we are seeing all of them getting ready, they are all reflecting on their journeys and where they can see themselves from here on out.
Up next..............FRC
We see the seaplane arriving, and out steps..........Ben............As Chris Harrison walks Ben to meet up with Ashley, you can see him beaming and it is heartbreaking as you know what’s going to happen. As Ben walks to meet up with Ash, we get a PI of Ben reflecting on the fact that four years ago he lost his father and this day, he will welcome another addition to the family............ouch. When Ben finally meets up with Ash, he starts out with how everytime he sees her he falls deeper in love with her, and he’s thanking her for that. He then takes a knee and asks her to marry him and make him the happiest man on earth........ouch........for him to get down on a knee and not be stopped.........then for it to take as long as it did........double ouch. When Ash finally got him to stand up, you could see the frustration and hurt all over him.......definately breaks the heart. That was a painful goodbye......
The next seaplane arrives and Chris is there to greet JP as he gets off the plane. They both walk up to where Ashley is waiting. After kissing, JP starts with his speech about them being there together and him asking her a long time ago to take a leap of faith with him..........Then Ashley states that she is in love with him and has been wanting to tell him that for a long time..........Next, JP takes a knee and plain and simple, asks her to marry him. After accepting, they embrace and share a nice long kiss. As they are seen hanging out together, a replay of the time that they spent together was flashed before us along with the song “I can’t fight this feeling anymore” by REO Speedwagon............Then we see JP accepting the last rose, and the two of them running down to the water’s edge for a walk in the surf...............
ATFR...................
Of course with Ben on stage, they go through his story and the FRC/Proposal. I feel so bad for Ben as you can see he is still visably torn up about it, but is acting the gentleman that he is. Ben admits that not only was it a long flight home, he went straight home to the wedding of his best friend and to act like nothing has happened. Ben like others before him wants to know when the decision was actually made and of course what JP had that he didn’t(so to speak). Ashley went on to say that that day, she felt anger from Ben, but after watching it back and knowing how he felt, she can now understand the anger part. Ben also gives props to Ashley for giving him what he found out in the process.........he got more into his emotions, his realization of where he now stands.
Up next.............JP and Ash
After Ben left the stage, Ash and Chris were talking of the relationship between Ash and JP and how JP has helped her through the process while filming and afterwards since they have been able to skype every night for a couple of hours. Of course she was gushing for a while about her man. Then JP came out on the stage to join Ash and Chris. JP is saying how having to keep all of this a secret is like living a double life and all you want is to spend time together out in the open. Then they are talking about the tabloids, of how he’s had a hard time being on the sidelines and not know the whole story. Then the issue came up of Christy and her feelings towards JP. Christy was brought up onto the stage and explained where she was coming from and of course mended the fences with Ashley and especially with JP. As far as their future plans, Ashley is going to finish her schooling, then move to NewYork. They are planning on getting a new place together and taking things day by day............and when things settle down, will get their wedding plans straightened out. Meanwhile, the company is sending them back to the Islands of Fiji where they got engaged.............
Well, that’s another season of the bachelorette done. I will be doing blogs on Bachelor Pad 2 as I did for season one, but this time, my blogs will be posted on After the Rose site, so please join me on there every Monday night for the newest blog posting. Look forward to talking to you all there............In the meantime, enjoy seeing JP and Ash's journey together through pictures.
