Entertainment

Krystal Made People Very Mad On Last Night's 'Bachelor' — But Here's Why Arie's Defending Her

When it comes to being a fan of The Bachelor, one of the most frustrating parts of the experience is wishing that the star could see what we do. But after Arie Luyendyk defended Krystal in a post-show blog entry, it has us wondering if we're all watching the same show. This isn't the first time that there's a disconnect between what contestants show the Bachelor and what they show the other women and the camera. Think about contestants like The Bachelorette Season 12's Chad Johnson, or The Bachelor Season 21's Corinne Olympios. The show's stars don't see what happens in the house, so it can take them a long time to catch on.

And while that can be discouraging to watch, everything usually sorts itself out by the time the star of the show gets to watch the season back, at the very latest. But the race-car-driver-turned-realtor has now seen the Jan. 8 episode and is still going to bat for the feather-ruffling personal trainer, which has us scratching our heads. After all, Krystal got the second one-on-one in the Week Two episode, which meant spending an entire day with the 36-year-old, exploring his hometown, and meeting his family. It also meant coming into the Rose Ceremony with a rose and guaranteed safety until next week.

But not content with that embarrassment of riches on a week when multiple other women didn't even get a date, she was determined to get more time with Arie. During the Cocktail Party she interrupted not one but two women who got either zero or limited time with the Bachelor: one of the Laurens who didn't get to go on a date, and Bibiana. And while she was politely ceded to the first time, Bibiana was truly thunderstruck at Krystal interrupting a second time, and she told her so. It was one of the more heated moments we've seen on The Bachelor of late, and audience support has been resoundingly behind the executive recruiter from Miami.

But the one person you'd expect to have a strong opinion either way, stayed pretty wishy-washy. In his blog post, which he wrote for PEOPLE and published on Tuesday, Arie wrote that while he "totally understand[s] Bibiana's frustrations," he can definitely see the other side:

"I also understand Krystal wanting to get more time. As much as it may have rubbed the girls the wrong way, we had just had an amazing date. and it’s difficult to not be able to spend time with one another."

That's odd, because Becca K. seemed to manage it pretty well. You barely saw her all night. And Seinne also managed to leave room for the women who hadn't gotten time, given that she already had a rose. So if it wasn't hard for either of the two of them, why was it so hard for Krystal? Interrupting two conversations with nothing important to say is suggestive of either insecurity or intentional disrespect of her fellow contestants, neither of which is a particularly compelling trait. And if Arie isn't able to see that even after watching the finished episode, it makes us a little wary of his choices.

He did note that he wished he "had known how much Bibiana was struggling that week," so he could have offered her "a little extra support." But even in saying that, it doesn't seem like he understood Bibiana's point. The former cheerleader wasn't struggling so much as standing up for herself and her fellow contestants.

What made her furious was seeing Krystal step on the toes of women who hadn't gotten any time with Arie, and if seeing that doesn't make him fall head over heels in love with her, then frankly, he doesn't deserve her.