Emily Maynard & Jef Holm

When the news broke on Friday that former Bachelor Ben Flajnik has split from fiance Courtney Robertson, absolutely no one was surprised to hear they've called it quits. Honestly, instead of being shocked or bummed out, my reaction was more along the lines of, "What the hell took them so long to realize there was no way they were going to make it?"

Face it -- those two were doomed from the start, and considering just how badly they were torn apart in the tabloids after Ben gave Courtney the final rose, a breakup was pretty much inevitable. And that's why as much as we'd all love to see another Bachelor or Bachelorette romance wind up with a happy ending, Courtney and Ben's demise is really, really bad news for Emily Maynard and Jef Holm.

Because if Ben and Courtney weren't able to survive people calling her a man-eater and calling him a pushover with a seriously horrible haircut, then there's absolutely no way Emily and Jef are going to be able to dig out from under the cheating scandal that has surrounded them since their engagement.

Actually, as far as being absolutely clobbered senseless by the tabloids, Courtney and Ben were basically treated like royalty compared to the nonsense Emily and Jef have had to contend with. And it's not even like there is just one stupid cheating rumor lurking over their heads. Nope, they've got multiple layers of gossip and character-damaging crap following their every move, and if I had to guess, I'd say the accusations are probably going to keep getting worse until they're finally driven apart for good.

First Emily was accused of sleeping with Arie before ultimately choosing Jef. And then there were the stories about her exchanging racy texts with football player Matt Leinart. And then Jef got thrown into the mix and is supposedly still talking to his ex-girlfriend -- and oh yeah, Emily's paying him to make their "fake" relationship seem real and he wants her to be one of his 11 future wives (or some other blatantly ridiculous story).

Jef and Em have put on a very brave face so far, but one of these days, one of them is just not going to be able to take the pressure of living their life in the spotlight anymore. And now that Courtney and Ben have finally caved and decided to stop trying to convince themselves that they are meant to live happily ever after, it gives Jef and Emily even less incentive to try and make things work. If America's most hated couple couldn't take the heat -- how is the couple who went from being America's sweethearts to The Bachelorette pair no one can seem to accept being the real deal overnight supposed to be expected to hang on?

Were you surprised to hear that Courtney and Ben broke up? Will Jef and Emily last much longer?

 

Image via ABC