Will you accept this rose? If you are not familiar with that question, maybe you have not seen the ABC shows The Bachelor or The Bachelorette.
The Bachelor and The Bachelorette are American reality television shows that place a male (bachelor) or a female (bachelorette) in the mix of 25 members of the opposite sex to find “true love.” The show is hosted by Chris Harrison who offers support as the main character wrestles with final decisions on who to send home each week.
This show has some ups and downs, but overall there are people whose feelings will be hurt, whose hearts might be broken, or who’s true colors will come out in a house full of women battling over the same suitor.
This season we take a walk with Sean as he looks for a future mate by the end of the season. Sean, along with 24 other men, was a contestant of the last season of the Bachelorette, trying to win over Emily’s love. Sean was in the final three on Emily’s season and was sent home with a broken heart. He was asked to appear on his own season and seems to be well up for the challenge.
Tonight, Monday January 28th, Sean will approach week 4 with 16 women left. You can watch as the women in the house interact with one another, and as Sean chooses the women that he wants to spend another week with.
The premise of this show is interesting; especially to watch from a psychological perspective. When you put one suitor in a house that is in search of love, and give them a reasonable or large number of people to choose from, they are bound to find love during the show. If someone told you that as a single man, you were going to be in a house with even six beautiful women who are also looking for love; likely that you will leave the house with one of those women. The true test is once you get out into the reality of your lives, if you stay together.
It is after the show that we see these relationships end most of the time. According to a report by Wetpaint entertainment news and gossip, only 3 of 24 couples matched on the show are still together. These statistics make it apparent that reality tv shows make it impossible for us to have real expectations of relationships, dates, and mates.
We watch these seasons unfold as the couples are taken on elaborate dates, flown to exotic locations, and even have confetti thrown on them as they kiss. It is important that we don’t let reality shows on love skew our image of the hard work, dedication, and collaboration it takes to make a relationship survive.