Over the course of the most recent season of The Bachelor, viewers spent roughly 1 bajillion hours with Peter Weber and his field of 30 female contenders (31, if you count Hannah Brown, whose unexpected return ignited an early controversy).
But it was a woman who appeared on screen only briefly -- at the very beginning and very end of the season -- whose behavior sparked this season's greatest debate.
We're talking, of course, about Barbara Weber.
As you're probably aware, Peter's mother took a staunch anti-Madison Prewett stance during Tuesday's season finale.
Clearly, Babs was of the belief that Peter made the right move when he proposed to Hannah Ann Sluss, and that he proceeded to eff it all up by dumping her so that he would be free to pursue Alabama Madi.
At this point, it's unclear if Peter and Madison are dating, or if the world's most indecisive pilot has already been distracted by something shiny and new.
Whatever the case, one thing is certain -- viewers have very, very strong feelings about Barbara.
For some, she's an overbearing helicopter mom who's nauseated by Madi's untainted virtue because of ... ya know, devil reasons.
For others, she's a realist who recognizes that a relationship between her hard-partying playboy son and a virginal fundamentalist is doomed to failure.
(Especially since they live about 2,000 miles apart. Why is that never mentioned, Chris Harrison?!)
Asked to describe her distaste for Madi during the live finale, Babs did not hold back.
"We had just come across the country—excuse me, across the world—and we were exhausted, we were just getting used to the time there, and we had to wait three hours, and when she did come in, the whole family...we didn't get an apology from her," Barbara said.
"Chris, he's going to have to fail to succeed. That's it. All his friends, all his family, everyone that knows him knows that it's not going to work."
Many viewers were critical of Barbara's treatment of her possible future daughter-in-law (ed. note: LOL), but others took a more nuanced view of the situation.
"This is reality TV. They portray everyone and everything how they want for views and drama," one commenter wrote on Instagram this week.
"Everyone needs to hope off and get a grip. If you think this is exactly how it went down then you need a reality check."
This prompted a reply from Peter's 25-year-old younger brother.
"Dude facts. Half these people don't even have the slightest clue as to how far Madi is from what the TV shows," Jack Weber wrote.
"Did you ever once think that there is a reason why only the family who has actually met this girl in person and knows what goes on behind the cameras has a different opinion?" he asked.
"You need to learn how reality TV works."
Well, we can't attest to Madison's behavior off camera, but Jack's certainly correct in his assertion that reality TV never tells the whole story.
Of course, at the end of the day, the only people who know what Peter and Madison's relationship is like behind closed doors are Peter and Madison.
Although honestly, we're not sure if Madison's religious beliefs allow her to spend time behind closed doors with single men.
Look, we appreciate Peter's wholesome belief that love conquers all, but the fact is, there are situations in which a couple's differences in values and lifestyles can prove insurmountable.
And if pressed, we couldn't come up with a better example than an evangelical virgin and a Don Juan pilot who loves the nightlife. Just sayin'!
