In this time of strife, thank goodness we can still rely on the hooligans of Bachelor Nation to bring us the content we need. Namely, the extended saga of Pilot Pete’s season is being drawn out even longer, because 2020 wasn’t bad enough already. As you all know, Peter was seemingly alone at the end of the season, after his engagement with Hannah Ann fell through, and then Madison dumped him to pursue a career as Selena Gomez’s friend. After being one of the worst Bachelors on record, Peter deserved to think about his life and his choices, but it looks like he’s not so alone after all.
On Wednesday afternoon, Peter was spotted in Chicago, being very affectionate with none other than Kelley Flanagan, Esq. In some paparazzi photos, Peter can be seen with Kelley slung over his shoulder, because I guess the jump-and-wrap-your-legs-around hugs are so three months ago. Seriously, do people actually do this sh*t? Dustin Kendrick, from last season of The Bachelorette, was also present for the outing, because every Bachelor date needs a third wheel. These photos legitimize recent rumors that Peter and Kelley are still a thing. Until now, the main evidence was that Peter’s family still follows Kelley on Instagram, but now we have real evidence of them together in public.
Speaking of in public, you might be wondering why Peter and Kelley are out and about at a time like this. Of course, it’s okay to be taking solo walks as long as you keep a safe distance from others, but as you can see from the photos, they don’t seem to be doing that. See that dog? That dog is absolutely not six feet from them, and the owner is probably cutting it close. As beautiful as the Chicago lakeshore is, it might not be the best place to take a socially distant walk, because it’s usually crawling with people whenever the weather is semi-decent.
But wait… why is Peter even in Chicago? It would be one thing if he and Kelley had been holed up together for a couple weeks, but Peter posted a video on Instagram with his mom just five days ago! Less than a week ago, he was chilling with Barb making TikToks in California, and now he’s 2,000 miles away in Chicago? Considering that most of us have barely seen another human in two weeks, it seems pretty uncool that Peter just hopped on a plane to see Kelley. Pete, read the f*cking room. You already looked like an idiot after your season of The Bachelor, but this is even worse.
Now that he’s made the choice to go to Chicago, hopefully he stays put for a while, and takes his PDA with Kelley indoors. For the social distancing, yes, but also so we don’t have to see it anymore.
While it’s unclear if Peter and Kelley are even social distancing, they’re not the only Bachelor alums who are spending this crazy time together. Of course, Tyler Cameron and Hannah Brown’s non-quarantine situation has been well-documented across social media platforms, but it’s still unclear whether they’re actually together, or just using this time to get some major clout. Either way, it’s working.
Obviously, many of the known Bachelor Nation couples are together right now, but not all of them have simple situations. Colton Underwood shared that since testing positive for COVID-19, he’s been quarantined at Cassie’s parents’ house. Specifically, he’s quarantined on the third floor of their house, which is apparently gigantic. Must be nice, as I write this from the glorified refrigerator box for which I pay rent.
In terms of more recent couples, all the usual suspects are quarantining together. We’ve got Hannah G and Dylan quarantining together somewhere beautiful and sunny, and Caelynn and Dean, who have found somewhere in Santa Monica to hang to hang out that’s not his van. Proud of them! Caelynn also posted this cute throwback photo of them in Mexico together, and I desperately need to talk about her use of the word “quarandeaned” in the caption. QUARANDEANED. I can’t decide if I love it or I hate it, but either way, I’m feeling a lot of feelings about it. I might start dating someone named Dean just so I can say this. Okay I decided, I love it.
Hopefully all the other Bachelor has-beens are following instructions and staying inside, but I wouldn’t be mad if this whole situation exposes some other couples that have kept things low-key until now. Honestly, what else do we have to live for at this point? I just ate Oreos for breakfast, so I’ll take whatever bit of excitement I can get.
Images: Francisco Roman / ABC; thebetchelor, pilot_pete, coltonunderwood / Instagram
On Monday night’s Women Tell All episode of The Bachelor, Peter and the women worked their way through much of the drama that’s gone down this season. Kelsey was applauded for being in touch with her emotions (lol ok), Victoria denied one more time that she’s the most prolific home wrecker in Virginia Beach history, and Rachel Lindsay reminded us all that racism is never okay. But there was one notable thing that wasn’t addressed at all on the show: where the f*ck was Kelley?
As we all know, Kelley finished fifth on this season of The Bachelor, and despite her refusal to take the drama too seriously, she was an important player in some of the most interesting storylines. I mean, she met Peter before the season ever started, and we STILL never got to the bottom of whether or not they hooked up! But by all accounts, Kelley wasn’t even invited to the Women Tell All taping, despite the fact that she was in LA at the time. (Natasha, who finished sixth, was invited, but wasn’t able to make it.) So what gives? She should’ve had her own hot seat segment, or some kind of featured moment, or even been invited, at the very least! Why would ABC just pretend that one of the season’s central figures doesn’t exist?
Chris Harrison actually addressed the Kelley controversy last week on the Almost Famous podcast with Ashley Iaconetti, saying that the producers “felt Kelley didn’t play an integral part to the storyline.” I’m sorry, what? I don’t pretend to know everything that goes on behind the scenes of The Bachelor (just some of it), but anyone who’s even generally aware of this season would call bullsh*t on this explanation. Chris, if you’re gonna go on these podcasts and answer questions about this stuff, you have to come up with excuses that sound like they could at least be a little true… this really was a weak one.
In Ashley I’s most recent Bachelor recap for Cosmopolitan, it’s clear that she’s not buying Chris’ reasoning, either. She echoes the popular internet theory—started by Reality Steve—that Kelley did something to piss off the producers, so her lack of a WTA invitation could be some kind of retaliation. On a season full of women who seemed eager to buy into drama and acted like their lives depended on it, Kelley seemed more than happy to just have a good time and see what happened. While she still ended up being great TV, I’m sure the producers didn’t love that she wasn’t buying into all their manipulation. Last month, she liked this tweet saying that she “clearly hates Peter and this process”, and that kind of says it all. Hannah Ann would NEVER.
I respect Kelly so much more than I thought I would because she clearly hates Peter and this process and she’s not hiding it #TheBachelor
— alaina antonelli (@alainpennylaine) February 4, 2020
In her recap, Ashley I also suggested that ABC might have been worried that, had she been invited to Women Tell All, Kelley would have complained about how she was edited on her last date on the show. If you’ll recall, that was the date where it basically looked like Kelley was sh*tting on the other women for their lack of real careers, and she got a lot of backlash for judging her fellow contestants. Maybe it was the edit, maybe it wasn’t, but this would still be a lame reason for not inviting her. People blame their behavior on the edit all the time on reality TV, and all Chris Harrison would have had to say is “the cameras don’t lie” or something like that. Andy Cohen has pulled this move dozens of times, and it literally always works.
I’m still frustrated that Kelley wasn’t there on Monday night, but at least there was plenty of other stuff to talk about on this season’s Women Tell All. Say what you will about this season, but it has not been lacking in drama. But in the future, I’m gonna need Chris Harrison to miss me with these weak excuses, and give us the real tea about decisions like this. Also, Kelley better f*cking get an invite to Paradise this summer, because that’s the only thing that can make this right. It’s what we deserve!
Images: ABC; Giphy; alainpennylaine / Twitter
