This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Utahn Bentley Williams went beyond villain, went beyond cad in this week's episode of "The Bachelorette." He made himself into one of the most hated guys in reality TV history.

He lied. He was a jerk. He was obnoxious beyond belief.

All in pursuit of ... well, who knows what he was in pursuit of? He clearly didn't want to "win" on "The Bachelorette" - he repeatedly made it clear to viewers that he had absolutely no interest in dating, let alone marrying, Ashley Hebert.

Last week, he told viewers he'd "rather be swimming in pee" than planning a wedding with her.

Nobody is saying that Ashley was particularly smart. In this week's episode, she confronted Bentley with information that she's received from another Utahn- Michelle Money, who was the villainess on the most recent season of "The Bachelor."

(Ashley was also one of the bachelorettes on that season.)

"She said that Bentley would be expecting to come here for a couple weeks and then go home," Ashley said. "And that he was here just to promote his business."

"I don't feel like it really applies to what we have going on here at all," Bentley insisted. "I have a feeling this might be coming from Michelle Money. She knows my ex-wife and I wouldn't even say that that would be a great source of information."

Actually, she was. Because, actually, Bentley was lying.

And he knew that Ashley had fallen for him.

"If you did choose to leave, it would be harder than anything I ever went through the last time I was here," she said.

"I'm totally on the same page with you," Bentley replied. "I'm following you every step of the way. I promise."

He was lying. And Ashley was completely taken in.

"After talking to Bentley, I believe every word he says. I'm not letting this injure our relationship," she said. "Honestly, my heart races when I'm with him. I feel warm, I feel comfortable, I feel secure, I feel protected, I feel like I could trust him forever."

It didn't stop there:

"I completely fell in love with Bentley last night," she said. "There's something about him that's so sincere . I just know that he's my guy."

And there was still more:

"If it was up to me, I would grab Bentley and take off to Salt Lake City. Today marks the first day of my love story."

Again, nobody is saying Ashley was smart about any of this.

Bentley not only lied, but he patted himself on the back and smirked about it.

"That was (expletive) close," he said."But I don't want to stay here anymore. I've been saying since the beginning, she's just not my type. I'm not feeling it. I feel like it's a waste of time and it's better just to walk away."

That would be fine, except that Bentley continued to lie to both Ashley and his fellow bachelors. Rather than just say, "You're not my type, I'm not interested," he came up with a plausible lie - the divorced father told everyone he had to get home to his 2-year-old daughter.

"I really miss my daughter, but she isn't the reason I'm leaving," Bentley said to the camera. "I'm not really into Ashley, so regardless of Ashley's emotions, I know it's the right decision for me."

When his fellow bachelors patted him on the back for his devotion to his daughter, he mocked them.

"These tools - these freaking idiots," he said. "They believed me. None of them have any idea that I don't care about Ashley. I had the opportunity, and I played everyone. That's something that's never been done before."

He's not just obnoxious, he's proud of being obnoxious.

"I'm going to make Ashley cry. I hope my hair looks OK," Bentley says with a laugh.

And then he leaves her hanging, never telling her the truth when he says goodbye.

"I talked to her like I would talk to a girl I was really interested in. The only difference it that I'm not (expletive) interested in her," Bentley said. "I'm thinking -how am I going to get out of this? Because I'm definitely done on the Ashley front."

But he hugged her. Kissed her. Played for sympathy by using his own daughter.

"It's annoying to hold a girl that's just crying and crying and crying," he said. " I'd already, like, checked out, you know? It was a lot of hugging, a lot of tears, a lot of kissing. I kissed her neck a bunch, actually.... Trying to turn her on a little bit."

That's just plain cruel. But gets worse.

"She's somebody that I'm not necessarily smitten by, but definitely, like, the type of girl that I would totally hook up with now and then," Bentley said.

It really was utterly reprehensible. This isn't "Survivor," where it's part of the game to lie, cheat and backstab.

Bentley Williams did all of that for no reason other than to get himself more face time on a TV show.

What he thought he was gaining is hard to say. Would anyone who's aware of his behavior want him to be their investment banker? Would anyone in their right mind actually date him?

Well, maybe. Ashley fell for him despite the fact that she had been warned.

But how proud his family must be. How proud his daughter will be one day.

Not all publicity is good publicity.

There are rumors Bentley may return later this season, but ABC will neither confirm nor deny those reports.