For all of its fairytale date scenes and cheesy montages, The Bachelorette is not actually the place I would look for sound dating advice. The idea of getting engaged to someone after knowing them for only six weeks is absolutely terrifying to me, and love at first sight seems like one hell of a reach. However, after watching last night’s particularly frustrating episode I realized that Rachel has been offering up at least one example of a best practice for dating. I think it’s a lesson we should all adopt in our own dating lives.
Rachel is a lawyer, and her pragmatism often shines through in the decisions she makes about her suitors on this season of the show. She is fair and always goes the extra mile to hear out all parties and get to the bottom of any situation. When DeMario’s estranged lover showed up at a basketball game to blow his cover, Rachel got them both in the same room to talk it out before confirming that he was full of shit. And even then, she heard him out a second time when he showed up at the mansion gates begging for a second chance. But ultimately, hard facts and evidence were not the deciding factors in Rachel’s decision to kick him to the curb. It was her intuition.
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Rachel has followed her instincts quite a bit this season. She knew DeMario was trying to pull wool over her eyes. She trusted that she would never be able to see Fred as anything other than an ill-behaved third grader. Something in her gut told her that Jack is a serial killer was not at all compatible with her, so she refused to give him a rose and sent him home last night. While many people harp on Rachel’s law degree and career as symbols of her intelligence, I think following her intuition is the smartest thing about her.
The way I interpret Maya Angelou famous quote, “When people show you who they are, believe them” is that people don’t always reveal themselves in a literal or physical way. Sometimes they set off those tiny alarms in your head and your heart, and you have to be willing to trust those alarms. When you’re dating someone, this can potentially save you some heartache or even your life.
I hope Rachel keeps this up tonight and lets Lee have it for trying to play both her and Kenny.
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