The Bachelorette: Justin's official statement

Justin Rego has posted an official statement about the Bachelorette controversy on his Facebook page.

It reads in part:   

"I would like to say that I was not in a relationship before I went on the show and I am still single now. I went on the show to experience an opportunity with possibilities of meeting the love of my life and creating great friendships that I can cherish for many years to come. As much as people would like to believe that I had no friends on the show and I had nothing but conflict with the other guys in the house, that is totally not the case. I have nothing but positive things to say about ALL the guys, including Kasey, Jonathan (The Weatherman), Craig R. and Craig M. I'm disappointed that the loyal fans of the show (who watch every episode) will never see those friendships ...

"Another thing I do want to comment on are the voice mail messages that were played during my exit from the show on Monday night. I left those messages when I was very confused and I was disgusted to hear messages with such private and personal content! I am quite upset that they were shared with the world just for an amazing scandal. Those messages were actually left after I told producers that I wanted OFF THE SHOW in Iceland....

"The first time I saw a phone that I could use, I took full advantage of that opportunity and called my Mom, who I missed to death. My Mom informed me that I should call Jessica because there was a lot going on back in Toronto and that Jessica was contacted by producers of the show. This news hit me like a ton of bricks, to think that the producers that were saying "trust me I'm your friend" on the show were the same people that were trying to provoke and encourage this scandal to be something it wasn't.

"As everyone that has watched the show this season knows, I suffered a devastating injury when I was wrestling two weeks before I travelled to L.A. to participate in The Bachelorette. During this two-week period, Jessica was there for me when I needed someone to help me out.... She showed me a side of her that I had never seen before, a side that I would call close to perfection in my eyes. For the first time I felt that Jessica was showing me the characteristics of someone I would want to spend the rest of my life with. Unfortunately now after I have learned everything that has happened, I have reason to believe that there was a second motive to her positive behaviour before I left to film The Bachelorette. I no longer have any contact with Jessica, nor do I want her in my life in any way.

"I feel betrayed, manipulated and unfairly lied to by both the producers of ABC's The Bachelorette and Jessica. Due to the producers of ABC's The Bachelorette wanting this scandal created at the expense of my character, I will not be attending The Men Tell All. I will not give the producers of this show the opportunity to have the chance of editing me to their liking once again.

"I will end this statement asking you to always keep this in mind that you can't believe everything you see on TV, and please don't be so quick to judge someone based on what you see on TV."

If you want to read the full statement, go to Justin's fan page here.

There's definitely some food for thought in there about the way people are portrayed on reality shows.

So You Think You Can Dance: More Canadian content

 There'll be a familiar face for Canadian dance fans on Thursday's episode of So You Think You Can Dance. Natalli Reznik (above), one of the Season 1 finalists on So You Think You Can Dance Canada, is scheduled to dance with Ne-Yo, performing "Beautiful Monster" on the results show.

The show airs at 9 p.m. Thursday on CTV.

And look for Canadian choreographer Stacey Tookey tonight, who has one of her routines being performed by one of the top 9 and one of the all-stars. She's promising a killer show.

The performance show airs at 8 p.m. Wednesday on CTV.

 

American Idol: Norman Gentle takes Manhattan

Yep, Norman Gentle is back and so is Simon Cowell, kind of.

The alter ego of Nick Mitchell, who made the Top 36 of Season 8 of American Idol, has a music video out, called appropriately "Brit Slap." And it features him cavorting around Manhattan with a cardboard cutout of ex-Idol judge Cowell.

But don't take my word for it. Check it out here:

Nick told the correspondent for the American Idol news site that he's working on an album that's a marriage between Weird Al Yankovic and Michael Buble, and that he's grateful to Idol for all the exposure it's given him.

"I just want to say thanks to American Idol from the bottom of my heart for changing my life forever," he said.

Oh, and Simon has seen the video, which was made on April Fool's Day, and thought it was funny.

You can read the full interview with Norman/Nick here.

