'The Bachelor' recap: Lexi Young quits as Joey Graziadei dumps Jess Edwards, Lea Cayanan and Katelyn DeBacker

The Bachelor featured Lexi Young breaking up with Joey Graziadei and leaving him "crushed," Joey dumping Jess Edwards after she admitted she was "falling for" him, and Joey eliminating Katelyn DeBacker and Lea Cayanan during the Season 28 episode that aired Monday night on ABC.


Joey dumped Jess, a 24-year-old executive assistant from San Diego, CA, during a group date in Montreal, Canada, and then Lexi, a 30-year-old digital strategist from Atlanta, GA, quit the show and broke up with him in his hotel room.

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Joey later denied roses to Katelyn, a 25-year-old radiochemist from Santa Fe, NM, and Lea, a 23-year-old account manager from Hawaii who currently resides in Los Angeles, CA, at the Rose Ceremony in Montreal.

The Bachelor broadcast began with Joey and his 10 remaining bachelorettes touching down in Montreal, Canada.


While he should've been feeling excited and optimistic for another week of dates ahead, Joey admitted he was really struggling at this stage in the process, mainly because he was starting to fall for multiple women.

"It scares me. I find myself holding back in some ways, and I don't like it -- I don't want to. There are some women here that I'm scared to death would go home if I started to share how I'm feeling and they didn't feel the same way, or they had this realization, 'This isn't right,'" Joey shared with The Bachelor cameras.

"I think the fear is coming from me being scared that this isn't going to end up working out for me for some reason... The last time I really opened up was with [Charity Lawson], and I left heartbroken. I felt so lost after that."

Joey shared how he's not usually an energetic person and sometimes it's hard for him to be fun and light.

"Sometimes people expect you to be a certain way, and I'm like, 'Is that really me?'" The Bachelor star confessed.


"I don't feel like I need to be perfect; I feel like people expect me to be. Most of my life I've been struggling with the fact I don't feel perfect. I feel like there's a lot wrong with me, and you try to work through it, but it's tough."

Joey explained how he's always been his biggest and toughest critic, adding, "I'm afraid of someone not accepting me for me. And I don't know what that is; I'm still trying to figure that out. I have some type of deep feeling that this might not work out."

The Bachelor host Jesse Palmer then met Joey's ladies in Montreal and shared how there was going to be a group date followed by two one-on-one dates with Joey.

The women Joey had selected for the group date were Katelyn; Lexi; Lea; Jess; Daisy Kent, a 25-year-old account executive from Becker, MN; Kelsey Anderson, a 25-year-old junior project manager from New Orleans, LA; Jenn Tran, a 25-year-old physician assistant student from Miami, FL; and Rachel Nance, a 26-year-old ICU nurse from Honolulu, HI.

Kelsey Toussant, a 31-year-old actress from Los Angeles, CA, and Maria Georgas, a 29-year-old executive assistant from Kleinburg, Ontario, therefore learned they'd be accompanying Joey on one-on-one dates that week.


The group date kicked off right away with a little scavenger hunt around Montreal with Joey. Clues led the group from one location to the next, and stops included making poutine and collecting souvenirs.

Joey told The Bachelor cameras that when Jenn spoke to him, it felt like they were the only two people in the room, which was difficult with a bunch of other ladies around. Joey said Jenn made him feel special and that their connection was real.

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But the other women weren't having as much fun. Several of the bachelorettes acknowledged how the vibe was awkward and chaotic considering Joey was on a date with nearly a dozen women, all of whom he really liked and connected with.

Jess complained that she was tired of the group dates and fighting for Joey's affection all the time. Kelsey A. was also feeling frustrated and left out during the group date.


"This is probably my least favorite date I've been on, just because it's very difficult to navigate," Kelsey A. said in a confessional. "It's getting harder and harder. I just feel like he's not giving me any attention, honestly."

Kelsey A. cried to Katelyn about how she was feeling so insecure and overthinking things. Kelsey A. noted how she was tempted to just shut down on Joey.

That night at the afterparty, Jess planned to express her strong feelings for Joey, and Lexi was hoping to get clarity on Joey's timeline for marriage and starting a family.

Katelyn told Joey that it was hard to watch his relationships with other women blossom, especially since she hadn't received a one-on-one date, but Joey thanked her for embracing the process and being on the show for him. Katelyn just worried Joey's relationships with other women were further along.

When Kelsey A. talked to Joey, she explained how the day hadn't been easy for her because she wanted to feel wanted, not just sink into the background.


"You don't deserve to ever feel like you're in the background," Joey told Kelsey A. "You can't be. It's impossible for you to be. You have this brightness about you that is so different, and you have this warmth around you."

Kelsey A. then revealed, "I'm falling for you."

