On the heels of Bachelor Peter’s announcement that he WILL NOT be pursuing a relationship with Madison I would like to continue my rant on The Bachelor’s two night season finale. Let’s talk about Barb: the overbearing, emotional mother America hates right now. Barb spent a good portion of Tuesday night’s episode roasting Peter (her son) and Madison about their choice to be together. I’ll start by saying 1) Madison conducted herself very well in the face of scrutiny and 2) I agree Barb went a little bat shit and probably should have kept her opinions to herself on national TV, BUT I loveeeeedddd this interaction, you guys. Why? Well, first we all secretly watch that show for the drama. Since this season has been packed full of girls younger than me bitching about champagne stealers, I love the new perspective of mom drama that we have never really seen before. Also, it was hilarious this woman got so worked up about two 23-year-old girls she met ONCE!
But my real enjoyment came from how god damn real this bitch was. SOMEONE HAD TO SAY IT. I mean, I said it in my last blog post but I’m guessing Peter didn’t read that. Anyways, I think moms are there to stop you from doing stupid shit, and whether you like Madison are not, everyone knows she and Peter are not a good fit. Maybe my opinion on Barb comes from the way my mom raised me. She didn’t sugar coat a lot. If I was acting like a dramatic bitch, she would (lovingly) call me out on my shit. And if she didn’t like my boyfriend, she was pretty clear about it. Her realness kept me in check. I think this is a big reason why I can (usually) think through situations pretty logically.
Barb is Peter’s mother and knows him better than anyone. In my experience, even if it’s annoying as shit, your parents probably know you better than you know yourself. When I was picking a college I wanted to go to SMU more than anything in the world, but my mom said no and sent me to CU. She always says, “I knew you would HATE SMU after being there for a month and I knew you would thrive at CU.” Of course, she was right. I can think of a hundred more situations where I listened to my mom and things turned out great. And I can think of about a thousand situations where I wish I would have listened to my mom.
So what I’m saying is that although Peter’s mom was a bit over the top emotional, she’s not wrong. And I don’t think shes wrong for voicing her opinions either. Sometimes I wish I could be Barblike to my friends when they are making stupid mistakes. Sure, Peter’s a big boy that can make his own mistakes. But I don’t think it’s wrong for him to know how his family feels before he makes his decision. He did mention throughout the season how much their opinion mattered to him. AND that he wants a fairytale story just like his parents had. Peter involved them in his love life, he asked for their opinions, so he cannot be upset when they gave him what he wanted.
And for those of you who feel bad for Peter and Madison, I’m sure ABC paid the whole Weber family and Madison a pretty penny for that convo so all’s well that ends well. Hopefully, next season will be better for Bachelor Nation.
The TEA (Transitioning Early Adults) 