I felt so bad for the guys for the classroom date. Only because I’m the worst speller of all time and I would’ve had so much anxiety if I was on that date. Honestly not much can freak me out, but I honestly think I would’ve cried if that was my date back when I was on the show.

Oh my gosh, her one on one with Brandon during the night portion of the group date was super cute, but also so funny because you could tell she wanted him to kiss her. She even grabbed the side of his face. But then he just said those corny lines and they both started laughing. It was awkward but still super super cute!

I was honestly surprised when Jaime got the first one on one date. The person who gets the first one on one date of the season usually always makes it really far on the show. I guess I just kind of thought that it was editing when she was saying she liked him so much the first episode, but she must really like him!

I loooooove Rick! I thought he was so weird the first night with the table/entrée thing. But oh my gosh, the little fill in the blank thing he did for her was so sweet and romantic and I just love them together. Again I did not think after watching the first episode that I would feel this way about him and her but oh my gosh I was sold after tonight‘s episode.

Jamie

Where to begin with Jamie? Even before all the stuff at the cocktail party I was so skeptical about him. \

That said, I absolutely loved their one on one time together, and I felt that when he opened up about his mom it was one of the most honest and raw conversations I’ve ever seen on the show. From any season ever. The way Michelle was able to respond to him just once again shows her level of emotional intelligence. And I am glad he felt safe to open up to her about it. I can’t imagine going through that.

But I was not surprised that Jamie acted the way he did when he heard someone mention that she might’ve known Joe before. But the fact that he told her that he didn’t really care about it but everybody else in the house did was so slimy and cowardly of him. I watch these episodes as screeners sent to me, so I  didn’t get to see the clips for what’s coming up next week on the show, but I can only imagine that Jamie is going to get exposed for what he did. And I hope he does because he doesn’t deserve her.

2nd Group Date

I love watching Michelle and Joe play basketball together on the group date. One of my absolute favorite movies of all time is called Love and Basketball. If you’ve never seen it I highly recommend it. And I’ve had this idealic picture in my mind of a relationship like the one in that movie ever since I was a young girl. So I love that they could potentially be that real life couple!

Although I will say her feelings for him make me the most nervous. He definitely has the most potential to break her heart in this experience. I’m slightly worried about how they talked before all this and he basically ghosted her.

She seems to have a really strong connection with Nayte too! Goodness I can’t believe how many strong connections she has already! I take back what I said in my first blog about feeling like she didn’t have a lot of guys there that were casted for her. She’s got the start of some really great relationships starting and I’m so happy for her!

Scunci Launch!

OK you guys know I can’t finish this post without mentioning that my third hair accessory line with Scunci just launched today! I truly can’t believe that I have a third collection with them and that it’s in 5000 Walgreens stores nationwide. I seriously have to pinch myself about it and it would not be possible without all of you! It would mean so much to me if you would pick something up for yourself, a friend or anybody on your holiday shopping list this year! This line really is perfect for the holidays and I designed it with all different hair types and people in mind! Plus all the pieces are affordable so I’m hoping you can cross a few people off your list with my hair accessory line this holiday season! The link to the entire collection at Walgreens is here. But I’ll add a few photos of some of my favorite pieces below and you can always head to this blog post if you want to see photos of the entire collection and how I style them.

The post The Bachelorette…Class Begins! appeared first on Ali Manno (Fedotowsky).

Tayshia and Jojo

I don’t blame Tayshia at all for waking up anxious and I am so glad that Jojo was there to play Chris Harrison for the week and able to talk to her. She mentioned that is is falling for multiple people and how she doesn’t really know how to juggle that, and I really want to know how those people are. The cast of guys she has left, 12 of them!, has so much potential and I can picture her with a few of them! Last week I asked you guys if you could pick her top 4 or 6 yet and a lot of you had similar answers. I’d love to know your thoughts after this episode! Did your mind change at all? Anyways I am getting ahead of myself here. I’ll get back to that!

Love that they are having Jojo take over for Chris Harrison while he takes his son to college. She is so loved in Bachelor Nation and I think with her personality she will be able to wrangle the guys if needed! It will be interesting to watch her do the rose ceremony since we haven’t had a chance to see that yet.

