New 'Bachelor' Ben Flajnik clears up Jennifer Love Hewitt rumors

It’s been a cruel, bleak few months in the reality television landscape without any incarnation of “The Bachelor” franchise to watch. But five months after audiences saw him rejected by the coldhearted Ashley Hebert, Ben Flajnik is finally making his triumphant return to the small screen.

You know what that means, folks. Ahead of the show’s Jan. 2 premiere, it’s time for Ben to start doing the media rounds, attempting to remain opaque while insisting he’s really “happy with [his] decision in doing the show."

On Wednesday morning, the Josh Groban lookalike jumped on the phone with a handful of journalists, fielding questions about the upcoming season. As ever, the 28-year-old gave off his trademark nonchalant vibe — at times even coming across as blase about his journey on the show. (He also seemed to be driving, as the sounds of turn signals and honking horns could be heard intermittently in the background of the call.)

Heading into the season, Flajnik said, he didn’t reach out to any former “Bachelor” contestants because he wanted to make the experience his own.

“I spoke to friends and family more than the ‘Bachelor’ family. I tried to separate myself from the whole Hollywood, L.A. thing,” he said.

Still, he’s already noticing the effect his newfound celebrity is having on his business — a facility where he produces wine in Northern California.

“We’ve always made really nice wines, and the majority of the purchases because of the show are novelty purchases — one bottle at a time,” he acknowledged. “We know they’re not coming from serious wine consumers. We try to differentiate business from ‘Bachelor’-related things, because we do take our business and our wines very seriously.”

One of those potential customers? Jennifer Love Hewitt. Before Flajnik was officially named the newest “Bachelor” in September, rumors surfaced that he and the actress had had a brief romantic dalliance. On the call, Flajnik elaborated on the rumors by saying Hewitt had reached out him and said she wanted to visit his winery with her friends.

“So my business partners and I showed them around and we all went to dinner and talked about life and the experience,” he said. “She’s a nice girl, but it was right in the middle of the time when I was deciding if I was going to be the ‘Bachelor’ or not. … Ending up with a Hollywood celebrity is not something that I ever imagined doing.”

Flajnik ultimately decided to take part in the show despite its horrible track record with romances. Just this month, couple Ali Fedotowsky and Roberto Martinez became the latest pair to split post-show.

“I don’t know Roberto and Ali personally, but it’s hard, because relationships end whether you’re on a TV show or not,” he said. “For me, I’m an opportunist and an optimist. I feel like you can find someone in any way, shape or form, and it doesn’t matter if it’s on a TV show or on an airplane. It comes in many forms.”

Let’s see how that works out for ya, Ben.

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— Amy Kaufman

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Photo: Ben Flajnik is the star of "The Bachelor" this season. Credit: ABC.

Lifetime to amend Amanda Knox movie in the wake of acquittal

A Lifetime movie about the Amanda Knox trial will be updated after the 24-year-old was cleared of murder charges in an Italian court Monday.

"Amanda Knox: Murder on Trial in Italy," which first aired on the television network in February, has Hayden Panettiere playing Knox, who traveled to Italy to study abroad in 2007. While overseas, Knox's roommate was murdered and the Seattle-bred student was two years later charged with killing her.

In 2009, Knox began serving a 26-year sentence in prison. But on Monday, a jury threw out the murder conviction and a sobbing Knox was immediately set free to return to America.

Accordingly, a spokesperson for Lifetime said that the film centering on Knox's trial will now be altered. Going forward, whenever the picture airs on the network, it will be accompanied by several sentences explaining the latest turn in the case, which will appear before and after the film. The updated rebroadcast of the movie will air for the first time Tuesday evening.

Through her manager, Panettiere declined to comment on the Knox verdict.

The move comes on the heels of a similar instance with the HBO movie "Paradise Lost: Purgatory." The film, about the recently-freed West Memphis Three, is being retooled after the men were released from prison in August.

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Photo: Hayden Panettiere stars in "Amanda Knox: Murder on Trial in Italy." Credit: Lifetime.

Emmys 2011: For 'Downton Abbey,' a David vs. Goliath win

It was, as creator Julian Fellowes put it, akin to the battle of David vs. Goliath. “Downton Abbey,” the British PBS miniseries about an aristocratic family and its household staff, on Sunday beat out favorite “Mildred Pierce” from powerhouse HBO, whose miniseries always seem to sweep the category.

