Just in time for season 15 of The Bachelorette, I had an encounter with a real-life version of what’s seen on this television show. For the sake of anonymity, we’ll call her Penelope. I’ve known Penelope for a while now, and there was a part of her life that always fascinated me.
Never have I thought of what it’d be like to test the waters with more than one guy; dating in college is still a new concept for me. But Penelope exudes what it means to have freedom in dating until finding the right person for yourself. Penelope says that most of the guys she dated knew she was openly dating and who else she was hanging out with. Essentially, she told me that she made it clear to the guys that she wasn’t prepared to have an exclusive relationship.
“My mindset was kind of just, ‘Why not?’ at the time. I had just gotten out of a two-year relationship and definitely needed some me-time.”
Penelope emphasized that “one of the worst things you can do after a pretty bad breakup is to seclude yourself from people, so I just put myself out there.” After so much time, she felt reminded how to be open with people again. Having had so much attention from one person, it took time for Penelope to get used to that attention coming from anyone else but him. In the long-run, she was definitely thriving in figuring out what she looks for in a relationship.
“I was more trying to find out what kind of man I wanted in the future. I took note of the different types of guys I was hanging out with and what I liked or disliked about them. I used that knowledge to choose my current boyfriend.” With a sweet ending to her multitude of romantic endeavors, Penelope also shared with us a tale of caution: “I definitely wouldn’t recommend it to anyone who has a hard time separating their emotions from what is good for them in the long run. In other words, don’t try this if you think you’d get attached to more than one of these guys.”
So does Penelope view herself similarly to the Bachelorette? “I wouldn’t necessarily say I’m like the Bachelorette just because their relationships are obviously somewhat forced. I wasn’t really looking to date exclusively at all and didn’t really plan on having a serious relationship with any of them in the end. It was sort of like The Bachelorette in the way that multiple guys were seeking my attention and trying to win me over.” What are your thoughts? Did we find almost an unintended real-life bachelorette?
The main takeaway Penelope expresses about openly dating is that “it was very liberating and confidence-building.” Whether you view her as similar to the Bachelorette or not, we’re happy to hear that Penelope rebuilt her openness and confidence while also giving out that final rose.