"Did you just whisper that?" Joey asked. "Say it one more time."

"I'm falling for you," Kelsey A. repeated.

Kelsey A. stopped spiraling in that moment, and then Joey confronted Lexi about having been "a little off" earlier in the day. Lexi, who wanted to move to the suburbs and have children in a couple of years, asked Joey to reveal when he'd like to get married and have his first child.

Joey explained how he'd like to be engaged for two or three years and then be married for a couple of years before settling down with kids. The Bachelor star said he'd like to enjoy his marriage before bringing a baby into it.


Lexi appeared understanding, and she said she appreciated how patient and kind Joey was being to her.

"The connection is there. I can feel it... But it's that time in between where he wants to wait to have children and explore a marriage. I think I need to sit and think on it, and process the conversation," Lexi told The Bachelor cameras.

"He did say that, with the right person, he might feel differently. But right now, it's complicated."

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Jenn then sat down with Joey and gushed about how she was "falling for" him. Jenn said she never felt that way with a man before, and Joey noted how her revelation made him feel very excited.

"I am on Cloud 9. I almost jumped up and started dancing as soon as I heard that one," Joey said of Jenn. "When you hear someone say it to you, it's one of those things where you know when you know. I don't feel like I'm fully ready to say it, but I think I'm getting closer."


Meanwhile, Jess was inside her head a lot, and Daisy pointed out how the bachelorette was very emotional at the time.

Jess told The Bachelor cameras she was starting to "fall" for Joey, and she decided to tell him just that.

"I know we haven't even had a one-on-one yet, and I want that time so bad. I'm trying not to get emotional right now, sorry. It's just scary because I feel confident in how I'm feeling about you, and I hope you're feeling the same things," Jess revealed.

Joey, however, clearly wasn't feeling the same way. Joey explained how he simply couldn't picture a future with Jess and she deserved for him to be honest.

"I think you're unbelievable. I think you deserve the world. I just don't think it's right to keep you here. I'm so sorry," Joey replied.

Joey walked Jess out as a result, and he lamented about how he felt "terrible" for letting her down in such a brutal manner -- right after she had confessed that she was falling for him.


The Bachelor star said he knew not leading Jess on was the right thing to do, even though it wasn't an easy thing to do.

Jess cried as Joey eliminated her, and she admitted how that was the last thing she ever expected would happen.

"I just feel so stupid," Jess told The Bachelor cameras in her final words. "It definitely hurts to be so vulnerable and so hopeful and open up so much."

Joey then gave the group-date rose to Jenn.

The next day, Kelsey T. embarked on her one-on-one date with Joey. Kelsey T. was feeling a lot of nervous energy, especially since her trust level with men is at "a 0.0 percent" but she wanted to tell Joey about herself and her past.

For their date, Joey and Kelsey T. trained to be a part of Cirque Du Soleil with an aerial specialist and professional performer. The couple learned tricks and how to trust each other's timing and support, but The Bachelor star ended up feeling sick from all of the spinning.


That night, at dinner, Kelsey T. attempted to let her walls down, and she opened up to Joey about how she had an extremely close relationship with her father growing up, until she decided that she didn't want to center her life -- and career -- around his religion.

"He stopped talking to me... for a very long time," Kelsey T. recalled.

"In my heart, I knew it wasn't where I wanted to be. And because I chose to go to college, he didn't support that decision at all. Anyone who's in his household has to be in the religion, and so I wasn't allowed to be there anymore. So I went to live with my mom and we stopped talking."

Kelsey T. said the situation messed with her so bad and resulted in her struggling to trust men in relationships.

However, Kelsey T. revealed that she and her father are now in touch and are slowly repairing their relationship.

"It's hard because he still missed a lot," Kelsey T. admitted to The Bachelor star.


Joey complimented Kelsey T. on being strong and resilient, and then she said things felt "right" and "amazing" with him. Joey, who felt very connected and bonded with the bachelorette, then gave her a kiss and a rose.

Kelsey T. said she was beginning to trust Joey and could envision herself falling in love with him, and Joey noted how he could picture Kelsey T. being a great wife.

The next day, Maria, wearing a tight black crop top with baggy jeans, exited the hotel to find Joey waiting for her outside with a beautiful white limo.

When the pair cuddled inside the limo and drank champagne, Maria made Joey laugh by teaching him some French phrases and asking him to say things in French when he didn't even know what the words meant.

"When I'm with Maria, we have fun, we laugh, we enjoy the day, and we don't take things so serious. We just beat when we're together," The Bachelor star gushed in a confessional. "She just has this way about her... I don't know if you could ever fully understand Maria."

Joey said it was exciting that he never knew what Maria was going to do next.


