Warning: this post contains spoilers, so if you haven’t watched the season finale, or don’t want to know who Lee chose, bugger off…

Finally, it’s over.

I understand the appeal of a show like The Bachelor SA. In fact, I’ll admit to watching more than a few episodes, and I’m not proud of that fact.

Many South Africans have probably watched countless episodes of the American version, or The Bachelorette, or Bachelor in Paradise, and would have been stoked to finally have our own, local iteration of the show.

From the moment Lee Thompson was announced as the bachelor, you knew there would be drama. People were unimpressed with the show’s choice, saying he didn’t represent the country’s demographics, amongst other criticisms.

Still, the show went on and on, and we arrived at last night’s season finale. Just the one major hiccup to begin – DStv Now was down, due to technical problems, which caused a serious meltdown on social media as fans of the show were prevented from watching the finale.

You can snoop around here for some of those responses.

Those that did get to watch the show waited with bated breath to see who Lee “I feel a connection” Thompson would choose – Gina, or Jozaan.

About that ‘I feel a connection’ thing – was the man being paid under the table?

Not sure he has the business sense to negotiate such a deal, but moving on.

Lee wanted South Africa to know he loves them – feeling that national connection, then:

Drum roll please – Lee chose Gina.

Wow, scenes:

Just the one problem – in the After the Final Rose segment of the 90-minute finale, Lee then revealed that they’re no longer together.

Yup, filming actually wrapped quite a few months ago, and since then, Gina and Lee have broken up. That, dear friends, is what happens when you get the casting all wrong, and qualifies as a mess.

Channel24 spoke with “heartbroken” Lee about what went wrong, but let’s start with why he went with Gina over Jozaan:

Gina and Jozaan are both beautiful women inside and out. I felt that Jozaan wasn’t willing to move for me and I’ve had a couple of long distance relationships in the past which never worked out. It was always going to be a tough call with Jozaan having a solid foundation with her career and family in her city. Gina has one of the most beautiful hearts I’ve ever experienced, and that’s what got me in the end.

Clearly, it wasn’t enough to see the pair through the months since the show. Channel24 asked Lee whether it was tough to make real love with Gina work, once the cameras stopped rolling:

It had many challenges, but love was still there. Having to adapt to the real world, which was challenging after coming off such a high from our journey, we had the pressure of having to keep the secret and we were apart for a long time after filming.

I was extremely emotionally confused after the show and was going through a tough time, as was Gina. I wasn’t fully there for Gina when she needed me through that emotionally tough time. Keeping things a secret also put pressure on the relationship and things got off to a rocky start and never recovered. We were also apart after the show for a few months, and I don’t believe that helped our relationship.

This morning, many South Africans are now asking the big question…

We have our suspicions, based on some whispers via the grapevine, but we’ll keep those to ourselves for now.

Did the experience live up to Lee’s expectations?

I expected to find love and build an emotional connection with someone, so it lived up to that, even more so having formed more than one emotional connection.

So goddam connected. You get a connection, you get a connection, everyone gets a connection!

With the show’s airing having come to an end, what now for Lee?

I know I have a bright future in store and I’ll be focusing on building my career and businesses so that when I find the one to settle down with I’m able to support them and give them all that they want and in turn my children. I want to share a beautiful life with someone truly special. My heart is still fully open to love.

Sorry, but Lee is the most generic, run-of-the-mill, white bread bachelor ever. Never mind the fact that he sounds like a pre-programmed robot, even when he’s trying to wax lyrical about his raw emotions.

Again, this is what happens when you pick a male model with the substance and depth of a used teabag.

Via another Channel24 story, Gina “said she hoped that she was meant to be in Lee’s life to teach him certain things and to help him grow in certain ways”.

OK, then.

I would also like to teach Lee something – please see the below list of synonyms:

 

Ultimately, those who chose Lee went with the safest casting call. Pick a model, feed him the buzzwords, get him to pretend he feels a connection with the women of colour on the show, and then subject South African viewers to what the producers think they want to watch.

If this show does hit season two, maybe they could pick someone with actual emotional depth and maturity, which would probably increase the chance of the relationship lasting more than a few months post-show before it bombs out.

Then again, I’m sure the show racked up huge viewer numbers, which is basically job done.

Either way, I feel like fans of the show deserve better, and I hate myself for watching it.

Happy Friday.

[sources:channel24&channel24]