The Bachelor

Sometimes it’s nice to just escape from our personal dramas and the day-to-day hustle and bustle into some good ol' fashion reality TV. I don't watch or TiVo "The Bachelor" every Monday night. I was watching something that I had recorded and when it was over and I went back to live TV I caught the last 4 minutes of the season finale. Well here's the scoop: Jason (the "bachelor"), proposed to Melissa she took the honker of the ring, screamed, jumped up and down, and accepted his proposal! They looked adorable and happy as they jumped into the pool fully clothed with Jason's son (looked about 5...). Well, evidently they have an "After the Final Rose" episode, so that we can all find the scoop and what has happened in the 6 weeks since the proposal episode. The host is talking with Jason and he's all teary-eyed so there is some suspenseful twist coming... DUM DUM da DUM!! Jason tells the casual host man that since he proposed to Melissa things have changed and he just doesn't feel the same for her anymore, and that over the last few weeks he hasn't been able to stop thinking about Molly (the broad whom he dumped for Melissa)! GASP! So getting to the point, Melissa joins Jason on stage and he breaks her heart, she gives him the honker of a ring back and gives him a piece of her mind! He's talking about how you can't live with regrets... and she mutters "you bastard!” The Host eventually excuses himself so that Melissa and Jason can say goodbye. So Melissa leaves and Molly comes out. Jason tells her that he broke up with Melissa and was hoping that they could go out for drinks or coffee and see where things go. She was thoroughly shocked, but eventually accepted his invitation for a date and to "see where things go."
Through all of this malarkey there were a few things that actually managed to surprise me. I definitely sympathized with Melissa and understood where her anger would come from. She said a lot of things that made sense and are normal for heartbreak. While Jason was breaking up with her and trying to explain himself spewing all kinds of cliché sentiments such as, "If could change the way I feel, I would, but I can't." "You have to follow your heart." ect, ect, ect... Well Melissa's response was, so you can't help the way you feel but you put a ring on my finger and that is supposed to matter but you won't fight for me or our relationship. That's the part that hurts the most when relationships end, the reality that, that other person doesn't or didn't care enough to fight for you or to wade out this phase of your life for things to return to what they once were. My heart broke for her. She also told Jason, that the process of getting engaged is a once in a lifetime moment that he’s ruined for her now- that he took that experience from her.

On the other hand I was genuinely impressed by Molly. She was talking with the host and telling him that she still loves Jason and that if Jason had called or showed up on her doorstep and told her that he'd made a mistake she would give him a second chance. But upon hearing those exact same sentiments she was just shocked. Her first verbal response was "But what about Melissa?", looked around the studio, at the host, just waiting for someone to tell her it was a joke... it had to be hard to believe! I thought it was very classy and admirable of her to first think of Melissa. She appears to be a very sweet, compassionate and caring person. I think a lot of people in her shoes would have been mad at Jason, or if not mad than would have just been over the moon and never gave a second though to Melissa.
Sometimes you meet person, or know people, or see a stranger on TV and wish you could be more like them- possess one of their personality traits. I sincerely admire Molly's kindness and class. I wish I could be more like her. This is not something I would have ever thought I would say about a “character” on a reality show. I just hope that one day when I am thoroughly floored by something that I hear I manage to muster the same class, grace and diginty I saw from Molly.Huh... life manages to surprise us every day! :)