In case you were really rooting for DeAnna Pappas to pick Jason Mesnick instead of her eventual chosen suitor, Jesse Csincsak, you are in luck. Jason will be the new bachelor on ABC’s The Bachelor!

I also think this will be appealing because Mesnick is a single dad - he has a three-year-old son Ty, so it will be interesting to see if that plays a role in the show at all. The new bachelorettes better like kids! But they may film the show in Seattle so they don’t disrupt Ty’s schedule too much.

Alas, the 13th season of the Bachelor won’t begin airing until January 2009. But if you want a shot at being one of the bachelorettes, you can apply to casting now!

And a word on DeAnna and Jesse, they have a wedding date currently set for May 9, 2009.

You can’t blame ABC for wanting to spice things up for the dismal finale last season which saw Brad flake out and chose neither girl at the end of the show (sheesh!) And while we have a brand new Bachelor - a British hottie this time - Bachelor Matt Grant, ABC is trying top up the notch of drama a bit… by holding the rose ceremonies between midnight at 5am.

Now, I have no idea if this means he will be waking them up in their beds to give them their rose, or if they are going to be making the bachelorettes stay up late enough that they will be either (a) drunk (b) passed out - from alcohol or exhaustion hehe, or (c) first class bitches from sleep deprivation. But looks like we will be getting tears, drama and hopefully some good catfights.

Now, you know Chris will be saying “the most shocking and/or dramatic rose ceremony ever” so let’s hope the Bachelorettes and Bachelor Matthew Grant can live up to our expectations!

We have some details on British global financier Matthew Grant who is starring as ABC’s latest Bachelor on the hit reality show. The show premieres on March 17th. They went for an international bachelor this time around, with Matthew from Bishops Stortford. Wonder if they had enough of these lame American bachelors once and for all. You can’t blame ABC after last season’s bachelor Brad Womack flake out!

Matthew - 6ft 5ins tall and blue-eyed - is the youngest of five brothers, all of whom are married. He says he is desperate to settle down.

A family man, Matthew is said to be very close to his siblings and his father Tony, 71, who still lives in the area.

Matthew attended Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge, where he graduated with a BA in Modern History and Politics, and was captain of the university rowing club.

However local women who fancy their chances with Matthew may be disappointed as Matthew says he prefers American women as he finds them “extroverted and gregarious”, adding that his ideal mate will be funny, self-deprecating and outgoing.

And yes ladies, Matt Grant has a hot British accent!

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Now comes word that Brad and Laurel went to Vegas (of all places!) together where they were spotted at Treasure Island being all lovey dovey. What a slime Brad is!

“Brad and Laurel had dinner with two friends at around 8 p.m., and it was very clear that it was a double date,” a witness tells In Touch. “They were gazing at each other, laughing and sitting very close.” After dinner, the pair left the table – and surprised onlookers by going into the same bathroom! “Laurel was giggling and pulled Brad in before closing the door,” says the witness.

The magazine claims that Brad’s romantic reunion with Laurel, the owner of Peach Body Boutique in Westlake, Texas, doesn’t come as a total shock. Although Brad denied online rumors that he was texting Laurel and begging her to take him back throughout the taping of the ABC reality show (“I didn’t even have a phone during filming; the only people I talked to were my mother and brother,” he told In Touch on November 21), he also added, “I think Laurel’s amazing, but we’re definitely not back together.”

Now, I totally understand that he has to get on with his life, but it certainly does nothing to help public opinion of him that he is back with the chick he denied he would ever get back with!

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You better not be hoping for more 90 minute episodes of The Bachelor for its 12th season hosted by Chris “the most dramatic rose ceremony ever” Harrison, because all the episodes - even the season premiere - will only be one hour episodes. It used to run following the 90-minute episodes of Dancing with the Stars, but this time around Samantha Who? with Christina Applegate will air between Dancing with the Stars and The Bachelor.

The first episode will air on Monday, March 17th at 10pm. No word yet on who the Bachelor, or any of the Bachelorettes, will be.

The Bachelorette has been on hiatus for quite some time now, but now comes word that ABC was trying to convince Paris Hilton to be the next Bachelorette! And you know, I think she would make a pretty fun bachelorette… to watch that is! It could be amusing on so many levels.

