Michael Stagliano has been a Bachelor Pad mainstay for two seasons now, winning last year’s with ex-fiance Holly Durst and starting out strong in Bachelor Pad 3. Well, all that changed Monday night when his plotting, scheming, and manipulating encountered a vindictive Chris Bukowski (who are the people that find him attractive again?) and a crazy Erica Rose!
In a new blog for Parade, Michael discusses his elimination and shockingly takes accountability for his actions. He also discusses Chris‘ potentially game damaging actions of taking Erica into the voting room with him!
Michael co-signs that everyone was on board with Chris and by default Sarah Newlon being eliminated at the start of the episode following his ploy the week before to get Blakely Jones voted out.
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“While we all truly did like Chris and Sarah as people (and still do), after the fiasco the night before, it was just their time to go. It is NEVER a good idea to put yourself before your alliance… Chris did that, took Sarah with him…,” Michael explains.
As for Blakely and Tony [Pieper]‘s burgeoning romance, Michael dishes that they are really happy together. “Everyone in the house, in our alliance and out of it was happy to see Blakeley with Tony. And I’d like to go one step further by saying, I LOVE THOSE TWO,” Michael gushes.
“They were like my brother and sister in the house. We absolutely had each other’s back, I NEVER had to question things with them, and am so happy they found each other.”
Speaking of Blakely and Tony, RumorFix is reporting that Blakely is currently in the process of moving to Portland, OR and will be moving in with Tony and his son!
Even more exciting, Tony is planning to propose on the Bachelor Pad finale which is scheduled to tape this Sunday! Say what?! Congratulations to Blakely for snagging a “domesticated man.” Is that like housebreaking a dog?
But back to Michael’s comments about the episode and Chris Harrison‘s announcement that the entire house would be voting one woman off.
“It didn’t air this way, but as soon as he made that announcement, I IMMEDIATELY got up from the couch and packed my bags. This was BAD news for our alliance, namely me.”
And here’s where Michael gets to the accepting accountability part. Yeah – he’s too good for Reality TV!
“In case you are unsure of how it all went down, I’d like to clarify a few things…, ” he writes:
1. I (our alliance) absolutely tried to strategically send Erica home.
2. Rachel [Trueheart] and I did NOT vote for Erica, we wanted to be “truthful” in telling Erica that we voted for Lindzi [Cox].
3. We both knew there was no way Lindzi was going to go home based on our numbers, so it was a white lie, or a black truth. Honestly, I feel like our plan had a very good chance of working UNTIL Chris took Erica into the voting room. That made my chances of staying slim to none.
Now about Chris‘ maneuver, former Bachelor Pad S1 winner Natalie Getz recently announced on twitter that lawyers were called in to investigate the legalities and fairness of Chris doing that and he could have potentially been eliminated. RealitySteve confirms this. Apparently it was deemed ok, but I bet it will never, ever happen again – otherwise what’s the point of the secret voting room?
Now, back to crazy Erica!
Michael continues, “First, she [Erica] absolutely had a right to be upset. It WAS my intention to send her home, and I lied to her about that. I am (was) Erica’s friend before the show. Before we started filming, I told her I would have her back. While I will maintain that I DID do that the first 3 or 4 weeks, I can understand how her feelings were hurt that I lied to her.”
“In my own defense, Erica just wasn’t in our alliance, she was not winning challenges (BPad 2 OR 3), she was not playing the game, and NOT allying up,” he adds. “That is NOT someone that is going to win the game, and ultimately it was not my responsibility to make sure she stuck around.”
And Michael defends Erica’s decision to eliminate him following his scheming. “Also important to mention: she made the RIGHT PLAY! I was absolutely the best person for her to take out and she did. I was not upset by that move at all.”
As for her comments following her elimination where she said the best thing Holly ever did was dump Michael for Blake Julian, Michael takes it in stride.
“As far as the personal things she said about me… I mean, yikes… It’s Erica Rose. She is not a forgiving person, she is not an even-keeled personality, she is abrasive and vindictive and that is why she was chosen to be on the show. Do I think she meant the things she said? Yes, I do. Did I take any of it to heart? No, absolutely not.”
“While I can say that I wish things didn’t happen the way that they did, I can also truly say that it was NOT personal. It is a game, and I was making the best play I could in the game, with the new twist we had to work with,” Michael insists.
As for the current state of their relationship, it’s still on bad terms. “Erica Rose and I haven’t spoken since that night. I am very curious to see what happens at the finale, and how she will handle herself. If she wants to make amends then I am open for that.”
Finally Michael talks his future with reality TV, and he has accepted his final rose and is officially quitting reality TV. So I guess the rumors of him being a contender for the next Bachelor are false then?
“But as this was my last time officially on the show… I wanted to end it by giving you my love,” he concludes.
“I think this is going to just about do it for me on the reality small screen, and as part of this show,” Michael reveals. “I want to offer you all of my utmost thanks, and truly let you know how much I have appreciated your love and support the last 3 years.”
As for whether or not Michael’s relationship with Rachel continued post-filming Reality Steve reveals that they have broken up. “Before filming of Bachelor Pad even started, Michael was involved with someone (not from this franchise), and after filming ended, he went back to her and is still involved with her now,” Steve reveals. Wow!
With reality TV behind him, hopefully Michael will find true love. Other than that, he has a new song out! Well, I’ll definitely miss The Stag. His witty comments, optimistic attitude, and total funness (I’m aware that’s not a real word) made the show worth watching. And I think he’d be an ACES Bachelor!
TELL US – DO YOU BELIEVE MICHAEL IS DONE WITH REALITY TV? WAS CHRIS OUT OF LINE BY BRINGING ERICA INTO THE VOTING BOOTH? WILL BLAKELY AND TONY GET MARRIED?
