We're gonna need Barb on every Bachelor Nation show from now on, please.
We're gonna need Barb on every Bachelor Nation show from now on, please.
Peter Weber's mother, Barbara, was a highlight of the entire two-part Bachelor finale on Monday and Tuesday nights, and when the time came for her to speak her mind, she didn't hold back!
Barb had visible reactions throughout the show -- as Peter split from his fiancee and final choice, Hannah Ann, and reunited with runner-up Madison, deciding to take things "one day at a time" as they admitted to still having feelings for each other.
Peter's mom also took the hot seat to explain her emotions in part one of the finale -- where she quickly decided she was Team Hannah Ann. But it wasn't Barb begging her son not to "let her go" that made headlines. Instead, fans were debating whether it was appropriate for Barbara to so candidly express which woman she was rooting for... and her conduct when questioning Madison about her fantasy suite ultimatum.
Barb said on Tuesday night that she was exhausted after traveling to Australia and waiting to meet Madison. "When she did come in... we didn't get an apology from her, and when I proceeded to ask her if she was madly in love with my son, she said no and she would not accept a proposal in four days," she continues. Barb says, "As a mother, that wasn't what we were expecting."
"When I said I wanted Hannah Ann so badly, it was because... we just clicked right away," Barb continues. "We did not have that connection with Madison."
"I mean, at the end of the day, it is what it is," Madison said in response. "Can't change the past, and there's a lot that was out of my control."
She added that she's been herself throughout the entire show -- and gets a huge applause. "I'm not a mom, so I don't know what it's like to have a son, to have kids. I know that I have love and respect for Peter. Therefore I have love and respect for Peter's family and I will never say a negative word about anyone or anything," she continued.
Peter said his parents have his best interests at heart -- "but it all comes from a place of love." "I know their biggest worry.. was you weren't there with me to where I was with you," he told Madison. "I can tell you guys I know how she feels for me, and I know how I feel for you."
He asked his parents to give Madison a chance and trust him. "This is someone that I love and I fell in love with... do we have differences? Yeah... but it's something I'm willing to take in stride with her, and I hope you guys can understand that," Peter said.
However, Barb stood her ground, saying Madison is not willing to compromise -- and that her whole family agrees. "He's going to have to fail to succeed...Everyone that knows him knows it's not going to work," she hissed -- getting boos from the audience.
"I'm telling you that I love Madison, and that should be enough," Peter ultimately pleaded. "Please!"
While fan discussion and backlash erupted on Monday, Barb wrote on Instagram that she's staying positive. "I ignore all the negatives!!" she wrote in response to a comment on her most recent Instagram post.
Still, many fans called Barbara out for her conversation with Madison, with some accusing her of shaming the Alabama native for her religious beliefs. Others called Barbara "manipulative" and slammed her for being so emotional. Madison had previously issued Peter an ultimatum before fantasy suite week, telling him that she wouldn't feel comfortable moving forward if he were to have slept with the other women. The Bachelor admitted to her that he had been intimate.
"I respect you for your values and if I didn’t want to go to the fantasy suite because if I was you, I would not. But, to tell someone else, when there are other girls that he has very strong feelings for, whether he wants to get physical with them or be emotional, that’s up to him," Barbara said during her meeting with Madison.
"Yes, but also at the same time, my expectations and feelings are valid just as much as his and I totally get that’s his journey, but it’s also mine. I have the standards that I have. I’m not going to apologize for that. I’m not going to be ashamed of that or be remorseful of that because I didn’t tell him what to do," Madison replied. "All I said was it’s going to be hard for me to continue to work through this if this happens. I just want to be open and honest about how it will make me feel. That’s all I wanted to do."
Peter's reunion with Madison is not the first time a Bachelor has pulled a finale switcheroo. Jason Mesnick's 2009 season finale saw him end his relationship with his final pick, Melissa Rycroft, on After the Final Rose -- and ask his runner-up, Molly Malaney, to take him back. He and Malaney married in 2010, and they're still together. Arie Luyendyk Jr. also broke up with his final pick, Becca Kufrin, on his 2018 season. Their unedited breakup played out on our TV screens, and he proposed to his runner-up, Lauren Burnham, on night two of his finale. Luyendyk and Burnham married in January 2019.
ET's Lauren Zima will be recapping everything that goes down on The Bachelor finale, right after the show. Watch ET Live on your Roku, Apple TV or Amazon Fire TV or you can stream on Pluto TV and Samsung TV Plus.
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