“As you know, HBO has tremendous marketing and advertising muscle behind it,” said Rebecca Eaton, an executive producer for the PBS network. “When a program like ‘Downton Abbey’ wins, its because it stands on its merits.”

But, Eaton pointed out, the program has already received a number of accolades outside of the Emmy telecast.

“I have to say that its profile was very high when it aired last January,” said Eaton. “The reviews were spectacular. We just entered the Guinness Book of World Records for best reviewed program over ‘Mad Men.’”

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Photo: "Downton Abbey" winners, from left, Michelle Dockery, Rebecca Eaton, Joanne Froggatt, Julian Fellowes and Elizabeth McGovern. Credit: Matt Sayles/Associated Press.

Emmys 2011: Martin Scorsese compares new prize to Oscar

Now that Martin Scorsese has both an Emmy and an Oscar under his belt, which prize does he consider more gratifying?

“I must say, this is something I really never dreamed of,” Scorsese told reporters backstage of his Emmy win for directing HBO's period drama series “Boardwalk Empire.” “It’s a different medium in a way, although we approached ‘Boardwalk Empire’ as a film — a very long film. It’s just as exciting [as the Oscar win].”

Scorsese won his first Academy Award back in 2007 for directing “The Departed,” the crime drama loosely based on the life of Whitey Bulger. Asked if when he made the film he ever imagined that the mobster would ever be caught, Scorsese replied: “No. Absolutely not,” he said, beginning to chuckle. “I really didn’t. Who knew? He’s in California. Surprising, eh?”

The filmmaker said he was intrigued by “Boardwalk” because it allowed him the opportunity to develop characters over a longer period of time.

“It was almost like the way Victorian novels were written. They were serialized. Dickens wrote that way,” he explained. “We had always hoped in the '60s when films started to be made for television that long-form films were going to be created for the medium, and it didn’t really work out that way. I think you really have an opportunity here now, and I can see it even more so than what is possible in independent cinema.”

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Photo: Martin Scorsese backstage at the 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards. Photo credit: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images.

'The Bachelorette': Ashley and J.P. talk about their life post-show

This season of "The Bachelorette" may have finally come to a close, but Ashley and J.P.'s publicity tour has just begun.

Only hours after the finale aired Monday night, the newly engaged couple did the media rounds in New York City, where Ashley is planning to join her fiance in a month after she finishes studying dentistry at the University of Pennsylvania. After hitting a slew of morning talk shows, the couple got on a conference call with a handful of journalists to talk about their experience on the show and plans for the future.

In between all the mushy talk, a few interesting tidbits did emerge: Ashley said things between her and her evil sister -- who we likened to Kat Von D --  are now swell. (Sure.) Ashley said she only let Ben get down on his knee and propose because the moment was "a blur." (Or the producers urged you to milk the drama?) And J.P. has not, apparently, been calling Ashley by her favorite and totally repulsive pet name, "Cupcake," as much as she would like. (They're totally doomed.)

A condensed and edited version of the transcript follows.

At what point after your confrontation with your sister did you straighten things out?

Ashley: You know, we actually never resolved it in Fiji. She left and it was still unresolved. Then I think it was when we got home that we talked about it a little bit, but it went unresolved for a while until she started watching the show air, and then she called me up and said, “I am so sorry. I completely see it now. I was too quick to judge." So it took a little while that she came around.

Was there ever a moment where what she said really caused you to reconsider picking J.P.?

Ashley: To be honest, I knew that I would follow my own gut and I would not let anyone else influence me, and that is what I loved about this whole journey, is I have got to trust myself. Now, the truth is, I knew my sister was being tough, and I knew that she was so stubborn that she would never take it back even if she had to change her heart. I knew that she would grow to love him. And once she saw us together, I had no doubt that she would see what I feel, and things would be all right and things would be great, and actually they are. They are close now, and they actually joke about it. So, all is well.

Were you hurt when she said she thought you were more into Brad than J.P.?

Ashley: OK, so I knew she was completely, like, off with her judgment and, you know, when she said that she thought I was more into Brad, I thought, “OK, I am not going to listen to anything she says because what I feel for him is completely different from what I felt for Brad.” So, at that point, she lost me. 

