Dean is proof that even the biggest jerks can change
IT may be easy to hate a man who rhymes “little lady” with “drive me crazy” in rap, but it seems there’s more to Dean Wells than we all thought, writes Katy Hall.
Rendezview
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HATING Dean Wells has become a bit of a sport for many Australians.
Given his relentlessly bad behaviour throughout this season of Married at First Sight it’s been remarkably easy.
There was the time he began texting another woman (Davina) behind his ‘wife’s (Tracey) back. The time he met up with Davina and hatched a plan to run away with her all while blindsiding Tracey, the woman he’d come on the show to be expertly matched with. The time he, after deciding to ditch their grand elopement plan, palmed off a large part of the blame to Davina, who, it’s worth noting, is a cool 12 years his junior.
Let’s also not forget the time he wrote and performed a rap in a bid to redeem himself to Tracey. Or when his testosterone levels peaked at “boy’s night” and he broached the topic of “if you could swap your wife for someone else who would it be?” and then appeared genuinely offended why no one wanted to “bang” Tracey. “C’mon guys, she’s hot,” he said while dragging his knuckles along the ground, searching for the way back to his neolithical cave in the wall.
There were also his many denials that his behaviour had, at any point, been problematic and his reasoning that one can be both a feminist and a commodofier of women at the same time.
So, yeah, you could say that the jury took a 30 second recess before delivering its finding that Dean is the world’s douchiest douchelord that ever did breathe the same air as us enlightened folks, but that was before Tuesday night’s dinner party.
While most of the show’s participants were passing glances at one another about which couples were still together, no longer together, and newly matched up in makeshift partner swaps, Dean was down to business.
Upon being faced with his ex dating someone new (Sean, who was for a time ‘married’ to Blair; try to keep up), Dean’s response was, “I’m happy for you. It’s awesome.”
He cleared the air with Davina by apologising for his behaviour and handling of their situation, and pointed no blame her way despite the fact that seconds earlier she’d compared him to dirt on a deserted island and reasoned that she’d only been attracted to him because he was “the best of a bad bunch.”
Later on, when Davina tried to slag off Tracey and set a cat among the pigeons, Dean doused out the potential fire out within seconds.
“There’s nothing wrong with her. We have a good relationship, why can’t we just be friends?” he asked seemingly frustrated.
And when Sean tried to accuse Dean of harassing Tracey and being a serial pest, Dean didn’t lose his temper or pass the buck the way we’ve seen him do in previous episodes, but rather he kept calm, carried on, and went directly to the source, telling Tracey that he wanted to clarify the issue. “It’s fine for you. I’m the one being accused of harassing someone. All I’m saying is, clarification,” Dean reasoned.
Where and when this newly ‘woke’ Dean emerged is still unclear, as is whether he’s simply visiting or planning to make a more permanent stay. But even if it was for one episode, it was promising.
Not only did the biggest jerk of the series take ownership of his behaviour, but he proactively sought to take account for his wrongdoings and make amends where possible. And if someone who rhymes “little lady” with “drive me crazy” can sort it out then there’s hope for even the biggest of drongos, right?
That or he’s just pulled off a masterstroke of reality television.
Katy Hall is a writer and producer at RendezView.