'Labor of Love' recap: Kristy Katzmann cuts Alan Santini for "bromance" and Matt Kaye over childcare views

Labor of Love featured the show's star Kristy Katzmann eliminating Alan Santini and Matt Kaye after the men played a parenting game and Kristy had two individual dates during Thursday night's episode on Fox.


Kristy sent Alan Santini, a 39-year-old writer from South Africa, and Matt Kaye, a 44-year-old former professional wrestler from West Hempstead, NY, packing after she determined she couldn't envision a future and starting a family with them.

"I know she's going to be happy," Matt said in his final words. "I know she's not going to settle for anything but the best, and she deserves that! I wish her the best life that she can have, 100 percent. God bless you. I'll have feelings for her for a while."

The Labor of Love broadcast began with Gary Malec, a 38-year-old baseball bat manufacturer from San Francisco, CA, pointing out Kristy seemed to be getting rid of the "clowns" in the cast one by one.

Trent Broach, a 36-year-old tennis instructor from Denver, CO, knew he was one of the so-called clowns remaining and that the competition was getting "stiff," so he wanted Kristy to know he's not just a goofball and truly wants to settle down and start a family.


Matt said he hadn't stopped thinking about Kristy and spending time with her, and Kyle Klinger, a 38-year-old director of sales and marketing from Austin, TX, noted it was "reassuring" the guys who didn't seem serious about Kristy had been sent home.

Kristy knew she had big choices ahead given only eight men remained, and she said it felt great to have a friend in Kristin Davis, actress and Labor of Love's host, along for the ride.

Kristin explained to Kristy the men wouldn't be going through another drill this week to enable the show's star to get to know her cast of guys better, on a deeper level.

Keith Reams, a 38-year-old gym owner from Los Angeles, CA, was afraid he was stuck in the friendzone, so he decided to whip up some fried chicken and collard greens for Kristy to impress her and show he's romantic and thinking of her.

Keith recognized Kristy loves a man who can cook and the way to someone's heart is often through his or her stomach.


But Alan beat Keith to the punch by dropping off a plate of food, and Keith accused Alan of stealing his idea.

Keith shattered a glass outside, forcefully threw open door and yelled, "That pisses me off!"

Alan also got to enjoy the food he had cooked with Kristy at her place, trying to form a connection between them since he had yet to receive a date. Alan promised Kristy he was on the show "for the right reasons," and he told the cameras he was "intrigued" by her.

Also that morning, Kyle and Stewart Gill, a 40-year-old wealth management CEO from Los Angeles, CA, had a heart to heart while playing a game of pool about how they hoped history wouldn't repeat itself and they'd be better fathers than their own dads were.

A part of Stewart worried about the "nature vs. nurture" concept given his father was an addict and didn't seem to be around or support him much, but he and Kyle agreed they had every intention of becoming the best husbands and fathers possible.


Once Alan returned from his spontaneous date with Kristy, he sat down with Keith and admitted he should've been "more sensitive" to the fact Keith had come up with the idea to bring Kristy food first.

Alan claimed he just wasn't thinking.

"Keith had a couple of angry outbursts. This house is stressful, but he adds to the stress. It's hard enough that we're going through drills when you have somebody else who is taking away the energy and the positivity," Stewart explained in a confessional.

"Truth is, she needs to know, but nobody wants to be the rat."

Keith confessed he can get "hot" and "pop off," but he was frustrated he didn't get to Kristy first with the food. Keith said had he known Alan was going to do the gesture, he would have beaten Alan to it.


"My fire is bigger than I thought it was and it gets exacerbated by being in a competitive situation with a bunch of men," Keith told the cameras.

Later on, Kristy went on a date with Alan in which they dressed for getting dirty and got to spray-paint cars and unleash any anger or frustration they were feeling about their past relationships.

Keith said he was annoyed by Kristy choosing Alan for the date. Keith said there was an "indignity" about the situation and he could sense his connection with Kristy drifting, especially since Kristy's second date of the week was going to Gary.

