Tonight we’re on the 2nd night of the Fantasy Suites on ABC’s The Bachelorette! It’s clear that tonight will have a lot of new information for us to take in that has been teased throughout the season with Rachel Recchia and Gabby Windey. Jesse Palmer has his work cut out for him. We pick up with Gabby and Erich who were talking about the fact that she is still in the process and he doesn’t like it. In this case, you’ve signed up for a show where this is very much so the format, so it shouldn’t be an issue that is surprising to everyone. Although they talked about this off camera during Fantasy Suites, it’s the rehashing of this that we can is on Gabby’s mind. Gabby reaches out to Jesse so that she can gain some perspective and talk through her feelings.
She prepares for her overnight date with Jason and knows that she needs to make the decision that is the right one for her. Jason in his confessional lets us know that since his Hometowns, he knows he is there for Gabby, BUT he isn’t ready to be engaged! Jason and Gabby are going to play tennis which he used to play in college! She wants to show that she can enjoy or at least do something that he is passionate about. He teaches her how to serve and you can see the ease that is between them. It looks like a great fit, but we know that Jason has expressed his own concerns. From the tennis court, they head to the pool and Erich can hear their date while he’s looking out his balcony.
Back on the date, they catch up on how Hometowns was for both of them and how Jason’s parents were. The vibes seem positive and they’re reasonably on the same page. As they move to dinner, he knows that he needs to be transparent. He tells her that he is not fully there yet because of the environment and he wonders what’s real and what’s not. Again, Gabby has to leave the table and talk through what is happening and think about what this means in terms of the new reality that she is faced with. When he sees how she is doing, he lets her know that he is still in it, but he wants to do it outside of this bubble. Her decision with him is whether she wants to move forward with him or not. Even though everything is up in the air, she decides that she will spend the night with him because it could change things and she could get to know more about him.
Even though they had their night, by the time they were behind closed doors, it took a turn and it seemed like he couldn’t talk to her about the future. SHe realizes that he never loved her or intended to be with her and she sends him home.
We switch to Rachel who is about to have her final date with Zach to have a great day with him. Their date involves exploring the town while they get to know one another even more. They enjoy some tequila in a tasting at a little outdoor bar. They talk about the Hometown experience that they had and how much fun she had with his family. They explore foods, readings and so much more as they get to know more about one another. The date has put them both at ease and it seems like everything is going in a positive direction. Her biggest concern beyond being at this point on the other side with Clayton is, how will she decide which of these men are the ones for her?
As they transition into the evening portion of their date, Zach is looking forward to talking with her more as he sees his future with her and wants to be her husband. She lets him know that the week has been an interesting one as she was at this point previously with Clayton and she doesn’t want to bring those emotions into her present and future. He recognizes that this is tough and he wants to make sure that she is loved and cared for. They opt to do the Fantasy Suites.
We catch up with Zach and Rachel the next morning and we are aware that there was an extensive conversation between the two of them. Zach says that when he woke up, he was feeling confused because going into the night he wasn’t confused - now he is. Rachel told him that he may not be ready for a commitment due to his age and then she kicked up her questioning to the point where he was caught off guard. Her concern came out of nowhere to him and he feels that she was putting on a front! He decides that he wants to talk to Jesse. Visibly upset, with a few tears, he tells him what took place and how he feels about it. He explains that he feels a bit lost as every other interaction that he has had with her, he felt that there was a connection, but at Fantasy Suites, he realized that they both acted differently. When the cameras were not on them, he felt that the way she was acting wasn’t authentic and she kept harping on his age of 25 (where she is 26). He was surprised by this and he realizes that there may not be a future there. Jesse tells Zach that he needs to talk to her and let her know.
We check in with Gabby and we know that only Erich is left and she is grappling with the fact that the person that is here, may not be the person she is meant to be with. But she knows that she must follow her heart.
The guys get ready for the rose ceremony and they chat a bit with Jesse about where they are mentally in this process. We see Aven who is still very happy with how his dates have been and he has no reservations. Tino also feels confident as they have great dates; however, he knows that the Hometown with his parents wasn’t the easiest. Zach is feeling unsure and sick to his stomach heading in to see Rachel at the ceremony. He tells Jesse that before she offers the rose, he wants to talk to her to get the clarity that he needs. Rachel’s men assemble and look at the 2 roses that will be given out. Rachel arrives and Jesse catches up with her and tells her that Gabby will not be at the rose ceremony because they are on 2 separate journeys. So at least we know that Gabby is not leaving and this totally makes sense.
Rachel says that she is so excited and happy to see them and to have spent time with him. Before she hands out the roses, Zach asks to talk with her.
Gabby decides that she needs to speak with Erich to lay out what she feels and to be clear about where she is coming from and what she deserves.
Erich is getting ready for the rose ceremony and he realized that he shouldn’t have harped on things that they had already discussed off camera. She heads over to his room to tell him that with the craziness of the week, she has really learned a lot about herself and she didn’t realize the decisions would be this hard. She explains that she was so upset because she felt like he didn’t trust her. In their time together, she saw what it was that she deserves and she felt that he taught her that. She tells him that he is the only one left and that she loves him. Erich is definitely excited at the turn of events and she tells him that she has to process everything on her own terms because it is foreign to her. She says that there is no point in having the rose ceremony because it is her and him.
Elsewhere in Mexico, Zach tells Rachel what has been bothering him. Apparently, the finale is so crazy, they didn’t even get into it and we have to wait until next week!
GABBY’S REMAINING MEN | Erich
RACHEL’S REMAINING MEN | Aven, Tino, Zach
GABBY SENT HOME | Jason
Each night during this season, we tweet about The Bachelorette and you can chat along with us (@AthleisureMag + with our Co-Founder/Creative + Style Director, Kimmie Smith @ShesKimmie) to see what’s taking place!
Each week we will let you know who our faves were from the last episode and if we’ve changed up since then as it pertains to who we think should go to Hometowns.
We also suggest a podcast that we’ve become obsessed with over the past few seasons, Wondery’s Bachelor Happy Hour to get their feedback!
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