After The Final Rose - 3/11 - Bachelor 17 - Discussion - Spoilers

Life is real regardless of how you are living it. Lindsey's hurt seemed pretty real to me regardless of the fact that she fell in love with someone on a reality tv show. Time will tell if Sean and Catherine's love/relationship can go the distance, but for now, I am enjoying seeing their happiness and love whether they are in a bubble or out.

clueless wrote:Life is real regardless of how you are living it. Lindsey's hurt seemed pretty real to me regardless of the fact that she fell in love with someone on a reality tv show. Time will tell if Sean and Catherine's love/relationship can go the distance, but for now, I am enjoying seeing their happiness and love whether they are in a bubble or out.

Nicely put!

I agree with above posts saying that four months in between proposal and live AFR had done in the vast majority of Bachelor couples. SeanCat seem so at peace with each other and just have a quiet confidence about themselves. While Sean is not pawing all over her or kissing her every chance he can get for the cameras, I really believe him when he says that every day they grow more in love with each other.

The fact that Catherine is going to live with Sean in L.A. while he trains/works on DWTS is huge. They seem to be looking at DWTS as almost a team effort. I read in interview that Sean and Peta will be training about five hours a day ... which is not even a full work day so plenty of time for each other & growing the relationship.

Time will tell for sure if they last but I am betting we'll see a wedding.

I'm so impressed (and a teensy bit worried) that she's quitting her job and packing up to follow him. Hope everything works out between them.

tigertiz wrote:Were any of Sean's family at the ATFR? I only watched part of it.

jcrbil wrote:^^^ They weren't shown and I guess not. Nor did it seem that anyone from Catherine's family was there.

That being said, even the girls from the season seemed to vacate their seats once they had had their "say". So some may have possibly been backstage. I doubt it, though. Shay was in Dallas this morning.

i've been wondering too why we didn't see either family at the AFTR. then, i looked at shay's blog just now and absolutely nada about the MTP & finale. this is not a good sign. i have been skeptical of a sean and Cat match working out all season, but the finale was beautiful and i was rooting for them while watching it. then, the ATFR seemed a bit subdued on Cat's part. now, with the lack of physical affection in their interviews and radio silence from the families i'm back to being skeptical. they were so affectionate on the show but now barely touch which doesn't compute at all to me. saying they aren't into PDA is weird when they spent all season showing lots of PDA on tv. but then, Cat is moving to LA and the tv wedding is in the works. i don't know, it just doesn't all quite add up for me...i guess time will tell.

HowSoonIsNow wrote:They've spent the past 4 months in Bubble #2 (sequestered visits in safe houses). It's almost as unnatural as Bubble #1 (on the show). Let them interact with the real world for a while. That's the right time to truly assess things, and the right conditions to do so.

You can't practice for life because you can never know what trials it has in store for you. When life is faced by a couple they either have a commitment to meet those trials together - in which case they'll make it through them - or they don't. Sequestered in safe houses or not, Sean and Catherine have either made that commitment or they haven't but they've had plenty of time to figure out which it is.

mare2 wrote:I'm so impressed (and a teensy bit worried) that she's quitting her job and packing up to follow him. Hope everything works out between them.

I'd be a lot worried if she hadn't quit her job and packed her bags - that would indicate that she isn't committed to making it work.

Lucas totally agree with your points. Not every road is the same, what will matter is their ability to "fight" through and to work with what today and future bring to them. I am really happy to hear that "statistics" don't worry them and they are focused purely on making their relationship work. I think that is a very matured view of what they have and life.

Yes I am a pragmatic person and if this was my reality, I wouldn't quit my job, I will hang on to every ounce of my reality and not fantasy - but that is me. I am happy that they both have an adventurous outlook in life, it may not be what I choose for myself but obviously one of the factors that keep them together. So I raise my hat to them that they are staying true to their convictions and their constitutions are very strong. I believe they could be strong together and have fun along the way!

Lucas15 wrote:

HowSoonIsNow wrote:They've spent the past 4 months in Bubble #2 (sequestered visits in safe houses). It's almost as unnatural as Bubble #1 (on the show). Let them interact with the real world for a while. That's the right time to truly assess things, and the right conditions to do so.

You can't practice for life because you can never know what trials it has in store for you. When life is faced by a couple they either have a commitment to meet those trials together - in which case they'll make it through them - or they don't. Sequestered in safe houses or not, Sean and Catherine have either made that commitment or they haven't but they've had plenty of time to figure out which it is.

LOL is this the advice you would give your own children? "You've had 4 months. Never mind that it was sequestered. That's more than enough of time. Decide NOW."

What I'e written is what I would tell my own children or anyone. They've been in unnatural circumstances till now. There's no harm in taking some time IRW, see how they respond to the challenges of IRL together before they take their vows Despite the viewers ravenous appetite for a summertime wedding, there's really no harm in waiting till Xmas or next year, except maybe lower TV ratings for their wedding, which is more ABC's concern than theirs.

Catdwoman50 wrote:Yes I am a pragmatic person and if this was my reality, I wouldn't quit my job, I will hang on to every ounce of my reality and not fantasy - but that is me.

I perfectly understand and I tend to be pragmatic as well; I just wonder; if Catherine saw that day in November in Thailand as a day that changed her life forever, perhaps leaving her past for a new future IS her reality.

HowSoonIsNow wrote:LOL is this the advice you would give your own children? "You've had 4 months. Never mind that it was sequestered. That's more than enough of time. Decide NOW."

What you paraphrased is not what I posted and so no - that's not what I would tell my own son (I only have one child).

However what I have told him is that he's a grown man and only he can make the decision about who he chooses to marry and when is the right time to marry her. I will give him my advice if he asks for it and my support of his decision whether he asks for it or not, and whether I agree with his decision or not. Which is exactly what my own father told me.

It so happens that his choice was not one I would have picked, and the time he married her was not the time I would have chosen either. But it also happens that they love each other very much and are incredibly happy together and I love her as I would my own daughter. Had I given him my advice perhaps he wouldn't have the life now that he does and all I have every hoped and wished for was for him to find the happiness in his marriage that I have found in mine.

Lucas15 wrote:

Catdwoman50 wrote:Yes I am a pragmatic person and if this was my reality, I wouldn't quit my job, I will hang on to every ounce of my reality and not fantasy - but that is me.

I perfectly understand and I tend to be pragmatic as well; I just wonder; if Catherine saw that day in November in Thailand as a day that changed her life forever, perhaps leaving her past for a new future IS her reality.

I think the reality she saw in November is a life with Sean, whether it be Dallas, LA or NY (didn't realize Cat was born in MD, my old stomping grounds). Anyway, their priority right now is each other. How refreshing is that? I would love to be in their shoes, to be in a moment in life when they can take risks and to have no other worries but to make one's partner happy. They are not yet saddled by or bogged down by the daily nuances of life and responsibilities outside of themselves. She is as much of risk-taker as he - (she quit her job, but that's not to say she can't find anything quick and just as rewarding in LA) so I'm glad they found each other. I can totally see them doing Amazing Race together (hehe - don't think ABC will let that happen). Kidding of course, but as a couple they make it work for them and that's all that matters. The good thing I see is that they do know that there will be hard times ahead and so long as they are pragmatic about that and brace themselves for it, they will be okay. I love that they are enjoying these times together.