If you are a diehard fan of The Bachelorette, like we are here at The Ladies Auxiliary, then you know we have seen some really great Bachelorettes (Andi and Kaitlyn come to mind immediately.) When we first heard the news that Hannah would be cast, we worried. She was not very well-spoken on Colton’s season of The Bachelor. It seemed like she had a really hard time with the process and we felt like we didn’t know if we could hang with her for an entire season.
Now, 10 weeks in to Hannah’s journey, we can’t imagine Bachelor Nation without her. Hannah is the breath of fresh air this series needed SO BADLY. What do we love about Hannah? She’s quirky, goofy, not afraid to be herself, and her accent gets real thick when she’s getting worked up. Most importantly, she’s a bad ass. She hasn’t been afraid to stand up for herself ALL SEASON and she has repeatedly shut these guys down when they started acting ridiculous. As a result, she’s ended up in the final four with some really great guys (Tyler, Peter, we’re looking at you!)
We’ve been proud of Hannah so many times this season, but there has been ONE thing that’s been bothering us a little bit. Hannah has been strong, confident, outspoken, and honest throughout this process, beyond what we’ve been able to see a lead do before…and yet…when it came to Luke Parker, Hannah was every single high school sophomore who catches the eye of the senior quarterback. She was absolutely convinced that inside there, somewhere, was a man she could change and love. That the Luke she saw when they were alone together just needed the chance to shine in the greater world. Until…this week.
Fantasy Suites.
Peter’s date was up first. They had a romantic day on a boat, spent the entire time making out, and then got to spend the night in a windmill. We were glad to see the footage of them eating and goofing around at the end of Monday’s episode, because it gave a little dimension to their relationship. It took Peter basically forever to FINALLY say he loved Hannah and watching him start to say it and then back out a couple times was painful, but he got around to it and Hannah seemed genuinely happy about it. We were too. Peter is absolutely obsessed with Hannah and she finally knows it. We’ll come back to Peter’s date a little bit later…
Tyler was next and this date was perhaps the most empowering date Hannah’s been on yet. They got massages and then had dinner together. At dinner, Hannah told Tyler that she is SUPER confident in their physical connection. Obviously, they have great chemistry. Hannah very straightforwardly tells Tyler that she does NOT want to have sex with him in the fantasy suite because she feels like that’s not what their relationship needs. She needs their emotional connection to build and grow. What does Tyler say? All hail queen Hannah, I will do whatever you want. I lay my body and soul at your feet.
Actually this is what he really said: “Tonight, fantasy suites, it has a connotation of sex. For me, it’s way more than that. I just want to be with you, have that time with you. You have to really love and respect and honor each other’s boundaries. I would never press you or pressure you at all. I want you to be 100 percent comfortable and confident in whatever we do together. I look at the man I am today, it’s not the same kid I was nine weeks ago. You got me to open up so much and I don’t want this to end. I don’t want to stop looking in your eyes. I don’t want to stop seeing that smile. I don’t want to stop hearing that laugh, seeing those dimples. I can stand here today and tell you I do love you. I am so falling for you. You mean the world to me. I would love to spend more time with you and just be us.”
SWOON. Tyler gives the world the most perfect example of what a man SHOULD do. Hannah goes on to explain, after their night, that he was the most respectful man she’s EVER met and then she cries. She explains why HERE.
Jed’s date was next. They spent most of the day talking about Luke, Jed basically told her at dinner that her keeping Luke makes him question his feelings for her, and Hannah cried and cried. We don’t know how to feel about this date. On one hand, we really appreciate that they basically went through a real-life couple’s moment on their date. They argued (kind of) and they had to deal with those feelings. We also appreciate that Jed was honest with her about how HE felt. A lot of times, these things get swept under the rug because they’re uncomfortable. We also totally understand why leaving Jed with Luke at the last rose ceremony made him feel bad. On the other hand, at some point she has to eliminate people and get down to two, and is it really worth it to argue about it now? In the end, it seemed to make them feel closer together and they went off the fantasy suite.
Luke’s date was last. While I don’t think the producers expected Hannah to be so open about her earlier fantasy suite dates, I do think they scheduled Luke last so that he was already having some feelings about the whole thing. If you want to read the full transcription of Luke and Hannah’s date, Glamour.com has it for you here!
The best part about this conversation was watching Hannah put the puzzle pieces together right there in front of our eyes. You could see when the lightbulb finally clicked on and she realized what has been happening to her for the last two months. It was amazing.
In true Luke fashion, he tries to back-pedal and change everything he’s said and ends up making it worse for himself by telling her it’s okay if she “slipped up” and slept with one of the guys. But if it was all three of them, he’s out. Hannah finally truly stands up for herself, tells Luke the truth – that she should have kicked him out weeks ago – and asks him to leave. Luke doesn’t like this idea. Once she finally gets him to the car that’s supposed to drive him off, he won’t get in. Hannah warns him that she is going to tell him things to make him leave if he doesn’t speed it up and he ignores her. At one point, he even tells her that SHE doesn’t have clarity over her own feelings. You can watch the entire thing go down here:
While we do understand that Luke felt like he was saying what HE wanted and expected from a wife, this was just not okay. He’s allowed to want a wife that is not having sex with other guys. That’s fair. This just may not be the best place to find a wife if you want her all to yourself, considering the premise of this show is dating multiple people. AND as a reminder to all men, you don’t actually have control over a woman’s body.
We LOVE EVERYTHING about Hannah’s reaction to Luke and more importantly, how real and honest she was. We also love that we got to see it all. There are some times that we have to give credit to the Bachelor producers, and letting Hannah have all that time to talk and then airing it all was the best decision. They didn’t cut in and out, they chose just the right time to show Hannah’s one-on-one interview outtakes, and they didn’t give Luke the time of day. Well done!
Before we wrap this post up though, we definitely need to give a shout-out to Kaitlyn Bristowe and Andi Dorfman, who both got a WHOLE BUNCH OF HEAT for Nick Viall, sex, and the fantasy suites on their seasons. They definitely took tons of backlash, even from Nick himself, and changed the way the Bachelorette was viewed.
Next week is the Men Tell All, which should be interesting, considering how much hatred there is towards Luke and how notoriously bad he is at apologizing and being honest. We also get to see the rose ceremony that we missed this week and Luke (thanks to producers, no doubt) comes back. Tyler, Peter and Jed step in as knights in shining armor, and Hannah gets to tell Luke she’s the queen of the world one more time.
The Ladies Auxiliary 