Bless Your Heart of the Week: Ashley and JP (Bachelorette Season 7)

Well ladies and gentlemen, the end is nigh. In just 5 days time we will know who this year's Bachelorette Andi has chosen to spend the rest of her life with. That is, if the man she chooses actually proposes. But lets not be pessimistic, shall we? We believe in love! We believe in the system! We believe in The Bachelor/Bachelorette franchise!

Our beliefs aside, however, there are many naysayers out there. And understandably so. I mean really... the producers of this show are asking us to believe that people can find love in 8 weeks on a reality television show. That's a tall order. BUT - to prove that it CAN indeed be done, each year as a part of the "Men/Women Tell All" episode they like to "check in" with a success story. This year's "Men Tell All" on Monday night was no different.

Enter Ashley and J.P. Rosenbaum - the happy couple from The Bachelorette Season 7.

Only the second couple in Bachelorette history to walk down the aisle, the couple wed in December 2012 and is now expecting their first child. Wonderful. They are beautiful and I love how in love they seem to be. But bringing them on the show to talk about married bliss and their impending parenthood wasn't enough. Oh no. The producers of the show set it up for the couple to have an ultrasound on the air to determine the sex of their child.

Yes, you read correctly. AN ULTRASOUND ON LIVE TELEVISION to determine the sex of their child. Here’s the clip. It's incredibly awkward... but simultaneously completely riveting. The Hollywood Gossip has posted the clip... take a look. I almost thought Chris Harrison was going to cut in and say, “We will know the sex of this baby… AFTER THE BREAK.” Though, admittedly, that would be more American Idol than anything.

ANYWAY… Is there any line we won’t cross in this age of reality television? It’s one thing to televise your wedding, but completely another to televise your ultrasound in front of a live studio audience. I could almost forgive it too if it had been real. Like they met on TV, got married on TV, all good things come in threes right? But it WASN'T real. In doing some research for this little blog I was going through Ashley’s twitter and she TWEETED that they were having a baby boy nearly 2 months ago!!

So the whole thing was staged. Were they that desperate to get back on television? Or perhaps were the producers that desperate to show America that their show CAN actually work? Either way… lets say it together…

Bless their hearts... all of 'em!

All that said, you better believe I will be tuning in next Monday night for the Season Finale and the subsequent “After the Final Rose” recap episode. In fact I’m a little worried about what I’m going to watch on television once it’s all over. There’s always "Naked Dating". And then of course there IS ABC’s follow up “Bachelor in Paradise”… but my mother put her foot down there.

“Oh no, Mary Lane. We must draw the line somewhere. Pride women do NOT watch ‘Bachelor in Paradise.”

There you have it folks. I’m now taking recommendations for my Netflix cue.