The Breakdown on The New Bachelor: Pilot Pete

By carolinianweb on October 2, 2019 • ( 0 )

Eden Landgrover
Staff Writer

Following the season 6 finale of ‘Bachelor in Paradise’, host Chris Harrison shared the news that fans of the show had been waiting months for: the reveal of the next Bachelor.

After the inevitable crashing and burning of Hannah Brown’s love-life after she chose Jed at the conclusion of her season, fans had narrowed down their ‘Bachelor’ guesses to three contenders; Tyler Cameron, Mike Johnson and Peter Weber. Each had their selling points, and Bachelor Nation couldn’t seem to come to a consensus on which of the three was most deserving.

First we had Tyler Cameron, who was the one that got away. Cameron is a football player and carpenter who loves to dance and seems to have virtually no flaws. Being the obvious best choice for Hannah, ‘The Bachelor’ fans were enraged when Hannah shut down Cameron’s proposal in the season finale to reveal her love for Jed (who is, inarguably, the worst.) But following his heartbreak, Cameron went on to become a tour leader for ABC Food Tours.

As if all of this wasn’t enough, he also spearheaded a Bachelor-themed physical wellness initiative in which he organizes a mass workout/run through a city and invites people to join him on his healthy ‘group date’. He feeds children, he exercises the masses, he builds houses- and is rumored to be dating model Gigi Hadid. An overqualified contender, to say the least.

Next, there was Mike Johnson. Mike was essentially America’s sweetheart from his first weeks on the show, but was sent home before Fantasy Suites in what had to be the most tragic goodbye of the season. Though Mike would have been a perfect choice for the next Bachelor, he appeared on ‘Bachelor in Paradise’ so it was assumed that he was taken out of the running. However, had he been selected, he would have been the first veteran Bachelor, as well as the first Bachelor who was not white. However, Johnson has recently confirmed that he is, “casually dating” Demi Lovato, so it looks like he too has upgraded from the whole ‘The Bachelor’ scene.

Lastly, we have Peter Weber (aka Pilot Pete), the new Bachelor. Peter is cute, comparable to a human teddy bear. Weber is a 27-year-old pilot from California, and honestly he’s just a really good guy. The pros? He loves a good windmill. The cons? He still lives with his parents in his late twenties. Is that a dealbreaker? Potentially, sure, but he is currently taking up residence in (or technically near) the Bachelor Mansion for the second time, this time to film his season of the show.

When Peter came on the show, he was one of the slowest to open up to Hannah because he had just gone through a big breakup. Despite his slow start, he and Hannah quickly had one of the strongest relationships of the season and he seemed just as shocked as America when he was sent home after Fantasy Suites (making him the second runner up). But even horrible heartbreak couldn’t sway his good-guy side as he greeted Hannah at the live finale with a bear hug and a huge grin as if she hadn’t just shattered his whole heart on national television. What a guy.

While other ‘The Bachelorette’ contestants went on to start businesses, travel or date celebrities following their time on the show, Weber remained oddly quiet. As far as Bachelor Nation knew, it was back to business as usual for Pilot Pete. His only posts on social media were of him at work. It was almost a surprise when Chris Harrison announced his name. While Weber’s social promotion of the announcement has been slightly underwhelming, no one is mad at it!

With the exception of the typical few unruly haters, this year’s ‘The Bachelor’ announcement is unique in its ability to unite the often polarized masses of Bachelor nation because everyone just wants Pilot Pete to have a happy ending. Everyone seems to be in complete agreement that Peter deserves to find love. Will this season of ‘The Bachelor’ be the olive branch that we all need? Or will it go down in flames because no woman is deserving of Pilot Pete’s heart?

We all will have to wait until January to intrude on Peter’s love life, but in the meantime Bachelor Nation will have to be content with viciously criticizing the newly released contestants for his season based on their consistently unfortunate headshots. Happy hunting!