For the past four years, I have been sucked into "The Bachelor"/"The Bachelorette."
I am ashamed to admit I get way too into these strangers' love lives. It's almost like I am the third wheel on each and every date because I watch them so intensely.
I literally almost feel like I know what it's like to date these men.
I always try to see through each man as if I were the one dating them, and usually, I'm pretty darn good at it.
While everyone was raving over Juan Pablos, I knew he was just a smooth talking soccer player with a hot accent and bad intentions. And look who was right?
America met Dean on Rachel Lindsay's season of "The Bachelorette," and it became a prime example of being 100 percent and completely blindsided by someone.
The minute Dean smiled, he became America's sweetheart. It was literally like Jesus resurrected. He was so pure. So cute. A little troubled... But not terribly troubled.
Like, the kind of troubled where you want to make him feel better by feeding him a grilled cheese and rubbing coconut oil on his back. You feel me?
The episode we got to see his hometown, our hearts dropped to the floor and we found ourselves loving this stupid, little Jesus impersonator even more than we did the time he was scared to ride in a blimp.
Long story short, Rachel sent Dean home and let's just say, I'm very shocked people didn't take it to the streets by rioting because we all believed Dean was the best and deserved to be there most.
Then, Dean got to be on "Bachelor In Paradise," and it was like all of our hopes and dreams were shattered. Everything we thought we knew about him turned out to be insanely wrong.
Kristina and Dean hit it off right away, and even after production stopped for a while, they continued to grow together. I was thrilled. The two sweetest, most genuine people in paradise are pretty much a couple. I was swooning.
Then, Danielle L came and he questioned everything he built with Kristina... literally just because he thought Danielle was hot. I repeat, he decided to toy around with someone who he had been building a relationship with just because someone else was attractive.
THIS. IS WHY. SOME WOMEN. HAVE. TRUST ISSUES.
I feel for Kristina. Dean turned into an immature little baby when it came down to being real. He kept her close enough to have her in his back pocket whenever he wanted to be with her, but he failed to be the man that every good, loyal woman deserves.
How convenient it must be to have someone waiting for you while you mess around with someone because they're hot.
All I can say is I feel for Kristina based on experience.
I once was talking to a guy I really liked. We weren't exclusive, but we seemed to be pretty solid. In our conversations about our future, he literally was dumb enough to say, "I don't know who I want to be with yet, but you're my first pick, so I'm putting you on reserve until I decide."
No, buddy. I think your lack of brain cells on how to talk to a woman you're interested in just made that decision for you.
It was like he thought I would be thrilled to hear I'm his first pick and that I would be 100 percent willing to stay loyal to him and "be on reserve" while he talked to however many women were waiting in line after me.
YEAH, being on reserve is great...
If you're a table.
I got to thinking and I realized, I am not just an average table. I am a really fancy table that people slip the hostess a 20 dollar bill for just for a chance to sit at my table.
OK, maybe not exactly...but you get my point.
The point is, you should never want someone who is half into you and half into someone else. The person you give your time to should be equally giving their time to you. You should have a healthy, mutual respect for someone if you truly care about them.
I'm a realist, and I can understand finding someone physically attractive even if your heart belongs to someone else. It's only natural and it doesn't mean anything. That's when maturity and loyalty come into play. Attraction is attraction, but I'm sorry. Another woman being hot shouldn't change what you have with the person you actually care about.
It's the "Bachelor"/"Bachelorette." All the women are pretty and all the guys are beefy. How is it so bad to stay with the woman you have a deeper connection with?
I swear, a lot of boys think you are the hottest thing in the world until they actually have you. Then, it's like they get used to you and they know they have you so they want to see if they can pull someone else who's hot.
In the end, our looks will fade, so following your heart is always the better option.
I would never chase a man who only complimented me on my looks. As women, we have more to offer the world than traits we were born with. Go for a man who recognizes that. Not for the man who only says, "you're seriously so hot."
So thank you, Dean. Thank you for giving me documented proof to show my future daughter that the sweet, dashing man isn't always who he makes himself out to be.
There is nothing more attractive than a man who gives his all to the woman he wants. There is nothing attractive about stringing two women along.
But really... What the hell, Dean? America was practically putty in your hands and you had to end up ruining it by acting like a 15 year old boy.
Way to go, dude. Way to go.