1-on-1 with Zac

Fantasy Wedding Shoot

We have seen a few wedding styled dates over the years (remember Nick’s season?), but I feel like this is the first that is on a 1-on-1 and not a group date. Correct me if I am wrong! Being that Tayshia has been engaged, this is a very interesting date because you could tell it brought out feelings she probably wasn’t expecting to have on this date. When she said it made her anxious, I am so glad she had someone like Zac on this date since we had seen them have more intimate moments previously. This date was also likely planned while Clare was the Bachelorette, and I could see that date going a lot differently! Couldn’t you?

During the Fantasy Wedding Shoot portion of the date, I felt that their chemistry was so great! I truly love seeing them together. They both were so happy and giddy as she walked up – I mean they both looked absolutely incredible in their outfits! Zac’s cream suite complimented him so well. The entire time watching, I kept thinking that all their outfit changes and scenes for the shoot were so fun! Who wouldn’t love to jump on a trampoline in a big poofy dress?

Dinner

Right off the bat, it was surprising to me that Zac was also married before. I guess that makes sense since the cast is slightly older than normal (many are still in mid-late 20’s). The reaction on her fact made me think that she thought of Brendan in that moment and had a “hmm” moment. Almost as if she was quickly comparing them. That could be totally off-base, but I really thought that, or maybe instead of Brendan she was thinking “oh that’s why we get along”. But there was definitely written on her face!

The more this date continued, the more I can see them together. When she said he has a lot of characteristics of someone she’s always been looking for, it was clear to me that he is going to be in her top. I think I might have said that last week, but now it is solidified for me! Especially with her saying she is falling for him during the ferris wheel portion of the date. Anyone else? I’m thinking top 2.

It was so interesting hearing about his past and how much he has grown as a person in 10 years. He has been through so much that has shaped who he is as a person. Out of the men from this season, it feels like he’s the one that lives his life most intentionally and his actions are thought out. Tayshia has said over and over how all she wants is someone that is open and honest with her, and I think he gave her that and then some. He didn’t hold back even though you could tell it was difficult for him to talk about.

What are your thoughts on this date? I really enjoyed learning more about each of them!

Group Date

This date was so interesting because we were able to see all of the guys in a more vulnerable setting through the art exercises.

Each week I go back and forth on my feelings for Bennett, but this group date just rubbed me the wrong way. It definitely seems more like a game to him now and less about Tayshia as a person and getting to know her.

While many of the art pieces stuck out to me (Brendan’s frame, Ivan’s puzzle, Riley talking about the wedge in his family), Ben topped of this date. And not because he was naked, but because he was open and vulnerable and that’s all she wants to see from them. I’m not sure that she would have left and gotten upset without this moment triggering that. Of course she was thinking about how open all the men were before this moment, but I really think it was the final straw, so to speak. I’d also love to know what he did for his actual art piece since he said something was missing. It seems like this was on the fly since he also ripped his mic off haha!

Ben continuing to open up on the date was exactly what we all needed to see. It’s pretty clear that he is somewhat shy and reserved, and I think opening up on a personal level (more so than just telling her his feelings) is so huge. Him getting naked makes even more sense now because that is what he is most vulnerable about, his eating disorder. Honestly good for him feeling confident enough to do that!

1-on-1 with Eazy

What a fun change of pace for the dates this season! Anyone else jot down the name of the guy that owned the property (William Morgan) to see if it was real? Sad to report, I think the story is false and that he doesn’t exist, BUT that doesn’t mean it didn’t make for a great date.

They had such fun energy together the entire date, even though it felt more like best friends. At one point at the tennis courts when she got scared, she said “love you but gotta go” and ran away. This made me think that she either had some feelings for him or that he was entirely friendzoned.  From the little that we have seen of them this season, there was definitely chemistry, but because we haven’t seen a ton of him I had a feeling he is either a front runner or going home.

Dinner Goodbyes

It was so sad to see Eazy tell her that he felt like he was falling in love with her after such a fun date and then for her to send him home. Given that the other guys were talking about how much “natural chemistry” they saw between Tayshia, I am a little shocked she sent him home this easily – even the guys didn’t see it coming, they probably thought something crazy happened on the date. I mean Noah and Bennett are still there for goodness sakes! My thoughts are that they had a great friendship and she didn’t want to lead him on. Someone mentioned it in an early blog post that on the Bachelor Happy Hour podcast that he said he is now living in Newport Beach, which is where Tayshia is.. so that is interesting? Just a thought.

