The Bachelor starts September 25
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TV ClubHouse: Archive: The Bachelor / Bachelorette: The Bachelor II: The Bachelor starts September 25

Sbw

Wednesday, August 14, 2002 - 03:58 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Saw a commercial on ABC Family

Ryn

Friday, August 16, 2002 - 01:44 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Just an FYI - they seem to be replaying the 1st season in ABC Family, came across it Wednesday night I think.

Jkm

Monday, August 26, 2002 - 01:38 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Gee -- anybody surprised by the TV Guide article? I was sure they'd break up right away, but I was surprised at the way he has treated her.

Sbw

Tuesday, August 27, 2002 - 08:36 am EditMoveDeleteIP
I didn't see the TV guide article. What did it say? I saw a couple episodes of the repeat on ABC family, with some comments throughout by Alex and he actually did talk like he really cared for Amanda.

Jkm

Tuesday, September 03, 2002 - 08:24 am EditMoveDeleteIP
From the last Bach show----

This article was in the www.bsudailynews.com Ball State University Newspaper this last week.

What if she got picked?
Ball State graduate Cathy Grimes experienced Hollywood life last winter as a finalist on ABC's reality television show 'The Bachelor'

If you can't remember which one she is, they have a picture up of her at least for today.

by Robert Lopez, Senior Chief Reporter
September 03, 2002


That was Susan Grimes' biggest fear when she learned her daughter, Cathy, was to compete for the affection of a successful young management consultant on the ABC reality series "The Bachelor."

"It makes for good TV," Susan said. "But does a few weeks make a relationship. Does it have anything to do with family or true love? Very little."

Apparently Cathy thought so also.

A Ball State graduate, Cathy Grimes experienced the Hollywood life last winter, living in a Malibu beach house among the stars, traveling by limousine and private jet with ABC catering to her every whim. She competed against 24 other women for the affections of Alex Michel, a 31-year-old San Francisco Bay area native. But matrimony was far from her mind.

"I was there to have a good time, rather than hooking up with the bachelor," she said in a telephone interview. "I was definitely not there to get married."

A native of Terre Haute, Cathy, 23, graduated magna cum laude in 2001 with a degree in exercise science. On the diving team for three years, she received two letters in addition to the MAC Commissioner's Award for Academic Excellence. During her freshman year she was named most improved diver.

Cathy was attending Northwestern University last fall pursuing her doctorate in physical science when she walked into a Chicago bar and on a whim decided to try out for "The Bachelor."

"The producers of the show happened to be there taping, and a girlfriend and I just thought 'Let's do it, It'll be fun,'" she said. "At first they said it was a dating game and didn't say anything about marriage. But I was just excited about being on a reality TV show and not necessarily marrying an eligible bachelor."

Friends who describe Cathy as a free spirit, unafraid to try anything, said her decision to be on the series made perfect sense.

"It doesn't surprise me she would be on the show, because that's just the type of personality she has," swimming and diving coach Laura Seibold-Caudill said in an interview last semester. "She was the type of person who always wanted to try something out of the ordinary."

"When she told me that she had put an application in I wasn't really shocked," said her roommate and fellow Ball State graduate Andrea Russell. "It was just something new and fun for her."

During her Christmas break Cathy flew to Los Angeles to face extensive questioning and background checks.

"They tested us for every single disease, made sure we didn't use drugs, and of course they wanted to get the scoop on our past, the types of guys and experiences we'd been through" she said. "There were a lot of sexual questions, a lot of things where I thought 'I don't want Grandma to know about this.'"

Taping began in January. The women accompanied Michel on romantic outings, meeting his friends and family along the way. At the end of the week he would give a rose to each woman he was interested in knowing more about.

"When Alex did the first rose ceremony whittling it down to 15 from 25, he couldn't remember everyone's name," Cathy said. "So he would literally do two at a time and then look down at his notes."

Cathy made it into the final eight, and her personal dates involved horseback riding in Malibu and a cruise in Santa Barbara.

"I was very impressed," she said. "He was very attractive and very charming. In terms of his personality and getting to know him and developing a relationship with him, it was pretty difficult since there were 24 other women involved.

"If he would've picked me I definitely would have dated him for awhile, but I wouldn't have jumped on the wedding bandwagon."

Parties in the Malibu house where the women were sequestered would sometimes run until 6 a.m. Cathy did make a few friends, but described most of the women as "prissy and stuck-up."

