Frontrunner Out, Covid Strikes, Top 7 Revealed Ahead of Hometowns

This week, it was apparently Gabby’s turn. Rachel seemed to have a great week, growing closer to one of her guy’s for his second One-on-One date of the season, and having a lot of fun during her Group Date with the rest of the guys.

It wasn’t nearly as smooth sailing for Gabby, with even things totally out of her control disrupting the flow of her week, and valuable time she needs to be able to spend with her guys considering next week is Hometowns.

By the end of the night, four guys were sent packing, leaving only seven left in the competition. Normally, four guys go to Hometowns, but one of the ladies can only see her relationship ready to meet family with three of her remaining guys — which was certainly a tough blow.

It wasn’t nearly as tough, though, as the blow for one guy after he didn’t get the Group Date Rose. Apparently, even though he knows full well how this show works and that there are multiple guys there dating his girl, he couldn’t handle the thought of her having a strong connection with anyone else.

We can’t fathom how hard it is to be in this situation, but it still looked a lot like a temper tantrum and a bizarre sense of entitlement from someone we weren’t quite looking at that way. Well, we’re looking at him that way, now. This was not a good look!

Gabby’s week started off rough as she came to a realization that she couldn’t shake off. It was a palpable moment that left us a little rattled, too, and heartbroken to see one of our favorite contestants of the past several cycles of this franchise go home.

We know it’s almost unprecedented to think of someone who came in eleventh place being a lead, but can we make an exception? If you only count Gabby’s guys, he came in sixth. Yeah, that’s probably not good enough, either.

One of the scariest things a single parent can do is put themselves out there because they know that they are a package deal. And you never know if the other person is really willing to commit to not just you but to your ready-made family.

After a lot of soul-searching, and still working on herself after her extremely challenging relationship with her own mother, Gabby realized that she’s just not ready to take on the role of being a mother, nor does she have the confidence to believe she’d be good at it.

Even as she was breaking his heart, Nate continued to be just an incredible human being. He has the biggest heart and the two of them easily had the strongest connection out there. He truly saw her and was invested in her in a way that is rare to find for anyone.

And so, we’re ready for our next Black Bachelor because Nate deserves happiness. And if he’s the lead, then everyone going in will know he comes with a daughter, so hopefully they’re prepared for what that means. We think he’s worth it! It’s unlikely, but consider this us launching a write-in campaign for him.

While Gabby was struggling with her heart, Rachel was having a stellar time on her One-on-One. Like Gabby, she did a repeat, inviting Zach to join her for an amazing adventure in one of Amsterdam’s famous tulip fields.

They enjoyed cheese and lemonade sampling, riding bicycles and even a hot tub right in the middle of the fields. The cameramen could not swooping all around to show us the incredible view, not that we can blame them.

As incredible as it was visually, the whole date was just as incredible for both Zach and Rachel. After their tulip-filled day, they spent their evening in a stunning museum for a romantic dinner.

There, Zach opened up about the growth he’s done with self-love, losing 85 pounds with the help of therapy. Rachel revealed that therapy was key in helping her work through her “Bachelor” season with Clayton Echard (we feel ya, girl!).

Zach continues to impress us with how vulnerable and real he is in these moments with her, and on this evening portion, he became the first person this season to drop the l-word, telling Rachel that he’s falling in love with her. She didn’t say it back, but he did get the Rose.

Honestly, we’re a little disappointed in Gabby’s guys refusing to get open, honest and vulnerable with her. We admit she definitely put them on the spot with her Group Date outing to Susie, a woman in leather with a whip who asked them some very personal and probing questions.

Questions about things like masturbation and how many women they’ve had sex with and boy were these guys not willing to be candid about any of these things. When asked if he enjoyed giving a woman oral pleasure, one guy refused to answer and said he’d maybe tell Gabby in private.

In other countries where sexuality is not so taboo, it must be shocking and amusing to see how deeply uncomfortable and even confrontational the very notion of talking openly about it can make Americans. These guys were textbook examples.

While that was probably a little frustrating for Gabby, at least they all were game enough to lie on the ground blindfolded and let her do weird things to them with whipped cream and feathers.

The problem is that this was more of a silly date to push them to the edge, as the date card said, and see how far they were willing to go (not far). For deeper connections, Gabby was counting on the evening portion of her date.

Unfortunately, the hits just kept coming for Gabby, with Jesse interrupting her as she was getting read for the evening’s party with her guys to tell her that not only was the party canceled, but — as we found out later in the episode — one of her guys was gone.

Apparently, Logan had tested positive for Covid and out of an abundance of caution, they canceled her party and sent him out of the competition. What they didn’t do, however, was have Jessie or anyone else quarantine or mask up.