I also know there are sexual assault allegations against him and there have been since the beginning of the season, but I am not going to get into that. ABC found it inconclusive, and I don’t know enough to speak on it. However I do not think it had anything to do with him going home since this all didn’t come up until July.

Noah/Bennett

No wonder Tayshia is so over this drama and banter! With only 11 guys left now that Eazy was sent home, it is crazy that this sort of childish drama is happening. People can have differing opinions, and yes there is a massive age difference, but this isn’t happening between Noah and any of the other older guys (Zac??). I honestly hope they both just go home so we can move on and focus on her real relationships.

It was frustrating that they cut the episode where they did, I miss rose ceremonies being at the end. I am a firm believer that they should just extend the episode an extra 30 minutes of they can’t fit it all in! Ha! Especially since we started her season so late in the year. Truly wondering how they are going to fit this rest of this in before the supposed finale/ATFR date of December 22nd! That leaves us only 2 more episodes before the finale.

Thanks for coming by!

Thank you so much for coming by week after week to chat with me and read the blog! Let me know all your thoughts on Zac’s date, the drama with Noah/Bennett, and how you think the rest of the season is going to play out!

Before you go, a few things I wanted to mention to you!

First of all, thank you so much for all your support of Ali’s Presets this last week! It has been truly incredible. For Giving Tuesday, we were able to donate $3700 to No Kid Hungry, which is so amazing!

Today is the last day of the Dime sale for 35% off!!!! So if you were overwhelmed on Cyber Monday and this past cyber weekend and didn’t end up shipping, you can still shop the sale today! Ali truly swears by the power patches (I just ordered some!), and both her and I loveeee the eyelash serum! The code is SUPER35 or you should be able to click this link too!

Finally, don’t forget to check out Ali’s blog about all the best toys that her kiddos have or that she is getting Molly and Riley this year! I don’t have kids yet, but I used her list to shop for my cousin’s and a few of my friends kids! Like these magnetic tiles, SO awesome. Not to mention Molly and her play kitchen is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. I’ll add a little snippet from that blog below!

PLAY KITCHEN

Mimi was sooooo excited about getting Molly and Riley a new play kitchen! If you remember, they use to have one but it was pretty unsafe because it could tip over if you pulled too hard. It was cute just wasn’t very durable or high quality(which I didn’t realize until owning it a while). Since Riley was still in the phase of pulling himself up, it wasn’t worth it for us to worry about so we got rid of it. The two options I found are for corners of the room and it seems so much safer since it can be anchored from two sides! Plus, there are so few furniture pieces or toys that fit into corners, that this amazing for a playroom or the corner of a bedroom. How cute is it the Molly is washing her hands and washing the dishes in the photos below. She’s her daddy’s daughter alright. Washing the dishes in the sink even though her kitchen has a dishwasher 

This first option is the one that Molly and Riley picked out when I scrolled through the website for them. It is so darling with the cutest details, like the fabric curtains in the windows! It has so many little features that are truly going to make this so fun. We just got ours in the mail yesterday at Mimi and Papa’s, so here are some photos of when Molly played with it for the first time today! And she is so excited to play in it today and “help” us with dinner!

MAGNETIC TILES

1. MAGNETIC TILES

Wow I cannot believe how affordable these magnetic tiles are for the sale!! Normally when I have seen these sold elsewhere they are about $110 for 100 tiles and it doesn’t come with anything else. Even if these were full price they would be absolutely worth it over all the other kits because it also comes 100 pieces including a carrying case to clean them up in, a car base, a wheel and 100 tiles! I couldn’t be more excited to find this deal – they are only $49 right now! That’s 50% off the normal price and closer to 60+% off from all the other sites I’ve seen. This is why I purchase Walmart toys! It has saved me so much money.”

Thanks for stopping by! Can’t wait to chat! xo, Madi

The post A Wedding + Haunted House – The Bachelorette appeared first on Ali Manno (Fedotowsky).

