Reporter’s Notebook: Ryan P. remains on ‘Bachelorette,’ but no one-on-one time
Ryan Park, a 31-year-old solar energy executive from Corona del Mar, is still in the running to be Ashley Hebert’s husband-to-be on “The Bachelorette,†although he’s never scored a one-on-one date.
The only other guy to not get a one-on-one date — which means they’ve only hung out on group dates with other dudes — is Blake, who was eliminated at the end of last week’s episode.
Not great odds there.
Charming, always smiling and bursting with enthusiasm, Ryan has managed to capture the attention of Ashley long enough to be kept around on their romantic ride through Asia.
He’s now in the running alongside five other men — Ames, Ben F., Constantine, JP and Lucas — all of whom have shared a romantic solo date with the bachelorette. Ryan is still making do stealing Ashley for random five-minute conversations.
Most of the men have had their chance to comment on Ryan’s personality, which they find far from charming.
Blake and Ben F. both think that Ashley has not seen the “real Ryan.†Lucas told Ashley at one point that Ryan was a different person with the men. Blake went as far as to say he didn’t want to stay in the competition if Ryan stayed.
Needless to say, Ryan is trying to catch up.
In the last episode, tensions rose when Ashley revealed that she had been in contact with Bentley, a cast member that bowed out of the season before they left for Asia. He came to Hong Kong, their latest destination, to help her get closure after a difficult goodbye.
Ashley had been warned prior to the show that Bentley had ulterior motives and was not truly interested in falling in love with her. Sadly, she fell for him.
During their meeting in Hong Kong, Bentley couldn’t be straight-forward about how he felt about her, and it seemed that Ashley finally came to terms with it.
While most of the men were very upset with the news — cast member Mickey left the show — Ryan was cool, calm and collected.
Besides JP, one of Ashley’s front-runners, Ryan was one of the only men to take her side and commend her on her honesty. Although his unabashed cheerfulness can border on creepy, Ryan seemed genuine and it showed a side that the men might not be noticing.
Now Ashley and the men head to Taiwan. The sneak peek shows that the Bentley dilemma might not be over just yet.
Will the CdM man make it to the end? Tune to ABC on Mondays at 8 p.m. to find out.