The Bachelorette: He said, she said continued (spoiler alert)

Although I would imagine it's difficult to follow any sort of entertainment news and not hear about what happened to Justin Rego on Monday's Bachelorette, I'm posting that spoiler alert for those of you who might be saving the episode to watch later.   

For those who have been following the whole mess, read on.

Entertainment Tonight Canada aired Part 2 of its interview with Justin, as well as an interview with Jessica Spillas, the woman who says she was Justin's girlfriend while he was wooing Ali Fedotowsky on The Bachelorette.

Cheryl Hickey's first question for Jessica: "Part of me wonders if the two of you have planned all of this to get press." (Yeah, frankly, part of me wondered that too.)

"Not at all, that wasn't even a thought in my head," Jessica replied.

She also denied Justin's suggestion that she went to Ali to get her own 15 minutes of fame.

"When it came down to, it was just like two girls were already hurt in the situation. There really doesn't need to be three," said Jessica, referring to the allegation that Justin was involved with both her and Kimberly Kerekes while on the show.

Jessica also claimed to have no recollection of how ABC got voicemails that Justin had left on her phone for use in Monday's show.

Like really, Jessica?

Hickey asked Justin about the voicemails and he said: "Yes, I can't deny, yes, I did make those phone calls. I wanted off the show. Unfortunately, I was told I can't at the time."

He said Jessica must have given the voicemails to ABC for personal gain and it hurt him to see the way they were used on the show.

Tearing up, he said, "I was blown away. I honestly feel like I was completely backstabbed and betrayed. I'm hurt."

Justin also claimed that he was told by producers he would get to meet privately with Ali to discuss wanting off the show, but he was sacrificed for ratings.

"I was disgusted in the way I was portrayed on that show. They're not telling the truth."

The experience scarred him, he told Hickey, and he now wants to be a police officer in Toronto and wants nothing more to do with reality TV. In fact, he says he will not appear on the Men Tell All episode of The Bachelorette.

That's the stuff that made it on the air on Tuesday night. But ET Canada also has the uncut interview on its website. I have to say I felt way more sympathetic towards Justin after watching the whole thing. You can see it here.

There's the fact he came clean about the voicemails. I don't think there could be any doubt in the mind of anyone who watched The Bachelorette Monday that it was Justin's voice, that the calls were to Jessica and that they were made while he was still on the show.

In the uncut interview, Justin says he came to the conclusion in Iceland that "Ali's not for me" and he wanted to be with the woman he left back home. "That's where those voicemails come in.

"I was opening up. I was like, I don't want to do this anymore. I want to go back to Toronto, live my normal life, and if you are the person I spent the last two weeks with (before coming on the show) I will marry you ... I was shocked yesterday when I actually seen that (on TV)," Justin said.

And I believe that he really was shocked. His demeanour was completely different in the Tuesday ET interview, after the episode had aired, than in the pre-episode one on Monday.  

He described his relationship with Jessica as on-again, off-again, saying she had left him for someone else last summer and came back into his life after she learned he was auditioning for The Bachelorette last fall, wanting to work things out.

It sounded more plausible than what he said Monday on ET or on Monday's Bachelorette episode.

So is Justin just a guy who got played by an ambitious ex-girlfriend and producers chasing ratings? Or is he the two-timer that Jessica and Kimberly have made him out to be?

I really have no idea. But watching that full interview reminded me once again of something it's easy to forget when you're blogging these programs week after week: there are real human beings behind these so-called reality shows.

Also, one correction: I said in Monday's Bachelorette recap that Ali and the remaining contestants would be in Tahiti next week, but I got ahead of myself. Although Monday's promo showed scenes that take place in Tahiti, next week's episode takes place in Portugal.

(The photo of Justin is by Craig Sjodin for ABC.)

The Bachelorette: Justin's side of the story (spoiler alert)

I wasn't able to get an interview with Justin Rego Tuesday, but I guess I should have saved myself the trouble and just watched ET Canada on Monday and again Tuesday, where Justin was interviewed by Cheryl Hickey.

Justin is sticking to his story that Jessica Spillas was not his girlfriend when he was shooting The Bachelorette, although he admitted to Cheryl on Monday that they had dated in the past.   

"If you weren't together why were you sending Jessica these texts?" she asked him at one point.

The text shown on the screen read, in part, "after this crazy year is done and you and I are still standing, I know i wanna merry (sic) you Jess... You mean the world to me and never forget that!! You just better get a dame (sic) good job...lol" followed by lots of x's and o's.

"I broke my foot just two weeks prior to going on to the show and basically Jessica, I'll admit, you know, that she helped me out through that time and she was fantastic and literally kind of painted the perfect picture of what i wanted my wife to be like."

When Hickey objected, "You wanted to marry her!" Justin replied, "Absolutely not. Look, I explained to her you're single, you can date any guy you want, you know, I'm single and so when a guy kind of tells a girl that, it's kind of a little bit obvious that both parties are single."

Um, sure.

Part 2 of the ET Canada interview was airing Tuesday night, as well as a chat with Jessica, but I had the bad luck to be driving home when it was on TV, so I'll have to time-shift it and post the details later tonight.

In the meantime, you can watch the highlights from Monday's interview here.

In another excerpt published in various places on the web, Justin was quoted as saying that after seeing Jessica's "true nature and true intent I really don't want to continue any type of relationship with her."

But there's that pesky Life&Style photo that claims to show Justin and Jessica kissing in Toronto on June 4. I know I always kiss people I don't want relationships with like that, don't you?

The Bachelorette: Waiting for Justin's side of the story (spoiler alert)

If you haven't watched Monday's episode of The Bachelorette and you don't know what went down between Justin Rego and Ali Fedotowsky, STOP READING NOW!

For the rest of you, I've been surfing the web today looking for news of Justin, after he was seen walking off the show on Monday. His exit followed a confrontation with Ali after a phone call from Jessica Spillas, who said she was Justin's girlfriend and that his Bachelorette gig was just a means to promote his career.

There hasn't been an official statement from Justin yet, but he tweeted this morning: "I did not have a GF going on the show, even tho Jessica is someone from my past, I do not have nor want any contact with her.."

Well, that doesn't explain the photos that Life&Style had of the two of them kissing, allegedly taken in Toronto on June 4, but I digress.

Justin also said he'll be putting out a statement on his Facebook fan page and that he will address the voicemails in interviews.

He's referring to the voicemails heard on Monday's program, which appear to be calls that Justin made to Jessica professing his love for her while he was still on the show.

That's all I've got for now, but I'll be keeping my eye on the story.

The Bachelorette: Ali pins her opponent (spoiler alert)

First, we had Craig McKinnon, who came off looking like a bully.    

Now, we have Justin Rego, who came off looking like a liar and a coward.

Our Canadian guys are really making a name for themselves on The Bachelorette.   

Just as the Internet spoilers have been predicting for weeks, wrestler Justin got the boot on Monday's episode of the show in Istanbul, Turkey. Or to be more precise, he ran away from Ali Fedotowsky as she tried to confront him about the phone call she received from his girlfriend back in Toronto.

Yes, that's right, he high-tailed it out of the hotel (as fast as a guy whose broken leg is still in a boot can, anyway) and then, when Ali pursued him outside, he even tried to get into a locked restaurant and hobbled through shrubbery to avoid talking to her.

"I just wanna get out of here. If you want to talk off camera, I'd be more than glad to talk to you. Don't touch me," Justin exclaimed as Ali placed a hand on his chest.

"Justin, you're seriously going to walk away from me? You're going to go out like this? This is how you want to be perceived?" she asked incredulously.

"Absolutely," he replied.

Let's back up a little. The show began with Bachelorette host Chris Harrison coming to Ali's room with the bad news. He put her on the phone with former Bachelor contestant Jessie Sulidis, who passed the phone to a woman named Jessica.

