Wedding vows, drag queens, drama and tears: A lot went down during last night’s episode of The Bachelorette. It starts with Katie Thurston sitting down with Kaitlyn Bristowe and Tayshia Adams to propose a…challenge for the men. Katie begins coyly saying that she wants the contestants to withhold from their “self-care.” Kaitlyn and Tayshia don’t quite understand her meaning, so Katie bluntly says that a “friendly handshake with themselves” is a no-go. Kaitlyn is tasked with delivering the news to the men, much to their dismay. Virgin Mike P. is unfazed. “I’ve been mastering this my whole life,” he admits.
Time for Katie’s one-on-one date with Justin. They have their date at one of the cliché Bachelor/Bachelorette locations: The altar. Katie puts on a white dress, Justin sports a suit, and they say vows at their “wedding.” The vows are surprisingly heartfelt, and it’s clear that these two have feelings for each other. “You are the paint that colored our world. Our marriage is a canvas, so let’s paint something beautiful,” Katie tells Justin in her vows. Katie later admits that her connection with Justin is “so strong.”
After the “wedding” is their two-person “reception” where Katie opens about how losing her father is painful for her. She also divulges that she learned late in life that her dad wasn’t her biological father. Justin silently listens while she gets emotional talking about her family. “You continue to amaze me with the strength that you have,” he says once Katie is finished speaking. She tells the camera, “Justin is someone I can see myself falling for,” Katie says in an on-camera interview.” Note that she says “see myself” instead of “am.” As sweet as Justin and Katie’s date is, she is further along in her relationships with some of the other men.
Image: ABC/Craig Sjodin.
The men get ready for the group date, and it’s definitely not what they’re expecting. RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars‘ Monét X Change and Shea Couleé greet the men for a roast. Yep, Blake, Andrew, Michael A., Greg, Aaron, Mike P., Brendan, James, Tre and Hunter are about to air their grievances with each other by throwing shade. Who’s getting the most hits? That would be the black sheep of the group: Hunter. After he lets it slip that he thinks he will make it to the final four, more than one contestant knows Hunter is a Bachelor superfan and is more than likely making strategic moves to win Katie’s heart. Case in point: He tells Katie that he’s falling in love with her. Problem is he said he wasn’t ready to say that approximately five minutes before. So, which is it, H?
The men have a history of telling Katie who in the house is disingenuous. We watch Tre and some other men tell Katie that Hunter is not being honest with her. She pulls Hunter aside, but he assures her that his motives are pure. At this point, it’s more than clear that they’re not. Katie is conflicted and begins to feel sick before she runs off camera to throw up in the bathroom (with her mic still on) and later cancels the after party, leaving behind men who didn’t get a chance to talk to her.
Katie’s big date of the week is with initial frontrunner Connor. They have a double date with Kaitlyn and her fiancé Jason Tartick. Katie admits that she’s waiting for that spark with Connor—the elusive sign that someone could be the one. The date is fun and they even kiss at the end of it. All is well until Katie heads to Conner’s room in jeans and a sweatshirt (never a good sign) and soon after he opens the door, he realizes what we already know: He’s going home. Katie is in tears almost instantly because saying goodbye to such a “great guy” is difficult when there’s not a tangible reason why he’s going home.
“It’s hard for me because, I don’t know, I just feel like with us, I want it to feel like you are someone I could walk away with at the end of this,” she tells Connor. “And it’s like the most heartbreaking thing, because I remember how I felt when we first met…You’ve done nothing wrong in this.” OK, but here’s the thing: Conner is even the perfect gentleman while he’s being broken up with! He tells her “it’s OK,” wipes away her tears, and holds her while she cries. It’s so touching and so…sad. “There was something missing in that kiss, and that was hard for me because everything about you, everything about us was so easy, so good,” she continues. “But when we kiss it just…that was the one and only time that something was missing.” Now, that can’t be easy to hear.
Image: ABC/Craig Sjodin.
If you think Katie’s tears are sad then you’re not ready for what comes next. Instead of a producer grabbing Conner’s suitcase, he goes back to his room to get it. He says goodbye to the men and when I tell you there are water works, I mean it. Suddenly, Greg, Tre and even Hunter are in tears because of Connor’s surprise exit. It’s all so emotional and so bizarre and I’m still processing it, honestly. My theory is yes, the men love and will miss Conner. But also, they realize that if a guy like Conner can get sent home after a one-on-one then no one’s safe.
Connor leaving affects Blake differently. He immediately goes to Katie’s room and holds a boombox over his head à la Say Anything to cheer her up. They kiss…a lot. Like a lot, a lot. Like, if they weren’t on The Bachelorette he would not be going back to his room if you catch my meaning.
Katie knows what she wants going into the rose ceremony, so the cocktail party is cancelled. Except, she doesn’t quite know what she wants because she pulls Hunter outside mid-ceremony to try to gain some last-minute clarity. She gets it and ends up sending him, Aaron, James and Tre home. That leaves Blake, Andrew, Greg, Michael A., Mike P. and Brendan.
Six men. One Katie. What could go wrong?
The Bachelorette airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on ABC.
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