J.P., did you reconsider proposing after the showdown with Chrystie?

J.P.: Nothing that happened between me and her sister had any influence on my decision to propose. I always knew that I was going to propose, I guess. Pretty much two to three weeks prior I knew it was going to happen, so I was just afraid that her sister's comments and opinions would influence the way she felt about me, but I was hoping that she would trust her gut, trust her heart and not really listen to her sister, and it turned out all right.

'The Bachelorette' recap: JP puts a ring on it; Ben leaves angry

I think I need a second job as a Vegas odds-maker, because I called this season of "The Bachelorette" like a boss.

Not that it was very difficult, to be fair. Ashley has been so clearly smitten with JP for weeks now that not even crafty editing could hide their intense chemistry.

I will admit that there were moments during Monday night's finale where I feared the outcome would be derailed by the evil force that was Ashley's sister -- aka Kat Von D. Listen, there have been plenty of crazy families on this show in seasons past, but I'm not sure any have ever been as psychotically desperate for screen time as Ashley's sister, Chrystie. Who, by the way, recently made an appearance on TLC's "Extreme Couponing." Not. Even. Kidding.

So Ashley is about to finish her up-and-down journey on this thing, and her family arrives in Fiji to weigh in on her final two suitors. We've got stepdad, who is apparently mute. Her brother, who is sporting some unfortunate puka shells around his neck. Mom, who has an, er- strong northern Maine accent. And then there's Chrystie, whose arms are coated with a slew of truly tasteful tattoos, including one distractingly huge geisha.

Oh, but listen, folks. Despite her decision to get all of that hideous ink, Kat Von D wants us to know that she is the "rational" one in the family.

Almost immediately after Ashley arrives to show off JP to her brood -- attractively dabbing her forehead and cleavage with a sweat rag -- Chrystie starts asking him the important questions. Most vital of which, apparently, is: "Does he make you laugh?"

"I think I make myself laugh," Ashley responds. Which was an incredibly awkward thing to say, mind you. Just say the dude makes you laugh. He's about to have a one-on-one with Neil Lane and needs some reassurance!

And that was all Chrystie needed to hear.

"What's going on here?" she asks, pulling Ashley aside for a quick sit-down. "I don't think he's the one."

There's more. Ashley is "too much" for JP, who at 34 is far too old and "demure" for her little firecracker of a sister. The harsh words prompt Ashley to immediately bursts into tears -- yet another indication that she hadn't even been considering choosing Ben up to that point.

JP goes in for a talk to try to win Chrystie over, but it's a losing game.

"You're much older than her, and in my head, I think, why hasn't he found anyone yet?" she says, followed by the line of the night: "Can you handle that much fun?"

Oh, yeah. Ashley is just a barrel of monkeys. Dude. Kat Von D. What if JP started grilling you on why your marriage didn't work out?

JP, predictably, is fuming over the snap judgment. And Ashley, insecure as ever in her own feelings, starts doubting herself.

"The truth is, I could be with Ben," she ponders. What a rousing endorsement for the sole remaining Josh Groban-look-alike, whose interrogation is up next. Because Chrystie clearly feels sort of bad about being such a you-know-what regarding JP, she seems to go easier on Ben. But she's really won over when Ben and Ashley start doing something they call "dog voice," in which their voices get frighteningly high and they pretend to be speaking to imaginary puppies. If that doesn't mean they're compatible, I mean, I don't know what does.

Once Ashley is finally free of her family, she's able to spend some one-on-one time with Ben, who opts for a quirky "Gilligan's Island"-themed outfit for his final date. If he wasn't already out of the running, I'm pretty sure that straw fedora sealed the deal.

While Ben and Ashley had a sexy-time date in a mud bath -- where it looked like they could have picked up some kind of foreign disease -- it couldn't rival the intimacy of Ashley's date with JP. Plus, JP brought out the big guns: A gift. He writes a cheesy note in a photo album that only had one picture of the two of them on a beach with the promise that if he was chosen, they could fill out the rest together. JP got skills, yo.

And then Neil Lane -- jeweler and makeshift therapist -- shows up in Fiji to offer both guys free diamond rings to put on Ash's finger. Neil is kind of the best. Even though he's blatantly just trying to get a little airtime for his brand, he totally tries to engage with the guys as they're picking out rings.

