STARS: 3/5
Heartbreaker of “Bachelor in Paradise” Dean Unglert has a new podcast “HELP! I Suck At Dating,” and though he could use some help in recording, it’s at least an attempt at helping others who are just at bad as dating as he is.
Sweetheart of Rachel Lindsay’s ”The Bachelorette” season and major player on this summer’s “Bachelor in Paradise,” the podcast exemplifies his inability to be in a lasting relationship.
He first released a few teaser episodes on Sept. 22 which explain why he sucks at dating, focusing mainly on his Kristina and DLo love triangle on “Bachelor in Paradise.” He was simultaneously dating, or stringing along, both Kristina Schulman and Danielle Lombard throughout the summer, depleting the adorable reputation he had created for himself on “The Bachelorette” only a few months earlier.
His second teaser was Unglert and Schulman talking about Unglert’s failed attempt at a relationship with her. It was entertaining to hear the two of them go back and forth about how Unglert led Schulman on for too long, and the two remained very lighthearted.
The first 44-minute episode was released on Sept. 25, with Unglert speaking with fans, his friends, a dating expert and even his first girlfriend. He tracked down his fifth grade girlfriend, Zoe, and the two of them discuss how goofy it was to be in a relationship at such a young age. It was an awkward attempt at a combination of humor and genuine advice from somebody Unglert hasn’t spoken to in years.
Professional matchmaker Rachel DeAlto from “Married at First Sight,” a show about six strangers who put their trust in a relationship expert to pair them with a stranger who they vow to marry, was the dating expert of the week on Unglert’s podcast and gave Unglert helpful tips on how to find what he wants from a relationship.
The interviews were slightly awkward, mainly because Unglert doesn’t know how to be an interviewer. He spoke over the interviewee several times, explaining how he would improve his dating based on what they were saying but not letting them finish what they were trying to say.
His public attempt to better his dating life is congenial, but it’s hard to tell if Unglert is genuine about getting help, or if he’s doing it to maintain his 15 minutes of fame and restore his former Bachelorette reputation.
