Because she’s been there and done that, literally, former Bachelor contestant/tear fountain Ashley Iaconetti is recapping this season of The Bachelor for Cosmopolitan. With insider insight as well as a clear eye for what’s going down both in front of and behind the cameras, read on for her thoughts.

THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS FROM EPISODE SEASON 24, EPISODE 10 OF THE BACHELOR

Before I dive into my takeaways from the Women Tell All episode, let’s address the most important thing that has happened to Bachelor Nation in years! CLARE CRAWLEY IS THE BACHELORETTE! This woman went on a date with my husband and he kissed her, and I still love her—that’s how awesome she is! This is a damn strong woman who will not tolerate bullsh*t and at the same time will have a nurturing demeanor. She’ll give every man in the house an opportunity to show her his heart. Clare is so open to love and such a warm, friendly soul, but if you cross her, she will stand up for herself.

Don’t know Clare yet?

If you’re new to Bachelor Nation and not familiar with Clare, all you’ve got to do to be onboard with this genius selection is go to iTunes and download Juan Pablo’s finale episode to watch her tell him off after he dumps her and tells her, “I like you, but I love f*cking you.” If you want more after that, you’ve got to watch the jacuzzi episode of Bachelor Winter Games.

Two more things you need to know to get onboard the Clare train if you aren’t already…Clare signed up for The Bachelor before Instagram was a thing. When she was first on The Bachelor, there was no money in becoming a fan favorite. She doesn’t give a f*ckeroo about Instagram followers. She lives a private life styling hair in Sacramento between Bachelor seasons.

This is exactly what this show needs.

Clare is almost 39 years old, and it’s truly thrilling that we’ll get a cast of a lot of 30somethings. If having biological children in the traditional way is important to a person, finding love becomes a real priority in their 30s. I can see an older cast having more investment in the Bachelor process working. This will make for a more romantically driven season. I feel like the drama will come out of a desire to have a wife and family and not come from dumb sh*t, like someone crying “too much.”

Okay, back to last night’s drama.

It was that kind of immature conflict that Peter’s ladies rehashed in last night’s Women Tell All. There was no resolution to the arguments that began months ago. Tammy didn’t apologize on air to Kelsey and Mykenna for the emotion-shaming. By the way: The editors cut in facial expressions from Tammy all over the place. I highly doubt she actually rolled her eyes when I came on stage to applaud Kelsey for embracing her emotions. (Yes, I was there!) I spoke to Tammy following the Women Tell All and she was kind and funny. She was the girl we saw earlier in the season—girl just doesn’t feel comfortable being around people who process emotions differently than her. She’ll have to work on this before heading into Bachelor in Paradise (you know she’s a shoo-in). And I have faith her image will rebound there.

About those Victoria F. allegations…

I’m glad Chris Harrison asked Victoria F. about the allegations that she has broken up multiple relationships. I felt that wasn’t addressed enough during the hometown episode. However, Peter told me after the WTA taping that he and Victoria did discuss the accusations outside of Victoria’s parents’ house for more than 20 minutes, but that it wasn’t aired. On WTA, Victoria again denied breaking up any relationships or marriages. I want to trust her as I too fall into her big brown eyes, like Peter, but there is a sense of doubt that will surround her reputation for a while. I have to say that while watching the entire four-plus-hours show from the press room, Victoria was one of the most likable girls onstage. She didn’t engage in any of the catty arguing. She has a very sweet presence and all the girls I interviewed said they love her.

Kelley wasn’t invited to WTA.

When I asked Chris Harrison about this on the Almost Famous podcast last week he said they felt Kelley didn’t play an integral part to the storyline. That response begs the question: so production felt as if Katrina, Maurissa and Alexa played important enough roles in the season to be part of the reunion? Kelley not getting an invitation to WTA says, to me, that Kelley, a fan favorite, is not a production favorite. Perhaps they worried she would make claims of “unfair” editing in regards to her final date on the show. Fans believe that she was edited on this three-on-one to say that her occupation made her more worthy of Peter’s heart than the others. I put “unfair” in quotation marks because the Bachelor contract informs you of their right to take your words out of context. Sixth place finisher Natasha was also not at WTA. She was asked to attend but couldn’t.

Last, let’s talk about Madi’s decision to accept Peter’s rose.

I think it would have been pretty dominant if she didn’t take it. Could you imagine what would happen then?! Would he have been like, “Oh, um, well, then Victoria, will you accept this rose?” Or would he have had to have been like, “Welp! I guess that means you’re the one Hannah Ann!” Awk City! It would have been fun as a viewer but very sh*tty for Peter. I wonder why Madi decided to continue on. In my opinion, she doesn’t want to make a rash decision to leave that she’ll regret down the road. Based on Peter’s mom’s tears, I think Madi does end up leaving before the final rose ceremony and Mama Weber begs him to go after her. It’s what love stories are made of.

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