'The Bachelorette' bachelor Mikey Tenerelli: I'm very proud of Michael Garofola for calling out Ben Scott

The Bachelorette bachelor Mikey Tenerelli, a 30-year-old plumbing contractor from Winfield, IL, was eliminated during Monday night's broadcast via the fifth episode's Rose Ceremony.
 
The Bachelorette star Desiree Hartsock sent Mikey home after canceling the cocktail party because she had made up her mind about who should stay and who should go. Mikey seemed disappointed Des didn't take that extra time to continue getting to know him when he had yet to even receive a one-on-one date.


In addition, Mikey was the guy that apparently had the conversation with James Case in which Drew Kenney and Kasey Stewart allegedly overheard James talking about how he could potentially be the next Bachelor if he played his cards right and looked forward to picking up "women with money" on Mikey's boat in Chicago.
 
During a Thursday conference call with reporters, Mikey talked to Reality TV World about his The Bachelorette experience. To read what he had to say, click here. Below are some additional highlights from his call. Check back with Reality TV World on Monday for more.  

Could you talk a little bit about the connection you had with Desiree, some of the conversations you had together and what your feelings for her were?

Mikey Tenerelli: Yeah absolutely. I mean, right out of the limo, I felt a connection with Desiree. We physically and intellectually -- sometimes you hear the saying that it takes a minute or two to kind of establish something, and I felt that with her -- a "when you know, you know"-type deal. So you know, pretty much from the limo and everything afterwards, every conversation I had went well.

We talked a lot about family. We talked about her life, my life, about where we see it going, different things we had in common, and things we did not have in common. That just furthered every time we met, every time I talked with her, every group date. It progressed naturally like a natural relationship would over time.


Were you able to pinpoint what Des' type of guy is or what exactly she's looking for in a guy?

Mikey Tenerelli: It was so hard because [there were] 25 different guys. Some of them were similar in ways and some of them were a little more different in ways. We all had different things we brought to the table. Like I said, I felt like there were a few guys that were like myself that kept moving on in the process, so I felt good about that.

But then there were a few guys that I felt like my personality and my look was kind of opposite of that were moving on as well. As usual with this type of process, I was kind of -- my head was spinning the whole time and I was just trying to continue things with her the best I thought possible.

You were very anti-Ben Scott this season. What did you think of Michael Garofola's approach on the two-on-one date? Do you think he went about it the right way?

Mikey Tenerelli: You know, I was proud of Michael because all the issues we had with Ben, as you saw, Michael kind of brought up to Desiree. I don't think any of the other guys did that thus far this season, as we saw, and I was proud of the fact that he brought up some of the real pressing things that all the rest of the guys weren't.


So yeah, Desiree as you saw, kind of said, "Hey, you're getting a little harsh" -- this and that. But Michael had a lot of built-up frustration, you know, and he just kind of -- I thought he went about it in a good way. He was diligent about it. He didn't scream and yell and go nuts, he just made his points and what not. So I'm very proud of what he did on that two-on-one date.

We saw you get really annoyed when Zak Waddell interrupted your time with Desiree on the group date. Do you think if you had more time with Desiree, you might've stayed?

Mikey Tenerelli: It's hard to tell. I got frustrated with anyone who interrupted me, not just Zak, but anyone. Because it was just such a -- you fight for such little time. I'd like to say that yeah, if I got more time with Des I would've stayed. I think part of the conversation that you saw, Des asked me about Chicago and if I was willing to pick up and leave.

And I said that if you're in love with someone, you'll make it work. And that was my answer to her. For some reason, that sticks with me and I feel like that wasn't a good enough answer or that wasn't the answer she was looking for. But of course I would've loved more time and I feel like I could've furthered things, but I wasn't frustrated directly at Zak. I was frustrated with everyone that interrupted me.

Looking back on your time with Des during the group date, do you think your metaphor talk of building a big snowman family with five kids scared her away a bit or maybe the idea of you potentially wanting her to move to Chicago?


Mikey Tenerelli: No, I think from the conversations I've had with her, we both talked and agreed that we would like big families, so I don't think the five kids discussion bothered her at all. I think we were on the same page with that.

I do think though -- I think she started to notice how -- I always talked about my family and my friends, and I think she started as the weeks went on to pick up on the fact that I wasn't just willing to take off and lose that. The answer I gave her in Germany was that if we love each other, we'll make it work, we'll figure it out. I didn't give a definite answer, and I think that was really what got me eliminated in Germany.

During a Thursday conference call with reporters, Mikey talked to Reality TV World about his The Bachelorette experience. To read what he had to say, click here. Above are some additional highlights from his call. Check back with Reality TV World on Monday for more.  






About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski