If you are anything like me, you watched Tuesday's episode of The Bachelorette screaming at your television screen as Hannah continuously gave Luke P. chance after chance after chance.
At first, I did not have much against this man. He seemed like he could be the typical villain type—the Demi, Corrine, or Arie of Hannah's season, if you will. But, I did not really see it as too possible. He was a man who found Jesus and had a little too much confidence in himself. Good for him. Typical.
However, the more I watched Hannah's season and the more I got to know Luke P., the more I began to see that this man isn't just some dude with a bit of a superiority complex. He's a dude with more red flags than beaches when a hurricane hits, and he is what every girl needs to avoid when on the hunt for Mr. Right.
Watch any episode where Luke P. speaks, and you will find out really fast that this dude is very into himself. Too into himself. He sees himself as someone who can do no wrong and who every woman should absolutely adore. It is not wrong to love yourself, but at the level Luke P. exhibits, things get problematic. He uses this lack of humbleness to boast about himself. To Hannah, he not only said he is someone who everyone ever outside of the setting of The Bachelorette has liked, but he has played innocent and refused to admit he has messed up. Any time something could look bad on him, he hides it. He only admits mistakes once others, or Hannah in this instance, calls him out for them directly. This is extremely confusing, not to mention annoying, for any girl to navigate.
Add onto this the fact that no one likes him. At all. I have not seen one man or woman on this franchise so disliked by the fellow contestants, and some people really have made themselves unlikable on the show. Like Hannah said last night, typically you look for someone who is liked by those around them. It is an indication that the person is well-liked, kind, and a good person. The fact that Luke P. has not had a single man side with him is a major red flag, and it should be any girl's red flag in her own relationships. One or two enemies might be a coincidence. A whole group of diverse individuals serving as enemies? That might be something wrong and in need of inspection.
Another red flag Luke P. has brought to the table is the shifting of blame onto others. As I mentioned before, he does not like to be called out. One way he hides his guilt is by twisting each situation onto the other person involved with him. For example, as soon as Luke S. called him out for body slamming him to the ground for no reason, Luke P. made it his mission to slander his name and ensure Hannah gained doubt in Luke S. He could not have Luke S. breaking the illusion of him being a good person, so he quickly got rid of him through lies and shifting the blame. He did not body slam Luke S. No, the smaller and more timid Luke S. called him names and made a fist and scared Luke P. into needing to use self-defense mechanisms. Thanks to the way he framed the situation to Hannah, she trusted him—for reasons I still cannot understand—and essentially sent Luke S. down the path of leaving.
He did this once more to Hannah herself, blaming her "not being the old Hannah" for her sudden disinterest in him. Not only is that emotionally abusive and something we do not have enough time to unpack, but it is also such a cop-out. Any person who does this and is unwilling to accept that they stepped into the wrong is not worth anyone's time. It certainly was not worth a rose over John Paul Jones—rip my chicken nugget loving friend—or whoever else was sent home in the past weeks over him.
This is only the tip of the iceberg for Luke P.'s red flags. I could talk about the fact he wanted to follow Hannah into her dressing room, or how he is so possessive of her that he gives every man who kisses her or goes on a date with her the most serial-killer like look I've ever seen on TV. That would go way past any word count I would be willing to hit. Ultimately, his behavior has made me worried for any girl he will encounter in his future, and very worried for Hannah on the show (since he seems to be sticking around after not getting a rose—the gift that keeps on giving).
Hot guys are out there. However, no hot guy or any guy for that matter is worth facing this kind of emotionally manipulating behavior. I highly encourage any girl who reads this to not settle for a man who treats you this way. Take watching Hannah's situation with Luke P. as a cautionary tale. You deserve someone who does not control you and owns up to their faults.
I genuinely hope Hannah finds love, and I hope that Luke P. gets some guidance on how to be a better man and learns from watching his experience back.
