The Bachelor Jason Mesnick Dumps Reality TV Fiancee Melissa for Molly

It looked like a picture perfect, glorious ending to another installment of The Bachelor series this year, when Jason Mesnick (a contestant rejected by The Bachelorette DeAnna Pappas) handed the final rose to Melissa Rycroft. The road to romance for Jason Mesnick was a rocky one, and he appeared visibly distraught at the prospect of sending first runner up Molly Malaney home; however, in a romantic Hollywood ending Jason Mesnick proposed to Melissa, vowing to spend the rest of his life with her.

By now fans have come to expect that romances created on The Bachelor and The Bachelorette won't last (recent Bachelor and Bachelorette breakups include DeAnna Pappas and Jesse Csincsak and Matthew Grant and Shayne Lamas). But the shocking twist that came next took many fans of The Bachelor by complete surprise.

During a special that aired after The Bachelor finale called After the Final Rose, Jason Mesnick declared that he still had feelings for Molly and a devastated Melissa gave up her engagement ring. Jason Mesnick had at first seemed like a sincere guy with a heart of gold looking for true love (just like suave British bachelor Matt Grant?) but now looked like a heartless, indecisive jerk to many loyal fans of The Bachelor.

Jason Mesnick swore he was just following his heart and had genuinely reconsidered his relationship with Melissa, as they got to know each other away from the prying eyes of reality TV cameras. Jason Mesnick claimed he was trying to spare Melissa more hurt by facing the situation early, and addressing it on After the Final Rose instead of letting it drag on for months after the show.

This could be true, but this recent fiasco on The Bachelor got many people (including myself) thinking: is The Bachelor series rigged? When Jason Mesnick dumped Melissa for Molly on After the Final Rose, it created a firestorm of controversy and lots of media attention for the show and its participants. Walking through the grocery store shortly after The Bachelor finale, the faces of Jason Mesnick and Molly were beaming on the cover of many magazines and tabloids.

It seems like everyone is talking about this twist in The Bachelor series. Is it possible that the shocking ending to this season of The Bachelor, when Jason Mesnick cruelly dumped a heart broken Melissa on national television, could have been architected by the show's producers to create the media frenzy?

Everyone concerned with The Bachelor series, from Jason Mesnick, to Melissa Rycroft, to Molly and Jillian and the other contestants vigorously deny that any part of The Bachelor was fixed, but I wonder, would Jason Mesnick and Molly Malaney have ended up on the cover of so many magazines if there wasn't this surprise twist to The Bachelor finale this season? Is The Bachelor (and The Bachelorette) authentic or are storylines and outcomes scripted like a regular TV series?

Despite the initial heartbreak and drama, it seems that everyone who appeared in this season of The Bachelor came out smelling like a rose. After her initial hurt and rage at Jason Mesnick, Melissa Rycroft bounced back as a popular contestant in this season's Dancing with the Stars (she quit her job to join the Dancing cast, and appears to be enjoying her 15 minutes of fame).

Popular The Bachelor contestant Jillian Harris has been announced as the next Bachelorette, and Jason Mesnick and Molly are exploring their relationship and basking in the media attention caused by the surprise twist. The Bachelor contestants came out winners, but the loyal fans of The Bachelor are the losers.

The disturbing twist in this season of The Bachelor really strains any credibility that the series ever had. The Bachelor appears more and more like a springboard for its participants to enter show business, and less like a place for them to discover true love. Now with rumors flying around that the ending of The Bachelor might have been rigged to stir up interest in the series, any hope that the show could be taken seriously is all but gone.

I wish all the participants on The Bachelor, like Jason Mesnick, Melissa, Molly and Jillian the best and hope they all find what they are looking for, but when the curtain goes up on the next season of The Bachelorette, I won't be tuning in. Jason Mesnick dumping Melissa for Molly for a few ratings points just proves yet again, you can't find authentic love on reality TV.

Source:
http://www.abc.com