"Long road?" he asks JP sympathetically, "What happens if she says no?"

Um, let's cool it with the questions, Neil. JP is still reeling from Chrystie's sneak attack.

Not surprisingly, JP makes a much classier ring selection than Ben does. Which makes it all the more sad that Ben is about to be sent home. Is watching the runner-up get get smacked down not always beyond tragic? Everyone I was watching the finale with was shielding their eyes with blankets and shrieking in discomfort.

Ben shows up, oblivious to Ashley's tears -- which are about to start falling as she prepares to reject him.

"Before you say anything," Ben begins, getting down on his knee and asking for Ashley's hand in marriage. Girl! Have you not seen any of the past seasons of this show? You don't let the guy get down on his knee when you know you don't want to be with him. That's just cruel and unusual punishment.

Ben doesn't see the rejection coming at all and is quickly enraged when he realizes he's going to be heading back to Sonoma empty-handed. Ashley tries to tell him that's he great and smart and looks just like Josh Groban and blahblahblah.

"I don't need you to sugarcoat it," Ben says, walking out. "JP is a wonderful guy. I'm sure you'll have a nice life together."

Burn.

Ashley's upset, until hunky JP comes walking out of the seaplane in his well-tailored suit.

"Hey handsome," she says, prompting us all to vomit.

They both drop the L-bomb numerous times, JP proposes, Ashley accepts, then they hug and kiss and Ashley calls JP "baby" 400 times and then they walk in the ocean and ruin Ashley's not-that-nice dress. Yay!

And according to the "After the Final Rose" special, the pair are still together. Ashley is planning to move to New York, where she can be close to JP's mom Ilene and her button sweater and far from her sister and her mean tattoos.

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Photo: Ashley chooses JP as her final pick in Fiji. Credit: ABC.

'The Bachelorette' recap: Behind the scenes at 'Men Tell All' [Video]

Oh, “Men Tell All.” Let’s not beat around the bush, “Bachelor” nation: This is typically the worst episode of the season, right? Gathering all the rejected suitors together to discuss a handful of clips we’ve already seen always seems like a blatant ploy to boost interest in the following week’s season finale.

But, hey, at least this season the "Men Tell All" episode aired only a day before Monday’s finale. Plus, I got the opportunity to attend the taping – which is why I’ve been able to post these behind-the-scenes interviews with Constantine, Ryan and Ashley all week long.

Still, this season’s “Men Tell All” special was pretty dull. Despite teasers that blatantly implied the villainous Bentley would show up to face off against Ashley, he chickened out, blaming his absence on his “brother’s wedding.” Sure, dude. Knowing how desperate this show is for drama, I’m sure they would have rescheduled the entire event if Bentley was actually going to show his face.

Last week on 'The Bachelorette'...

Alas, despite him not actually being there in the flesh, Bentley was still the topic of much conversation during Sunday’s episode. I don’t even want to rehash much of what was said about the guy, since he didn’t even attend. But thanks to Constantine for voicing what we’ve all been thinking all season about Bentley’s shady motives: “Supposedly he owns a family fun center—so, great promotion?”

Anyway, let’s forget about that dirtbag and move on to the most important moment of the evening, which was clearly Ashley telling Ben C. that he was the one she most regretted sending home this season. Can I get an a-men? She and Ben C. were totally on a solid path until William threw him under the bus, insinuating that Ben was looking forward to cleaning up online dating sites once he got off the show. Ashley  -- still rattled by Bentley’s sudden exit -– was so surprised by the news that she let insecurities get the best of her and sent Ben packing before he even had a chance to explain the alleged comments.

Backstage at the show’s taping last weekend, I asked Ben why he didn’t stick up for himself more when Ashley kicked him off.

“I was so blindsided, I literally thought I misheard what she told me. And then when it registered, because I was kind of in shock, I told her, 'Listen, I don't know what you heard from who. But I know I was genuine throughout. So whatever you heard, it was kidding around,’” he told me.

But the fact that Ashley admitted she might have been too hasty in sending Ben home gave him additional closure about the experience, he said.

“I would say it made me feel better, and the reason is because I think she and I both still know that probably we weren't right for one another in the end. I think that there may have been some things lacking with our chemistry,” he said. “But when she said that tonight, I thought it was her way of apologizing or just being sweet about the fact that she knows I went through a really difficult situation with how that ended. So I appreciated that she said that.”

