Who Is Reality Steve?

On Friday, February 27th I had the great pleasure of interviewing the guy who is now famous on the Web as Reality Steve (RS).  He graciously shared approximately 1 1/2 hours of his own time with me to discuss his recent Reality Steve Conspiracy Theory regarding current Bachelor Jason Mesnick.

For those not in the know, Reality Steve, who has to date never provided a Bachelor Spoiler on his Reality Steve Blog, until now (there's a good reason), came out with the Theory that there was a secret Bachelor Show Conspiracy about Jason, Melissa and Molly.

Why was there a conspiracy?  Steve believes to push up ratings by making After The Final Rose Ceremony (ATFR) the most dramatic ever by planning a major dumping of Melissa, the bachelorette believed to be Jason's selection, in The Final Rose Ceremony (TFR).

Who Is Reality Steve?

So who, you may be asking, is Reality Steve and how did this entire Bachelor Conspiracy Theory come about?  Let's start by taking a closer look at Reality Steve's bio.

Steve, which is his real first name, is just an All American guy who just happens to enjoy watching and writing reviews about ABC's The Bachelor.  Yes, he also enjoys watching and reviewing other reality shows, but he has been watching The Bachelor since almost the very beginning and has become an expert on the various Bachelor seasons.

Born In Bronx, Raised in Sunny Southern California

Although born in The Bronx in New York, Reality Steve or RS, moved with his family to Southern California when he was three years old.  He grew up in Orange County near Los Angeles and loved his life there.  When his dad and immediate family moved to Plano, Texas (a suburb of Dallas, Texas) after he graduated from high school he had to make a hard decision about whether to leave the only home he knew, for the Lone Star State.

Even though Steve loved everything about California, he decided to give Texas a go and enrolled in the very prestigious Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Dallas, for his freshman year.

Missing his many friends and laid-back life back in Southern California, he bailed on Texas, and transferred back to LA for the rest of his college years.  He ultimately graduated from Loyola Marymount University (LMU) with a degree in Communications.

A Career In Sports Talk Radio

Upon graduation Steve nabbed a great job, which he loved, as a radio sports broadcaster.  For the next eight years Steve worked full time in the world of radio.

Being in Los Angeles he became acquainted with lots of other folks in the entertainment industry (it really is a small world) and without giving away any of his "sources" for his theories on ABC's The Bachelor Steve said "I have friends" and "people who know people".

Those various connections explains many of the origins of his Bachelor blogs and his current Conspiracy Theory.

Texas Part Two

Although Steve loved his life in Los Angeles and his sports radio career, his father asked him to move back to Texas to help with his business.  It was again a very hard decision for Steve to leave his many friends and home in California but 2 1/2 years ago Steve made the move.

Once located in North Dallas, he decided to keep his hand in broadcasting, even if only part time.  He was hired part time by the best sports radio station in Dallas, The Ticket.  Working every night between 7 and 10 pm he provided the latest breaking sport news every 20 minutes, Mondays through Fridays.

He loved being in radio while also helping out his father with the family business.   Yes, he misses his friends, the climate and his niece and nephew in Southern California, but he goes back to visit 6-8 times a year like clockwork. Does he have any regrets?  No, none.  While Texas is definitely not Southern California he loves the golfing here (some of the best courses in the US) and has made lots of new friends.

Keeping His Hand In The Entertainment Biz

It's true the majority of Bachelor viewers are female.  So why does Steve enjoy the show?  He explained while he sometimes makes light fun of some of the Bachelors and their various bachelorettes, he does like watching the show.  Also, as a bona fide bachelor himself, he has been told by many of his blog readers that they enjoy his male perspective of the show.

Blogging Is Hard Work

As his interest in The Bachelor grew over the years, Steve has taken his commitment to writing recaps of every episode very seriously.  Sometimes he will stay up late, until the wee hours of the morning, putting his thoughts together and sharing his feedback on the long running reality show.  He knows there are many faithful visitors who depend on him to provide his recaps and he doesn't want to let them down.

After chatting with Steve on the phone and having read all his blogs, I came to the conclusion that Steve is a very decent guy.  He believes in honesty, integrity and fair play.  He also believes The Bachelor is "not real."

As he pointed out to me, "how realistic is it to believe two people can meet and fall in love in a matter of six weeks?"  He agrees it might happen in a very small percentage of the time.  But's it not very likely.  Which makes The Bachelor not a "real" environment for finding love and ultimately marriage.

The Bachelor Conspiracy Theory

While Steve believes Mike Fleiss, Chris Harrison and the rest of ABC were "brilliant businesspeople" for how they have developed The Bachelor series, this season with Jason Mesnick as The Bachelor Steve got wind of some show shenanigans which raised the hairs on the back of his neck.

Based on his very reliable sources, which Steve carefully protects, he believed the Bachelor producers were deliberately manipulating Jason and his two final picks - Melissa and Molly - purely to drive up ratings.

Steve very carefully explains his Bachelor Conspiracy Theory, which has now been picked up and discussed by Access Hollywood and other national news media on his website and through his video blogs.  He also points out that until this season, he has never published Bachelor spoilers, even though his sources have provided him with the final Bachelor picks on many prior occasions.  He didn't want to ruin the ending for the fans.

Bothered by the idea that the Bachelor producers were deliberately manipulating Jason, Melissa and Molly to drive ratings, he felt the need to speak up about the situation which he believes is very wrong.  Steve is a man with strong principles and more than once in his conversation with me he talked about how bad he feels for Melissa.  She is the vulnerable Bachelorette ultimately manipulated to help drive the most dramatic After The Final Rose ceremony ever.

Even more troubling to Steve is whether or not Bachelor Jason actually knew and went along with the deliberate manipulation of Melissa's heart strings in order to guarantee spectacular ratings.  Indeed, this season with The Bachelor has won major ratings.

Reality Steve's Motives

After speaking on the phone with Reality Steve I believe his motives are pure.   He honestly feels bad how Bachelorette Melissa was manipulated and used for the purposes of a TV show.  Wanting to expose the truth, as it has been provided to him, he unveiled The Conspiracy Theory a few weeks ago when it was first provided to him.

No, Steve does not have iron clad written proof he can produce without harming his inside sources.  However, he believes he will be completely exonerated of any doubts tomorrow night (3/1/09) when the Bachelor Final Rose Ceremony airs followed shortly after by After The Final Rose and After The Final Rose 2 when all of Steve's theories about how Melissa was played will prove out.

More On Reality Steve

Although some loyal viewers of The Bachelor have been upset by Steve's Bachelor Show Conspiracy, many in the national media has agreed with his theories.  The Conspiracy Theory has also indirectly helped The Bachelor by turning the spotlight even brighter onto the show and driving ratings even higher than before.

I was so appreciative of the time Reality Steve spent talking with me.  He's a really great guy and with a long background in broadcasting and entertainment I asked him why he hadn't been on Ellen Degeneres (my favorite) or Howard Stern to discuss his Bachelor history and theories?

Steve explained "they (Ellen and Howard) haven't called" or else I definitely would have been thrilled to do their shows.  Ellen and Howard....are you listening?  Reality Steve is a great guy and would make a great interview.  Ellen, I know you like to use the phone to call interesting folks up...why not call Steve?

Be sure to tun into for The Bachelor The Final Rose on ABC/TV on Monday, March 2, 2009 followed by After The Final Rose and After The Final Rose Part Two.

To Read More About Reality Steve Of The Bachelor Refer To The Following Links

Reality Steve - The Blog

Reality Steve - The Conspiracy Theory