This revelation came after a group date where Gabby had basically been getting very up close and personal with all of her guys, including Logan. And the guys all live together. How is it safe to just boot Logan and not worry about anyone else in the cast?

It’s also a little weird that we weren’t told until later in the show, and then just in passing, that Logan was gone for good. There was no goodbye moment for him, which still could have happened while he was in quarantine. He could have filmed it himself if they were that concerned, like we saw during Covid seasons of this franchise.

It’s as if he just disappeared off the face of the Earth. Now, he’s a bit of a controversial character anyway after stringing Rachel along until he had the nerve to tell her he’d rather pursue Gabby, so we’re okay with him going. It was all just handled very, very strange.

Rachel’s great week continued throughout the entirety of her group date … because the temper tantrum didn’t happen until after she’d left. It was her guys who had to deal with one of their own losing his s— over not getting the Group Date Rose.

You know, the same Group Date Rose that only one of them got, so everyone else was in the same boat as him. Only, that’s not how he saw it because he clearly feels what he has with her is more special than anyone else. It’s not uncommon on this show for someone to be stunned to find out someone else might have a strong connection, too, but it’s not always taken so poorly.

It’s a shame, too, because there’s been a very strong — almost Gabby-Nate level strong — connection between Rachel and this guy. And it was  a great day for her and all of her guys up until that point.

They got to explore the city of Edam, which was described as the “cheese capital of the world.” There, Rachel convinced the guys to compete (shirtless, thank you very much) in a contest to determine the strongest man in Edam.

And it was all about hoisting a fulcrum over your shoulders and holding massive and heavy cheese wheels for as long as you could. Luckily for the guys, she wasn’t holding time with her as the grand prize.

She needn’t have done it, though, as the guys were stealing One-on-One time of their own. They certainly took to heart her earlier concerns about not feeling seen or made to feel special by them.

First, Aven pulled her away to go to the water for some special time. As soon as he returned, Tino snatched her away and kissed her by the water to one up Aven. Then, after Tino beat Ethan by a second in the competition, there was a lot more kissing in front of the guys.

Tyler was honest with her during the evening portion about how hard that was for him to see, and we found ourselves a little concerned with how she might take that. Apparently, she appreciated his honesty enough to give him the Group Date Rose.

This did not sit well with the daytime winner, Tino, who threw an immediate fit and stormed off after Rachel left. He’d also said in a confessional that his evening with Rachel had been so impressive (as if he was reviewing a performance) that he was speechless with himself.

It was all deeply weird and also a little frustrating to watch. He’s had so many great moments with her and we get that this makes him feel special. But he got her First Impression Rose, a One-on-One Date Rose, and he even got last week’s Group Date Rose. Does he have to get everything to feel validated?

Without a chance to see her guys before the Rose Ceremony, Gabby had to go with her gut and that’s why she decided to only move forward with three of her remaining four guys. She’d already lost two, so it woudl have been understandable if she’d have cut none, but she wasn’t feeling as strong of a connection.

Rachel hadn’t lost anyone yet this week, but she only came in with five. So the Rose Ceremony saw each of them losing one guy, and neither of those losses was a huge surprise to anyone paying the slightest bit of attention to the edit we’ve seen all season.

Neither Spencer or Ethan have gotten a One-on-One Date this season, even as Rachel and Gabby both chose men for their second One-on-Ones this week. That’s pretty telling. And while Spencer did get a Group Date Rose, he just appears to be a little too reserved and uptight for Gabby.

As for Rachel, poor Ethan has been trying and trying to get meaningful moments with her, but they’ve just never happened. He seems like a nice enough guy, but it’s a week before Hometowns and we feel like we don’t really know anything about him, either.

And speaking of Hometowns, what the hell was Patrick Warburton doing with Zach’s family? Well, it turns out that Rachel’s veritable front-runner is his nephew, so it looks like the “Seinfeld” star is going to be part of her time with his family.

It also looks like some of the family’s are going to be a little tough on one or both of the women, and some more nonsense involving Tino is in store. We were really feeling this was a strong connection for awhile, but  we think we’re over him now.

As for Gabby’s side, with Nate gone, it’s getting harder and harder to think of who she might pick. If we had to pick right now, we’d probably go with Erich, just because it feels like they’ve been able to have fun and go deeper in their connection more than the other two guys.

