The Bachelorette: What About Bob?

Introduction

I have already confessed that I am a huge fan of reality TV dating shows during the original Bachelor series. OK, so I have no shame. At least all of you already know that I am totally and completely addicted to the romantic reality TV shows. (Image of Trista Rehn - The Bachelorette - ABC/BOB D'AMICO - All rights reserved).

Yes, I watched every single episode of the first Bachelor show with Bachelor #1, Alex Michel, whose family lives in Dallas. Not only did I completely analyze everyone's hair but I was blatantly rooting for the charmingly outspoken Shannon (a Dallas gal) and Trista (a former St. Louis resident like me) who lost to Ms. Amanda Marsh. No offense to Amanda, she seemed like a nice enough girl and after all, who am I? I don't have to get engaged to anyone in front of all of America.

Are Alex and Amanda still together? Who really knows the true scoop and seriously, who really cares? The shows are a hoot. Of course they are probably about as far away from reality as you can get. Which is what makes it all so perfect for TV. But please don't get me started on Joe Millionaire or we could be here forever.

Yes, I enjoyed the first Alex, Amanda, Trista triangle but life goes on and I'm so over all those people. I'm even over Bachelor #2, Aaron Buerge, even though I was disappointed when blonde beauty Gwen Gioia got dumped leaving Brooke and Helene to battle it out for the eye popping ring. Yes, Helene won as we all suspected. And yes, her hair looked awesome for the bended knee proposal. OK. Whatever. Already, things have crashed and burned on the Aaron/Helene front and only after a few months.

Best Revenge Of All

Imagine my bemusement when the gorgeous Trista got total revenge on losing out to Amanda on Bachelor #1 by becoming the very first Bachelorette. The best revenge is living well and Trista is living extremely well, thank you very much with her new celebrity status and Los Angeles pad. (Image of Trista Rehn - The Bachelorette - ABC/BOB D'AMICO - All rights reserved).

The Bachelorette also breaks out of the "A" first name phenomena for the original bachelors. I was starting to worry. First there was Alex, then Aaron. Geez, could Andy, Albert or Anthony be just around the corner for Bachelor 3, 4, 5, etc?

I know that not everyone is a Trista fan and I expect that. But come on, you have to respect someone that is willing to subject herself to the peeping eyes of millions (like Moi) while she opens her heart to true love. Whether you personally like Trista or not, I think we should give kudos to ABC for trying to do it up right. At least no one has to eat the roses or the thorns, ala Survival. Even better, Trista, the gorgeous well-educated, former Miami Heat dancer comes across as open, sincere and willing to share her feelings of loneliness and longing for marriage and family.

Maybe I'm personally enjoying The Bachelorette because I can actually safely ogle the gorgeous guys and analyze who I would pick or dump if I was sitting in Trista's designer clad shoes. When Bachelor #1 dumped Shannon and Bachelor #2 dumped Gwen I was momentarily disappointed that my favorites were being booted off the show. It's definitely a different viewing experience when the various guys get cut because I can put myself in Trista's place. Hey, I take it personally. Well sort of.

Bob Guiney & Trista Rehn on ABC's The Bachelorette," Wednesday, January 22 (8:30-10:00 p.m., ET), on the ABC Television Network. (ABC/CRAIG SJODIN)

Don't get me wrong, I would never presume to suggest that Trista select any guy that she didn't have a heart connection with. After all, she has to deal with the guy she chooses with the show ends and her short stint with fame fades away. Which of course we all know that it probably will. After all, whatever happened to Darva - what was her name? Don't forget that there are already a horde of reality star wannabes waiting in the wings to take her place in the next Reality - Love Stinks - Love Wins - show.

At this point in the show's selection process Trista is down to Charlie, Ryan and Russ after recently eliminating Greg T. from NYC.

Although I think Charlie is a gorgeous guy and Ryan seems sensitive, kind and appears to be a good soul, I would personally leave pushy Russ at the nearest bookstore. Again, no offense to Trista but I really think that the absolute best guy from the original group of 25, Bob Guiney, is now MIA from the running. (Photo of Bob Guiney - ABC/CRAIG SJODIN - all rights reserved). In fact, I know that fans across America totally agree with me about Bob.

What About Bob?

So who is this guy that I was pulling for who became an instant Bachelorette fan favorite? He is Bob Guiney (click to visit Bob's site) a mortgage banker/broker who hails from Ferndale, Michigan. Bob suavely introduced himself to Trista with a witty "Alex's loss is our gain". (Bob - top row middle - with some of the original 25 bachelors - ABC/CRAIG SJODIN - all rights reserved).

Although Russ pulled a Tiffany's, Ryan wrote a poem and Charlie pulled Trista away from the masses, Bob stood out for being himself without the aide of props or cheap tricks. During the very first meet and greet episode he danced a wonderful jig causing hysterical laughter from Trista, all the men in the room and a lot of the viewers at home. With his humorous repartee Bob quickly established himself as the comedian of the bunch. It was obvious that Mr. Guiney was there to have a good time while hanging with Trista and the gang. His "let the chips fall where they may" came off as much more genuine than any other guy on the show.

Just like crazy, funny Marshall on TV's Alias, many of us waited impatiently for Bob to appear on each Bachelorette show so we could see his latest antics and catch one of his humorous cracks. Bob was definitely not shy. He was so fun loving and engaging you just knew that Trista had to keep him around. Even more impressive, Bob was a man's man who left the show with several new friends.

But in the end, humor lost to poetry and first impressions. We all watched Trista tell the charming, funny and very cute guy good-bye. During his time on the show Bob easily flashed his megawatt smile and cracked jokes with all the guys, while still managing to touch Trista's heart in the process. Bob confessed on camera that he "really felt a connection, a spark" with Trista. It seemed that Ms. Rehn felt it too. After all, she confessed that if she could have, she would have kept Bob as the "fifth bachelor".

Yes, tall, dark and handsome Bob made America laugh and smile while seducing tons of women with his sexy mop of curls (yes, he gives great hair) and beautiful blue eyes. (Above to the side - Trista Rehn facing Bob Guiney with some of the Bachelors - ABC/CRAIG SJODIN - all rights reserved).

He also showed a sincere, kind and intelligent side. When the number of eligible bachelors shrunk to just four, Bob took his elimination with incredible class and good grace. No sour grapes from this genuine man's man.

Everyone has their opinion about Bob. Some loved him and others didn't. Some thought he was right for Trista and the most genuine of the guys. Others had their own favorites, naturally.

Never Make Assumptions

So why did Bob get the boot? Was it because he was geographically undesirable or he had been divorced or maybe he just didn't have enough firepower to totally and complete sweep Trista off her feet.

I have to remind myself that all the viewers, fans and critics of The Bachelorette are making judgments about people based on a TV show. How do we know what really happened during the show and what ABC edited out from the original tapings? Certainly the show is designed to drive the ratings up, up and away. Which means that what we see on the show may have no bearing on what would happen in a different, non-televised setting.

Its just not fair to make assumptions about any of the people on the show. The challenge with watching reality TV is trying to determine what the motives are behind everyone's participation. We don't really know Trista, even though we may feel that we do. How can we possibly know who she really likes or has chemistry with? We just can't.

So what if Trista had met Bob while he was performing with his band (Fat Amy)? Or what if Bob was more geographically attractive, living in sunny California rather than frozen Michigan? What if, what if.....we could go on forever.

The only thing we can count on is how we personally react to the various individuals. Both of the previous Bachelor shows had viewer sweethearts. Shannon and Trista (Shannon (L) and Trista (R) shown above & to the side - ABC/CRAIG SJODIN - all rights reserved) were big favorites from the first Bachelor with Gwen and Brooke stealing many hearts on the second show.

One thing is clear, many people fell in love with the warmly engaging Bob. He wins the MDDB (Most Desirable Dumped Bachelor) award for the first Bachelorette series. Yes, he appears to be the perfect package of brains, brawn and musical talent, but maybe he's a hummer or bites his nails or uses cheap hair care products. OK. Probably not, but it is only fair to consider all the possibilities.

Summary

Although we all know that the show is long over and we are seeing pre-recorded tapings, Bob appeared live on several talk shows to share his Bachelorette experiences. Displaying what really appears to be his true colors, Bob is always positive, upbeat and very complimentary of Ms. Rehn and the rest of the guys. (Photo of Bob Guiney - ABC/CRAIG SJODIN - all rights reserved)

Maybe the Fates will be kind to Bob, like they were to Trista, and reward him for his good sportmanship and spontaneous comedy on the show. After all, Bob showed tremendous grace and humor while toughing it through the goofy group dates with a bunch of other guys. Yes, we know, they had beer, but please. Group dates? ABC would be very wise to look at Bob as a potential next Tim Allen or Drew Carey, or even one of their next Bachelors.

So what about Bob? He was hands down my favorite. A great sense of humor ranks right up there in my top 2 most attractive qualities. I can even overlook bad hair if someone can make me laugh. No question.

I predict that we will all hear a lot more about this cool dude for some time to come. Maybe long after no one even remembers Trista Rehn. To loosely use the words of Bob....."Trista's loss is some lucky bachelorette's future gain."

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