Rachel Recchia apparently believes that Thomas Nguyen is the "issue" and the real "bully" behind the drama on Jenn Tran's The Bachelorette season.
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But according to Rachel and former The Bachelor star Ben Higgins, Thomas N. may actually be to blame for all the tension.
"Right now, if I had to pick a side, I'm on Devin's side because Thomas continues to be this character [in conflict]," Ben explained to Rachel while she was filling in for co-host Ashley Iaconetti on the July 23 episode of "The Ben & Ashley I: Almost Famous Podcast."
Ben elaborated of Thomas, "[And] he's not just doing this with Devin.... [Based on The Bachelorette previews] he's continuing to get himself into the drama, and so I have to think that maybe Devin isn't the one at fault here -- or he isn't the problem."
Rachel said she "completely" agreed with Ben, and she went on to share, "I think Thomas is a bit of a bully. I think the way he was treating [Sam Nejad] this episode [was wrong]."
Thomas and Sam M. were shown mocking and criticizing Sam N. for telling Jenn so early in the process that he was starting to fall in love with her.
Rachel confessed she's "not a fan" of either Thomas or Devin -- who reminds her of her ex-fiance Tino Franco -- and that they've both been giving her "the ick" while watching Jenn's The Bachelorette season.
However, Rachel pointed out, "Devin did actually step up a little bit in this episode when he was standing up for Sam N... He was like, 'You're allowed to have those feelings,' and so that was really nice for me."
On The Bachelorette's second episode, Thomas memorably scolded and lashed out at Devin for stealing Jenn first at a cocktail party in Melbourne when more than a handful of men had a group date cut short and were hoping to make up time with The Bachelorette star.
Ben said it seemed Thomas "stepped into the drama" from "out of nowhere" and his confrontation with Devin -- which had left Jenn alone in a room with her glass of champagne -- was "not necessary."
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RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOWBen noted, "I don't think it was appropriate at that time," and Rachel enthusiastically agreed.
The Bachelorette bachelor Grant Ellis even recently said he "wouldn't have done" what Thomas did in that situation, adding, "We don't owe you guys [time]. I'm going to give you time to go on a date with somebody who could be my future wife? I'm okay with that!"
And then on The Bachelorette's third episode that just aired on July 22, Thomas and Sam M. appeared to have joined forces in their attacks against Devin.
The pals were shown trashing Devin behind his back, with Thomas venting "f-ck Devin" and Sam M. calling the controversial bachelor "an ankle-biting dog."
Thomas and Sam M. later got into another argument with Devin ahead of the third Rose Ceremony of Jenn's season.
"With Devin, going from the [second] Rose Ceremony, you can kind of tell the other guys don't really like him. So that's where it gives me pause, whereas, yeah, I feel like Thomas definitely is the issue -- and he was the issue in that argument," Rachel reasoned.
"But I look around at the other guys and I'm like, 'Why do they not like Devin?' That says something to me. I want the guy I end up with to get along with people."
The Bachelorette's Season 19 star therefore lamented, "I think, at this point, I'm over both Thomas and Devin."
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"Devin has twisted Jenn into his little web of lies," Thomas says in one clip, as Devin is shown romancing Jenn and later arguing with the men.
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Rachel and Ben predicted that Thomas and Devin will be eliminated around the same time "mid-season," before the Final 4 men's hometown dates.
Rachel said, by that point, Thomas and Devin will probably "secure their place on the beach" for Bachelor in Paradise's upcoming tenth season. (ABC renewed the spinoff earlier this month, and Season 10 will air in 2025.)
"I can't wait!" Rachel gushed.
After Rachel ended her The Bachelorette engagement to Tino because he had cheated on her, Rachel appeared on last summer's edition of Bachelor in Paradise.
Rachel briefly dated Sean McLaughlin, Tanner Courtad, Jordan Vandergriff, and Brayden Bowers, but she left Paradise alone and single.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)
Click here to read episode-by-episode spoilers about how Jenn's The Bachelorette season unfolds, including who Jenn picks as her winner and runner-up.
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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
