Tuesday night (June 5), the men of the Bachelorette entered their third week of courting Dallas native and civil defense litigation attorney Rachel Lindsay. Based on the arguments and confessionals that took place, it’s clear insecurities and doubts have begun to spread through the mansion like a contagious disease. Blake, Fred and Eric each let their emotions get the best of them this week, and the outcomes are anything but ideal.
At the end of last week’s episode, recently-eliminated DeMario had returned to the mansion and was requesting to plead his case. Rachel agreed to hear him out and headed for the front gate with trusty sidekick (and host) Chris Harrison. The other men, having caught word of the uninvited guest, were on her heels when the screen cut to black and the dramatic “To Be Continued” cliffhanger appeared.
Let’s get into the nitty gritty of this week’s episode with a round-up of the five most memorable moments.
1. DeMari-HELL NO
Taking Rachel by the hand, DeMario attempted to take ownership for the messiness that ensued when his secret ex-girlfriend Lexi crashed a group date and revealed his playboy tendencies. The self-described executive recruiter came just short of begging Rachel to let him back into her heart and the mansion, but our girl was immune to his charm. “What I saw in the gym yesterday, that was a boy,” she said. “I’m looking for a man.” As the old adage goes, “When someone shows you their true colors, don’t try to paint a different picture.” Clearly Rachel was in no mood to play arts and crafts with DeMario’s smooth lines and questionable character. The 30-year-old with a lot of growing up to do was sent packing for the second and final time.
2. Blake and Lucas Play Themselves
As the cocktail party reconvened, the rivalry between Blake and Lucas (a.k.a “Whaboom”) picked up the drama where DeMario left off. Blake has often expressed that he can’t focus on his relationship with Rachel while Lucas is still trying to Whaboom his way into her heart. They’ve each expressed their disdain for each other to Rachel at one point or another. This week, Lucas told Rachel that Blake had stood over him while he slept one night and seductively ate a banana, a story he has since admitted to Jimmy Kimmel was false. It seems our bachelorette finally grew tired of wasting her time with the “he said, he said” because by the end of the rose ceremony, both men were left with barren lapels and broken hearts. Blake maintains that he hates Lucas and blames him completely for being eliminated, but he honestly has no one to blame but himself. If Blake had spent more time wooing Rachel and less time bashing Lucas, he wouldn’t be on national television hating from outside the club—er, we mean mansion.
3. Baby Freddy Takes An L
An appearance on The Ellen Show should have been a fun and carefree outing. The men danced Magic-Mike-style through Ellen’s studio audience and played a revealing game of Never Have I Ever. As Fred learned more about the state of Rachel’s relationships with his housemates, his insecurities began to consume him. Most of his interactions with The Bachelorette have involved her fixating on their past camper/camp counselor dynamic. Later, after the group relocated for drinks and conversation, the 27-year-old executive assistant asked Rachel if he could kiss her in an attempt to replace the childlike image she has of him with something more grown and sexy. However Fred asking permission to kiss Rachel instead of just going for it creates a very awkward encounter between the two, followed by a long and very French kiss. Fred says the kiss gave him visions of their wedding. Rachel, obviously turned off by the being asked to be kissed in the first place, says she felt like she was kissing a little boy. Ouch. Fred is sent home moments later. This encounter brings about the topics of asserting masculinity and what defines masculinity. We’re not by any means saying Fred’s approach makes him less of a man. We’re sure his reserved approach works for some women. Rachel just wasn’t one of them.
4. More Anthony, Please.
Anthony (who we honestly don’t get to see enough of because DAMN *insert heart-eyes emoji*) joined Rachel for the second one-on-one date of the season. The two prospective lovers mounted horses for a shopping venture down Rodeo Drive. No storefront went un-trodden as they led their horses into various establishments and remained saddled while trying on clothes and western style boots. Not sure what was funnier: store owners acting like having enormous animals in their place of business was a normal occurrence or Anthony’s horse leaving a massive, smelly parting gift on the floor of one of the stores.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=sX-8opgCwv4
After their shopping trip, Anthony and Rachel had dinner against a beautiful city skyline and talked about what they envision their future family life to be like. They ended the night with slow dancing to the sultry sounds of a jazz quartet. We’re definitely a fan of this match-up, excited to see if it survives the ever-changing winds of #BachelorNation.
5. Oooh Eric, what is you doin?
Eric, who has been mostly flying under the radar so far, really showed his crazy card this week. A majority of his screen time this week was spent speculating that Rachel isn’t emotionally available and questioning her intentions. When Iggy tried to confront him about what he was saying, Eric immediately became defensive and started raising his voice.
For the second group date, Rachel invited Raven, Jasmine, Corrine and Alexis from Nick’s season to evaluate some of her suitors. Raven asked Bryce and Lee whom they felt wasn’t the right choice for Rachel, and they both said Eric. Raven reported back to Rachel, and Rachel confronted Eric about what he’s been saying about her. Somehow Eric was able to smooth things over with Rachel and even managed to snag the rose for that date. Later, a pissed-off Eric rounded up the other men to demand why he’s being talked about. Lee, who has recently been called out for racist comments, antagonizes Eric further with snide comments. The conclusion of the encounter has been reserved for the following week, but we’re predicting that Eric gets his rose revoked.