"Basically me and Justin have been dating for the past almost two years," Jessica began. "And a couple of months ago he said, 'You know what, Jess? I'm going on a show, but it's only for the purpose of getting my foot into the door of the entertainment industry' and his wrestling career. And he assured me that when he would come back we would be together and finally start our plans to get married," said Jessica, who appeared to be choking back tears as she spoke.

The plan was for Justin to make top three on the show, Jessica told Ali. She helped him buy a suit and get a head shot taken for the series. But Jessica decided to pull the plug one night after Justin called her to tell her how much he loved her because she had discovered that he had another girlfriend.

Duh duh duh duh.

Ali was suitably angered. 

"I think the thing that upsets me most is how he just said he wants to find his wife, he's here for the right reason. He said I'm here for the right reason so many times ... what a jerk. ... It's disgusting what Justin did. It just makes me sick to my stomach and I'm not going to let him get away with it. I'm gonna go downstairs and confront Justin. I want him on the first plane back to Canada."

Apparently, Justin had the same idea.

After Ali called him out in front of the other six contestants, he grabbed his hoodie and his ball cap and walked out.

"No, no, no, sit down and talk like a man," Ali called out.

"No, because I'd rather just not say anything," Justin replied.

"I got my passport, I got my wallet, that's all I need," he told Chris Harrison, after the host followed him out into the hallway.

The other guys watched the drama from the window of their suite as a dogged Ali confronted Justin again outside.

He finally sat down to talk with her after fumbling around unsuccessfully for an escape route; Ali surmised, probably correctly, that he needed the time to come up with a good story. But it wasn't all that good.

"I know you probably want to rip my head off right now, but basically, with me and Jessica, I never, you know, you know, yeah, I have, you know, strong feelings for her, but like, honestly, she is someone that I would say is like my best friend.

"And I thought I was going into this with about 100 per cent of my heart, but as the process and as the weeks went by my heart became less and less into this."

He even had the rose from his two-on-one date with Ali and Kasey in his pocket, ready to give back.

But when he denied Jessica's story about his plan to become famous, he sounded about as convincing as one of those ridiculous WWE plotlines, especially when he refused to call Jessica a liar.

"I came here to find a husband and you're f--king with that," Ali stormed. "I gave up my job. I gave up my apartment. I gave up everything to be here and for you to do this, it's awful. It's unspeakable what you've done not only to me but to her."

"So on that note, I'm sorry for everything," replied Justin as he walked away for good.

As the camera followed his walk of shame, the audio was of saved phone messages he'd left for Jessica, declaring his love for her.

"You are my everything, my best friend, my partner in crime. you are my world and I want you to be my wife," went one.

"Jess, I don't know why you can't pick up the phone. I'm in Iceland right now," went another, putting the lie to Justin's adamant protestation that he absolutely had not called Jessica while he'd been on the show.

"Honestly, you do know how important you are to me and going through this process made me realize that even more. It kinda made me regret coming up with this thing."

Well, the thing is done and Justin, in Ali's words, "left like a coward. He hung his head, put his tail between his legs and walked out."

A couple of thoughts before I get back to the rest of the recap: Is it not curious, if Jessica first learned about Justin's other girlfriend just a couple of days after he left to begin shooting The Bachelorette that she waited until weeks into the process to spill the beans to Ali? If Chris Harrison had just found out about Justin's deception and come straight over to tell Ali, how is it cameras were able to get to Toronto so quickly to shoot Jessie and Jessica's side of the phone call? As the competitors' numbers dwindled, it was probably becoming pretty obvious Justin didn't stand a chance at top three. He hadn't even kissed Ali on the lips, at least not that we saw on camera. But if you can't make top three, what better way to make a name for yourself than to leave the show at the centre of an explosive scandal. And could it be, despite her protestations, that Jessica's phone call was just another part of the plan to help her boyfriend further his entertainment career, especially given the cozy photos of the two that turned up in Life&Style just last week? Just asking.

Back to the recap. Let's talk about that kissing thing. I'd say it's a pretty safe bet that any guy who hadn't yet kissed Ali this far into the show was not going to make it to the end.

So why did Craig R. think that cuddling with Ali on a boat cruise, cracking jokes while eating dessert and then laughing through a fireworks display was a sign that they were into each other?

Dude, she has sucked some serious face with all of the other guys. You've even had to sit and watch some of it. Your date ended with a hug.

So it was no surprise when Ali cancelled the end-of-show cocktail party and went straight to the rose ceremony, telling Harrison it wouldn't be fair to the man she wanted to send home to lead him on, who the unlucky guy was going to be. Hmmm, could it be the only one of the remaining six she hadn't kissed?

You have to love how they dragged out that final rose, though, Ali's eyes darting between Kirk and Craig, as if she was really going to send scrumptious Kirk home for a guy who looks like Toby Flenderson from The Office (that's another blogger's observation, I'm just agreeing with it here). As if.

Just a few words more before I wrap up about Monday's dates.

Craig won his one-on-one during a group date wrestling match, in which he, Roberto, Chris L. and Kirk first had to wrestle four professional Turkish olive oil wrestlers -- hulking, mean-looking fellows in bare chests and black leather pants -- and then each other.

You have to give the producers points for originality and for taking any opportunity to show the female viewers the bachelors with their shirts off.

"This is not fun," cracked Chris L. "What did you guys do in Turkey? I got naked and wrestled another man ... Usually what I do with olive oil is dip bread into it or cook asparagus on the grill with it."

Not surprisingly, the pros finished off Ali's suitors in nothing flat. It was a little surprising that lawyer Craig, who professed the only thing he usually fights with is words, managed to beat first Chris and then the very athletic Roberto. Maybe he really was that desperate for one-on-one time with Ali.

The evening's other two individual dates went to Ty and Frank.

Ty and Ali's date seemed to go swimmingly. There was some sightseeing, a private session in a real historic Turkish bath, where they got to kiss and cuddle and give each other massages wearing nothing but fetching gingham towels, and a romantic dinner by the river.

But for me it came to a screeching halt when Ty confessed that one of the reasons he divorced his first wife was because "my mom stayed home while the kids were at school and dad worked. That's what I was accustomed to."

Had I been Ali, I would have grabbed my rose and run at that point, despite Ty's protestations that he had changed and would never question anything she did career-wise.

But Ali gave him the rose while warning, "Traditional is the last word I would use to describe myself." Still, she found Ty was open and honest, "and 98 per cent of men I know who couldn't make a marriage work wouldn't do what you did tonight."

Her date with Frank, meanwhile, was described as a make it or break it situation since Frank's recent behaviour, i.e. his jealousy, insecurity and general wishy-washiness, had disappointed Ali.

But wouldn't you know they got their groove back wandering through the spice bazaar, sampling the food, dickering to buy a rug, trying on silly outfits like a turban for Frank and a belly dancing costume for Ali.

Then there was a romantic dinner inside a cistern, on a platform surrounded by water and massive columns and archways.

Frank talked about how much he'd missed Ali and how when the time came for him to marry, he only wanted to do it once.

"Part of the reason I'm still single and I'm 30 is because I've been very cautious. You know, it goes back to what I said: I want to do it once. But I'm ready to trust my heart."

And then, after they'd kissed and Ali had handed over the date rose while asking Frank to "continue on this hard, difficult, emotional journey," Frank declared: "I'm falling for Ali hard."

Or not. The promo at the end of Monday's episode showed Frank saying he's going to do "something that's going to hurt" and telling Ali they need to talk, after which a sobbing Ali says, "He knew how attached I was to him ... I feel like there must be something wrong with me." It certainly looks like Tahiti, where the show travels next week, is the end of the line for Frank, to which I say good riddance.

Tune in next Monday at 8 p.m. on Citytv, read the recap and share your thoughts. I know you're watching and I bet you've got plenty to say.

And don't forget you can follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/realyeo.

The Bachelorette: Weather man Jonathan is still no fan of Craig M.'s

When former weather man Jonathan Novack talked to reporters last week, he wasn't allowed to say anything about Bachelor Pad, the Bachelor/Bachelorette spinoff he'll appear on in August.

But he had lots to say about Craig McKinnon, the Ontario man who was his nemesis on this season of The Bachelorette and who will join him in the Bachelor Pad mansion.

Jonathan said there was more than met the eye to his fractious relationship with Craig, which culminated in Jonathan telling Bachelorette Ali Fedotowsky that Craig was dangerous just before Craig got eliminated.

"It’s a two-hour show, so you don’t get to see all that happens, but it wasn’t just me that he was starting with and so if it had been, it wouldn’t have been a big deal," Jonathan said.  "But it was Jesse, it was Justin ... it was other guys, too, and so I just felt like it was a problem just for the house ... You know, if it was your daughter, that wouldn’t be a guy that you would want her to see or date."

Jonathan also said he didn't just take Craig's insults; he dished some out, too.

"You don’t see all the times that, like, I defended myself pretty well and I think any guy in the house will agree that I'd come back with great comebacks and I'd knock him back down, everybody would laugh and everything, but when he started, almost started a fist fight with Jesse, which you see a little bit of that, that’s where I thought it was starting to get out of hand."

In fact, it got so out of hand, Jonathan said, that producers had to keep pulling Craig, a Sarnia native who lives in Toronto, away from Missouri contestant Jesse because Craig was trying to get Jesse to punch him.

"Someone like that, that’s why I used the word dangerous because someone who’s trying to get into physical fights with other guys in the house, I mean what’s he going to do in a relationship with Ali?

"I wasn’t trying to be a tattletale. Obviously it wasn’t a strategic thing because he obviously wasn’t going to be sticking around very long; he wasn’t there for her. So in the end you can only conclude that my intentions were sincere," said Jonathan, a 30-year-old Boston native who's been living in Houson, Tex.

(As an aside, Jesse, a 24-year-old contractor, is also in the cast of Bachelor Pad. Anyone want to take bets on whether he'll finally get to deliver that punch to Craig?)

Jonathan also had thoughts to share on Justin Rego, the now notorious Toronto bachelor who (SPOILER ALERT!) gets the boot on tonight's episode after his hometown girlfriend tells Ali about their relationship.

Jonathan didn't understand at first why the other men didn't like Justin, he said. "I didn’t think it was a big deal that he showed (Ali) a T-shirt (with his wrestling name, Rated R) the first night. I don’t see how that was really a big deal. I’m a weather guy and no one ever gave me any crap...

"He wasn’t treating anyone in the house badly, like say Craig M., for instance, so in my opinion when I’m judging people if they’re not treating you badly or anybody badly, they're just kind of doing their thing, then I don’t know why you give them hell. So that confused me for a while, but after I heard that he may or may not have done what he may or may not do on Monday regarding a girlfriend that pretty much destroyed any virtuous character traits that he has ...  I tried to give him the benefit of the doubt for a while, but in the end I think (the other guys) might have been right."

Too bad the Justin scandal hadn't broken sooner, Jonathan acknowledged, because he might have gotten to stay around longer.

"I think if Kasey had shown her the tattoo the night that I got sent home, I would of still been there.  I think Chris N., who didn’t really say anything; I don’t understand why he was around longer than I was. Maybe because Ali felt like he hadn’t opened up and she gave him a chance.  And she felt like I had opened up and it just wasn’t there. I couldn’t figure that one out ... But hopefully she’s happy and everything has worked out."

About Kasey's tattoo: "It’s a little over the top, but his intentions I think were good. I don’t think he’s crazy.  I just think he’s a very passionate sensitive guy.  And his explanation of the tattoo to us was it wasn’t necessarily for Ali, part of it was attached to Ali, but a lot of it was the experience, a lot of it was bonding with the guys in the house," Jonathan said.

Asked who he could see Ali ending up with, he chose Roberto. "Of all the guys in the house I thought Roberto was the most standup, straight-up, like, great guy. He was a very solid dude and I think she seems to see that in him.  So I almost wonder if that’s going to be her pick."

As for his own relationship with Ali, Jonathan said he wished he'd had more time with her.