Some other highlights?

-How hilarious was Tim, the liquor distributor who got tanked on his first night in the mansion and had to be carried out only a few hours after his arrival? I thought he totally redeemed himself tonight by admitting that he made a horrible mistake in getting so drunk in a failed attempt to loosen up. “You wake up the next day and you wanna stick your head in the sand and say, 'What the hell did I do to myself?’" he admitted, prompting me to actually feel a little sorry for the guy.

-The unseen moment in which Harrison pressed Ashley about the questionably-placed vat of Vaseline on her bedside table. “I put Vaseline on my lips as ChapStick,” she insisted. “I put it on my lips, but also a little bit on the outside. You don’t want to wake up next to me – that’s all I’m saying.” I wonder if JP and/or Ben got a little preview of that loveliness in the Fiji fantasy suite? Eh, eh?

-The preview for the upcoming season of the “Bachelor Pad.” Um, wow. Not sure I even have words. Did anyone else catch that revolting night-vision camera shot of Kasey and Vienna having what appeared to be sex? And Michael telling his ex-fiancee, Holly, that he “really still loves the [expletive]” out of her? Chivalry at its finest, folks. Why do we watch this trash? And why am I even pretending that I’m not going to be plopped in front of the television to be repulsed by said events next week?

-The overwhelmingly positive audience response for Ames. Dude has the ladies going cuh-ray-zee. Do we think this means he could be the next “Bachelor?” I thought that his appearance on the “Bachelor Pad” would rule him out – especially since he seems to be dating someone on that show – but an ABC executive  revealed on his Twitter account that that doesn’t put Ames out of the running. Not sure how I feel about Ames being “The Bach.” I mean, sure, he’s cute and all, but I just have this horrible vision of him staring at a gaggle of beautiful women dumbfounded, and then plying himself with alcohol so he can feel comfortable enough to make a move like he did on Ashley in the elevator this season.

- “I kind of consider you like a camp counselor: You’re just really happy about everything.” – Lucas on Ryan. One of the best lines of the night. Followed by Ryan revealing that he brought “multiple books” on “questions to ask before you get engaged” and the like, which he took “pages and pages of notes” on. Oh, and he kept a journal, too. And the hole just keeps getting deeper.

Only 24 hours until Ashley sheds some more tears and probably ends up with a Neil Lane shiner on her fingers, folks. Let's hope she and oh-so-obvious winner JP last more than a year.

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-- Amy Kaufman
Twitter.com/AmyKinLA

Photo: Ashley Hebert and Ben Castoriano learn to dance on "The Bachelorette." Credit: Rick Rowell / ABC.

'Bachelorette': Watching show has been a 'down time' [Video]

Ashley Hebert has been at the receiving end of a fair share of criticism throughout her journey on "The Bachelorette" this season. Some of which, admittedly, has come from this very blog.

Since the show's premiere earlier this summer, many fans have questioned Hebert's decisions on the show -- most notably, her choice to keep bad boy Bentley Williams around when she had been warned that he wasn't there for the "right" reasons.

After the taping of the "Men Tell All" special, which aired Sunday, Hebert said in an interview with Show Tracker that she was initially deeply upset by the public's scrutiny. (You can watch a video of the sit-down below.)

"I think people, for some reason, think I knew what Bentley was saying. And if anything, it was the farthest thing from the truth," she said. "Not only did I never see any of the interviews. But he was just such a good actor, and he was trying to trick me intentionally. And he did a great job."

Hebert, who is studying to be a dentist at the University of Pennsylvania, said she watches the program while holed up alone in her "secluded" apartment -- an event she dreads.

"Monday nights are tough. They really are. It's really tough and watching it air. It was a really down time for me -- people judging and not understanding," she admitted. "The things that people say -- at first, it really, really got to me. But now I'm realizing people like to hate, and people are open to their own opinions and I need to respect that and not let it get to me. I feel like I've kind of built up this wall of armor. And I'm gonna need it."

Indeed. Whether or not Hebert chooses finalist JP Rosenbaum or Ben Flajnik during Monday night's finale, the media circus surrounding her engagement will no doubt be intense. But Hebert described the relationship she has with her current secret beau as "so strong and so great," adding that she's been communicating with him as the season has unfolded on-screen over the last few weeks.

