The Bachelor featured Zach Shallcross having the "biggest internal battle" of his life and eliminating Christina Mandrell after girl drama, Kaity Biggar spending the night with Zach, Brianna Thorbourne quitting, and a surprise Bailey Brown ouster during the Season 27 episode that aired Monday night on ABC.
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And finally, Zach ousted Christina, a 26-year-old content creator from Nashville, TN, at the third Rose Ceremony of the season.
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The Bachelor broadcast began with Zach saying he was developing "amazing connections" with his bachelorettes and checking in with Season 17 The Bachelor star Sean Lowe via FaceTime.
The Bachelor host Jesse Palmer then approached Zach's remaining bachelorettes at the mansion and shared how there were going to be two one-on-one dates this week as well as a very large group date.
The first one-on-one date, however, wasn't going to start until that evening.
Kaity, a 27-year-old ER nurse from Austin, TX, received the first of two solo dates, and she actually cried tears of joy. Her heart was filled with excitement and gratitude, and her fellow bachelorettes told her that she looked beautiful in her green dress.
For their date, Zach and Kaity had the entire Natural History Museum to themselves. They walked around with lanterns in the dark and looked at all the animal and dinosaur displays, and Kaity said the date was "unreal" and she felt "so special."
Zach and Kaity also enjoyed dinner together inside the museum, and Kaity shared, "I've never experienced anything romantic," which raised Zach's eyebrows.
"I literally went zero to 100. This is crazy. I could never think in a million years I'd be sitting right here in front of you and feeling the way that I do," she added.
Zach told Kaity that it was "so easy" with her and he had been digging her since Night 1.
When asked what she's looking for in a partner, Kaity said her last relationship taught her exactly what she doesn't want. Kaity explained how she had been so vulnerable with her ex-boyfriend, whom she dated for seven years on and off.
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"It was that toxic, tumultuous relationship that it took a toll on me, like, big time, and it made me put up a lot of guards and question my self-worth. So moving forward, I just want to feel safe and I want somebody that's not going to run away the moment things get hard," Kaity told the Bachelor.
Kaity got emotional and tears welled up in her eyes. She then noted how she just wants "a good man" in her life -- just "the basics" of a good relationship. Kaity said she just wants to be treated right.
Zach told Kaity that she deserves "way" more than just the basics and he found it "baffling" a man had never treated her better. Zach called all of Kaity's exes "idiots," saying she deserves five-star dates, and that she made him feel giddy.
Meanwhile, a Date Card arrived for Zach's other bachelorettes back at the mansion and revealed who would be accompanying Zach on the big group date.
The women selected for the group date included Anastasia Keramidas, a 30-year-old content marketing manager from San Diego; Ariel Frenkel, a 28-year-old marketing executive from New York City, NY; Bailey Brown, a 27-year-old executive recruiter from Nashville, TN; Brooklyn Willie, a 25-year-old rodeo racer from Stillwater, OK; Brianna; and Charity Lawson, a 26-year-old child and family therapist from Columbus, GA.
Christina's name was also on the Date Card, in addition to Davia Bunch, a 25-year-old marketing manager from Charleston, SC; Gabi Elnicki, a 25-year-old account executive from Pittsford, VT; Genevie Mayo, a 26-year-old neonatal nurse from Baltimore City, MD; and Greer Blitzer, a 24-year-old medical sales representative from Houston, TX.
The rest of the women invited on the date were Jess Girod, a 23-year-old e-commerce coordinator from Winter Springs, FL; Kat Izzo, a 26-year-old registered nurse from Tampa, FL; Kylee Russell, a 25-year-old postpartum nurse from Charlotte, NC; and Mercedes Northup, a 24-year-old nonprofit owner from Bloomfield, IA.
That meant Aly Jacobs, a 26-year-old healthcare strategist from Atlanta, GA, would be joining Zach on the other one-on-one date of the week.
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Back on Kaity's date, she called Zach a "dream come true." She could see Zach becoming her best friend, regardless of whether that sounded crazy.
Zach then handed Kaity a rose, which she gladly accepted, and asked Kaity if she would spend the night with him in the museum.
"Absolutely!" Kaity gushed.
Zach told the cameras there was "something way more" than just a fun time with Kaity, and then the pair dressed up in matching pajamas for a slumber party and ran around the museum, flirting and goofing around.
Zach and Kaity ended up in a romantic tent indoors with two small beds inside, and Kaity suggested they should put the beds together. The couple then kissed and Kaity called him "such a good kisser."
Gabi thought the idea of Kaity staying out late with Zach was "unsettling," adding, "Because I know how awesome she is. I could truly see them together, and that's a tough pill to swallow."