"I thought she was the kind of girl I could fall for. I mean she was a brilliant girl, beautiful, great sense of humour, seemed to love life, ambitious, considerate, reasonable, I mean those are all traits that I look for. It’s just you can't make a spark happen on group dates."

But he's happy overall with his experience on The Bachelorette.

He gets recognized on the street now way more than he ever did as a TV weather man. He's planning to head to Los Angeles to audition for other TV gigs, either weather or entertainment reporting, and to get back into standup comedy.

"I'll tell you, there were times (on the show) I was nervous, but most of the time I was just having fun getting to go out on these dates with Ali.  Most of the time, I was having a really good experience getting to know some of these guys who I became friends with. 

"The most nerve-wracking parts were the rose ceremonies, if anything. I mean those were stressful for everybody ...  But I think, I'd say about three-quarters of the time I was just having a great time and then when it came down to decision time, that’s where my nerves really sort of bubbled up."

Jonathan will be back on TV screens Aug. 9 when Bachelor Pad premieres, at 8 p.m. on ABC and Citytv.

And you can catch The Bachelorette tonight at 8 on Citytv. Then check back here for my recap.

(The photo of Jonathan is by Craig Sjodin for ABC.)

 

The Bachelorette: Kasey still loves the tattoo

Never mind guarding and protecting hearts; these days Kasey Kahl of The Bachelorette is guarding and protecting his reputation.

The 27-year-old got the brush-off last week in a dramatic episode that saw him left on the top of a glacier after failing to score a rose in a two-on-one date with Ali Fedotowsky and Toronto's Justin Rego.

Kasey, an ad account executive from Clovis, Calif., was on the phone with the media a few days later and, of course, the famous tattoo came up as well as the -- shall we say -- intensity of Kasey's behaviour on the show.

We'll get the tattoo out of the way first.

Kasey has no regrets about getting his arm inked with a shield, a heart and a rose.

"I mean the tattoo is awesome," he said. "I mean, it’s definitely an amazing thing that I got for myself and ... I love it. It’s a great thing."

And it wasn't just about Ali, either.  "I absolutely cared for Ali and I wanted to show her I was here for her and here for the right reasons.  But I mean in the long run, I mean it is for me.  It is for who I am and to show that no matter what, I always want to guard and protect the heart of my future wife or girlfriend or whoever," Kasey said.

About that guarding and protecting thing: Kasey said it's something he's always wanted to do for the women in his life "because of the things I've saw happen to my mother (those things weren't explained in the call) ...  I mean, obviously I've never said it just like just like that (but) that’s how I’ve always felt, so that’s always who I am and that’s just how it came out."

Kasey said whatever he did on the show was his own decision, although he acknowledged the viewers don't always see everything that leads up to a scene.

Take the songs he sang for Ali on their one-on-one date, for instance.

Kasey said they were sitting in the park playing a rhyming game back and forth when she suggested he make up a song.

"I'm not a singer. I don't sing," he said.

"You see yourself doing things that you normally wouldn’t do because of the overall aura and feeling that you’re getting while you’re on the show and the emotions that you’re experiencing," he added.

But overall, Kasey said he's happy with the way things turned out. He wanted to be open and vulnerable when he came on the show "and I got to see a piece of me that I was open and honest and vulnerable where I’m usually typically not."

Sure, it was an emotional roller coaster "because you're there to find love ... It was just so intense, I was definitely excited for it, and I didn’t know what to expect, but I think (when) all was said and done I mean we as humans we can all handle anything ..."

Even getting left by yourself on a glacier in Iceland?

Kasey said he wasn't there too long before the crew picked him up. The ride back was really cold but also pretty cool because he got a good look at the glacier.

And he says now that he's thankful Ali let him go when she did.

"You know, I can honestly say I just don’t think that I was what she was looking for ...  I wanted her to feel the connection for me. I really did.  Because I did develop some feelings for her, but I think essentially I just wasn’t what she was looking for. And she was honest with me and she is an awesome, awesome, amazing woman and the fact that she let me go when she did was very, very, very noble and sweet and kind."

Kasey even had nice things to say about the other bachelors, despite the fact some of them looked askance at his tattoo in private while praising it to his face, and Craig R. drew a fake tattoo on his own wrist to make Ali laugh.

"I was really close with all the guys," Kasey said. "I mean I love Craig; Craig is going to be one of my best friends for life. Craig is an awesome guy and he’s got a great sense of humour and you know, the fact that he was able to do it at my expense, I can laugh with him too.  More power to him."

All the guys? Even Justin?

Kasey hadn't heard the gossip about this Monday's big revelation (SPOILER ALERT) about Justin having a girlfriend back home.

"I mean I knew he wasn’t there for the right reasons ... I think I actually even said it on the show probably one time or two or, I wouldn’t be surprised if he had a girlfriend back home and sure enough, you know, he’s got a girlfriend," said Kasey. "I mean, wow ... I told her several times I don’t think he was there for that reason and she made the choice and that kind of sucks."

In the end, though, he didn't think getting a little more time with Ali would have changed the fact she didn't feel a connection with him.

Asked who he could see her ending up with, he picked Frank.

"You know, I just think that Ali is driven, she’s ambitious, she’s strong, and Frank kind of has that, just that goofy, I think there's a kind of like where opposites attract. Like he’s just this goofy awesome guy who’s so loving, he’s so genuine and it shines through and ... I think that they would work out together if things were to go that route."

As for his own love life, Kasey said he's happy to be single and eager to get back in the dating world, and that's there's one "good friend" that he's taking things slow with.

Neither his own experience on The Bachelorette, nor the recent news of Bachelor Jake Pavelka's breakup with his fiancee, could sway him from the belief that one can find true love on a TV show.

"You know, the show was such an amazing experience and it gave me so much, I can’t even think of the word, just really built so much confidence in who I am and that I don’t have to change for anybody and that I will find the right one out there someday," he said.

You can watch the latest episode of The Bachelorette Monday at 8 on Citytv and check for the recap here.

(The photo of Kasey is by Craig Sjodin for ABC.)

The Bachelorette: The phone call that sealed Justin's fate (spoiler alert)

If you don't want to know what happens on Monday's episode of The Bachelorette, then STOP READING NOW.

For the rest of you, who have already read the spoilers about what happens with Toronto's Justin Rego, take a look at this video posted by Usmagazine.com.

Of course, we haven't heard Justin's side of the story; presumably we'll get some of that Monday. But this video of a distraught woman named Jessica claiming to be Justin's longtime girlfriend looks convincing enough.

Mind you, there are a couple of interesting points to consider. It's nice for ABC that its cameras were able to show us not just Ali's side of the phone call with Jessica and former Bachelor contestant Jessie Sulidis, but Jessie and Jessica talking to Ali in Toronto.

Secondly, Jessica fights back tears as she tells Ali that not only did she have to endure Justin's appearance on The Bachelorette, with the promise they'd plan their wedding once he'd made top three on the show, but Jessica found out Justin had another girlfriend in Canada.

Yet it looked like Justin and Jessica had kissed and made up in photos published all over the web last week, reportedly taken on June 4 in Toronto. Take a look here.

The bottom line is that Justin's making a name for himself despite not remaining on The Bachelorette. Whether it's the type of name he can build an entertainment career on remains to be seen. I notice he didn't get invited to appear on Bachelor Pad along with Canada's other notorious bachelor, Craig McKinnon.

And speaking of Bachelor Pad, host Chris Harrison confirmed to Entertainment Tonight last week that Jake Pavelka, the Bachelor star who just broke up with his fiancee Vienna Girardi, is joining the cast.

Is it just me or does that seem awfully fast to be embarking on another search for true love?

Don't forget to watch The Bachelorette Monday at 8 on Citytv and cath the recap here later. And check this space Monday morning to find out what Kasey Kahl and Jonathan Novack had to say last week about Kasey's tattoo, living with Craig M., finding out Justin had a girlfriend and other stuff.