We’ve reached week nine and Sean is down to only three women. They all go to Thailand for fun in the sun dates and romantic fantasy suite nights. But what do those fantasy suites entail exactly? Rumors abound that Sean has taken a vow to save himself for marriage, but everybody thinks of the fantasy suites as a place for sex, even though some of the couples have probably found time prior to these dates. During Sean’s tell all from last week, Chris Harrison mentioned this dilemma and what Sean thought about it. Unfortunately, all we got from Sean was that it’s none of our business. How can it be none of our business when it’s on national television?
Sean reflects on all three of the women before we get any dates. Sean and Catherine seem to have everything he’s looking for. They’re cute, fun, and goofy around each other but they also have serious and romantic moments. Catherine has yet to say she loves him but they have discussed serious topics about their future before. While he talks about AshLee we learn he has the strongest relationship with her, but the catch is it’s always serious. There’s never any fun, cute, romantic moments between the two of them which really makes a relationship difficult. He definitely seemed more loving and excited towards Catherine. When Sean gets to Lindsay he raves about the spark between them giving them such spectacular chemistry. As we learned in Emily Maynard’s season of The Bachelorette with Arie, chemistry can’t be all there is in the relationship. Lindsay has been trying to tell Sean that she’s in love with him for the past episode or two but she’s scared. Will she say it this week?
One of the main things I’ve heard people complaining about is that Sean never says I love you back to the girls. None of the Bachelors or Bachelorettes are ever heard saying they love someone until the final episode after choosing who gets the final rose. That does not mean they don’t say they love the contestants, it just means that it wouldn’t keep us guessing. For example, on Ashley’s season of The Bachelorette, it would have become very obvious who she was keeping to the final rose. There needs to be some mystery in it.
They sit down on the beach for kisses and serious conversation. She’s ready to settle down and he thinks she’s the best friend he’s been looking for. They definitely do seem to be really into each other and it’s no surprise he puts her through to the final two. As the sun starts to set they go out to feed these little monkeys that literally take the nuts right out of their hands. One of the most marvelous dinner dates on this season is Lindsay’s outside, Thai boat one. The ground if covered in petals shaped into flowers with candles all over the place, and then there are magnificent lights on these two boats that are covered in flowers and decorations behind them. They start talking about if they were to be engaged then she would perfectly happily move to Dallas to be with him. Sean is excited to be engaged and search for houses with her and it’s all so sweet. But then Lindsay makes it awkward by dancing around her feelings, too scared to tell Sean outright that she’s in love with him. Sean gives Lindsay the fantasy suite card which she immediately says yes to. Once there, she is finally able to untie her tongue and tell him she loves him after a few giggles. His response is to kiss her and say “I love hearing you say that.” He’s falling in love with her and it was a really good way to get over the fact that he can’t say it back while on camera.
Next up, Sean takes AshLee into a dark cave to a private beach for the day. It was really fun seeing Sean in the cave trying to figure out which way to go, and it was great that AshLee let go of the control she normally has and laughed for a change. They quickly get to the evening portion, and AshLee is concerned about the overnight date. She looks at it as a moral question and the fact that he’ll be doing this overnight thing with two other women. They have more serious conversation as always, and no more laughs. When she gets the fantasy suite card he knows exactly what her problems are about the overnight date before she even raises them. She does join him in the fantasy suite but pointedly says she doesn’t want it to seem as though “that boundary has been crossed.” They sit and chat about engagement and how far they’ve come until she starts mentioning what kind of engagement ring she wants. I’d say that’s a little forward because she isn’t the only girl, but I guess he’s okay with it.
Everyone seems to think the fantasy suite as such a big thing. I’m not saying it isn’t a big thing, but they way that everyone looks at is as though you’re a slut if you happily go to the overnight date without at least mentioning morals and not having sex with him while there’s the other two girls… Oh come on, for most seasons it’s apparent there’s been some sex going on.
This season, Sean has had many difficult decisions for who to send home, but this time he knows exactly who won’t be getting a rose. He thinks his wife is definitely in the room he reveals he’s in love and plans to propose. After his discussion with Chris Harrison, he watches videos each of the three women have made for him. Catherine and Lindsay are all happy and bright but AshLee gets so emotional she starts crying and it’s just a little over the top. Sean goes into the rose ceremony nervous about sending one woman home but at least he is 100% positive who it will be. He mentions how he was blindsided by Emily last season, and he knows this will blindside the girl he sends home but he hopes to be able to explain. Lindsay and Catherine are called, and AshLee immediately walks out without saying goodbye to the girls or Sean. She listens to his “explanation” which was really just telling her she’s great, and then gets in the car and says she wasn’t in this for the laughter and fun. Isn’t falling in love supposed to be fun?
Next week is the women tell all! We’ll hear more about the drama with Tierra and Amanda and all the other girls, then we’ll hear from Sarah, Desiree, and AshLee. Are they still heartbroken? Does Desiree still think Sean made a big mistake? And does AshLee have anything else to say to Sean now? After that we’ve got the final rose and (hopefully) a proposal! Who do you think will get the last rose? Personally I’m hoping it’ll be Catherine.