Are Madison Prewett and 'Bachelor' Peter Weber Dating Now, or What?

After that hot garbage dumpster fire of a Bachelor finale and "After the Final Rose" (opens in new tab) (I know it's controversial, but I'm still #TeamBarb (opens in new tab), even though her epic side-eye led to a bunch of Twitter fury), there was a lot of love for Madison Prewett (opens in new tab) and the "happy" ending she got with Peter Weber. But hang on just one second: Today, there are some theories (opens in new tab) that the two are not, as the producers would have you believe, happily and quietly dating. Neither have commented, but there are signs that all is not long-distance bliss between Alabama/California.

Honestly, after that absolute insanity, who knows what the shaken couple must have said to each other in the hotel room afterwards (plus, we know Weber is an expert at flip-flopping in a failed attempt to avoid pissing off anyone. And his mom is PISSED). Are Prewett and Weber still dating after all that madness? Here's what we know.

Update, 3/13/20: Aaaand there it is. Prewett (opens in new tab) and Weber (opens in new tab) have both separately confirmed what we figured was coming: The two are going their separate ways. 

Update, 3/12/20: I feel like every Bachelor fan is sitting refreshing their phones, waiting for the moment when Weber and Prewett take to social media again and (maybe) tell us what the hell is going on. They still haven't, and they may try to keep things quiet—but I have the feeling something will leak soon either way. There's a rumor that Prewett followed then unfollowed Weber, but I haven't seen a screenshot of that.

They're also currently not doing press, and even though showrunners insist that this was intentional, it certainly seems to have come as a surprise to Jimmy Kimmel and the Bachelor Happy Hour podcast, who were supposed to speak to him post-finale. 

Reality Steve has also provided some interesting news about the potential timeline (opens in new tab) between Weber breaking up with Sluss and Weber getting together with Prewett:

Courtney [Weber's close friend] had a baby shower on Feb. 1st. That day I was told Madison was in attendance...After that shit show went down on the ATFR, Peter’s friend Courtney took up for Madi and posted a pic from that very baby shower which took place on Feb. 1st showing Madison was in attendance. So piecing things together, just DAYS after Peter ends his engagement to Hannah Ann, Madison is hanging with one of Peter’s best friends at her baby shower. Do we honestly think Peter’s name wasn’t brought up? She knew he’d gotten engaged in Australia? A break up happened? Very sketchy now to believe that when Chris sat down with Madison on Feb. 11th to break “the news” to her, she didn’t already have a clue, if not know everything that had already happened.

Point also being that...there may be some off-camera overlap between Weber connecting with the two women, which is not great. Combine that with the rumor (opens in new tab) that Weber was also hanging out with Kelley Flanagan during this in-between period, and you have a Bachelor who appears to be talking to a few women simultaneously?? If Prewett has found that out, she must be pisssssed.

To add to the Weber family drama, Weber's brother Jack (opens in new tab) wrote on social media in response to comments: "Half these people don't even have the slightest clue as to how far Madi is from what the TV shows." And then this: "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? You need to learn how reality TV works." So, just in case we were wondering, the Weber family still hates Prewett. That's a huge, huge obstacle if the couple is still together.

Original post, 3/11/20:

Was Peter planning to propose to Madison?

Things didn't seem rosy between the couple once they got on stage, and there was even a moment where they might have a huge miscommunication. To be clear: I would love to be the super-sleuth who figured this out, but I first heard about this theory from Bachelor expert and former fellow Amanda Mitchell. To quote her: "To speculate, I think production and everyone, including Madi, thought there would be an engagement last night. Chris Harrison lobbed him a softball, you could see Madi physically prepare, and Weber spiked it into the ground." Oh shit!! How did I miss this? I mean, Neil Lane was there and everything!

Also noted: Throughout their segment, Weber started out with his arms around Prewett, then they turned away from each other and Weber started to look defeated as his mom basically howled at them both.

They haven't really confirmed that they're still dating...

What's so fascinating about this whole thing is that the words the two used about their dating status during ATFR were exceptionally vague. Prewett made it super-clear that this would be a private thing and that they may not even comment publicly: "At this point, I don’t feel like it’s right to sit here and rehash all the things in the past...Honestly, this is about me and Peter, this is about our journey, this is something just he and I should be talking about." Oof.

And Weber:

"I know how we both feel about each other. I think we’ll take it one step at a time, one day at a time...That is the smartest way to go at this. I know that I have a lot of healing to do. I know she does, too. But the way I feel for you, that’s never changed and I never lost that. Whatever that means, whatever this turns into. Do we have a million and one obstacles? Yeah. Is it all uphill? Probably."

I mean. That doesn't fill me with confidence, looking at those words on the face of it. It also doesn't help me with (another Bachelor word!) clarity about what, exactly, is going on between them. Also, as Mitchell notes, the couple didn't appear on Jimmy Kimmel like a lot of the couples do. 

Neither posted about their love to Instagram.

One of the things to look forward post-finale to is the loved-up Instagram posts that the couple share about each other: Thanking each other for their patience, talking about their "journey" to love, and reaffirming their feelings about each other. As of this writing, neither Weber nor Prewett have done that.

Runner-up and Weber's ex-fiancée Hannah Ann Sluss, however, has absolutely posted:

And I am delighted all over again. The fact that neither Weber nor Prewett acknowledged Sluss when they got on stage to declare their love for each other (love that only started after Sluss got her heart broken) was a very telling moment, for me. 

Words I thought I'd never say: Go Hannah Ann! 

For more stories like this, including celebrity news, beauty and fashion advice, savvy political commentary, and fascinating features, sign up for the Marie Claire newsletter.

SUBSCRIBE HERE (opens in new tab)