"Surprisingly, I thought that I would have to help him through a lot, and even though I have, he's helped me through so much," she said. "I don't know how I would look back on all this if I wasn't as happy as I am now. He's made it great for me."

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-- Amy Kaufman
Twitter.com/AmyKinLA

Photo: Ashley Hebert is "The Bachelorette." Credit: ABC/Kenny Ting.

Ryan Park: 'Bachelorette' is engaged to JP 'without question' [Video]

When Ryan Park showed up in Fiji during Monday's episode of "The Bachelorette," I'm pretty sure I could I could hear the show's collective fanbase universally screaming at their televisions: "Why?"

Park, of course, had been sent packing by "Bachelorette" Ashley Hebert weeks earlier during a tragic date in Taiwan. Whilst in the midst of explaining his interesting gig in the solar panel industry, Hebert interrupted him and told him she just wasn't feeling any "passion" between them.

"You don't want to meet my parents?" Park responded, shocked that she didn't want to travel to Corona del Mar for a hometown date with him the following week.

Apparently, dude can't take a hint. Because this week, while Hebert was basking in the glow of the Fiji sunshine with her final three suitors, Park showed up on the island.

But how, oh how, could Park ever think that ploy would work?

"Well, I guess lucky for me I didn't know the history of all these shows," Park said in an interview last weekend after the taping of the upcoming "Men Tell All" episode, oozing with his trademark enthusiasm. (You can watch a video of the chat below.) "But who cares? The past is the past, and I felt like we had a lot in common and could maybe make it work. So I went for it."

Furthermore, he felt, he hadn't gotten a fair shot back in Taiwan, where he and Hebert went on a less-than-intimate date.

"Our one-on-one date was at a temple, tai chi -- and I just felt, 'Gosh, I got the short end of the stick,' " he said. "It's not like I can jump her bones doing tai chi, let alone in a temple. So I wanted to give it more of a shot and not leave anything on the table."

Unfortunately, the move didn't work, and Park got the boot for the second time. But in the end, he insists, he's happy that Hebert seems to have found love. And of the remaining two contestants, he's confident that JP Rosenbaum will be the one to put a ring on Hebert's finger.

"It's JP -- oh, without question," he said. "That was the hard part. That's where I felt like I got a little bit of the short end of the stick because JP had two dates before I even had the one. But the truth is, she started feeling for JP so early that it was like, 'Gosh.' It was futile, but I wasn't gonna give up."

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-- Amy Kaufman
Twitter.com/AmyKinLA

Photo: Ashley and Ryan share a kiss on "The Bachelorette." Credit: Rick Rowell / ABC

Constantine Tzortzis: Why I bowed out of 'Bachelorette' [Video]

 Love, as "Bachelorette" Ashley Hebert has insisted all season long, is a "two-way street."

In other words: Even though all of the men who showed up to compete for Hebert's affections are meant to instantly fall head over heels for her, many of them -- gasp! -- unfortunately did not.

One of those guys was Constantine Tzortzis, a 30-year-old restaurant owner from Georgia who made it all the way to the final three and then, during this week's episode in Fiji, realized that he just wasn't ready to propose to Hebert.

"I couldn't with all my heart stand in front of her father and say, 'Hey, I want to marry your daughter,'" Tzortzis during a sit-down last weekend after the taping of the "Men Tell All" episode, which will air on Sunday. "I wanted to gracefully bow out. And my biggest fear was that I was gonna look like Bentley or somebody else, and I didn't want to do that." (Watch a video of the interview below.)

Throughout the entire season, it was clear that the pair's relationship was progressing slowly. Hebert blamed the pace on Tzortzis' practical approach to life -- during their exotic date in Fiji, for example, she grilled him on how many houses he'd looked at before he decided to purchase one. "108," he replied. "But houses and women are not the same."

Indeed. And, Tzortzis insisted during our interview, if he met the right girl, he would jump head-first into the relationship.

"I think you're cautious when it's not the right person," he said. "I think it just happens to be that me and Ashley weren't meant for each other. And that's why there was that holding-back. Because if it was the right person, I would have been all over her. You couldn't have held me back."

Uh, ouch?

In any case, Tzortzis has now returned back to his restaurant in the South, which he says is "slammed" with business.

