It’s our final roundup of recaps for the season. Welcome! If you are dying to hear what we had to say about the finale, please check out our Bachelor Season 16 finale-related articles:
Now, let’s see what some of your favorite bloggers, fans and former contestants had to say:
From Bachelor Ben Flajnik: “Courtney. Oh, Courtney. What a road it has been for the two of us – especially her. It was really difficult watching this season and hearing all the negativity about her. I saw a much different side to her and that is the side I fell in love with.
I will admit, over the course of the season airing, I had my doubts about the woman I proposed to. I wouldn’t have done anything differently, but I was scared that maybe I didn’t know her as well as I thought I did. I found myself shocked at some of the comments she made.
At one point the pressure became too much and I told her I needed a break. Courtney was cool enough to allow me time to clear my head. I became worried about staying in a relationship that had so much negativity surrounding it, so I eventually called off the engagement and we broke up.
Fortunately, that breakup didn’t last long. The love I feel for her, love that I couldn’t deny even amidst all the bad press and lack of public support, brought me back to her.”
Read more from Ben Flajnik on People.com….
From Ali Fedotowsky: “Courtney’s time with his mom and sister was great too. I really believed Courtney when she 
told them how much she cared for Ben. I think we saw a totally different side of her.
I have to tell you guys that I was watching the finale with a couple of girls from Ben’s season (Rachel and Jaclyn) and they both said they really liked Courtney and that she was a sweet girl.
They said that she was always sharing her clothes with the other girls and helping them get ready, so I’m kind of surprised we didn’t see the girls talk about this during the Women Tell All special. Anyway, I’m so glad Ben’s sister didn’t judge Courtney because she was a “model” or because she didn’t get along with the other girls. I respect her for that.
Ben’s last date with Courtney really showed us that they have a great connection. I could totally relate to what Ben was saying to Courtney about feeling at ease since everything was coming to an end. I remember feeling so relieved when I got down to my final two because you actually want it to be all over so you can just be with one person.”
From Marissa May: “Next up…final dates with Ben. It’s this point in the show I wish I had watched it through DVR rather than live so I could fast forward. Laaaaaaame. Creepy date in a suspended gondola, mushy talk from only Lindzi, awkward snow angels, annoying baby talk from Courtney. Ah…but the TV Gods are looking down on us. A love note! Let’s take a deeper look…
So she’s an excessive comma user, pulled out the dad card, wants to name their future children Joe or Forest (if either of those names are related to Ben’s father then that’s sweet…if not…what’s the inside joke to this one??) and still thinks mix CDs are cool.
I was really hoping to find some crazy talk or horrible grammar…but it’s actually kind of sweet. And I’m pretty sure my fingers are starting to disintegrate after typing that.
From Sophienette, a tribute video to the happy (?) new couple:
From Knox McCoy: “Ben’s sister tells Ben the she’s shocked that Courtney is awesome. GUH. UGH. FRUSTRATION NOISE. I think Ben’s sister deserves a key to the city of Smells Like Butt Town. Ben’s sister, you are the worst. Please leave now. You officially have no functional value to any of us anymore.
I actually learned a lesson today; you can’t judge a book by it’s cover
And I learned that your family is THE WORST at evaluating people. And you’re just NOW learning the book by it’s cover lesson? This explains why you and your brother suck the life out of every conversation.
CLEARLY, Courtney is going to be the pick because the only obstacle was that Courtney was SUCH an abortion of a personality that Ben’s family may be like “Uh what?” But since they have the evalutory skills of a horny dog in a room full of legs, there seems to be nothing barring Ben from making Courtney his pick. But there’s still like an hour left of this show and suddenly I’m inconsolable.
Ben talks with his family and it’s basically the most boring thing ever. It’s like hearing Meryl Streep talk about handbags with Khloe Kardashian. Just awful. But let’s talk about this: Do you realize that we haven’t heard about Ben’s dad yet? I fully expected a summit atop the Matterhorn and Ben tearfully asking his dad, “WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE ME DO, DAD? (SOBBING NOISE)”
Oh wait. Nevermind. Ben’s sister seriously brings up the D-A-D. And his mom tries to do an impression of Ben’s dad? I don’t know. It gets weird.”
From Dana Weiss (aka Possessionista): “While no one but Us Weekly and anyone with a pulse can predict the final outcome of this season’s Bachelor, I was able to eke out one spoiler from The Bachelor’s costume designer Cary Fetman.
After poring over racks of clothes, the final two each chose a dramatic (and dark!) gown to win (or lose) Ben’s final rose.
