In Defense Of Peter "I'm Not Ready To Get Engaged" Kraus

Bachelor Nation isn't pleased with Peter Kraus. Peter made it clear that he's not ready for engagement on last night's Bachelorette episode — and the 31-year-old Wisconsin native made a few enemies because of it.

Engagement to him, he explained, is marriage. And he takes that rather seriously. As in, Peter takes engagement seriously enough that nine weeks isn't enough time for him to get down on one knee.

For this, he was vilified. In the Bachelor universe, indecisiveness is downright villainous. The whole show is about making blind decisions — the more gung-ho you seem, the better you fare.

It's not just Twitter and the internet fanbase who's miffed at Peter — Rachel herself was baffled when he said he wasn't ready to get engaged.

"What Peter just said to me is devastating," Rachel said in a confessional immediately following their pre-fantasy date conversation. It was so devastating, in fact, that they might not make it to the fantasy suite. (The episode ended before Peter and Rachel made it to their overnight date, which is irksome in its own right, but a conversation for another time.)

In the context of real life, though, Peter is being sensible. He's known Rachel Lindsay for all of nine weeks, give or take, which is just over 2 months. Dating timelines in 2017 — at least by my loosely-researched opinion — seem to dictate that it takes at least 3 months to solidify a relationship. Moreover, marriage is a commitment. It's not a decision to be taken lightly. In a way, Peter is being more respectful to Rachel by taking his time. It's a bit of a Catch-22: By appearing averse to marriage, he's demonstrating that he's probably very good at it. Marriage takes patience! Marriage takes intense decision-making! Peter's got a good head on his shoulders — it's just not right for reality television.

Which brings us to the idea that the small business owner might be the next Bachelor. Many fans on Twitter think that Peter is being indecisive because he might be the next Bachelor. However, Peter Kraus, for all his brow-furrowing comeliness, is not a good citizen of Bachelor Nation. Last week, he lashed out on Instagram when fans were angry at him for not professing love to Rachel. He seems uncomfortable on camera. He's private, shy, and not all that down for love-at-first-televised-date.

That's no Bachelor. That's an average human.

Peter won't make a good Bachelor for the same reason he would make a good partner. That's the great paradox of Bachelor-ville: Fame and a good relationship don't necessarily go hand in hand, but the franchise gifts contestants with both. Give Peter a break — he's just not made for TV, and that's okay. In fact, that's probably why he's going to win the damn thing.