Joey then took Maria to a boutique, where she was able to select a beautiful gown for the evening portion of their date. Joey picked out a sparkling champagne dress with a green ombre effect going down the center, and Maria absolutely loved it.

Once the couple returned to the limo, Joey said, "I love you," to Maria in French, without realizing what he had actually said. They then took a helicopter ride over Montreal, and Maria gushed about how she was the happiest girl in the world that day.

At dinner that night, Maria expressed how she felt really happy in Joey's presence. Maria acknowledged that she's not the best at articulating her feelings but she wanted him to know how much she cared about him.

"Can I fall for him? I think that I already am, and it scares me," Maria told The Bachelor cameras.

Maria shared with Joey how she thought she was going to get engaged to an ex-boyfriend but he dangled it in front of her face and took it away from her. Maria therefore dumped him, and she said that she wants a man who wants something serious and means what he says.

"I am falling for you in ways that I didn't expect," Maria told Joey.


Joey said hearing the news felt amazing and he was experiencing real and natural emotions with Maria. The couple then danced and kissed the night away to a private concert by Feist.

"I am trying to figure out if I feel the same way, and I think I am. I want to be in this with her and spend all of this time with her. That's telling! I can see a future with Maria," Joey told The Bachelor cameras before giving Maria a rose and asking her to believe in their romance.

Joey realized that night that the process was truly working and he'd probably find his wife on The Bachelor.

Once Joey returned to his hotel room after the date, Lexi knocked on his door, hoping to talk.

Lexi explained how she had been reflecting a lot on Joey's timeline for marriage and kids, which included a long engagement.

"That's not something I have the privilege of doing right now with my health situation... You made me feel like a whole person, and I've never felt that way in a relationship before. I hadn't opened up to anyone else about my health," said Lexi, who battles endometriosis.


"But as someone who has infertility, I have to take that really seriously as I date, knowing I'm in my thirties now. [Kids] is something that's going to have to happen at a little bit of a faster pace for me."

Lexi therefore concluded, "I think it would be unfair of me to [have you] keep me here when I'm just on a different timeline."

Joey admitted he was "stunned." He told Lexi that he'd never forget their one-on-one date in Malta and he had zero doubts that he could see a future with her.

"I never felt scared when you said that," Joey insisted to the bachelorette. "If anything, the only thing I felt... was, 'Does that mean she needs to have kids now? Because I need to get my head wrapped around that."

Lexi admitted it would be hard to open up about her health crisis with another man because of how well Joey had handled the news, and Joey repeated how he never expected their relationship to end this way.

"I hate this. This isn't what I had in my head of what I thought was going to happen... But you're going to get everything that you want, and you're going to make a remarkable mother," Joey told the bachelorette.


Lexi shared how this breakup was going to be difficult and she was going to miss him a lot.

"I feel crushed," Joey lamented to The Bachelor cameras. "I could see her as my wife, so it's weird to just drop. I was willing to figure it out and talk through it and see if I could still get there. It doesn't feel right to let someone that special just walk out."

Lexi and Joey were both in tears when they said goodbye, and Lexi questioned if she had made the right decision because leaving Joey broke her heart. She just didn't want to make Joey be ready for kids when he probably wasn't.

Joey was afraid his "person" was going to walk out on him, and he told The Bachelor cameras how he really didn't want to end this process alone.

Before the Rose Ceremony, Katelyn praised Joey for his compassion and emotional intelligence, and she mentioned how they're very compatible. Katelyn said she could imagine herself getting engaged to Joey in the end.

During the cocktail party, Daisy asked Joey if he gives good foot massages, which is a make or break for her in relationships. She made him laugh, and Joey said he loved that goofy side of the bachelorette.


Rachel then assured Joey that he's a great human being who was doing everything right.

At the Rose Ceremony in Montreal, Joey handed out only three roses to Daisy, Kelsey A., and Rachel.

Joey therefore sent Katelyn and Lea packing, and Lea immediately teared up at the thought of leaving The Bachelor star.

Katelyn said she felt "disappointed" because she didn't get to dig deep and show Joey her full personality, and Lea broken down into tears in her final words.

"I think it's just unfortunate that I wasn't given that full opportunity and time with Joey to see what Joey and Lea really looks like, but that's truly his loss," Lea cried following her ouster. "Of course I wish him the best and I hope his person is really in there. I just hope he can walk away from this with no regrets and no what ifs?"

When asked if she had any regrets on her part, Lea wasn't shown answering the question.


Joey then revealed to his remaining bachelorettes that they'd be traveling to Jasper, Canada next.

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Click here to learn more about Joey's The Bachelor bachelorettes or click here to read spoilers that reveal how Joey's season ends and who he picked as his winner.

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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski