Bachelor or Bastard? Jason Infuriates But Doesn't Surprise

The heart wants what the heart wants, as Woody Allen famously said. But that hasn't made anyone less angry at Jason Mesnick.
The Bachelor star's decision to dump Melissa — the woman he proposed to in the season finale, for Molly, the runner-up — elicited this quick assessment from his now-ex fiancée: "You're a bastard."
But is he? Trista Sutter, the only former Bachelor or Bachelorette to marry a contestant from the show — husband Ryan Sutter — seems to be erring on the side of yes.
"How could you go from being engaged to someone to kissing someone else on the couch?" she told MomLogic.com. "He doesn't deserve to walk away scot-free. I mean, what disappointed me as a mom is that he introduced both girls to Ty [his son]. Melissa was around, and now she's gone. What is Ty going to think?"
She says Molly shouldn't put much faith in Jason's words, either: "How can you trust him?" she asked. "I wouldn't trust what he is saying to me. He is obviously fickle. He didn't want to fight for the relationship between he and Melissa. He gave up."
Others, of course, would argue that you aren't doing anyone any favors by flogging a dead relationship. Mesnick told People he would have preferred not to dump the former object of his affections on national TV.
"There were things I needed to tell her in person and I was not allowed to see her. That was part of the deal. I signed up for it in my contract. Your relationship is — good and bad — in front of everybody," Mesnick said. "If I could have, I would have seen Melissa the night before. It killed me. It kills me now."
Bachelor host Chris Harrison isn't talking about Mesnick's conduct, but is defending the show's — and promises many a question will be answered on Tuesday's After the Final Rose part 2, at 10 pm/ET.
To the many, many viewers who believe the fix is in, and that the entire switch was a network-orchestrated ratings ploy, he says this:
"We can't have a show where we only show the good parts and when things turn ugly, as life often does, we stop, pack up our stuff, apologize to the millions watching, and just go home. Jason chose this path. I hope you will come back and watch the show, but if not, thanks for your support and thanks for seven great years together. I'll keep your side of the bed warm in case you decide to come back home."
Perhaps the only person happy with the outcome of the show is Reality Steve, who reported what was going to happen way back when.