"Contrary to popular belief, I haven't retired from the restaurant business," he said. "[People are] like, 'Oh, you still work here?' And I'm like, 'Yeah, I've not struck gold yet.'"

Just a thought: Maybe he could make some additional dough by becoming a professional Josh Groban impersonator? All season long, viewers have compared him to the popular singer -- as well as fellow contestant Ben Flajnik.

"I remember I walked in to the party and I saw Ben, and I was like, 'That dude looks a lot like me. I'm staying away from him until I figure out who he is,'" Tzortzis joked. "To be compared to someone as nice and genuine as Ben -- I used to get Josh Groban, so to get Ben is fine too."

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-- Amy Kaufman
Twitter.com/AmyKinLA

Photo: Ashley Hebert and Constantine Tzortzis. Credit: Guy D'Alema / ABC

'The Bachelorette' recap: Only two score invites to fantasy suite

Before diving into this week's episode of "The Bachelorette," a disclaimer: I already knew Constantine was going home tonight -- I just didn't know how he'd be packing his bags. That's because I recently attended the taping of the "Men Tell All" episode that's going to air Sunday, and he was there in the flesh to tell his side of the story. If you check back on Show Tracker later this week, there will be plenty of behind-the-scenes dish from the upcoming show -- including video interviews with "The Bachelorette" herself, Constantine and some of our other favorite guys who got the boot earlier this season.

OK. Let's get to Fiji, which, according to Ashley, are a set of islands in the South Pacific that are "so lush and warm" where "the sun's always shining." In other words: "Thanks a lot putting the whole 'Bachelorette' cast and crew up for free here, Fiji Board of Tourism!" (Uh, just an assumption. Obv.)

Immediately, Ashley broke down her final three suitors: We've got Ben, who is -- most importantly -- "sincere and honest." The other two guys, however, just seem to be pieces of meat, since Ashley always describes her feelings for them first in purely physical terms. "I've really had my eye on him straight since he got out of the limo," she said of Constantine. And JP? "He looked like a model. I thought, 'How did I get this lucky?'" I'm so glad she's focusing on the important things at this stage of the game.

But before Ashley could even get some time in the good ol' fantasy suites with her final three guys, a reject arrived in Fiji. That's right, we've gotten to the point in the season where some poor soul who has been voted off weeks ago thinks that despite all odds, he has a shot at getting back in the competition if he just shows up in a super dramatic fashion. This never works, of course. But no matter. Ryan -- a.k.a. "You don't want to meet my parents?!?" -- decided to fly to Fiji because he felt like there were "things unsaid and undiscovered" between he and Ashley.

"What if she's regretting sending me home?" he wondered.

Yeah. She's not.

Once Ryan arrived, he told Ashley he just wanted a chance to spend more time with her, and didn't feel like the "super spiritual" tai chi they did on their final date was a "conducive environment for passion." I'm guessing she probably intended for it to be that way?

'The Bachelorette' recap: On the hometown dates, J.P. rolls over the competition

Heading into Monday night's episode of "The Bachelorette," J.P. was already my favorite remaining contestant. And then we met his mother Ilene and her button sweater. And that just put him over the top.

Little Ashley traveled to all four of her remaining suitors' hometowns this week, but she clearly had the best time in Roslyn, New York, the affluent Long Island village where J.P. grew up. Because it was raining upon Ashley's arrival, J.P. pulled out his best game and decided to take her to the local roller skating joint he'd frequented as a kid. There, the roller skates looked like they were filled with foot fungus and the disco ball hanging overhead was literally taped together. But the two lovebirds paid little mind, holding hands and giggling annoyingly as they skated around the rink.

Before heading over to his house, J.P. admitted to Ashley that his parents might seem ultra-protective of him because the last girl he'd brought home had later broken his heart. He never explained exactly what went down between him and his ex, but said the things she'd do "would cause him to doubt the relationship" -- a.k.a.: she probably cheated on him.

Despite her trepidation, Ilene greeted the pair with open arms. And she was a wearing a cardigan that had about 60 buttons sewn to the front of it -- officially making her one of the cutest moms to ever appear on a hometown date. While Ilene liked Ashley, she worried that her son's heart would be "broken the way it was broken before." (Uh, what exactly did this guy's ex do?)

"I am smitten by your son," Ashley assured Ilene. And that was all Ilene needed to hear.