The Simple Life star was recently rumored to be the single lady who gets to choose her ideal man on the show, but Hilton insists she’d never consider such an offer.

She says, “I don’t usually like the guys that would want to be on that kind of show.”

Of course, she could be the Bachelorette but the producers are trying to play down the chance it is Paris Hilton since that could attract a whole wrong kind of potential bachelor!

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According to National Ledger, the real reason that Mary Delgado punched her Bachelor Byron Velvick is because during the taping of the After the Final Rose episode, in which both Byron and Mary appeared on to show that sometimes these hookups really work out, Byron shook his head to say no when someone asked if he should marry her. Mary, who said she was ready to marry him to the same question, didn’t see Byron shake his head, as she had her head turned slightly away to answer the question. But when the episode aired, she freaked out when she saw what he did (understandably, since they had agreed to Mary next November!) and ended up punching him, splitting his lip.

Wow. Reality television at its best. But seriously, he’s an ass for doing in on national television and having the entire viewing audience laugh at her.

It certainly takes a certain kind of man to call the cops after getting punched by his girlfriend… and when you know it will make national headlines, it makes it even more fun for the rest of us watching the whole thing spin out!

As everyone watched the second Bachelor Golden Couple Byron Velvick and Mary Delgado profess their undying love to each other on The Bachelor: After the Final Rose, things were getting heated up enough between the two that Mary punched Byron and get arrested for domestic battery. Not surprisingly, she was found under the influence of alcohol.

Wonder what this means about the planned wedding next November? And I guess this arrest throws away any chance they had of being featured on a Bachelor wedding episode ala Trista and Ryan!

There is a ton of speculation over who Brad is choosing to give the final rose to, but most seems to point that the one in the end will be Jenni. A teaser, however, is prompting “A dramatic last-minute decision makes for one of the most shocking finales in Bachelor history.”

The promo video…

And a special sneak peak ABC released of the season finale:

And a longer teaser video from the end of the Women Tell All episode.

Could Brad have asked Jenni to marry him and she turns him down? That would definitely be a first! Who do you pick and who do you think Brad will chose? Comment now!

We are down the final two, and realtor Bettina Bell was the unlucky bachelorette to get cut by Bachelor Brad Womack. She just opened up a bit too late to get to the final two. And like always, Bettina just didn’t see it coming, especially since she took the Fantasy Suite card, along with Jenni and DeAnna. So one has to wonder… is Brad such a ladies man that he slept with all three? Hmmm….

That leaves Jenni Croft (Phoenix Suns dancer) and DeAnna Pappas (realtor) as the final two left…

And don’t forget, The Bachelor: The Women Tell All airs next Monday, November 12th as all the scorned bachelorettes get revenge… er, tell their side of the story. And the finale is set for the following week, November 19th.

Guess that Sheena really doesn’t think that Brad Womack was the man of her dreams after all, since she has already hooked up with a new man (which coincidentally, is against the Bachelor rules she agreed to when she signed up). And not only that, she is headed off to Hawaii with her boy toy as soon as she finishes taping the traditional Women Tell All episode in a couple of weeks.

The 23-year-old graduate of Northgate High School was eliminated from ABC’s reality smoochfest in Monday night’s episode after bachelor Brad Womack handed roses to three other finalists, but bid her farewell.

Millions of television viewers watched as Stewart broke down in the episode-ending limo ride. “My heart feels like it got ripped in half — like it got stepped on,” she said. “… I loved everything about him.”

That scene, however, was shot in mid-August and Stewart insists she’s now so over the Texas bar-owner. So over him, in fact, that she hooked up with a new boyfriend, with whom she plans a trip to Maui shortly after shooting a “Tell-All” special for “The Bachelor” later this week.

“He’s really an amazing guy, and it happened so randomly,” she said during a phone interview on Tuesday. “It makes you believe that everything really does happen for a reason.”

Still, Stewart said her feelings for Womack were “real at the time,” and she’s not embarrassed at all that America saw her lose it over the man touted as “the sexiest bachelor ever.”

You can read the whole interview here.

I don’t know about you, but I sure think her mom had a big role in why Sheena didn’t get a rose at the last rose ceremony!

The Bachelor Andrew Firestone, who appeared on the show in 2003, is engaged once again. And for all you fairy tale lovers, no, it isn’t to former Bachelorette Jen Schefft. But it is with an actress! The lucky lady is Ivana Bozilovic, a thirty year old model-turned-actress.

Ivana has appeared in Wedding Crashers and National lampoon’s Van Wilder. And yep, Andrew is still managing the wineries.

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We can add another Bachelor couple to the has-been list, this time Jerry O’Connell’s brother Charlie O’Connell who picked Sarah Brice in the final rose ceremony of his Bachelor run. The split apparently came a few months ago, but of course gets announced a few days after the new season of The Bachelor starts!

“We split a few months ago — it was a clean breakup, nothing out of control,” Sarah told the mag. “I definitely thought I’d spend the rest of my life with him — I think we both did — but there were some things between us that we couldn’t resolve.” Maybe the fact that they met on a TV show?!

Sarah says she’s still “best friends” with the Charlie, who “starred” in “Dude, Where’s My Car?” and added, “We still love each other a lot.”

And in case you were wondering who’ll get the couple’s dog, Lucy, sleep tight. Sarah’s keeping her.

I admit, I watched this run of the Bachelor, and while I love Charlie’s brother, I just thought Charlie was too much of a doofus, who was much more interest in the girl’s, uh, assets, than in anything above the neck.

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Like we didn’t see this one coming! Lieutenant Andy Baldwin & Tessa Horst, season eleven’s final couple on the Bachelor, have cancelled their engagement, although they claim they are still “together. She was supposed to move to Hawaii this month to move in with her Officer & a Gentleman, but Baldwin has told In Touch Weekly, “When the fantasy wore off and the reality set in, we both realized we weren’t ready to be engaged. We’re taking things much slower.”

Not many people break engagements but still stay “together” so you can pretty much stick a fork in this couple and call it done.

An interesting little tidbit about the Bachelor series, apparently they are running into the problem of significant numbers of women being disqualified from appearing on the show because of sexually transmitted diseases, particularly herpes.

A show insider tells the National Enquirer, “Some of the best looking women have been told recently that they didn’t pass the medical portion of the test due to herpes.”

That said, I do think it is a good thing they are testing these women… would be pretty embarassing to have something like herpes being brought into the show - in more ways than one! - because one of the bachelorettes has it!

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Looks like Hollywood came calling… Jessie Palmer has officially retired from professional football after a lacklustre career that was most notable as his turn on ABC’s Bachelor. Jessie was ABC’s fifth Bachelor, which aired the spring of 2004. He chose Jessica Bowlin for the final rose, but axed the traditional engagement ring for a one-way plane ticket (Ouch!) Not surprisingly, they announced their split shortly after the final rose ceremony. His football career was going just as well!

Jesse Palmer’s charming personality and good looks may have helped him on The Bachelor’s fifth season but it did nothing for his football career, which reportedly came to an end Thursday.

The 28-year-old quarterback had stints with the NFL’s New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers, as well as more recently with the Canadian Football League’s Montreal Alouettes, before walking away from the game this week to pursue a broadcasting career back in the States, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) reported Thursday.

Similar to the five seasons he spent as a backup quarterback with the Giants and 49ers in the NFL, Palmer never got the chance to play during his brief CFL career, as he spent the second half of last season on the Alouettes’ developmental roster. Jim Popp, the team’s coach and general manager, was unwavering in his decision to stick with veteran quarterback Anthony Calvillo for the upcoming CFL season, but added that didn’t effect Palmer’s decision to retire, according to the CBC.

Interestingly enough, after the Bachelor aired, Jesse lost his spot as backup quarterback to Tim Hasselbeck… yep, the very husband of former Survivor Elisabeth (Filarski) Hasselbeck and current co-host of The View… and was cut from the team.

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Looks like this season’s Bachelor might have really found true love, as Andy Baldwin and his chosen bachelorette Tessa are still together and vacationing in Hawaii (where Andy is stationed with the navy) after doing all the requisite media this past week for ABC.

