Bachelor Recap: Ali Hands in Her Notice & Leaves
Posted by ERIN in The BachelorFebruary 9th, 2010, 11:27 AM
My-lanta! After weeks of pretending I don’t care about The Bachelor, I give up: I am officially addicted to this season of The Bachelor: On the Wings of Love (seriously, that’s the subtitle).
Last night, Bachelor Jake Pavelka, paid a hometown visit to the families of the remaining four ladies: Gia, Ali, Tenley and Vienna. What did we learn? 1) That I’m a sentimental sap because I had a knot in my throat every time the parents/daughters choked up, and 2) that Jake is so genuine and suave that he could probably charm the tattered pants off of The Hulk.
First, Jake visits New York (”concrete jungle where dreams are maaade of!“), home of Ellen Pompeo/Meredith Grey lisp-a-like and swimsuit model, Gia. Gia’s extremely close to her mom who is, like the rest of her family, protective over her little girl’s heart. During a dinner of pasta and vino, Jake gets grilled by Gia’s mama and her very gel-haired brother (love the NY accents, btw): Gia’s had her heart broken and they’re wary of his intentions - can Jake convince them that he’s a good guy?
Duh, of course! Jake is his usual honest self, peppering the conversation with heavy flattery of how Gia’s “different from all of the other girls” (like, not blonde?) and admitting that he’s really into her when she opens up. Mamma mia, it’s enough for Gia’s mom who gives her approval and then lets her baby girl know that her mother’s intuition senses that Jake’s heart is in the right place and that he’s truly falling for her. The night ends with the couple parking it on a stoop and Jake awkwardly asking, “Have you ever kissed on a stoop before?” Gia: “No, actually I never ha–” Jake: “Wanna change that? *goes in for the kill*” Very teen-aged boy of him, but I like Gia, so whatevs - a girl’s gotta get hers.
You could pretty much replay the above scenario 3 more times to get the gist of how the other ladies’ families react to Jake. All of the remaining visits followed the same script:
- giddy hug & kiss-filled reunion with Ali/Tenley/Vienna on their home turf in Massachusetts/Oregon/Florida
- some intimate bonding time at: her dead grandmother’s house/her dance studio/a river boat ride
- Meet initially suspicious family members
- Jake humors a stern talking to from the most protective parent
- Jake reassures them that he cares about their daughter and will make a fine hubby
- Family members admit that, “This is the happiest we’ve ever seen [daughter's name]!”
- Family gives Jake their blessing to continue and marry their daughter
- Makeout session
And bing, bang, boom - just a Rose Ceremony and the episode’s done! *record scraaaatch* Or is it? Naw way!
Just when you thought each of these ladies had a solid chance at Jake’s heart and ring, Ali swings by his hotel room to tearfully deliver some bad news: she’s been gone from work too long and has to choose between staying on The Bachelor or keeping her job. *dramatic musiiiiiic!*

Like any sensible lady, she tries to push Jake into giving her a sign: can he guarantee that she will win if she drops her job for the show? Jake can only tell her that he would be devastated if she left, but makes no promises and has to surrender to the fact that her job is equally important - the final decision has to be hers. Ouch, no help there!
I loved this bit o’ real-life, outside-of-the-manufactured-reality-show drama. Ali has been very catty and passive-aggressive all season, but when it comes down to it, she’s an independent lady in San Francisco and has incredible, palpable chemistry with Jake. However, she’s also made it clear that she loooooves her job (allegedly an Advertising Account Manager at Facebook - helloooo!), and let’s not forget the economic climate we’re in! You’re lucky to have a steady job, especially one that you love.
A semi-tough call for the audience, but Ali is in complete turmoil over the decision. During the Rose Ceremony, Ali nervously asks to visit Jake and cries on his lap while weighing the options: keep her job or take a chance on Happily Ever After with the best catch of her life?
In the end, she makes (in my opinion) the right choice: Ali is heartbroken, but decides she must leave the show and keep her job. Poor Jake’s puppy face crumbles and as he sees her out, it looks like someone punched him in the gut. Welcome to the 21st century, Jake. Sisters are doin’ it for themselves and gotta bring home the bacon!
After saying goodbye, shedding a few tears and collecting himself, Jake turns on a smile and greets the other 3 women (whose calves must be killing from standing and waiting in heels for that long). No one needs to be eliminated since Ali peaced on out and an overall sense of relief washes over the girls to see one of the biggest threats gone. Jake lightens to mood to announce that next week, they’re heading to SAINT LUCIA! Beaches, bikinis, sunshine, hot tub makeouts…it’s going to be sexy reality TV gold.
Now that Ali’s gone (or is she? We see a clip of her calling Jake while he’s in St. Lucia next week), which lady will get the final rose? Though Gia’s my fave, my bet is on Tenley, who seems like the sort of sweet, gentle, small-town gal that will be a good match for our pilot.
And what about Ali? Do you think she made the right choice in leaving the Final Three (she wasn’t going to get cut last night) for her job? Let’s put it to a vote:
You can watch last night’s The Bachelor episode online right now! Click here to see the full episode!
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