"That is a very nice thing to hear," Ilene said, sounding like the truest of Jewish mothers. Then she hopped up, whipped out a Bar Mitzvah-esque embarrassing photo of J.P. at age 13 and the whole family laughed in his face.

None of the other hometown dates were disastrous -- unfortunately for us, there weren't any taxidermy-filled rooms or trips to the mortuary this season -- but it seems all but a forgone conclusion at this point that Ashley will end up engaged to J.P.

Sure, Ben, the winemaker from Sonoma, is putting up a good fight. First of all, he's "physically exactly" Ashley's type -- a point that should be obvious, since two of the guys in her final three look nearly identical.

"The hair," she cooed before meeting Ben at a vineyard. "The fashion. The sense of humor. He's a winemaker. He makes wine. I mean, that's so cool."

Alright, sweetie, it's not that cool. He also doesn't own the vineyard. He, like, rents out space there. Let's not forget that little Internet ad sales title -- or something to that effect -- that conveniently slipped off of his job description card as the season has progressed.

Regardless: I am pretty pro-Ben. Sure, he's a little goofy sometimes and tries a little too hard to play up his cuteness. But I think he's endearingly straightforward, even when that might not be the best tactic to play. Before heading to his house, he told Ashley he'd only ever brought one girl home to meet his mother and his sister.

"It needs to work, otherwise, it just doesn't work for me," he said of the family dynamic. Pressure, much? Luckily for Ashley, the other ladies in Ben's life seemed OK with her -- and his mom even told Ben that his late father was probably looking down on him and thinking "well done." The moment stirred a bunch of emotions for Ben, who apologized to his mom for not being a better son when the death occurred.

My dad "is everything that I am today," Ben said later, tearing up in a confessional-style interview. "I miss him. I do."

Ugh! Benners! I'm going to feel even worse for you when you get sent home from Fiji in a couple of weeks.

This week, my pity was reserved for Ames, who is clearly still suffering from the concussion he got back in Asia. How dumbfounded did he look, mouth agape, when Ashley didn't give him a flower at the rose ceremony? And then he winked at her bizarrely before she took him outside for the break-up talk? What was occurring?

"I'm composed all the time, but not now," he admitted outside. Ashley barely explained her reasoning for sending Ames packing, instead offering him a cringe-inducing handshake.

"I've fallen in love with somebody who clearly did not love me back," Ames said matter-of-factly in the limo as it drove away. If Ames couldn't tell that his large forehead was on the chopping block, his sister back in Chadds Ford, Pa., could. (Really. His family lives on a bucolic farm in a town of that perfectly apt name.)

"I'd get a little more personal next time you're with her," Ames' sister advised him. So sweet Ames took Ashley out to a field with one of those expensive wicker picnic baskets and they sat under a pretty magnolia tree. There, they shared "the most romantic kiss" he said he'd ever had -- a five-second-long, closed-mouth mess of a thing. He even got someone on the estate to drive them around in a horse and carriage. But that didn't do the trick, as Ames was destined to be the "good on paper" guy this season.

Meanwhile, on his Twitter account this week, host Chris Harrison referred to a "dark horse" emerging during the hometown dates. I assume he was referring to Constantine, who finally seemed to come out of his shell while surrounded by his fun Greek family back in Georgia. Although unlike Ben -- the other Josh Groban lookalike -- I'm not totally sure what Ashley digs about Constantine other than his looks.

"Love that long hair," she gushed before walking into the restaurant Constantine owns. "His build is great. He's just a man."

Indeed, he is. As are, presumably, the other three people you are dating.

Constantine has been the one guy who has withheld his feelings from Ashley this season, refusing to fall for her simply because that's supposed to be the premise of the show. But at home, he finally admitted things were "clicking" for him, and that he might consider proposing to her in a few weeks. Sadly, I don't think a fun evening with Greek dancing is enough to keep this guy around in the long haul.

Beyond stoked for Fiji next week. Who shows up? (Why do people ever return after being voted off, by the way? Has that ever worked out once?) Do we think it's Ryan? Maybe Ames? I really hope it's not Ryan. No, dude, she still doesn't want to meet your parents.

--Amy Kaufman

Twitter.com/AmyKinLA

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Photo: Ashley, right, shows J.P. a few moves on the roller skating rink. Credit: ABC.