Usually if I was trying to predict the end of a season of reality television, one of the first people I'd turn to would be anyone who'd been on it already. However, I'm not getting that same vibe from Bob Guiney predicting JoJo's next elimination on The Bachelorette . He's been through both sides of the whole process, and I was expecting to agree with all the points he laid out in a recent interview with People where he predicts JoJo Fletcher's picks in her own season. Except, as much as I respect and appreciate Bob's input, I actually think he might have the wrong idea when it comes to two of this season's contestants.
If you started watching The Bachelorette and The Bachelor less than a decade ago, Bob's name might not ring a bell. He was a contestant on the first season of The Bachelorette back in 2003, and his own season of The Bachelor later that same year. He didn't end up proposing to his final choice, Estella Gardinier, but the two did continue to date for a minute after the show before breaking up. During his interview with People, Bob said,
Watching this season unfold is crazy. When I was on The Bachelorette — which I know sounds like I walked uphill both ways to school and stuff — but back in the day, we all got along. I think it was kind of interesting. We were really, genuinely buddies and the guys now have gotten a lot more catty.
Specifically, he seems to be referring to a tiff between frontrunner Jordan Rodgers and sweet southern gent James Taylor, whose friendship turned rocky during the Jun. 27 episode over an off-camera poker game. James felt that Jordan acted entitled, and passed that information along to JoJo, who brought it up with Jordan, who then demanded an explanation from James. It was a complicated little triangle, which Bob described thusly:
I've got to say, singer/songwriter James Taylor seems very sweet, and in the earlier episodes I really liked him, but last week when he started kind of going off the rails and throwing his buddies under the bus, it seemed like desperation to me. It went from being this sincere guy who was kind and looking out for her best interests to being kind of a scared puppy who felt like he was on the chopping block.
See, I don't know about that. I understand disagreeing with James' decision to bring up his interaction with Jordan, but I actually thought the whole situation made him come out as the opposite of a scared puppy. The dude should be looking for reasons to stay — that's the whole point of them being there — and I truly believe James told JoJo about his reservations about Jordan because he wants what's best for her. I think it's telling that James has proven to be so reliable that not even JoJo questioned his motives for telling her. But perhaps the most important aspect of this situation, and the one I think Bob might have missed completely, has been the fallout.
After he found out that he'd been a topic for discussion between JoJo and James, Jordan stomped back to the group and — well, there isn't really another word for it — pouted. He was upset things didn't go his way, and so he took it out on the people around him, which honestly almost feeds into James' claims about him. Alternately, James was honest, open, and forthright; when Jordan asked if he, Jordan, had come up at all in JoJo and James' conversation, James never even stuttered. He acknowledged it right away. He was straightforward with what bothered him about the poker game interaction, what he told JoJo, all of it.
For me, that's more proof of James' character than it is a deficit. I think if anyone came out looking like they were "going off the rails" or "throwing a buddy under the bus," it was Jordan, because he so clearly didn't have the maturity to really discuss James' concerns. So, while I appreciate Bob taking a closer look and giving us his take on the situation, I think this time, something got by him, and he backed the wrong horse. Me personally, I'm saving all my carrots for James, and Jordan can take his sulky self back to the stable.
Images: ABC (2)
