Can "The Bachelorette" Ashley Ever Recover from Bentley

"The Bachelorette" is on a one week hiatus tonight from ABC thanks to the July 4 holiday. Maybe the producers and writers of the show figured fans of "The Bachelorette" had seen enough booms and pops throughout the first few episodes. In other words, who needs a July 4th episode since we've already seen enough fireworks?

Fireworks like Bentley Williams back stabbing Ashley with harsh words then returning only to leave once again. The whole Bentley "Bachelorette" situation might be too much for her to recover in time to find true love. We've seen post "The Bachelorette" interviews and Ashley seems to be happy. But here's my problem with this season of the show. The problem isn't that this Bentley thing has been a shocker. The problem for me is how Ashley fell so hard and so fast.

I've always wondered how anyone could fall desperately in love so quickly on a television show or in real life. How can any sane person believe they have met Mr. or Mrs. Right in just over a month of filming a television show? If you consider the variables that person is faced with, it only makes it harder to understand how a person can fall in love in such a quick fashion. She's juggling 25 guys and somehow has the focus to think one man is "the guy" that soon? That's a bit of a shocker.

But still-here is Ashley who becomes so infatuated and wrapped up with this Bentley character that she loses complete focus of the task at hand. Perhaps Ashley is typical ofthe people today who seem to fall in love without trying to truly discover who a person really is. Bentley is handsome and appears to be genuine so therefore I love him. Sure it adds up if you are in third grade. But for mature individuals?

Hey-let's face it. We've all probably fallen hard for somebody without truly getting to know that person. But would we let it get in the way of the rest of the journey if we were on "The Bachelorette?" Would you really narrow it down that quickly if you had 15 other suitors you really didn't know yet?

You have to know going into the show that you have to leave several doors open. It would seem it would benefit you to leave those options open and room for someone who might just steal your heart away. It appears Ashley was so wrapped up in Bentley from an early point that she closed those doors. The bachelors on the show certainly did take notice on the last episode.

Ashley actually admitted she saw Bentley again and was officially over him. That announcement didn't sit well with some of the participants. Mickey actually hopped on a boat and paddled away as quick as possible. Several of the guys felt betrayed by her actions. I guess I didn't understand those emotions at first-until I put myself in the shoes of those guys. The message it sent was that Ashley had already made her decision. It was Bentley's game to lose andthe rest ofthe guys were second fiddle-which is a cardinal sin in love.

It's like you are chasing this girl with all your heart and she chooses the other guy. After that doesn't work out-then and only then, she comes back and says you are sloppy seconds. I can understand why any man in that position would have walked away. Ashley told the guys she was over Bentley yet she had the guy back on the show. I can sense why suitors on the show would be skeptical from this point forward. Guys have egos-I know that's a shocker. Nobody wants to be told or interpret that they are the second choice for anyone. Nobody really deserves that. I can understand and relate why some of the guys are anxious to leave or a bit more skeptical than a few weeks ago. Not everyone is going to have that "puppy-dog" follow Ashley around attitude after she made it so clear that she was that into Bentley. There are other fish in the sea who would put a man first. So it makes sense that some participants would leave.

Why she was into that guy anyway is beyond me or anyone else who has watched the show? There is speculation Ashley may have slept with Bentley. She wasn't privy to the on camera interviews that we as an audience saw each week. So I can't blame her for starting to fall for Bentley. I think it's safe to say the majority of America who watched the show were rooting for Bentley to get thrown out on his rear end. But Ashley just played the naive part extremely well and bought every word that came from his dishonest mouth.

I don't think that fact bothers many of us who watch vicariously as this girl next door type tries to find true love. What should bother most of us is that she wasn't seemingly ready to give everyone an equal shot. I don't think there is any doubt that if Bentley stayed he would have been the guy at the end. Maybe to his credit he left and put an end to what he saw was developing. For all the bad things he said, I think we should give him credit for not milking his appearance any more than he had. ABC certainly pushed for him to come back and there's word that he might have earned some extra dough to do so. But I think he truly pushed her away and in a different direction on his final appearance on "The Bachelorette." I hate to give the guy any credit considering his awful choice of words during his on camera interviews. But he did seem to put an end to the whole deal-even though Ashley wasn't exceptionally good at taking a hint earlier.

Maybe Ashley is the classic victim of falling for a guy she can't or never will have. There's that old cliche that you always want what you can't have. Maybe Ashley just believed so hard she would fall in love by coming on the show that she cast her eyes upon Bentley and went for it. The only problem is that the other guys were left in the cold from what it is usually a very early point on the show. We haven't even been remotely close to the hometown dates yet and Ashley already has emotionally declared a winner? Maybe she didn't get the concept of the show or she just fell in love when she least expected it. Either way, I can't ever blame the other guys for not wanting to stick around. I think most of us would be, "congratulations, but if I'm not the guy I've got better things to do."

With "The Bachelorette" off the air for a week it will be interesting to see what other theories and predictions develop on the show. I still think J.P. or Ben have the best potential to settle down with Ashley at the end of the show. But as either of those guys, I'd be a bit worried where her heart lies with the way she fell so deeply for Bentley. It's almost as if anyone else on the show would be a rebound guy. Maybe it's the new version of reality speed dating. Ashley falls in love, rebounds with a guy and then meets Mr. Right all within a month. As most of us realize, finding and appreciating love with someone usually takes a little more than that. That's why it would be a complete shocker if whoever Ashley picks will be a long term match made in heaven. I think, realistically, it will be more of a match that needs some serious extra time to develop. I think some of these guys watching the show in retrospect will drop their jaws when they see just how attached Ashley was to Bentley.

Who knows? Maybe she'll benefit from getting over the Bentley Williams thing and find a guy who is sincere and has her best interest at heart. That's the optimist in me. She seems like a terrific person who just has a major "Bentley" flaw. But like some of the guys on the show, I'm kind of skeptical she's truly over the guy she relentlessly thought and talked about.