Returning to Hawaii with his new fiancee, “The Bachelor” Andy Baldwin said keeping his engagement to Tessa Horst a secret for two months was excruciating.

Baldwin and Horst went to the islands Friday after a week of media appearances following the ABC show’s finale, which was aired Monday but filmed two months ago. The couple were welcomed by about 100 fans at a press conference at the Sheraton Moana Surfrider on Waikiki Beach.

Baldwin recalled people driving by him on the freeway, yelling “Pick Tessa!” He said he wanted to respond, “I already did.”

Baldwin, a 30-year-old doctor, Navy diver and triathlete, said he has no plans of parlaying his newfound stardom into a modeling or acting career. He still has a year left at Pearl Harbor and is considering another tour of duty.

“Fact of the matter is, I’m committed to the Navy,” he said.

A wedding date has not been set, but Baldwin says he envisions one with a Hawaiian and Navy flair, including tropical flowers and an arch of swords ceremony.

It will be interesting to see how long they will last… and if she is definitely moving to Hawaii to be closer to her intended.

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Stop reading if you don’t want to be spoiled!

Apparently Tessa, who had a few too many drinks while chatting with a New York Post reporter, revealed that she receives the final rose and proposal… but she doesn’t accept. But she does say they are still together.

Then ABC released a video montage which included a scene from the final rose ceremony showing Tessa and Andy embracing… Ooops!

But in a subsequent interview with Andy, his rep jumped in to reveal that he proposes, is currently engaged, and the recipient of his proposal says yes… but notice it’s not clear if she says yes during the ceremony, or at a later date (remember the show was taped months ago).

End result? My money is on Tessa being the one to receive the final rose.

Rumor has it that Andy Baldwin does get engaged on tonight’s finale, which pits Bevin and Tessa against each other vying for Andy’s heart and soul… and yes, a diamond engagement ring. So does this mean we won’t get lame promises of a promise ring - or worse, plane tickets to visit?

From the official ABC press release:

Andy returns to his childhood home of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, to share his experience of a lifetime with his family and asks them for guidance in making one of the most difficult decisions of his life - choosing between the two remaining women. Tessa joins Andy and his family for lunch, and when she leaves, Bevin arrives to join the family for dinner. Which woman will his family think is best suited for their son? Then, with time running out, Andy returns to Oahu, Hawaii for his final two dates.

On his first tryst, the Bachelor swoops Bevin away on a helicopter ride over the scenic coast with hiking and picnicking in the mountains. Andy takes Tessa horseback riding on the beach before they swim and canoodle in the ocean. After each woman professes her love in a last attempt to capture his heart, Andy delivers a devastating rejection. A tearful and heartbroken bachelorette must walk away from the man with whom she wanted to spend the rest of her life.

At long last, in a deeply romantic scene that could literally jump off of a movie screen, the officer and gentleman gives out his final rose and an engagement ring with a life-changing proposal to the woman who has captured his heart.

So any guesses? We have the spoiler of the supposed chosen one blabbing to a reporter after a few too many drinks!

Looks like the US Navy wanted to keep its distance from the ABC reality dating show The Bachelor by refusing to cooperate with filming of the show, or allow any shots to be filmed (with a few exceptions) of Andy in his naval uniform. This meant that there could not be any official navy sites used as backdrops.

Producers of the ABC reality series “The Bachelor” - which this season featured a Pearl Harbor-based Navy lieutenant - had to improvise to create a naval backdrop for the show.

That’s because they Navy chose not to cooperate with the production showing Lieutenant Andy Baldwin selecting his life partner from 25 female contestants.

Camera crews were not allowed to film any scenes on naval bases, nor film Baldwin in uniform, aside from some limited exceptions.

But you may remember the dates with Andy and two bachelorettes on the aircraft carrier? Turns out that aircraft carrier is now a tourist attraction and was previously decommissioned by the Navy.

The USS Midway was the site of 1 improvised scene. Baldwin and two women hoping to become his girlfriend ate dinner on the aircraft carrier after Baldwin gave them a tour of the vessel.

But the Midway is not part of the Navy’s’ fleet anymore - it is a retired ship that has been turned into a museum moored at a city pier in San Diego.

I am guessing they were a little leery about the potential publicity this would bring!

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