Spoiler Alert: This article contains spoilers about last night's episode of The Bachelor. Read at your own risk.
Like so many people, Corinne realized some shit after a breakup. Unlike many people, Corinne also had this realization broadcast to millions of people on The Bachelor. Say what you will about her antics throughout the season, the goodbye was honestly sad to watch. Draped in a fur coat in the back of a limo, she came to a very logical, levelheaded awareness about the way she's been approaching dating: "I'm trying to, you know, say things that men think are appropriate, and you know what? I'm done."
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She continued: "I’m done trying to show my men how much I worship them, and I love them, and I care for them, and support them. I need that. So, if someone feels that way about me, they can come and tell me and they can bring a ring to go along with it. I’m done trying to impress these men. I’m going to be me, and whatever happens, happens. But I will never kiss up to a man ever again in my life. I’m tired and I’m done. I want to go to sleep.”
Yes, Corinne! It's great that she's finally at this point, even though it took a lot of pain and weeks of conflict to get there. Throughout the season, there was criticism that Corinne's in-your-face sexuality rubbed other contestants the wrong way, but given that she's admitting she was acting a certain way to impress her partner, I actually have a lot of sympathy.
"She leads with her sexuality, so there was a lot of judgment there, but she could've been doing those things because she thought, He'll like me more," says Vanessa Marin, a sex therapist. Of course, maybe sex is really important to her and she was being herself, Marin says, and there's nothing wrong with that.
Regardless, Corinne's plans for approaching future partners is pretty damn smart. "You can never know what it is another person wants, even if they said it outright, when we don't always know ourselves," Marin says. Being on a stage like the Bachelor can obviously skew your perception of what you really want, but still, Marin says you can't go wrong with being yourself. "If you put effort into trying to be a person you think your partner wants, going through that effort will be inauthentic and can be painful to constantly feel like you're acting against, or not in line with, who you are and what you want," she says.
Going home might be the best thing for Corinne, because things probably weren't meant to work out with Nick. "If it were to work out with this person who cares about someone you actually aren't, you can't build a relationship on lies," Marin says. "So the best case scenario isn't really something you want." Think about it: Long-term, a relationship where you can totally be yourself is way more sustainable than one that requires you to put on an act.
Be your cheese pasta-eating, Raquel-loving, fancy clothes-wearing self, and know that that's good enough, Corinne…but maybe consider doing it on Bachelor In Paradise so we can all watch, too?