From Lindsay Robertson or Vulture.com: “Here’s what I think Courtney’s producer-mapped narrative was: Beautiful model and sometime C-list celebrity dater goes on The Bachelor to get famous. She surveys her competition and sees that she’s going to get the most screen time by being creatively rude to the other women, and by breaking the “rules” of the show to get the most time with Ben. (Skinny-dipping, etc. Remember, the producers were the ones who let her do that.)
Courtney begins by testing the waters with lame Charlie Sheen quotes (“winning!”); when that works, she goes all out, antagonizing the other women while being funnier than any other Bachelor contestant in history. (Rubbing the rose on her face, interrupting another woman’s date by stripping down to a bikini in the immediate background, telling another contestant who just announced Courtney’s upcoming date with Ben, “How did that taste coming out of your mouth?”) And then she committed a sin equivalent on this show to calling the Pope fallible at Christmas mass: She suggested Ben wasn’t the only man on Earth! At a rose ceremony, no less. Burn her at the stake!
Basically, Courtney Robertson, unlike other Bachelor villains who were less funny and more crazy, made a mockery of the entire proceedings. She acted like this show was a ridiculous charade instead of a solemn rite of courtship and passage into adulthood. And she was absolutely right to call The Bachelor on its bullshit. The harsh response to Courtney was not because she was cruel to the other girls (who will need a thicker skin in any profession if hearing a side-ponytail is “not a good look” sends them into hysterics and demands, months later, a national apology).”
From Michael Stagliano: “Courtney arrives and I was surprised that I wasn’t that nervous for her. I was imagining
that I would be holding my breath the whole time, wondering how the HELL she was going to pull herself out of the massive hole she had built… but she was great. She seemed genuinely happy to meet Ben’s family. She appeared honest in describing her feelings…and more importantly I think when Ben and Courtney were together on that mountain, sledding and barbecuing (would we call that barbecue?)
I was certain it was going to be her. Ben looked like he was in love. He couldn’t get enough kisses, and hand holding and physical contact. They were laughing together and giddy, and while it is hard to forget how terrible she was to the other girls the last 9 weeks. Seeing her on the WTA the week before, and hearing her be truly remorseful, and apologize.
I will never ask anything more from someone to diffuse my disliking of them. She really did win me over last week… and seeing her so happy with Ben in that moment during their picnic I was actually happy for her, and Ben.”
Read more from Michael Stagliano at Bachelor.TV….
From Dave Good: “Making fun of [Courtney] or putting her down at this point to me is like picking on a mentally handicap kid or a severely obese person. It is clear she has social disorder that she cannot help. She does not view her words or actions as the rest of us do because in her head what she is doing is not wrong.
I think her apology on stage was fake. She had to force a tear out. I don’t think this is because she is just a cold-hearted woman but because she is not real sure what she is apologizing for. She is only doing this because the people close to her told her she should.
She fits a perfect description of a Sociopath – (a person, as a psychopathic personality, whose behavior is antisocial and who lacks a sense of moral responsibility or social conscience).
Key words in that definition are “lacks a sense of moral responsibility or social conscience.”
Sociopaths have a lack of remorse, shame or guilt. A deep-seated rage, which is split off and repressed. They do not see others around them as people but only as targets and opportunities. Instead of friends, they have victims and accomplices who end up as victims. The end always justifies the means and they let nothing stand in their way. They also have a need for stimulation and living on the edge (skinny dipping), a lack of empathy, and are impulsive.
IF THAT DOES NOT DESCRIBE COURTNEY TO A “T,” MY NAME IS NOT DAVID LEVI GOOD.”
Read more from Dave Good at Bachelor.TV….
From Bachelor host Chris Harrison: “Usually we start the show with the woman who was sent home, but because of the controversy and drama surrounding Ben’s decision and their relationship, we felt like we really needed to get right into it.
Once I did the emotional interviews with Ben, then Courtney, and then the two of them together, it just didn’t make sense to go back and then start talking about Lindzi.
Fortunately, you really got to see everything that happened between Lindzi and Ben and there weren’t a lot of questions left to be answered. I was sorry not to be able to fit her in, but who knows maybe we’ll see her again this summer! More on the announcement of Bachelor Pad 3 a little later.
The interviews with Ben and Courtney at the beginning of the show were very telling of how much these two have struggled since that proposal in Switzerland. Once again, I ask you your feelings on Courtney and if you believe she was sincere in what she had to say.