I loved hearing the conversation between Tayshia and Ivan. In all the years that the Bachelor has been on TV, they have pretty clearly avoided topics like this. Really any sort of controversial topic. Not that it should even be a controversial topic. It shouldn’t! But I love that the show finally decided to shed light on something so important and real and raw. So really I just want to jump in here and I thank ABC for choosing to listen to what is real. That was such a real moment between Tayshia and Ivan when they discussed police brutality and BLM. I will never understand their pain, but I will listen and I will try to be better.

Wishing you all a happy and safe holiday weekend!

Real + Raw Talks on the Bachelorette

Hi everyone, Madi here. Thanks for coming by Ali’s website today and checking out the Bachelorette blog for the week! It has been so fun chatting with all of you and recapping my thoughts each week!

1 on 1 with a Twist

What did you all think of the fact that they had to compete to go on the 1 on 1? I think it was a clever way for the guys to spend a little more time with Tayshia even if they weren’t going on the 1 on 1, especially since some of them go to go on the group date (more on that later). It was so funny to me that they had everyone write a love song and some guys even attempted to play the guitar – almost as if it was an ode to Jed! Ha! 1 hour to write a song and is not that long, and I loved the way that they all went for it the best that they could. Zac C’s rhymes were so cute, the message in Ivan’s song and that he called her up was so romantic, and I could not get over Demar’s Mocha Latte riff! I think that if I had to choose one, I would have gone with Zac’s!

When she chose Ivan for the 1 on 1, it seemed like to me that it was not only for the song but also because she was curious about learning more about him and seeing their potential. She is not wasting any time here and I love that about her! It is so refreshing to see the casual elements of the COVID style 1 on 1 dates, because many of the ones that we see in regular seasons are so over the top that it is hard to picture them as a couple in real life. Not only that, but they get to experience those more down to Earth experiences with each other too!

When Tayshia mentioned that it was so comfortable and wanted it to be fun like in it would be in real life, that really stuck out. Maybe she will really get to know these guys more than the leads in past seasons! From talking with Ali, I know the average time that a lead spends time with the final suitor is close to only 24 hours when you put all the filming from the whole season. That is absolutely crazy to me and again we aren’t there and don’t know how much time she’s spending with them, but just from how much they did on their 1 on 1, I would think that if Ivan makes it to the end it would be well over 24 hours.

Ali touched on it above, but their conversation about Ivan’s family and his brother really had me so emotional. It was one of the most real conversations that I have seen on the show in a long time, and I am SO beyond glad that ABC aired it. As Ali mentioned, there were so many conversations and scenarios like this that have been brushed under the rug and to see this play out with their full raw emotions and feelings was a pivotal moment in this show and looking into the future, hopefully in reality television, ABC and the industry as a whole.

Group Date – Truth or Dare?

First of all, where were the truths in this game! Ha! It was more of a dare or dare. I could not stop laughing from Demar’s butt signature to the orgasm round. Wow I don’t know if I have laughed harder during an episode! The way Tayshia was rolling around on the ground is 100000% what I would do in her shoes, roll around laughing of embarrassment for the guys and for myself! I mean all of America knows somewhat into these guys’ fantasies or sex life! Hahaha! Which dare was your favorite? I thought the one where they had to drink something was pretty nasty, and the fact that from what they showed us they both chose the same drink makes me thing that the others were even worse! I am sure they didn’t anticipate signing up Fear Factor.

I was really impressed with how composed the guys were for eating a Habanero, those babies are HOT!!! Not sure if any of you are spicy eaters, but I love spicy and eating a habanero is not something that I’d ever willingly do! Jumping right over to Bennett’s straight up proposal, wow! He is constantly so surprising. I do have to say that when him and Tayshia were speaking after, something didn’t sit right with me about the way he was talking about ending his engagement. Giving him the benefit of the doubt because he seems to be a good guy, something struck me wrong in that moment. It seemed like something much bigger happened than him deciding he was marrying the wrong person. What’s your take?

