CW: This episode will contain discussion of domestic abuse. Please listen with care. The fourth season of "The Ultimatum: Marry Or Move On" has limped to a miserable conclusion – and we're finally caught up and ready to talk about it! This week, Bachelor in Retrospect cohosts Carrie Rosen and Annemarie Navar-Gill joined me to discuss the depressing finale, which saw all four of the remaining couples get engaged, and the wretched reunion. From the outset, this season of "The Ultimatum" had a darker aura than seasons past. During the dating period, men openly leered at the new women they were meeting, and couples berated each other verbally and via clandestine note. As the episodes went on, the toxic behavior escalated, especially between Hayley, Blake, Ashley and Killian. Castmembers openly swapped alarming conspiracy theories, weaponized therapy buzzwords to win arguments, and relied on ChatGPT for relationship advice. It all culminated in a car crash of a finale and reunion. First, four couples who should all have broken up instead got engaged on TV. Then, in the reunion, the psychological terrorism only escalated, with Nick and Vanessa Lachey standing by ineffectually as rampant emotional abuse (largely from the men) was given a massive platform. By the time the reunion taped this summer, a year after filming wrapped, three of the five engaged couples had split up (as had Alex and Jebin, the only couple to leave without a proposal). The two happily engaged couples beamed from their loveseats, sharing wedding plans and smartphone video footage of their past year; David and Casey even got Nick Lachey to legally marry them onstage in anticipation of their Amalfi Coast nuptials in September. But all four of the other couples were haunted by claims of abusive treatment. Jebin, unprompted, admitted to having written Alex an even nastier note than the one she read aloud on camera. Jessica Grace accused Edris of having subjected her to "humiliation rituals" during the end of their relationship, a claim he then gave credence to by trying to humiliate her onstage. Ashley described Killian smashing her phone during one altercation, and he blamed her for "triggering" him. And Blake and Hayley lobbed allegations back and forth, each claiming the other got violent with them. Alarmingly, Jessica Grace and Edris have since gotten back together, and in a joint appearance on the Viall Files, she took blame for trying to "vilify" Edris on the reunion and tried to rationalize his nasty behavior. Ashley and Hayley have become friends, as have Killian and Blake, and all of them are now making the podcast rounds, getting their stories on the record. They have all alleged emotional and physical abuse, though Ashley, Hayley, and Blake have given the most specific and detailed accounts. (Since we taped this episode, Jebin has leaked a recording he made of Hayley admitting to slapping Blake during their relationship, and she has released a statement confirming that this happened.) The season has devolved entirely into a melodrama that mines entertainment out of abuse. That these ex-couples were even put onstage together for the reunion, given the gravity of the accusations they've made – and the fact that Blake was arrested for assault following an altercation with Hayley last year, though charges were dismissed – is shockingly irresponsible. In this episode, we discuss each proposal, each beat of the horrific reunion, the Netflix reality dating show aesthetic and political slant, the Lacheys' reunion performance, production's culpability, and what made this season of "The Ultimatum" so dark (and so much worse than "The Ultimatum: Queer Love," RIP). We focused primarily on what took place onscreen, though we touch on some of the post-show media interviews. In some relationships, the truth of what happened remains murky. One truth is clear: production made choice after choice to put their cast in unsafe situations for the sake of explosive TV. Share Rich TextIf you liked reading this, click the ❤️ button on this post so more people can discover it on Patreon! Give us feedback or suggest a topic for the pod • Subscribe • Request a free subscription