The next morning at 7AM, Zach's bachelorettes woke up and noticed Kaity was gone but her suitcase was still in the mansion.
Once Kaity returned in her pajamas, Brooklyn said it "definitely looked like a walk of shame," but she didn't even want to think about that. Kaity shared how her night with Zach was so romantic, and the girls pointed out how Kaity had an early Fantasy Suite with the Bachelor.
Later that day, Zach began his group date, and the participating bachelorettes were introduced to L.A. Chargers "legends" Shawne Merriman and Antonio Gates.
Kylee said she was fan-girling hard and wished she could have an autograph.
The women then learned they'd be playing a full-out game of tackle football that day for "The Bachelor Bowl V." The winning team would join Zach that night at the afterparty.
Christina felt confident in her athletic ability given she's done CrossFit for many years.
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The Shall-Crushers was comprised of Anastasia, Brianna, Davia, Gabi, Genevie, Greer, Jess, and Mercedes. The opposing team, the Ball-Zachs, was made up of Ariel, Bailey, Brooklyn, Charity, Christina, Kat and Kylee.
During the kickoff, Anastasia took a tackle pretty hard and walked off the sidelines to rest and take a breather. The women joked about how it appeared to be a ploy to spend some alone time with Zach, and Brooklyn pointed out how Anastasia was "milking" her "injury."
Gabi peed her pants during the game, Genevie showed off her speed as a running back, and Christina took some girls down with a saving tackle or two.
In the end, the Ball-Zachs won the game and celebrated with a bottle of champagne, and Mercedes lamented about how she was going to miss out on a whole night with Zach. Brianna was also bummed considering her team had played hard and fair.
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At the afterparty, Christina told Zach that she enjoyed being part of a team and feeling wanted, and Zach asked her to trust in what they had. She thought Zach had validated her and that what she was feeling was real.
While other women were talking to Zach, Christina kept mentioning her first one-on-one date with Zach, which clearly annoyed her competition. Kat said Christina was making her feel uncomfortable and that Christina was either "unaware" of her behavior or intentionally rubbing it in their faces.
Zach went on to thank Charity for her effort during the date, and he said he felt very comfortable around her.
Meanwhile, Aly was gifted a beautiful white-lace pantsuit that resembled a wedding dress for her upcoming date.
Christina then told the girls how she wasn't used to going on group dates, nor had she been expecting to feel the way she did about Zach on her one-on-one date.
Brooklyn therefore snapped at the blonde, "Respectfully, if I hear one-on-one [again], I might lose my mind -- not that I don't care or I'm not happy for you, but we know. We've heard about your one-on-one, we've heard that you met his family. I almost feel like it's malicious."
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Zach admitted he noticed that things felt a little "off" between them, like they were missing that initial spark they felt. Zach wondered if it was because they had limited time together, and he asked if they could revisit the conversation later on.
Bailey thought Zach was going to say, "I want you here," but he didn't. Bailey didn't feel better as a result, and she thought their chat was disheartening.
"He wasn't hearing me. He wasn't understanding me," Bailey cried in a confessional. "Tonight with Zach, I'm just so confused. It's hard to not have any sort of validation... I haven't had that since Night 1."
Bailey believed there "could be something there" with Zach, and so she found him later in the night to talk. Bailey told Zach that she needed to hear how he liked her and felt they had a connection, but Zach apparently couldn't give her that.
Zach confessed that he didn't feel confident there would be a future for them, which surprised Bailey. Bailey had hope they could get "there" if they spent more time together, but Zach apologized and said he wanted to focus on the connections he did feel confident about.
Zach therefore walked Bailey out, and he explained how their relationship wasn't growing at a good pace and he'd never want to lead the sweet bachelorette on.
Christina told the women it was "inevitable," and Charity said it was "awful" to say that after a girl gets sent home.
Zach then handed out the group-date rose to Charity, who felt Christina had "put on a performance" that night.
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After Zach left the date and the girls congratulated Charity, Christina complained, "I'm just confused, honestly. Maybe I missed something, but I'm just confused... I'm mad that it wasn't me. Duh!"
Brooklyn shot straight, yet again, telling Christina that she tended to make a lot of things about herself. Christina said she was "trying to be 100" and truthful, but Kat pointed out how Christina wasn't making sense and she was upsetting Charity.
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Kylee also didn't feel Christina respected anyone else's feelings, and Brooklyn told Christina that she should consider shutting up next time.
The next day, Zach and Aly jumped out of a plane together. Zach gushed about how Aly was a blast, adventurous and really brave, and they kissed each other after going skydiving.