Do you believe she was there for Ben and truly cares for him? Ben, to me, seemed exhausted and emotionally spent. He admitted he hasn’t exactly been good to Courtney and pretty much abandoned her in her time of need. The two of them did break up in the middle of all of this, and they seemed to be in two different places as we brought them together for the interview.
After talking to them individually I knew they cared about each other but I still wasn’t sure if they were engaged, broken up, were going to break up, or what. Ben was very cautious and guarded with me in talking about Courtney. I got the sense that he has been so beat up he just wasn’t going to really open up, but all of that changed when they were together.
The first segment with them was emotional and a bit rough and maybe even a touch adversarial. I think they both did a good job of speaking their minds, and Courtney did a good job of letting Ben know she felt abandoned.”
Read more from Chris Harrison on EW.com….
From Ashley Spivey at SheKnows.com:
Lindzi’s emerald green cape.
I get it – it was cold at the Matterhorn. Could ABC not get some cute fur (fake of course) coats for the girls to wear? Were there only two capes available and Courtney got to pick first? Did she not even think that her dress and the cape would clash? She looked like a combination of a wizard and Glinda the Good Witch from The Wizard of Oz.
From Jillian Harris: “Having said all of these very insightful things, here are a few more abrasive and catty observations….
1. I majorly disliked Courtney’s dress. Grad 1998 called and wants its grad dress and gloves back.
2. I hope once Courtney gets comfy with Ben the baby voice goes away (mind you I’m not one to talk with my squealing, whiskey voice).
3. I think I need to take Ben’s ma out for a few bevervages- get her to loosen up a bit (although I am sure she was stressed right out selecting her future daughter-in-law). I am very blessed to have a group of wild hooligans as a family – never a dull moment!
4. I follow Ben on twitter, I don’t know him any more than you – and from what I’ve seen for myself he seems like a VERY cool and funny guy. But on the show, not so much… And did I hear Courtney say he had depth? Please tell me this was edited out. Or maybe I missed something.
5. Lastly, the tabloids. I HATE to say it, and I HATE rumors – but speaking from experience, if it smells like shit… there is probably shit. I’m feeling like they’re getting started on a VERY rough start. But guess what, no one is perfect, this show is friggen CRAZY and you lose sight of reality for a bit. Everyone screws up. Hopefully now that we are all done breathing down their backs they can reel themselves back in and give it a real go. I’ll be rooting from the sidelines.”
From Lost Angeles: “Ben’s mother and super-hot and nice and really talented at life sister (sup Julia!) were on the show this week. Barb kind of just stayed out of the way, which was a smart play. Given the success rate of Bachelor relationships, best just to be cordial and hope they forget you were even there.
I only kicked it with Barb once, years ago at a Christmas Party in Arizona (where Ben still doesn’t admit to living, even though Tucson Winemaker doesn’t have the same ring, so I get it). Barb had some holiday punch that was delicious and strong enough that I wasn’t terrified meeting my wife’s wolfpack of friends very early on in my courtship with her.
Ben was drinking beer in the back, Storm Horsing around. It was good times.
Julia on the other hand, as many of you know, was a bridesmaid at my wedding, one of my wife’s best friends and someone I cannot talk to during Bachelor season. I remember driving to a wedding in Sonoma with her and we were grilling her. I said I wouldn’t cover it if Ben was the main guy out of fear I’d say something that caused a rift in their friend group, which I now know to be impossible as they are like a pack of wild freedom fighters. Both her and Ben were like, go ahead, talk some shit. I respected that.
…..
We eventually got to the best part of the Hunger Games. The morning of montage. They drop a gauze filter over everything and splice memories of the “journey” with images of the girls putting on way too much make up and crazy ass gowns. War Horse had a cool dress she stole from the wardrobe closet of The Lion King on Broadway. She had more feathers on her than a honey-covered man in a pillow fight. What the fuck kind of analogy was that?
Still, War Horse won the dress competition because Courtney dressed like the evil girl from a high school prom movie. In fact, one reader pointed me to this picture, which pretty much says it all:
She more than made up for it on After the Final Rose where you saw a crowd of women 10 years older and 50 pounds heavier hate her for rocking a skin tight white dress and looking like a million dollars. No doubt, she was nails in that grab.
Both girls wore capes (hey, it IS the Alps, brah) and Courtney won that battle by a landslide. I kept thinking War Horse was going to meet up with 2 warriors, an elf, a dwarf and 4 hobbits and try to climb the Matterhorn to drop that Neil Lane diamond ring into the flames from whence it came. Fellowship of the Ring indeed.”
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