Does anyone else feel like they’re still recovering from Rachel Lindsay’s decision on the Bachelorette finale?
That final breakup was every bit as brutal as we’d been told.
We have to remember that there was another person involved: Eric Bigger. He had a much closer perspective to everything that was going on and, well, he has his own reasons for thinking that Rachel made the wrong choice.
Eric Bigger seemed to slip a lot of people’s minds towards the end of the season.
It isn’t because he isn’t handsome or charming or a great contestant on The Bachelorette.
No, it was about context and chemistry.
Peter Kraus seemed like he was such a perfect suitor for Rachel Lindsay, so he got a lot of attention.
Bryan Abasolo seemed like he was just telling Rachel what she wanted to hear — but Rachel seemed like she was eating it up.
(And, clearly, she did)
So Bryan got plenty of attention.
Who was left?
Eric.
Charming, handsome Eric who made it to the final three but wasn’t nearly as polarizing.
But even if a lot of fans couldn’t really see him with Rachel, we absolutely want to hear what he has to say about Rachel’s final choice.
On a podcast interview, Eric Bigger reveals his thoughts about Rachel Lindsay and the big finale:
“Honestly, from watching the show last night for the first time, I don’t think she picked the right man in that moment.”
You know how sometimes things don’t come across on camera?
Like, older phones can’t take a decent picture of the moon.
Sometimes you see someone really hot but they just look “reasonably attractive” over camera.
(You can be hot without being photogenic, folks)
Not everything comes across over the screen … and from what Eric is saying, that was the case with Bryan and Rachel.
“Prior to seeing the show, I always thought Bryan was the guy for her once I left.”
We should note that Eric likes Bryan a lot, which is more than we can say for a lot of fans.
And there was more:
“I love him … but I felt bad for him. It seemed like he was a rebound.”
Well, the proposal came the day after an epic, tear-filled breakup … so that’s literally true.
“I could be wrong, but that’s what it looked like in my eyes and maybe the feelings they had for each other is different from what I see. But man, it was tough.”
Yep.
Eric then offered his own analysis of Rachel and her motivations:
“Rachel put herself in a bind from saying ‘I want a proposal.’ So she held herself accountable in a place where I think it was pride.”
He explains what he means.
“Her pride wouldn’t let her not do what she wanted to do and that was she wanted a proposal and Peter didn’t want that. So if it wasn’t a proposal, then you’re out, which I get.”
She went into this to get the man and relationship that she wanted.
But she may have missed out on the man she really wanted by choosing a relationship that would fit her imagined timeline.
“Sometimes it’s hard, it’s really hard. She made her decision and she’s off to the races, but I just think if she never would’ve said, ‘I want a proposal,’ and made that the priority, she would’ve been okay.”
Don’t let your expectations box you into a corner that you can’t get out of, folks.
And speaking of people whose hasty words might force them into a corner:
You might be thinking that you can’t concentrate on The Bachelorette and its aftermath when there’s a looming threat of nuclear war.
For us, though, we think that concentrating on the stuff that you normally care about is the key to not losing your mind when the world is frightening.
(A lesson taught by the aftermath of 9/11)
So yes, let’s keep talking about whether or not Peter Kraus should be the next Bachelor.
(He should)
Let’s talk about how how Rachel Lindsay’s planning her wedding already and hope that she gets the ceremony on camera.
Let’s keep caring about stuff like eclipses and reality shows and video games and what restaurant’s opening around the corner because that’s how we keep being people.
