This week on The Bachelor, Matt is blindsided when one woman decides to leave after hometown dates.
Bachelorhistory question, rose lovers: Have we ever had a season where three women self-eliminated?
Anyhow, I wonder how all this affected Matt’s self-esteem.
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It’s “hometowns” week at Nemacolin.
“Is that your boyfriend?”
a little girl named Leona asks, right on cue.
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(The Bachelor demurs.)
Matt sidesteps the harder questions “Have you kissed yet?”
and “Are you going to marry her?”
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but he does ensure to let them know that he will be Michelle’s “biggest champion.”
It’s tears all around when Michelle brings the Bachelor to meet Lavonne and Ephraim.
(The emotional way Michelle said, “Hi, mom” got me all choked up, too.
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Damn these family visits!)
“That’s our job, is to be there when things get tough.”
Gah, I love these two!
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For now, that’s good enough for Ephraim.
“We trust her decision-making process,” says dad.
“We will respect Michelle’s choice.”
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(I love him!)
(She does.)
“I just want you to be happy,” says mom.
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He does not reciprocate, which makes me a little anxious… but Michelle doesn’t seem worried.
“When Matt and I walk away from this experience hand-in-hand, life will be so full.”
“Do you trust me?”
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The guy has to say yes, right?
Welp, buckle up, buddy.
“Where the heck are we going?”
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Matt yells into the wind.
Dude, didn’t you watch the previews from last week?
You’re going skydiving, of course!
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Say it with me, rose lovers:Love is like a leap of faithTM.
Has anyone reading this gone skydiving?
“Because you weren’t moving for a second.”
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Fortunately, no one is dead.
Though Rachael’s sister Trinity (!)
maybe wishes she was?
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Is she miserable or nervous?
Anyhow, let’s get this family meeting going.
“Have you seen anything bad or anything you don’t like about him?”
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“I’m sure everybody has a bad day!”
Rachael insists that Matt has displayed zero “red flags,” and she’s ready to get engaged.
(Insert joke about the red flags Matt is yet to discover about Rachael here.)
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“To me, it’d be difficult to truly care about somebody when you’re seeing other people.
I don’t see how that works.”
Preach it, dad!
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Yeah, Darrell’s not buying it.
“He’s got other ladies here,” says dad in his interview.
“So who knows?
Dang, the poor guy is stressed out.
Could someone yo get Darrell a drink?
“I really do see that future with him,” Rachael tells her dad.
When Darrell’s all,What about the other three “ladies”?, Rachael holds her ground.
Having said his piece, Darrell lets it go.
“Well, you know mom and I love you,” he says with a suppressed sigh.
“We’ll support you whatever you do.”
Wait, the night is over?
But we never got to hear from Trinity!
“When I get to that point, I will call them and ask for it.”
Holy cow, why have we never heard a Bachelor make this completely reasonable statement before?
No one is forcing them to ask all four dads for a blessing and here’s proof.
Good on you, Matt.
Rachael, however, does NOT love it.
“It’s hard to accept the fact that there are three other women involved.”
Just like they do in San Francisco!
Just go with it because Nemacolin only has so many outdoor activities to choose from!
That’s the “baby sister"Chris Harrisonreferenced at the beginning of the show.
Thank goodness, Matt shows up prepared.
Okay, just don’t put that thing in the crib.
That’s a suffocation hazard if I ever saw one.
Oh man, this is the first time Bri is meeting her baby sister!
“She’s very rambunctious, just like her big sister,” says Lauren.
Okay, that’s enough small talk!
Mom is ready to grill Matt outside.
“Are you in love with her?”
Still, she believes Matt has a “special connection” with her daughter.
But we’ll survive.”
Listen to your mom, Bri!
No matter what happens, you’re alive, you’re healthy, and you have incredible skin.
Man, that was a short visit!
We didn’t even get to hear from Friend Bri.
I’m falling in love with you… and I want more time with you.”
“I am so happy to have had today,” she gushes.
), and some various Canadian pastries.
Mmmm… looks delicious!
It’s clear that Matt really likes Serena, and they do seem to have a good time together.
Will her family feel the same way?
Let’s find out!
The Pitt family greets Matt warmly, and then Rasna pulls him aside for some get-to-know-you time.
“I guess I want to know from him, why Serena?”
She doesn’t take crap from anybody."
will be “ready to get engaged this quickly.”
“He, on paper and in my head, checks every single box,” says Serena.
“I do sometimes feel like I’m catching up to his feelings…
I’m falling for him, yes.”
“To me, it seems like there’s just something missing,” she says.
“You don’t seem smitten.”
Hard agree, Talia!
This definitely throws Serena for a bit of a loop.
Girl, you’re not even 10 percent sure, and you know it!
“I was so sure and then I was wrong,” says Serena, wiping tears away.
“And I got so hurt.”
Awwww, moms are the best.
When it comes time to say goodbye to Matt, Serena is honest about her doubts.
“I just have a lot of thinking to do,” she tells him.
“I don’t think I expected him to take that so calmly,” she tells us.
“I was like, ‘What do you mean?
I’m sitting here freaking out!'”
With the dates over, Matt sits down with Chris Harrison for a little pre-rose ceremony debrief.
“Are there any concerns here, or was it all green lights?”
Hearing this, Serena knows it’s time for some brutal but necessary honesty.
Oh man, Matt is just crushed.
The Bachelor reels in silence for a good 30 seconds, poor guy.
“It sucks to hear that,” he says sadly.
Gah, Matt was totally going to propose to Serena, wasn’t he?
And now she’s dumping him!
Even though he can be kind of dull sometimes, I still feelsobad for him.
“That’s not how I saw our journey ending,” says the Bachelor through his tears.
We’re in the home stretch!
What did Matt do to his face?
I guess we’ll find out next week at theWomen Tell All.
And seriously,what is upwith Matt’s doomsday-prepper beard?
Post your thoughts below!
