THE BACHELORETTE: Bentley Returns
June 28, 2011 by Marisa Roffman
He’s baaaaack.
Yes, like some horror movie villain, former BACHELORETTE contestant Bentley just won’t freaking go away.
When Ashley found out Bentley was in the same hotel she was at, she looked like she might throw up or cry from happiness. Poor Chris Harrison was basically trying to tell her, “The guy is an idiot, don’t waste your time on him” with his tone — I’m going to assume that he isn’t allowed to flat-out tell her what went down with Bentley — but clearly Ashley wasn’t reading the signals.
And listen, Ashley, when a guy leaves you, don’t greet him with a kiss as soon as he says hello to you. Have a little more self-respect than that. Don’t you remember the sobbing after he ditched you? Rewarding his crappy behavior isn’t smart.
Bentley, surprisingly, didn’t really try to milk the relationship any further once he and Ashley started really talking. He told Ashley that after going home, he didn’t see how it would work between them. “So this is our period?” she asked. Lady, when he left you, it was the “period” of your relationship. He was just a big enough jerk to keep you dangling with the prospect of the “dot dot dot.” If he really cared, he wouldn’t have left you alone with multiple other guys competing for your heart.
Ashley was confused and wondered why he bothered coming to Hong Kong if he was done with her. Why would he have called, Ashley? This way he could see with his own two eyes the damage he caused. Plus, he got a free trip to Hong King. Why settle for a phone call where his face might not have even be seen on television?
Regardless of Bentley’s sketchy motives, Ashley was so excited with her newfound closure — which, to be honest, didn’t feel like closure. She still mentioned him every other minute. If she really wanted closure, she should have reenacted this FRIENDS scene — that she told J.P. about her encounter with Bentley during their one-on-one date. He was encouraging and didn’t tell her she was crazy, so she felt she could tell the other contestants as well.
Big mistake.
Many of the guys were livid when they found out the truth. Let’s be honest — they had every right to be pissed. Bentley came on the show with the purpose of manipulating Ashley, and pretended to be invested in her to achieve his goal. Ashley came on the show with the purpose of finding true love, but when she thought she lost “the one,” she pretended she was still invested in the show and went through the motions with the remaining guys until she realized Bentley was a moron. In many ways, she was no better than he was. The only real difference is that Bentley was knowingly cruel; Ashley was just cruel by omission.
I really hope Ashley is as over Bentley as she claims because I don’t think any guy other than J.P. could handle seeing her moon over Bentley for weeks on end in these episodes and still want to spend the rest of their life with her. Though based on the promos, it looks like Ashley may have her heart broken by her chosen guy. (However, it is noteworthy that last season on THE BACHELOR featured promos that indicated that Brad would be rejected when it came down to the final rose. It didn’t happen.)
Ashley crying in the promos that maybe she wasn’t cut out for this doesn’t have me salivating to find out what happens next — it makes me sad. It’s becoming increasingly clear that from what we’ve seen of Ashley that she wasn’t cut out for this. THE BACHELORETTE tends to have a better romantic record than THE BACHELOR does (Ryan and Trista Sutter — arguably the franchise’s most successful couple — met on the first season of THE BACHELORETTE and have been married since 2003), but I can’t say that from what we’ve seen right now that I think a happily ever after is in the future for Ashley and the guy she chooses. It seems like there are so many destructive decisions being made and I hope the promos indicating future angst is misleading, but I doubt it.
What do you guys think? Are you ready to scream if we have to hear the name Bentley again? Do you think Ashley is on the right track?
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Has there ever been a more weepy Bachelorette? I think it is safe to say that this girl is not emotional ready for this, and i would venture to say has way too many deep seated issues to make this work for her.
This isn’t about Bentley anymore, i think he is just the catalyst who uncovered some deeper problems. Ashley cannot handle rejection, case in point, the minute Mickey told her he wanted to go home ( a ploy which has worked for many Bachelor girls in the past) she shut down on him and got angry with him, which just seemed like a really weird reaction. She says she is all about the honesty, when in reality she really can’t handle it.
I don’t fault the guys for being upset and agree 100% with you assessment that she has been “playing along” as well rather than really being present in the dates.
I think JP may be just about the most understanding guy out there and possibly even be falling in love with her, despite all the obstacles she has put up along the way.
Sorry, but i don’t get Ryan and i think the more people tell her to stay away from him, the more attracted to him she will be. Simply put Ashley appears to love and crave what she cannot have. As if it somehow validates her psyche.
Oh and if i have to hear the term dot, dot , dot one more time i am going to have to rethink my tv choices.
As for her final suitor not choosing her, could be fancy editing, as i suspect weepy Ashley will “need a moment” after rejecting candidate #2 at the final rose ceremony.