The other conversations that we got to see were all so genuine that Bennet’s seemed even more questionable, but again giving him the benefit of the doubt. I love that Riley circled back to their conversation about having 5 kids when he asked about having a family with such a demanding job. It was also so nice seeing Demar open up more about his upbringing coming from a divorced home and how difficult it was for him. We are starting to see a lot more of him and who he is as a person and really see them in the long haul, if not as husband and wife, than as great friends. Finally Zac C, who I have really liked since night 1! Their interactions from the conversation at the fountain making wishes to this conversation in the hot tub that was all about their real life, real fears and real future together made me like him even more! I’m starting to think he’s in her top 3 for sure!! Maybe even top 2.

Adventures of Ben + Ed

This is one of those moments where I think the producer’s absolutely had a roll in how this played out. In my mind it went like this: Ed said he wanted to go over to Tayshia’s room and they said okay, but then Ben said the same thing and they could really see Ben and Tayshia together and not so much Ed that they sent Ed to the wrong room. I’m not sure if Ben ever made it over to her room that night (it didn’t seem like it), but after all that wouldn’t you think he’d have gone to her room eventually if they let him? I’m thinking that they realized she was having a great time with Ben and didn’t want to interrupt it, and I am here for it. I love Ben and think that the last group date was a big misunderstanding. Note to future men on the show, don’t try to wait and be the last guy that talks to her on a group date!

Cocktail Party

Ben started off the night by pulling her aside first and showing up for her, just like he promised her that he would continue to do! I thought this was a sweet gesture and I honestly hope that the guys don’t find out that he had gone over to her room the night before, because the drama just doesn’t seem necessary. They are all getting pretty ample amount of time with her which is great!

It is a bummer that she got to speak with so few guys (and sign Riley’s bf/gf contract) before Noah stirred the pot. It didn’t feel that he was being genuine when he said his major concern was that they were doubting her decisions, to me it felt like he was trying to get an in – and I truly don’t think he thought it was going to blow up like that and that she was going to march back in and cancel the rest of the night. It almost seemed like Noah was trying to insert himself into other conversations she was going to have that might so that she’d be thinking more of him.

From the reactions of the other men, I have to say it is pretty clear that Noah fabricated or convinced himself of something that didn’t happen regarding their thoughts on why he got the rose. Maybe it was an insecurity since not many of them are friendly with him, I’m not sure. But I do think that moving forward, Noah is not going to have an easy time in the house, even if he stays for awhile.

Rose Ceremony

Finally!!! Ending an episode with a rose ceremony. Thank you, ABC, for returning a sense of normalcy! There are so many comments online about how people are missing it, maybe they took a hint! Anyways, was it surprising to anyone else to see Chasen go? I for sure thought they’d have her keep him around a little longer for more of a story line, but maybe they thought they already have enough with Noah! Even though I could tell he wasn’t for her, it was sad to see Kenny go! Maybe we will see him in the future. As far as Joe and Jordan go, it feels like so much of their time was wasted being on the show since they weren’t on many dates, even when some guys went back to back.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

There was lots to unpack this week and I can’t wait to hear some of your thoughts and chat more with you below! Are you starting to gain an idea of her top 4 or even 6 guys from what you’ve seen in these 3 episodes?! I love that we already were able to get a sense of the guys before she came and that she also was able to meet them once they were already comfortable. Truly one of the most real and honest seasons yet!

While you are here, SOOO many of you asked about this sweater that Ali wore the other day in her stories that I wanted to share the link again here. It is the 5th or 6th product linked here in her Amazon Live! Depending if you are on your phone or a computer, you might have to scroll a tiny bit to see it! Make sure you follow her if you haven’t already – if your notifications are turned on for your Amazon app, you will get a notification whenever she goes live!

SWEATER FROM HER AMAZON LIVE AND STORIES

I just went to check how much the sweater is and I cannot believe that it is under $37! And as low as $18 in some of the colors and sizes! Definitely going to be ordering a couple of these, I LOVE the blue she is wearing here and the E Red and C Blue (which is a slightly different style) both look so cute too! They allll look so cute. Let me know if you order one or if you have one already!

SWEATER FROM HER AMAZON LIVE AND STORIES

Have a happy Thanksgiving and stay safe! xo

The post Real + Raw – The Bachelorette appeared first on Ali Manno (Fedotowsky).