The New Bachelorette Announcement Just Made Things WAY More Interesting on the Bachelor
*Warning: This post contains spoilers from the most recent episode of The Bachelor, so if you haven’t watched, don’t read yet!*
Just before tonight’s episode of The Bachelor, news broke that Rachel may be the next Bachelorette (which has since been confirmed on Jimmy Kimmel), which is INCREDIBLY interesting for a few reasons. One, because she’s still on the show, it’s a huge spoiler. Two, she’d be the first black Bachelor/Bachelorette, so it’s a great step forward for the franchise (even if it should’ve happened ages ago). And three, it means I was right! I called this pick all the way from the beginning, and I have the recaps to prove it. My theory is that they’re likely calling it early because this season isn’t especially interesting, and there still isn’t really a frontrunner — the main storyline is Corrine being a villain and that’s getting tired, so they want people to start watching to get acquainted with Rachel. For now, let’s get to this week’s episode.
Here we go #thebachelor aka let's over-analyze Rachel the soon to be crowned queen of Bachelorette land.
— Evan Bass (@ebassclinics) February 14, 2017
Remember last week’s episode of The Bachelor when Nick left the women in tears? Well, that’s exactly where we picked back up this week, and the women were still reeling. Reeling from Nick’s tears, and reeling from Nick sending multiple women home. The episode started with Chris Harrison talking to Nick on the beach and asking him if he was ready to walk away and send all the women home, to which he answered, “Maybe.” Nick went up to the hotel room to talk to the women, and after a long dramatic pause, reassured them that he wanted to keep going. Duh! He’s the king of throwing little fits and leaving the women hanging, and I’m honestly not here for it.
He then announced they were skipping the cocktail party and rose ceremony (he’d already sent home all the women he needed to) and that they were heading to Bimini! They left immediately (well, after packing and getting primped) and got accustomed to their new digs — but not for too long, before a date card arrived.
Nick: After reviewing my contract, I have decided that I still really want to be here #TheBachelor
— lolbachelor (@lolbachelor) February 14, 2017
ONE-ON-ONE DATE WITH VANESSA
Corrine has thus far only been on group dates, but Nick still sent a one-on-one date card for Vanessa (her second!), to which Corrine immediately replied, “You lucky bitch!” Nice. Vanessa left immediately for the date, which began on a boat. I always wonder if they put on sunscreen, because you never actually SEE them do it, and I really think it could be a great way to raise sunscreen awareness if they were to do it on screen, y’know? Anyway, Vanessa told Nick that she “thinks about him a lot” and that she’s “here for him,” so that’s cool. They also both forgot sunglasses, so maybe they’re a match made in heaven! Back at the house, it was announced that Corrine would be part of yet another group date, and she seemed super disappointed.
Vanessa told Nick she wanted him to meet her family, and that it was easy to be with him. Seems like kind of a stretch, considering their circumstances, but her voice cracked when she said it, so I’ll buy it! She then told him she was falling in love with him and they kissed a lot before he said, “I have been in love before. I’ve fallen in love in this environment before.” Lol, what? He went on to say that he “really really likes her” and couldn’t tell her he loves her right now, because he didn’t want to say it again until he felt like he was saying it for the first time. Her face completely fell, and… yup. Makes sense.
GROUP DATE WITH KRISTINA, CORRINE AND RAVEN
The women met Nick on a yacht, and — shocker — they put on sunscreen! Then Nick announced that they were going to be swimming with sharks on the group date, which was (naturally) met with some hesitation by the women. Now, I’m not sure if it’s just the way it was filmed or what, but they seemed to be swimming awfully close to these sharks without much protective gear! Kristina got anxious about it, rightfully so, and Corrine accused her of faking it, which she then said made her “self-conscious” — it basically made no sense.
Back on dry land, they started to talk about “hometowns” (where the women take Nick back to their hometowns to meet their families, for the uninitiated), and Nick pulled Kristina aside first for some alone time. Nick told her how he didn’t want to let his emotions get the best of him, and how he also didn’t want to force anything — those two things being the reason for the rough time last week. She then said she was ready to bring him home. After Kristina’s time, Raven got to talk to Nick, and she revealed that she calls her dad “daddy.” Finally, Corrine got her time, and said she’d do “whatever it takes” to turn the date around.
