'The Bachelor' star Arie Luyendyk Jr. ousts Marikh Mathias, Maquel Cooper and Ashley Luebke after Krystal Nielson drama

The Bachelor star Arie Luyendyk Jr. sent Marikh Mathias, Maquel Cooper and Ashley Luebke packing during Monday night's Season 22 broadcast on ABC.


Marikh, a 27-year-old restaurant owner from Salt Lake City, UT; Maquel Cooper, a 23-year-old photographer from Orem, UT; and Ashley Luebke, a 25-year-old real estate agent from West Palm Beach, FL, were all eliminated during the season's fifth Rose Ceremony after Arie decided to give his final rose of the night to Krystal Nielson, a 30-year-old fitness coach from San Diego, CA.

Maquel was ousted from the competition shortly after returning to the show. She had missed a few days of filming to travel home once she learned her beloved grandfather had passed away.

"I feel super sad leaving," Marikh said following her ouster.

"I just think I came into this looking for someone that completed my life. I definitely felt that spark between us, but I worry he might end up with the wrong person and get his heart broken. I think Krystal is feeding him lies and he's believing them, but eventually, everyone's true colors come out."


The Bachelor broadcast began with Arie embarking on a one-on-one date with Chelsea Roy in Fort Lauderdale, FL. She was excited for Arie to get to know the real her, not just Chelsea, "the mom."

The couple spent the day sailing around on a beautiful yacht, and Chelsea thought Arie looked incredibly sexy on the boat.

Shortly after Maquel returned to the cast and was welcomed with open arms, the bachelorettes went outside and spotted Arie and Chelsea making out on a jetski while Chelsea was straddling him. All of the other girls were immediately jealous of Chelsea's date and her interaction with the Bachelor.

Arie really appreciated Chelsea's strength and independence, and their spark came back from the first night of taping when Arie had given her the First Impression Rose.

Arie recognized, however, the sacrifice Chelsea was making by being on the show since she's a single mother with a three-year-old son named Sammy at home, so he intended to never waste her time. If Arie realized their connection was fading, he'd want to eliminate her as soon as possible.


During the dinner portion of their date, Arie asked Chelsea about her previous relationship with her son's father since he's still very involved in Sammy's life.

Chelsea choked up right away when talking about the situation, telling Arie that she had been drowning in a life with a very successful older man that initially seemed perfect.

Chelsea said she and the man were together for seven years and separated when Sammy was only six months old. The man apparently left Chelsea for another woman, whom he eventually married and welcomed another son with. 

Chelsea told Arie that while she has less than ever before, she feels richer than ever. Chelsea told Arie that she liked him so much, they could have spent the day on a park sitting on a blanket and she'd feel the same way about him. Chelsea was grateful and excited about every moment she got to spend with Arie.

Meanwhile, the Date Card arrived, revealing that Maquel, Krystal, Jenna Cooper, Becca Kufrin, Bekah Martinez, Seinne Fleming, Kendall Long, Ashley, Marikh, Jacqueline Trumbull, and Lauren Burnham would be accompanying Arie on the week's group date.


The card read, "There's not a moment to spare." Through process of elimination, Tia also learned that she'd be going on a one-on-one date with Arie that week, so she was thrilled.

Back on Arie's date, he gave Chelsea a rose, saying that he loved her perspective on life and was proud that she was on the show.

"Tonight showed me that it's possible to fall in love. Arie is accepting me for me," Chelsea said in a confessional.

The couple was then serenaded at a private concert by country music artist Tenille Arts. Chelsea exposed herself like never before, and being in Arie's arms made her feel safe.

The next day, Arie and nearly a dozen bachelorettes attended a competitive-bowling group date. The girls had to divide themselves into two teams, and the winning team would win more time with Arie.


The team featuring Krystal, Jenna, Jacqueline, Maquel and Becca ended up winning the game; however, Arie decided it was only fair to allow all the women to accompany him to the afterparty. While the losing team was ecstatic to hear this news, Krystal appeared appalled and disappointed.

Following the bowling portion of the date, the girls all vented about how Krystal had called Arie "a liar" off-camera and said she no longer trusted him.

Krystal told the cameras she was looking for a partnership and didn't appreciate how Arie just changed his mind without consulting any of the women first about how they'd feel about the decision.

Lauren, Kendall and Bekah were especially offended by Krystal's behavior after the game, saying she was acting rude, offensive and needed to go home.

Krystal ultimately decided to stay home from the afterparty in order to make a point to Arie that she was pissed off at him. She wanted a man to include her in decisions, and so she packed her stuff.


Kendall said she had no issue with Krystal being upset but the bachelorette's "cruelty was exposed" on the bus. