The Bachelor finale and "After the Final Rose" (opens in new tab) (I know there are pros and cons, but I'm still #TeamBarb (opens in new tab). But wait a minute: there is a theory (opens in new tab) that the two are not happily and quietly dating today, as the producers would have you believe. Neither party has commented, but there are indications that the Alabama/California long-distance relationship is not all that amicable.

Honestly, after that absolute madness, who knows what the rocky couple told each other in the hotel room afterward (plus, we know Weber is an expert at flip-flopping in his failed attempts to not offend anyone. (And his mother is pissed). Are Prewett and Weber still seeing each other after that fiasco?

Update 3/13/20: There was. Prewett (open in new tab) and Weber (open in new tab) separately confirmed what we had expected: the two are going their separate ways.

Update 3/12/20: It seems like every Bachelor fan is refreshing their phone, waiting for the moment when Weber and Prewett will appear on social media again and (maybe) tell us what the hell is going on. They may still be trying to remain silent, but I have a feeling something will leak out soon anyway. There are rumors that Prewett followed Weber and then unfollowed him, but I have not seen a screenshot of that.

They are also not currently doing press, and even though the showrunners claim this was intentional, it certainly seems to have come as a surprise to Jimmy Kimmel and the Bachelor Happy Hour podcast.

Reality Steve also offers some interesting news about the potential timeline (open in new tab) between Weber breaking up with Sluss and Weber getting together with Prewett:

Courtney (Weber's best friend) had a February 1 baby shower. We were told that Madison was in attendance that day, and after that damn show ended on ATFR, Peter's friend Courtney posted a picture of that very baby shower on February 1 for Maddie, showing that Madison was in attendance. This means that Madison was at the baby shower with one of Peter's best friends just a few days after Peter ended his engagement to Hannah Ann. Do you think Peter's name was never mentioned? She knew he was engaged in Australia. It is very sketchy now to believe that when Chris sat down to break the "news" to Madison on February 11, she didn't already have a clue, if not already knew everything that had happened.

The point is also that there may be some off-camera overlap between Weber's connections with the two women. Combine that with the rumor (open in new tab) that Weber was also seeing Kelly Flanagan during this in-between period, and you have a bachelor who appears to be talking to several women at once. If Prewett found out about this, she must be pissed.

Spurred on by the Weber family drama, Weber's brother Jack (open in new tab) wrote on social media in response to the comments: "Half of these people have no idea how far off Maddie is from her TV image." And also this: "Have you ever once thought that there is a reason why only family members who have actually met this girl and know what goes on behind the camera have a different opinion? So, just for the record, the Weber family still hates Prewett. If this couple is still together, that is a major, major obstacle.

Original post, 3/11/20:

Things did not look rosy between the couple once they got on stage. To be clear, I want to be the super sleuth who figured this out, but the first time I heard this theory was from Amanda Mitchell, a Bachelor expert and former colleague. Let me quote her: "Let me guess, everyone, including Production and Maddie, thought there was going to be an engagement last night. Chris Harrison threw him a softball, watched Maddie get physically ready, and Weber spiked it into the ground." Oh my god. Neil Lane was there, too.

Also of note: Weber had his arm around Prewett at first, but they eventually turned their backs on each other and Weber began to sound like a mother barking at the two of them and saying he was losing.

What is so fascinating about this is that the language they used about their relationship status during the ATFR was extremely vague. Prewett made it clear that this was a private matter and that he might not comment publicly: "Honestly, this is about me and Peter, it's about our journey and only he and I should talk about it."

Woong.

And Weber:

"I know how we both feel about each other. I think the wisest thing to do is to take it one step at a time, one day at a time. I have a lot of healing to do. I know she does too. But my feelings for you have not changed, nor have I lost them. Whatever that means, whatever this turns into. Do we have a million obstacles? Yeah, it's all uphill." Maybe.

In other words. A superficial look at these words does not fill me with confidence. Nor does it help clarify what the heck is going on between the two of them (again, Batchelor's words). Also, as Mitchell points out, this couple did not appear on Jimmy Kimmel as many couples do.

Part of the fun after the finale is the lovey-dovey Instagram posts the couple shares about each other: thanking each other for their patience, talking about their "journey" to love, and reaffirming their feelings for each other. As of this writing, neither Weber nor Prewett have done any such thing.

However, runner-up and Weber's former fiancée, Hannah Ann Sluss, absolutely posted the following The fact that neither Weber nor Prewett recognized Sluss when they pledged their love on stage (a love that began after Sluss was heartbroken) was a very poignant moment for me.

Words I thought I'd never say: hang in there, Hannah Ann

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