It has become kind of common in the past few seasons of The Bachelor, The Bachelorette and Bachelor in Paradise for the franchise to surprise fans and break some of the perceived "rules" that the denizens of Bachelor Nation have become used to. Last year saw BIP bring someone to the beach who had never been on any franchise show before, and now, Peter Weber's season of The Bachelor made all the women live together during fantasy suites week. And, while fans were shocked at the move and, well, awed by the awkwardness that it created, it turns out that this is exactly what the producers wanted. Surprise!
Generally, by the time The Bachelor (and The Bachelorette) get to the fantasy suites portion of the show, the lead has three (maybe four) potentials left. Instead of making these potentials live in one suite, they each get their own room, so they're not confronted with any intimate details of the remaining, competing relationships with a man who is also their boyfriend. On Monday night, though, we saw that the producers chose to forgo that for putting Madison, Victoria and Hannah Ann in one hotel suite, so that each could see the other leave on their date with Peter...and come back in the morning.
If you're wondering why the program was changed this year, Bachelor host with the most Chris Harrison has an answer for you, and it's all about making sure that things stayed awkward as hell. Here's what he told the Bachelor Happy Hour podcast hosts (and former Bachelorettes) Rachel Lindsay and Becca Kufrin:
There are times when, no matter how great you are...you can’t get out of your own way. And that’s part of why you’re single. And Peter, for example, has trouble making decisions. He is the king of kicking the can down the road. Heaven forbid you make a decision. So, there are things that we do as producers that will force you into this uncomfortable zone and force you into making a decision. Sometimes we do it for your behalf, sometimes we do it for the guys or the girls. This situation was pretty extraordinary, because Peter had kicked the can down the road, but also, this time, Madison had. And so this was to force a situation that had to happen, and it had to happen this week...So yeah, it was tough love, and it was really awkward.
OK, if you aren't up to date on The Bachelor, here's why Chris Harrison said that the producers felt they needed to force some conversations and decisions to happen this week. For one, Peter has declared that he's legitimately in love with all three women, and, obviously, the idea is to propose to only one at the end of this, so there's that. Also, while Madison (and Madison's dad) have spoken to Peter about how important religion is in her life, Madison has managed to get to the final three without telling Peter that she's a virgin. I! KNOW!
At the end of the previous rose ceremony, Madison pulled Peter aside and told him that she wouldn't be comfortable with him having sex with any of the other women during fantasy suites week and said if he did, it might mean that she'd dump him before he had the chance to pick his lifetime lady and propose to her. Then, when they get to Australia for fantasy week, all the women are essentially living together, and Madison's one-on-one date with Peter is scheduled last, so she can wonder about whether or not he and Little Pete enjoyed the other women in carnal ways.
According to what Chris Harrison said on the podcast, the producers were hoping to force Madison to tell Peter exactly why him not having sex with anyone else was so important, just as much as they were hoping to make the final decision easier for Peter. Of course, as I mentioned above, Madison's date was last, so while she did finally (Finally!) tell Peter that she was a virgin, it was already too late because he'd gone and made Little Pete a very happy...well, not man, but you know what I mean.
Chris Harrison said that the producers were also hoping to begin a dialogue about virginity, ultimatums, whether this was a wise move on Madison's part and who should be having sex or not at this point in the process between Madison, Hannah Ann and Victoria. They felt like having that was a necessary part of the equation, since Madison's decision was going to involve the other two and what they may have done with Peter:
But we decided to do it this week because these are conversations that needed to be had. And it was because of, I think, the double standard and the things that Peter was going to deal with, we kind of needed the women’s perspective on this. We needed Madison to face Victoria and Hannah Ann and have them express their emotions on this because, again, it’s just this guy and his perspective and I don’t know if that’s the greatest thing right now.
Well, this didn't exactly go as planned. Madison did tell Hannah Ann what she told Peter about dumping him if he'd slept with either (or both) of the other women, but then Hannah Ann just went behind her back and talked smack about Madison with Victoria. So, it seems like the producers wanted to instigate more drama over all of the women rooming with one another than what eventually came from it. But, still, I'm sure that we can all see that the women on this season are so mature, you guys.
The Bachelor is going to be wrapping all this mess up in just a couple of weeks, so we can all see how Peter Weber's twisty, turny, fight-filled season turns out by watching every Monday at 8 p.m. EST on ABC. For more of the other lovely programming you can watch right now, check out our 2020 premiere guide!