Even I want to meet Corinne's family #TheBachelor
— Beth Castle (@AlphaBethtastic) February 14, 2017
She told Nick she was nervous that she hadn’t had one-on-one time with him (talking in third person the whole time, which was weird), but he reassured her by saying that they always make the most of their time together. After that, she seemed to feel a lot better… but then, he gave the rose to Raven. They left the other women and danced by the ocean.
ONE-ON-ONE DATE WITH DANIELLE
Danielle met Nick on the beach and they hopped on some super cute beach cruisers, which they rode all over Bimini. They had snacks, played basketball, danced (somewhat embarrassingly, IMO) to some guitar music, and had beers on the beach. Then, they found themselves basically unable to have basic conversation. Nick addressed it to the camera, saying he wasn’t sure if it was nerves or chemistry, but the two didn’t address it to each other, and it was truly awkward to watch.
We didn’t see the rest of their day, and the editing skipped all the way to the nighttime part of the date. She told him she thought her family would like him, and that she’d like to take him home — then the conversation got silent again, before she told him her heart was open to him and she wanted a future with him. He then got that look in his eyes he gets when he’s about to send someone home, and yup — it happened. He told her that he didn’t think his heart could get to a place of loving her, and TBH, she should’ve guessed by his outfit. She was wearing a fancy red romper and heels and he was wearing a basic hoodie and jeans.
Nick: I want to find love
Girl: I'm falling in love with you
Nick: #THeBachelorpic.twitter.com/gfcfbofbe9— Dana Weiss (@Possessionista) February 14, 2017
CORRINE DOING HER THING
Danielle getting sent home apparently shook Corrine to her core, and she decided to take matters into her own hands. She got all dressed up after-hours and went to visit Nick to “see if he was okay,” and the two had a drink together. He called her “sneaky sneaky” for making her own one-on-one time happen, and then they made out a bunch. She suggested they go to his room, and then she said the line we’ve all been waiting for…
We heard a lot of make-out noises behind closed doors, and then Nick asked her to slow down. He said that he cared about her a lot but that he also cared about the other four women, and he didn’t want to make the same mistakes he had in the past. She seemed super disappointed that he didn’t want to sleep with her, but it was actually really great that they addressed it more openly on the show than they have in the past. While she said she was extra self-conscious because of it, I actually think that out of all the reasons Corrine has to be self-conscious, this probably isn’t one of them. Nick was pretty honest with her and handled the situation well, from what we saw.
ONE-ON-ONE DATE WITH RACHEL
Ah, Rachel. They saved the best for last. Nick and Rachel sat down for beers and immediately started talking about what it would be like for Nick to meet her parents, but now, of course, we’re all watching and analyzing everything, because we know what happens with their relationship. Rachel told Nick that she’d never brought home a white guy, but that it didn’t really matter, because if you look at the big picture of her family, “everyone” was represented. They seemed to get along easily, and the bartender told Rachel to “make sure the guy needs you and not just wants you,” which Twitter loved. They made out on the pier for a little before Rachel headed back to the house — while their date was short and sweet, she was super confident afterwards.
THE ROSE CEREMONY — OR NOT
Chris Harrison and Nick met up to talk about the rose ceremony and what Nick would end up doing, but it turned out that Nick didn’t want to have a rose ceremony after all! He decided he wanted to do things more privately, and wanted to go talk to the woman he was going to send home, rather than put her through the rose ceremony. He went to the house and immediately pulled Kristina aside. She wasn’t happy at all, and questioned his decision while they both cried — eventually, they hugged before she went back inside.
Skip the rose ceremonies, announce #TheBachelorette before she's even off #TheBachelor… Sure, why not. I guess rules don't matter anymore.
— Bach Bracket (@bachbrack) February 14, 2017
Everyone else was shocked as well, and previews for next week tell us that we “won’t believe what he does, or who comes back to confront him.” We’ll see!
What did you think about this week’s episode? Tweet us @BritandCo.
(Featured photo via Randy Holmes/Getty)