• “This is all I could ask for right before Hometowns.” –Zach (after getting One-on-One with Rachel)
• “You can’t help when you don’t get the date card to be like, what the f—? Right now, all I’m privileged to know is that the scoreboard reads this week that Zach wins the amazing One-on-One — and it’s second one. It’s pretty gutting hearing, like, a stupid card not for you.” –Tino
• “That’s the same face you made the first time.” –unknown (to Nate after he scores second One-on-One with Gabby)
• “I’ve never met anyone like him. I know that he’s an amazing dad and he lights up when he talks about his daughter. But if I wanted to jump into a commitment like that, I would want to be 100 percent ready.” –Gabby (to Jesse about Nate)
• “I take the potential of being a mom so seriously because of my past. At times, childhood was hard and parenting didn’t look like it does in other people and I’m terrified of maybe putting someone else in my position, or maybe making a wrong decision. And I have to weigh these options really heavily.” –Gabby
• “Nate love his kid. He talks about her all the time and I think everything he does is for her so Nate’s not only looking for a future partner, a future wife, he’s also looking for a future mother to his child. And that’s a huge weight to put on Gabby as well. So Gabby’s got to consider stepping into a mother roll right away, like you said, and I think just for both of them, the decision’s really tough.” –Johnny (to Logan, considering Nate might not come back from One-on-One)
• “Nate’s an amazing person and an amazing father. I know he is. But I have more healing and growing to do before I become a mom, and my life isn’t in a place where I can fully commit and take on that responsibility wholeheartedly. You want to be together so bad but you can’t.” –Gabby (getting emotional)
• “I never want to say goodbye, but I think we’re just at two different places in our life … I’m just, like, so terrified of not just being a mom, but being bad at it. But I know I see you and I know you’re such a good dad. And I know she’s so lucky to have you. She has to be the luckiest girl in the world. I know meeting her, I would have no choice but to fall in love because I know how much she’s like you.” –Gabby (to Nate)
• “For one, when the time comes, I know you’re going to be a great mom.” –Nate
• “This has been the best experience ever. I’m so glad I met you. I really am.” –Nate
• “I just don’t want you to regret it. You’ve made my experience so special. You taught me what it’s like to be treated so well.” –Gabby
• “I don’t know if I made a mistake. I can’t think clearly. Even just the way he handled everything makes me want to be with him more.” –Gabby (after Nate leaves)
• “Rachel is everything I’ve wanted; she still gives me butterflies. She’s absolutely stunning, she’s so fun, she’s so kind, and from moment one with her, she’s made me feel comfortable.” –Zach
• “To be honest, you could meet them now. Like, I am that sure you that you would absolutely love them and they would love you.” –Zach (to Rachel about meeting his family at Hometowns)
• “When you really think about what you want, things come to you. And I’m really happy that you’re sitting in front of me.” –Rachel (to Zach)
• “I can say now as a man with confidence, you know, I am falling in love with you. It’s crazy to say but, I’m falling in love with you.” –Zach (to Rachel)
• “I want you guys to know everything. I wanted you to hear it from me now, ’cause I didn’t want you to wonder.” –Gabby (telling guys why she let Nate go)
• “I don’t know if I’m aroused or just, like, scared.” –Unknown (on Gabby’s group date)
• “Today, we’re going to talk about f—ing, knocking boots, ——-, Hanky-panky, also known as sex.” –Gabby (about Group Date)
• “How many of you know how to treat a woman in the bedroom.” –Susie
• “I feel like I did, but now I don’t– I don’t know.” –Erich
• “Jason, do you enjoy giving o— sex?” –Susie
• “I’m not answering this. I’ll talk to Gabby personally.” –Jason
• “I think that’s a yes.” –Gabby
• “I’m lactose intolerant … so I may be feeling it later. But Rachel loves cheese. Therefore, I love cheese.” –Ethan
• “Holy s—, I just saw an angel. Oh, it’s you.” –Ethan (to Rachel, lying on ground after strongman competition)
• “I think I just totally hit it out of the park and I’m just, like, almost speechless. It went unbelievably well. You know, this kind of excitement I feel for her is unfamiliar, and it’s exciting and exhilarating and terrifying at the same time. This is a rose that I want more than usual. I’m really expecting it because I, like, literally think I’m her person.” –Tino (on Rachel’s Group Date)
• “Congrats. Seriously.” –Tino (storming off after Tyler gets Rachel’s Group Date Rose)
• “I’m at a loss for words. I don’t f—ing get it. Like, I hit every point today, had the amazing moments. I mean, we literally were just talking about, like, she feels so strongly for me. I just can’t see something connecting on a deeper level than that.” –Tino
• “Tino’s being a baby back b—-.” –Ethan
• “He won today. I’d be feeling pretty good about myself if I won today. I mean, you didn’t win s—.” –Tyler (laughing)
• “And I still got a better attitude about it, you know?” –Ethan
• “This is a f—ing joke.” –Tino (to producers)
• “The fear is that I’m falling really hard for this girl and she’s not, and that never has occurred to me before tonight.” –Tino
• “It’s hard to look at it and not think of it as a huge step backwards.” –Tino (about not getting Group Date Rose)

“The Bachelorette” airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.