On Alan and Kristy's date, they spray painted words on one car they were ready to let go of or get rid of, such as "deceit" and "control." And on another car, they wrote words that painted a perfect picture of the future, such as "love" and "communication."

The couple then destroyed their past and crushed their future by smashing in the cars. Kristy realized she could have fun with Alan, but Kristy was left with a bad taste in her mouth after having a sit-down conversation with him.


Alan mentioned Kristy's one-on-one time with the other guys, and she said she didn't want to talk about them.

But then Alan brought them up again saying, "It's getting hard because I can see some of the other guys generating some really interesting feelings for you. We've developed connections with one another. They're all gentlemen. Stewart and Kyle, we're a band of brothers, I guess you could call it. And as men, we've just got to figure it out."

Kristy steered the conversation back to the two of them, saying she liked where their connection was going.

"I do really want this date to just be about Alan and I. I need the father of my children to prioritize family over his bromance with the guys in the house," Kristy told the cameras.

"I didn't love the date ended on that note, but the nightcap gives us a chance to connect in a different way."

Alan, however, shot himself in the foot once they returned to Kristy's temporary house. The pair noticed food had been left on the doorstep for Kristy (Keith's fried chicken), and then Alan declined an opportunity to go inside and continue their conversation.


"It would be nice if we could have a drink, but I am not comfortable with the house and the other guys around," Alan told Kristy.

Kristy therefore hugged Alan goodbye after their date was cut short.

"Alan spent time focusing on the other guys' feelings rather than building a connection with me. It just really turned me off. I still have a lot of other guys here making me feel special," Kristy said.

"He should've come over for a drink but he didn't! He let Keith be the winner tonight."

Alan hoped Kristy wasn't offended by what he had said, but he reiterated how he didn't want to be insensitive to the other guys, especially after he saw how his food gesture had affected Keith.

The next day, Gary embarked on his date with Kristy -- in the backyard of Kristy's place that was turned into a circus! The pair were shocked to learn they'd be hosting (and babysitting) a child's birthday party for a neighborhood mom.


Gary was subjected to face painting and creating balloon animals for the young kids, who were running around and yelling, with balloons and stuffed animals everywhere.

"The kids loved Gary! It was like flies to honey, they were swarming him! But he's taking it very well," Kristy gushed.

Kristy learned Gary is "very patient" and kids love Gary, and he told Kristy in turn that she always lights up a room with her presence.

Gary's date -- which included jumping in a moon bounce with Kristy -- was also cut short, but not because of his own doing. Kristin asked Kristy to play "a parenting game" with the men over at the guys' house.

"I was left with a 30-pound cake," Gary said with a laugh.

The group all crowded around a television, which revealed one question at a time. Matt seemed annoyed everyone was jockeying for time and position, wishing it was just he and Kristy playing.


The men wrote their answers on mini whiteboards, and questions included things like, "If you could have a boy or a girl first, which would you have?" Kristy said she just wants a healthy baby, but the guys' answers varied.

Kristy was rubbed the wrong way when Matt said aloud, "I'm just drawing a dog at this point. I don't like this."

Marcus Lehman, a 39-year-old anesthesiologist from Cincinnati, OH who previously appeared on Survivor: Gabon, admitted Matt hadn't made the best impression during the game.

And the situation worsened for Matt when the guys had to answer, "What kind of childcare will you use?"

Kristy said she'd like to keep her career but have a better work-life balance in order to spend time with her family, but Matt wrote that he'd like to have his wife take care of the children with assistance from family and the kids' grandparents.

"I'm not willing to give up my career for any of these guys. I'm definitely surprised what I'm learning from Matt, and I'm going to have to think about this," Kristy said.


Other suitors, such as Stewart and Marcus, expressed wanting to be home with the children a lot. Kristy noted Matt was being "quiet" as well as "a poor sport."

