We don’t think we’ve ever been so blindsided. And that’s really saying something given the drama we’ve seen over the course of a long and less-than-illustrious Bachelor history.
We thought Kirk and Carly were as solid as they come. After all, Kirk showed no signs of worry at last night’s rose ceremony. It wasn’t until the next morning—when only the “serious” couples remained in Paradise—that Kirk made his doubts known and decided to end his five-week blissfest with Carly.
Carly’s reaction was intense, to put it mildly. And this was so unlike any other breakup from this franchise that we were left pretty rattled. The excruciating exchange between the once-couple was hard to watch, and we felt like we were intruding on a very private moment. Kirk was kind of breaking up with all of us because our hearts were breaking right along with Carly’s. We eventually went full-on Ashley I.
But here’s what fans and Carly—and Jade and Tenley—are so upset about. This was completely out-of-the-blue. Earlier in the episode, Carly was telling Kirk he was her person and that she could see herself having his kids. We know that sounds a bit bizarre when you’re talking to someone you’ve only been dating for a little over a month, but this is Paradise. Kirk had every opportunity to step in and tell her things were moving too fast, but he let Carly believe in their future, which he admitted he’d been questioning for the past week.
It’s not cool to lead someone on period—no offense, Jared—but we think Kirkley could’ve made it work outside Paradise if he’d had the guts to slow her down a bit. What we don’t want for this to become is another hate-filled attack toward a guy that told the truth, no matter how late in the game he did so.
We have a combination of excitement and dread for tonight’s After Paradise when the bitter exes are supposed to come face-to-face again for what we’re sure will be a Chris Harrison-prompted showdown. But in the mean time, how about we rejoice in the gloriousness that is Carly’s breakup ballad for Kirk?
And so help us if Janner doesn’t get engaged before this is all over, we are going to be pissed.