So Close: Did J.P. Rosenbaum Briefly Dump 'Bachelorette' Ashley?

You know, it's just no good handing some men their freedom when they just can't wait to hand it right back.

Barely 48 hours removed from the finale of "The Bachelorette" revealing that it was Long Island construction contractor J.P. Rosenbaum who won Ashley Hebert's hand in marriage, the rumors are already flying that the show had barely wrapped shooting when he almost had a genius change of heart and dumped her.

A "friend" of the two - and my, I've seen termites that don't come out of woodwork like these alleged "friends" do to tell all when a few bucks are waved around - told Life & Style Magazine recently that J.P. dumped his bride-to-be shortly after the show's May 13 debut. Apparently, the "friend" said, he just couldn't cope with watching her develop feelings for other men before his very eyes.

“It just wasn’t working out, and when J.P. is upset about something, he’ll just say, ‘Okay, it’s over,'" the source said.

There's some creedence to the rumor. Ashley did admit on the "After The Final Rose" special that aired right after the Aug. 1 season finale that J.P. struggled to watch what transpired throughout the taping.

But still another source claims that distance and assaults on privacy started driving a wedge between the two.

Hey Ashley . . . any of this sounding familiar just yet?

"A few days later, they got back together," said the second source.

To be honest, I know that ABC executives are too smart to walk away from an ATM that's spitting out money. This season excepted, the show draws ratings. What I can't believe, is that for all the stories of strained relationships and the wear-and-tear of the public eye on people's hearts, that people keep volunteering for this show!

Say what you will about the Insta-Fame factor. I challenge you, name one single contestant from any season that really went on and did something big because of the notoriety their dignity-imolating experience gained them. Can't name one, can you?

People, I'll tell you what will finally clear the dust from this reality train-wreck: stop volunteering!

Get it through your thick skulls that almost every scrap of evidence - OK, except maybe for Mike Mizanin of "The Real World" becoming a WWE Champion and main-eventing Wrestlemania - proves that the house always wins in these scenarios: you never get something lasting out of it, you end up more damaged than you started, and only the networks ultimately profit.

Stop volunteering, and there's no show left to broadcast.

Yeah, yeah . . . blah, blah, deaf ears.

See you next season!