The pair then sat in a hot tub in the middle of a winery or vineyard, and Zach confirmed there was "something there" between them. Zach liked Aly's confidence and poise, and he said he was looking for a woman who "has her sh-t together."
Over dinner that night, Aly opened up about how she's "very Type A" and loves being in control, which manifested from some of her past relationships. Aly believed if she could control everything that goes on, then she can't get hurt.
"It's how I protect myself... It's my comfort space," Aly shared, adding how she's never put herself first in a relationship. "[I want] to put myself first but also be fully invested in you."
Zach called Aly "a kickass" woman, and he said he liked her for who she is. Zach didn't want her being anybody but else with him, and then her offered her the date's rose. Zach said Aly blew him away that night, and then they danced to the music of Griffen Palmer.
"Falling out of the sky was scary, but falling in love with him will be worth it. I could definitely see myself falling in love with Zach," Aly said.
Instead of having a cocktail party before the third Rose Ceremony of the season, Zach chose to have everyone enjoy themselves at a pool party.
The women competed for time with Zach. There was grilling, chicken fights and beach balls in the air.
Zach confirmed he felt a romantic spark with Ariel, who wasn't afraid to tease and challenge the Bachelor, and Zach could see Jess come out of her shell and be vulnerable with him.
After Zach and Christina bonded over a game of Ping Pong, Brianna began fearing there was nothing between Zach and herself romantically. Zach had previously told Brianna that she had walls up and he didn't feel they had natural conversation.
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"Today I've been so sad because I'm planning to leave. It sucks because I think you're so handsome, I think you're amazing, and I want to get to know you so badly," Brianna explained.
"But we can't force anything that's not there," Zach interjected.
"Exactly," Brianna agreed. "I feel like our connection didn't get to get off the ground because of hard things I've been going through in the house. A lot of the girls, I think, are struggling to be authentic because... [they've] had intimidation and really hard times with this person."
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Brianna shared how Christina had been creating that insecurity in the house, adding how the bachelorette had made Charity cry at the end of the group date. Brianna also said Christina had made her cry "several times" and the women deserved to date Zach in a safe environment.
Brianna left the show for her own peace of mind, and then alarms went off in Zach's head about Christina. Zach said if the women weren't feeling safe with him, then something was wrong.
Once Brianna departed, Zach, who admittedly felt "stressed as f-ck," confronted Christina about Brianna's claims. Zach said he had the best start with Christina given she had met his family and dogs, and so he had to figure things out quickly.
Zach told Christina that she had made women in the house feel hurt and insecure. Christina acknowledged she had been rubbing women the wrong way but only because she's happy, loud and outgoing.
Christina said people were perceiving her behavior as being cocky or arrogant, like she was giving the impression she's more special than other bachelorettes. Christina said she offered two women clarification and thought the situation had been settled.
Zach explained how he didn't want drama to interfere in his journey to find love, and Christina insisted that she understood that and letting her go would be a mistake.
"It would be a mistake to believe this, and I wholeheartedly believe that. It would be a real bummer," Christina said, breaking down into tears.
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Christina told the cameras that it was never her intention to hurt anybody and she thought she had settled the beef. Christina then sprawled out on a staircase and cried about feeling misunderstood.
As Christina cried, other women -- including Brooklyn and Charity -- corroborated Brianna's allegations. Christina found the situation "so frustrating" because she already cared deeply for Zach.
Zach then canceled the remainder of the pool party.
"I'm feeling such a strong connection with Zach, and I know he feels it too. I can see him being a stepdad. I feel like I'm just hanging on for my life. I think he trusts me, hopefully, but how do you say three girls -- and one who went home because of me -- are lying?" Christina said.
"It just doesn't look good for me, and it really hurts."
At the Rose Ceremony, Zach announced how he was "struggling" a little bit and really appreciated how the women had sacrificed things in their own lives to be on the show with him.
Zach then handed out roses in the following order: Jess, Gabi, Ariel, Genevie, Greer, Katherine, Kylee, Davia, Anastasia, and Brooklyn.
"Fuuuudge," Christina whispered when there was only one red rose left on the table.
Zach acknowledged how he did have a really strong connection with Christina and could see a future with her because she's beautiful and their one-on-one date went so well.
"But I have to be cautious for myself and look at the big picture," Zach reasoned in a confessional.
"There's a little sliver in me that wants to forget what happened today even happened. It's the biggest internal battle I've had in maybe forever, and it's the most difficult decision I've made to date."
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"I understand. I get it. I hope you meet your best friend," Christina told Zach. "You're going to do this good, and you're going to find it."
Christina lamented in her final words how Zach had blown her away and she felt so strongly for him. Christina said she hoped Zach would find his person but sadly it wasn't going to be her.
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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