"A lot of the girls were people that I probably wouldn't want to be friends with or surround myself with in real life," she said. "They would just kind of hang out and gossip all day, talking about this girl or that girl."

The show wrapped up in May when Alex presented a diamond ring (only to snap the lid shut) to Amanda Marsh of Kansas City, Kan. According to a recent TV Guide article the relationship hasn't lasted. Marsh is currently working as a DJ at a Kansas radio station, alleging that Michel used the show as a platform to launch his own acting career. He has since quit his job and is taking acting lessons, having made an appearance on NBC's "The Rerun Show."

Some critics have dismissed "The Bachelor" as sexist and degrading, but Cathy has a sense of humor about it, brushing aside such accusations.

"They're just jealous," she said. "They just wanted to be a part of it."

Her mother, a family and consumer sciences teacher at Terre Haute North Vigo High School, is a bit more pragmatic.

"If I hadn't had a daughter on it I probably wouldn't have thought that much of it," she said. "But there were a lot of people I knew who were hooked."

Looking back on the experience Cathy said she would have enjoyed doing something wilder like "Fear Factor" or "Jackass."

"After the show they realized I was a pretty dynamic person and one of the guys in charge of the show said he wanted to create a female version of 'Jackass,'" she said. "That would have been my show. I would have loved to have been out there doing crazy things. I talked to a couple of people and they were like 'Oh yeah, I'll call you.' Did I ever hear back from them? No."

Currently working as a personal trainer at a 24-hour fitness center in Colorado, Cathy enjoys the fame the show brought to her, but has little interest in returning to Hollywood. Having taken a year off to work on "The Bachelor," she plans to go back to Northwestern in January. For now she just wants to enjoy the single life.

"The Hollywood life was exciting, but it's all about having these nice things, and not what's in your heart," she said. "I'm all about living my life, and Colorado is a great place. I love my job and playing around with attractive men all day. I'm out having a good time and enjoying life. I'm not necessarily on the prowl for anyone. If somebody happens to come along then so be it."

Mamaanja

Wednesday, September 25, 2002 - 07:15 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Reminder! New Bachelor starts tonight! (of course, it's on at the same time as BB Finale...why, oh why, so they do that...)

Muse

Wednesday, September 25, 2002 - 11:53 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Oh. Am I the only one who watched it? Everyone else too busy watching BB? Maybe there's a few others who taped it...

Anyway, it seemed a bit slow since they really just introduced the new guy (um, Aaron, I believe?) after showing profiles on the top five finalists. Aaron seemed okay. He seemed more masculine than Alex. Which isn't really that difficult, but whatever. :) I'm assuming that he'll be meeting the women in the next episode.

The also briefly introduced the women, but none of them really stood out to me. And they had a little interview with Alex and Amanda, where they said it'd be their last interview about their relationship, and where they claimed that they were still dating. Hmmm...interesting. I thought they broke up? I'm not sure if I bought their story, especially since they didn't mention getting back together or anything. I have to wonder if they're just saying they're together so they can give the audience what they supposedly want - the image of the two of them "riding off into the sunset together" (Alex's words, not mine). Eh. I'd be more interested in the *real* story, but that's just me.

Oh, and they had a segment on how The Bachelorette (with Trista from last season as the bachelorette) will be coming out in January. Interview with Trista and such.

Fruitbat

Thursday, September 26, 2002 - 04:35 am EditMoveDeleteIP
I taped it Muse but haven't watched yet.

Odd that Alex said it would be their last interview. Reading between the lines that says, not a love match. Certainly there is interest in how their relationship is progressing or not, it was a damn TV show!

Jkm

Thursday, September 26, 2002 - 05:53 am EditMoveDeleteIP
I caught the end -- Did they give the whole show away? Showing the girls on dates - The guy kissing several of them in many shots? Girls crying, claws coming out? Look like if you were paying attention - could already narrow them down.

Think this will be an "only if nothing else is on and everything else is a repeat and cable is out" for me this time - I might watch Trista though in January.

Sbw

Thursday, September 26, 2002 - 07:29 am EditMoveDeleteIP
I taped it and watched it later. Aaron was also on the network morning show, I saw PART of it. Think it is with Diane Sawyer (?). She basically told him he was the "total package". One of the clips on last night's show was him "cleaning" in his kitchen, shorts/no shirt. The other female on the show asked him if that was really the way he cleaned, he said well, usually, just in his boxers since only his cat lived with him. You could tell it was hard for him not to give away the outcome. He has a beautiful smile.

Show last night was OK, but if you missed it, it will be easy to watch next time and not feel as if you have missed anything, as long as you read his bio.

