Editor's Note: Season six Bachelorette and current host of NBC's 1st Look Ali Fedotowsky is blogging exclusively on E! Online about the current season of The Bachelorette, giving her reactions and spilling behind-the-scenes secrets.
Loved that they were in Portugal last night!! I went there on my season and fell in love with it! Before I launch into this, I'd like to point out that Desiree was standing next to Chris on the boat ride in. Did you notice that? I pointed it out in a previous blog. That's a BIG indicator to me that she's into him! She's always near him in a group setting.
Onto girl-time: Good girl-time is always the best, so I'm sure Desiree appreciated that they made the trip to see her. Best quote of the show goes to Catherine: "Why is Brooks wearing a tank top?" HA! She wasn't even trying to make fun of him. I think she was genuinely confused.
How breathtakingly beautiful was her date with Brooks?!? Going to that exact mountain is officially on my bucket list. I hate to even say this, but I was slightly bored with their date. I don't necessarily think that's a bad thing though! Maybe we need to be a little bored. Maybe the normal, boring stuff is what a couple needs on this show so that they aren't shocked once they leave fantasy Bachelorette-land and return to the real world. Regardless, I adore Desiree and I really like Brooks. He seems like a good dude.
Many of you might not even remember this, but during the dinner portion of their date they toasted to "always reconnecting." I found that toast to be absolutely perfect. I almost want that saying engraved on my wedding band one day. I feel like a couple will have points in their lives where they will lose each other, so it super important to always reconnect and remember that love. Obviously, Brooks and Desiree used the toast in a different sense, but it just really resonated with me and I love it!
At first I thought Desiree and Chris' poem was cheesy (I mean how many poems can you write?!), but after giving it a minute to set in, I think it's pretty darn cute. I know Desiree is artistic (she designs wedding dresses), so maybe Chris is too and this is how they like to express themselves. How cute would it be if they ended up together and wrote each other poems all the time? They could have a book full of poems. I love it! I love them! I have to say that I'm totally team Dis..or team Chree (Cray?). I have no idea what we should call them, but I'm pulling for them!
And his "I love you" weirdness was a-dork-able! And let's be real here, people force the L-word WAY too soon on this show. Don't get me wrong, I believe in love at first sight! It's never too soon to say "I love you" if you truly fall in love with someone. I know it's possible to fall in love in an instant. When I first said "I love you" to my boyfriend, it came out so easily. It was as if I had waited my whole life to say those words and there was absolutely no awkwardness. My point is that the reason people on this show tend to be awkward when saying the L-word is because they're not ready yet.
Honestly, everyone I've met from this show admits that they didn't actually fall in love on the show, but after the show. Why? Because you don't really know the person when you're on the show. You spend about a total of 12 hours together in the first two months of the show and it's under very strange circumstances. Anyway, I'll end this rant by saying that I think Chris and Des could totally fall madly in love with each other... but I don't think they have it quite yet.
I'm just going to completely skip talking about Desiree's date with Michael for three reasons: 1) nothing really interesting happened, 2) he went home, 3) this blog is turning into a novel and I'd rather focus on the guys who are left.
I don't think Desiree will end up with either Drew or Zak. She said that the date with the two of them was like hanging out with two guy friends. She basically just screamed FRIEND ZONE! Even though they both got roses tonight, they will be the next two to go home. My boyfriend is my best friend, but that's not the same. I don't feel like I need to explain what I'm saying here. You guys get it. Friend zone.
OK, I've got to talk about Desiree's talk with Chris Harrison. I can't believe she actually told him she's in love with Brooks! I know this sounds SO weird, but that fact that the editors of this show left that in, makes me really think that Brooks is NOT the one. Why would the producers show us this with so many episodes left?!?! Does Brooks leave? Or is it Drew like the teasers have led us to believe? Or is the show really showing us the REAL love story? If Des picks Brooks and we are witnessing the real love story unfold, then I couldn't be happier; happy for them! Happy that the show is showing us the raw love story! And just happy in general! I'm not saying the show is fake. It's not. I'm just saying that the producers/editors try to keep us guessing until the very last episode. Why would they give away the winner so soon?
Alright... Twitter questions!
Erin (@ekopp23) asks: @AliFedotowsky @eonline I want to know approximately how many "extra" people are present on a 1-on-1 (i.e. producers, camera people, etc)??
Gosh, a lot. At least two camera people, if not more, two audio people, at least two producers, the executive producer, and a few others I'm sure. Everyone except the camera operators try to stay hidden so you don't feel like a bunch of eyes are on you during an intimate date. Funny thing is, you don't really realize that eventually, millions of eyes will be on you! Despite everything, the dates actually can feel intimate. It's hard to believe, but it's true.
Sara (@sarbar2012) asks: @AliFedotowsky @eonline #thebachelorette Does Des ever get time to workout? What's her avg. hrs of sleep per night? Love your blog, Ali!
So glad you like the blog! I appreciate that. And now you're in it! Ha! OK, to answer your question, she probably doesn't get more than six hours of sleep a night if she's lucky. I know I didn't. And I had zero time to work out, plus i ate very poorly while on the road. Desiree is just blessed with good genes…unless she's exercising in her sleep ;)
Laura (@LMKoenes) asks: @AliFedotowsky what if the date is super awkward & uncomfortable? Can you cut it short or do u have to stick it out for the cameras?
It depends. There has to be a show to film, so you can't really cut the dates short, with a few exceptions. But regardless, you don't really want to cut the dates short unless you don't plan on giving a rose at the end of the date. Why? Because it would make the guy on the date feel really bad about himself. Even if you know you aren't keeping a date on the show, you still want to make him feel good if you can. It's hard hurting people's feeling. If he's a nice guy and you already know you're dumping him at some point, might as well let him finish his dinner, right?
Kelsey (@Kels3440) asks: @AliFedotowsky @eonline what week/decision was the hardest for you on your journey of the bachelorette? #bachelornation
Good question. You'd think I'd say that the weeks get harder as time goes by. To be 100 percent honest, that wasn't the case for me. The first few weeks were the hardest because I had so many guys that I knew I wouldn't pick in the end but I didn't want to let them all go for two reasons. 1) Then there would be no show, 2) More importantly, I didn't want to hurt their feelings. I had to give everyone a fair shot. But that leads to SO many awkward moments and uncomfortable dates. I would have to excuse myself to the bathroom and break down in tears because I felt so bad and uncomfortable. As time went on, the guys that I truly liked were the only people I was going on dates with. So at this point in Desiree's season (maybe more next week at hometowns) was probably the easiest for me (might be different for her). That said, the goodbyes after this point are MUCH harder because you're hurting people you really care about. So basically, it's never easy.
That's all I've got. Make sure you're following me on twitter (@alifedotowsky) cause I live tweet every Monday and could answer your twitter question in my blog next week.
Until then...
Ali