Rachel’s final 3: Peter Kraus plots exit strategy as Eric Bigger tries to come out while Bryan Abasolo digs in for win

Rachel’s final 3: Peter Kraus plots exit strategy as Eric Bigger tries to come out while Bryan Abasolo digs in for win

We are getting dangerously close to The Bachelorette finale on August 7th and we have got quite a funny synergy of situations playing out.

I think Rachel Lindsay’s final 3 are getting earnestly worried that they could win this—at least 2 of her final 3, Eric Bigger and Peter Kraus.

I’m studying for a structural exam right now so I can’t help but see this situation as a force diagram. We have a number of forces with varying magnitudes and trajectories happening here.

I do think Bryan Abasolo, 37, genuinely wants to win, although I think he gets ahead of himself in relationships so despite the ‘magnitude’ of his feelings and intentions for Rachel, I’m not sure he has the follow through. But we will get back to that in a minute.

Then we have Peter Kraus, 31, who appears to be fervently working on an exit strategy.

And Eric Bigger who is invested in the idea of a future with Rachel, but is simultaneously trying to come to grips with his sexuality.

Peter

So lets start with Peter. On his Hometown in Madison, Wisconsin he made sure to let his mom, his friends, and Rachel know that he does not think he will be willing to propose in a few weeks.

Peter has been strategizing to become The Bachelor since he was in High School and any serious aspiring Bachelor knows the first step to becoming The Bachelor is going on The Bachelorette and getting dumped in the final 3.

Of course getting dumped is the key. If the contestant walks off because he just isn’t feelin’ it, his chances at being the lead greatly diminish.

But Rachel appears to be genuinely in to Peter and not ready to let him go.

Just prior to meeting her family, Peter told Rachel, “You do mean the world to me… I am falling in love with you.” Rachel responded, “I’m so happy to hear you say that. And I’m falling in love with you, too.”

But on Monday Peter spoke to Rachel’s mom Kathy Lindsay and said, “I don’t necessarily know that in two weeks that I could feel that certainty.” and since he wasn’t 100% sure he wasn’t going to ask for her permission to marry Rachel.

So really, just in case Rachel did not get the hint from his friends, or his mom, he had to make it clear to Mrs. Lindsay, ‘I’m not the one, I can only pretend to be falling in love with your daughter for so long, please encourage Rachel to cut the chord asap, before my fanbase dwindles and they pick someone from Bachelor in Paradise’.

Essentially Peter is doing everything in his power to appear like a bad match, but the one person who is not getting the message is Rachel! who still insists on getting her sexy time with Kraus before he bails.

In Spain Rachel tells Peter , “I didn’t come this far and put my life on hold… to do this to just have a boyfriend at the end of it. That’s not what I want.”

Peter’s clever response is that he wants to propose only “once,” saying, “My belief in engagement is that engagement is marriage.”

My response to Peter is ‘have you seen the show?’

Rachel replied, “I don’t think of it the same way that you do, but… it is extremely important to me and I only want to do it once, too. If we really want this and we want each other, then somebody’s got to bend.”

But Peter was adamant and not willing to ‘bend’, telling Rachel he did not know “where to go from here.”

Rachel tearfully tells cameras, “I was hopeful for what Peter and I could be and then just like that, I didn’t see it. The best word I can describe what Peter said to me… it’s devastating.”

“For the first time, I’m thinking Peter and I may not work out,” Rachel said.

For the “first time”, Rachel? Really?

It will be interesting to see what he does next week when the Fantasy Suite card question is answered.

Eric

Then there is Eric Bigger, 29. To his credit Eric is really trying to get in to this. And I genuinely think he is oblivious to the fact that he is gay, but…… he is gay.

Eric is an Enneagram 6, the Loyalist, so loyalty, family and tradition are really important to him. Passionate sex and physical chemistry take a back seat. He is looking to be part of a team. He wants safety and security and thinks that a lifetime commitment with a female will fill that void.

As to the compelling evidence that Eric is gay. He’s never been in a serious relationship. He’s never been in love.

Additionally he claimed that his time in the hot tub with Rachel was about ’emotional chemistry, not physical chemistry’.

And despite the best efforts of producers and Rachel’s good looks, and charm he does not as of yet have romantic feelings for her.

It’s pretty obvious. In fact it’s even obvious that Rachel knows the 411. She keeps trying to drag it out of Eric on their one on ones. It’s clear that Rachel isn’t remotely interested in Eric and just kept him on because she likes the challenge of trying to get him to come out on national TV.

Bryan

Ok, so back to Dr. Bryan. Bryan is what my friend Jessica calls a self-startler. He throws himself into a relationship 100% and is totally sincere in his intentions, but he soon realizes what he has committed to and starts to freak out. Recall his story about his last girlfriend that he almost proposed to?

He was ready to buy his ex a ring within weeks. They went on vacation and it was over. Now to his credit he cited the reason for the breakup being his mom, but still, given Rachel’s one on one with Bryan’s mom, I’m not feeling confidant the pattern won’t repeat.

But then again, Bryan is 37-years-old so perhaps he is finally ready for a commitment, but I wouldn’t bet on it.

Bryan is quite cock-sure about his relationship with Rachel–so sure that Rachel is suspicious and concerned. Bryan was really annihilated by Rachel’s family, but didn’t seem remotely phased by it.

While his resilience should have been impressive, instead it sort of back-fired and made him look fake and insincere.

So this synergy of simultaneous forces is kind of funny. Bryan is likely oblivious to the fact that Both Eric and Peter can never win this and aren’t really trying all that hard. Peter is busy trying everything to get Rachel to dump him, as Rachel is clueless to Peter’s complete lack of interest. Eric is completely oblivious to the fact that he doesn’t want to win this….making for a very crazy finale next week!!!