Mamaanja

Thursday, September 26, 2002 - 08:05 am EditMoveDeleteIP
I taped it and have watched it. Looks like it's going to be good! But does he make out with every girl? It looks that way from the previews. EEk. I can't wait.

He's a cutie!

Realfan

Thursday, September 26, 2002 - 10:07 am EditMoveDeleteIP
ITA, Mamaanja. I wasn't keen on seeing him stick his tongue down every woman's throat like that (shoulda listened to Amanda's advice, but that's silly that they asked them for advice, considering they taped the Amanda/Alex interview after the new show was wrapped, probably.)

I think this isn't quite fair, though. The 25 bachelorettes for the second show didn't get to see or know who the Bachelor was going to be. But any bachelor candidate for Trista's show can easily find out about her (and SEE her). Which might be good for Trista in that they should only be guys who think she's hot.

Though, it seems women are more attracted to "stability" and "success" than men (who are sometimes threatened by the success thing), so it's less important whether the women find the guy appealing before getting to know him. Does that make any sense?

I am so glad they didn't pick the second guy profiled. EGO OUT TO HERE!! Ugh!! I kinda liked the Air Force pilot, though.

They pretty much said Trista slept with Alex that last night--I thought she had, but was never certain. Kinda icky, not for her, but for the fact he didn't pick her. It really does come off like he said he would pick her in order to her to get her into bed. And instead, he sleeps with her, then the next day (or day after?) he chooses another woman!?!? Urgh...

I hope this new guy doesn't do the skanky stuff, but he probably will, what with that tongue down the throat action in the previews.

All in all, this was a SPACE FILLING EPISODE. Bring on the danged competition, ABC, and stop milking it!

Ariasmum

Thursday, September 26, 2002 - 01:08 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
I taped it and watched it after BB. I too was hoping that they wouldn't pick that 2nd egotistical bachelor. Aaron certainly does seem well-rounded with varied interests. Once we get to know the women we'll be able to see who looks like they are going to be rejected next if they continue to show us the girl's breakdowns! Yes, it sure seems like our boy Aaron makes the rounds! I wonder when they actually taped the Amanda/Alex interview. I thought the best part of the whole show last night was watching the audition tape of the old lady reading from her notes. LOL! Too funny!

Kiersten_Love

Thursday, September 26, 2002 - 07:00 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Oh no, Help, does anyone know if they are going to do an encore of the Bachelor, I forgot to tape it, with all the hoopla of BB3..thanks

Muse

Thursday, September 26, 2002 - 07:30 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
I don't know Kersten_Love, but don't worry if you don't get to watch it somehow. Really, nothing much happened in the first episode. It seemed more like a preview than anything else.

I'm glad to see that some other people disliked the second finalist, by the way. I thought he was incredibly arrogant, and there was just this vibe about him that I didn't like. I also found the footage of him working out and shirtless rather gross. LOL - I would've been okay with any of the others. I think Aaron had the best "resume" (variety of interests, good job, strong family ties, etc), so I wasn't surprised it was him at the end.

Cliotheleo

Thursday, September 26, 2002 - 10:27 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
I gotta disagree with everyone, just like last year, this year's bachelor is an absolute 0 to me. I mean I'm SURE he's a wonderful person but from an attractiveness standpoint, he does nothing for me. Wasn't really crazy about any of them, but my pick was #2, even if he WAS cocky (but then again, I've never thought of that as a bad thing.)

You know who would have been the perfect bachelor? Roddy from BB3. Of course there'd be no hope that he would hook up with anyone at the end, but at least it would be interesting to watch. ............ heck, I'd have even taken Jason over any of the candidates I saw last night. Of course I realize that when the show was filmed, Roddy and Jason were either STILL in the BB house or hadn't been "discovered" yet. I never said my theory wasn't flawed. :)

Jbean

Saturday, September 28, 2002 - 01:26 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
hey guys...this is kinda cool. i live in the town that aaron..the bachelor is from. springfield, mo! they have his picture up on the sign at the bank that he is the vp of! there was a story all about him in our local newspaper on thursday! coolbeans! what i want to know is how i have never met this guy! lol!

Sbw

Saturday, September 28, 2002 - 05:32 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Jbean, you will soon know a lot about his private life! :)

Kiersten_Love

Saturday, September 28, 2002 - 06:49 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Thank you Muse for letting me know which one they chose...I have to remember its on Wednesday's, same night as AR3...yahooo...