He Loves Me Not: Bachelorette Fantasy Week, Part 1
The girls meet back up in Mexico and I am so happy! Their friendship has really been the highlight of the season, through drama and heartbreak, defending each other against men and checking in on the other’s mental state through this journey®.
Rachel admits that TINO was the first guy she saw herself with (I was right!) They have unsettled business from his hometown date, meeting his parents. With ZACK, she has always felt very reassured and loved, but she’s not sure if their relationship works off paper. You hear that? It’s my heart breaking. She feels more secure with AVEN, connected romantically, falling in love with him.
Gabby names JASON as the most “emotionally available,” falling in love with him, but is uncertain of his feelings toward her. With JOHNNY, Gabby says they do have a connection, but more points out growth than compatibility. “I think we’re just in two different places in our lives, where he’s very ready for an engagement and marriage and he’s not,” she says, bringing a bad omen to the episode instantly, knowing what both JASON and JOHNNY said about their relationships last week. She then gushes about ERICH, their playfulness, banter, and connection.
“We get to re-write this week and make it into something positive, and ending in an engagement for both of us,” Rachel says, reminiscing on the heartbreak of Clayton’s Fantasy Week Rose Ceremony.
The first date is with ERICH, and she’s excited to be “treated like a girlfriend,” gaining more physical intimacy and connection. “I’ve never met anyone like Erich,” Gabby says, “in the way that we feel together and around each other.” They go swimming, taking a “leap of faith” together from rickety wooden canopies. They have a heart-to-heart about the challenges of being away from his family while his father suffers from terminal cancer. “This has to last forever now,” he jokes, kissing her all over. “I’m not leaving now.”
“I’m hoping that with Erich I can be all the different sides of myself in one breath.”
Gabby tells the story of her upbringing, her parents separated early and her father was active duty in the Air Force, only seeing him a few times a year. Her mother was working two jobs and “there were times growing up where I had to change who I was in order to receive love as a child,” Gabby says. ERICH listens and doesn’t interject. He just lets her in.
And just when we think their night couldn’t get any sweeter, ERICH admits he’s IN love with her. “I don’t want to leave here without you.” I think she feels the same, but she doesn’t say it, not wanting to admit it to him and then potentially another man. They are so lovey dove. It’s so cute. “He’s taught me that I can be loved, and he’s ready to love me for me.” Just smash my heart right now. I’m already there. Final Rose. I’m calling it.
AVEN is the first date for Rachel, feeling very excited about telling him she’s falling in love, and it’s freaking TINO out. Jesse “check in” in TINO, to rile him up and rehash the horror of hometowns last week with his family. AVEN and Rachel explore the ocean on a fancy yacht and explore their physical connection. He is ready for an engagement and commitment “but it’s something I want you to feel as well, though,” he says. I feel like that isn’t something Brough up enough on the show, the mutual nature of a relationship. AVEN and Rachel feel very much like they’re discussing business deal. I don’t feel their emotional connection, but I’ll trust their word for it.
TINO is next, but the nerves are still high after their hometowns date, looming over their entire date. They’re in a hole swimming again and I would put money on it being the same spot ERICH and Gabby went to. This season is absolutely giving budget. They usually travel to another continent for Fantasy Suites but I feel like they wanted the cheaper airfare if they were only settling in for a week. Not necessarily bad considering the crazy airline fiascos as of late, but I wish they had chosen better dates than “let’s kiss in the water.”
TINO acts genuinely surprised by his family’s reaction as Rachel explains the most hurtful moments to him. He also brings up her own hometowns with Clayton, showing off his Bachelor-knowledge, but it’s not super reassuring to Rachel. “I see you as the future. There’s just no reality where they don’t get on board,” he says, asserting that he will put her first anyway. “I see it so clearly with you and I can’t go home without you.” Pulling that ERICH move, he also admits he’s in love with her, and she SAYS IT BACK! The way she acts after hearing his declaration is giving Final Rose. “I really do see TINO at the end.”
We then jump to JOHNNY and their casual energy instantly gives me an inkling of an elimination. After a date like hers with ERICH, practically pulling herself away from him, it doesn’t feel authentic to remain with JOHNNY. So when she breaks up with him on the beach it’s not super surprising.
“I feel like ERICH and JASON have really been able to validate me in a way I didn’t know I could as for. It’s the feeling of love that trumps all.”
Cut to JASON admitting to Jesse that he is not falling in love with Gabby. He has feelings for her and hopes it can “turn into something real after this,” while she’s sobbing about the thought of him. The last scene we get is a romantic note from ERICH, “come meet me on the bridge,” warning Gabby not to sleep with anyone else, something Gabby says they discussed in the fantasy suites. She is NOT happy, crying about the betrayal of having something written out on camera that they already spoke about off-camera. It ruins their vibe. I don’t know what to think anymore. Looks like tomorrow is going to be a doozy.
