Stop me if you've heard this story before. Boy meets Girl. Boy likes Girl. Girl, having struggled with unmet expectations before, communicates her needs and desires. Boy nods along. Months later, Boy fails to meet Girl's needs and desires. Girl says, "But I told you what I wanted from this. I was clear. I made a fucking list, you dolt."
Boy says, "Whoa, next time you should really communicate that more clearly."
Girl leaves Boy. Girl prepares another list, this time a contract, and girds her loins for next Boy to come along.
It's a timeless tale of love and rejection, and we watched it play out on The Bachelorette last night. The boy in question here is Peter Kraus, and he's clearly the villain. So why is everyone so mad at Rachel Lindsay?
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Rachel Lindsay, the 13th woman to occupy the lead role, made it very clear from premiere episode that she wanted to get engaged. She's a lawyer; she knows how to make her case heard. Peter Kraus, the runner-up, didn't want to get engaged, at least not after two months of having known Rachel. Kraus's hesitance would be understandable if the rules hadn't been so clear: Rachel Lindsay wants to get engaged. The producers of The Bachelorette want you to get engaged. Bachelor Nation wants an engagement. America wants to witness an epic proposal. When Kraus insisted that he couldn't get down on one knee for his Bachelorette, he pulled a stunt that many before him have done: He pretended he didn't know the rules.
"I don't want to repeat what I've done with every single relationship," Lindsay told an indecisive Kraus. Their breakup was devastatingly real, probably-definitely because Rachel Lindsay had been there before. During the season, she regularly brought up a previous 5-year relationship that lead nowhere. She's been burned before — she made her desires known, and they weren't met. So, she made an executive decision: Go with the man willing to meet her desires. Bryan Abasolo, the guy who won the whole shebang, was 100% down to get engaged. Her choice was practical and a preventative measure.
Kraus was a favorite on the show, and much of The Bachelorette fan base is furious with Lindsay. As they see it, Lindsay was blinded by her need to get engaged.
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So basically Rachel wants Peter, but settles for Bryan just bc she wants a proposal. I literally cannot #TheBachelorette pic.twitter.com/ilr77GhF9H
— Natalie Baldassarre (@N_Baldassarre) August 8, 2017
Peter was right. Rachel chose a ring and a life of mediocrity over something real. #TheBachelorette pic.twitter.com/wV5VLtwrrp
— Michelle (@MO_ZPP) August 8, 2017
The way fans see it, shocked by Kraus's inability to meet her demands, Lindsay "settled" for Bryan Abasolo, the guy who seems genuinely invested in her and was actually willing to get down on one knee. But what if Lindsay didn't settle? What if, by choosing the man who was willing to compromise, she was actually refusing to settle? Clearly, she's been down this road before. She's dated hesitant men, and it hasn't worked out. Where you smell smoke, there's probably fire! Kraus is uncompromising now, which means in a few months, he'll be a blazing pit of stubborn idiocy.
So, let's treat him like the stubborn idiot he is. Peter Kraus knew what he signed up for. He went on The Bachelorette. He signed the contract. He knew Rachel Lindsay wanted to get engaged. By refusing to do so, he broke the cardinal rule of Bachelor Nation — he used logic. Logic doesn't exist here, silly! This is love! There are cameras following you around! You attended a party exclusively for puppies! You rapped on camera. The laws of the natural world don't exist here, so stop playing by them.
Rachel Lindsay, by contrast, did nothing wrong. She lived out her Bachelorette dream, and chose the person best suited to start a life with her. Congratulations are in order.
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