After the game, Kyle stole Kristy away for a conversation, and he set up a romantic scene for them in a bedroom with flowers, candles and snacks.

Kyle blindfolded Kristy and fed her different treats, such as chocolate covered strawberries, and she told the cameras, "Things just got real... I love this experience. It's actually pretty romantic."

Kyle thought he had created a sexy, impromptu experience, and he thought it was the start of something special with Kristy.

Trenton also planned something special for Kristy in which he played music for her out of a boombox and then taught her how to two-step dance. Trenton said he was trying to make his "own destiny happen."

Footage also later showed Marcus stole Kristy away and planted a kiss on her outside.


It then became time for Kristy to discuss her group of guys with the show's host.

Kristy, using an iPad, was asked to move men she liked and wanted to keep around for another week in the "Let's Keep Dating" category.

If Kristy left a man in the "We Need to Talk" box, she'd have the chance to let him know how he impressed her this week or explain the reason she'd be eliminating him from the competition. 

As Kristy moved the guys from "It's Decision Time" to "Let's Keep Dating," the men watched her decisions and progress from a television screen in their own temporary home.

Kristy acknowledged while Trent definitely wants to be a father, she recognized their personalities are very different, so she hesitated about what to do with him.

Kristy then advanced Marcus, saying they definitely have chemistry, but was reluctant to send Alan through to the next round although he's "genetically off the charts."


"He kind of blew it at the end. He was hot to cold," Kristy shared with Kristin. "I'm not sure [what to do with him]."

Kristy kept Gary around because he was so great with the kids on their date, and the show's star also said she and Stewart are on the same page and timeline.

Kyle was also moved into "Let's Keep Dating," but Kristy noted she needed to have a conversation with Keith and "feel it out."

On Matt, Kristy called it "a tough one" because his answer about childcare during the game really surprised her. Kristy was left with a question about Matt as a result.

In the end, Kristy chose to talk to Alan, Matt, Keith, and Trent.

Kristy pulled Trent aside first and wondered if he's "too over the top" or different from her. Trent pointed out she had yet to see more of his serious side, but Kristy said she actually like the goofball side of him, and so she opted to keep him in the competition.


Kristy then told Matt they didn't have much of a chance to connect since their first date. While she said he'd make a great partner and dad, she saw that he stopped taking the process seriously -- and that was "a big deal" to her.

"And we have different ideas about how we want to parent," Kristy continued.

Matt told Kristy that he knew what was coming next and he was just happy for the chance to have gotten to know her. Kristy said she and Matt both deserve to have everything they want and he just wasn't "the right one" for her.

Kristy spoke to Alan next, saying she felt a connection starting with him but her heart sank when Alan seemed more concerned about the other guys.

Kristy felt Alan had closed a door on her, but Alan revealed his nature is "empathy and compassion" and he just didn't feel right about showcasing their relationship in front of the other guys.

"At the end of the day, I just wanted to be sensitive to the people around me," Alan told Kristy.


"Except for me," Kristy interjected, adding that she didn't want to have to convince Alan to get to know her.

Alan gave Kristy a hug goodbye and thanked Kristy for the opportunity to get to know her. He added that she had some "great guys" left.

Kristy admitted Alan would be the type of guy she'd case in her twenties, but at age 41, she's on the show for a specific reason -- to find a man with whom she can start a family. Kristy explained it wasn't just about attraction for her at this point.

Alan told the cameras following his ouster, "I look back on our date and I think it all went perfectly well. I absolutely stand by the decision I made, and I stand by what I said to her. I hope whatever choice she makes, it's the right one for her."

After letting two men go, Kristy revealed to Keith she wanted to continue dating him. Keith hoped they could come together in a more intimate way, and Kristy agreed and said she appreciated everything Keith had done.

"I'm feeling good about this," Kristy told Keith.


Kristy explained Keith had been showing her that he truly wanted to stick around, but Kyle noted Keith had a temper that Kristy had yet to see and she probably wouldn't like it.






About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski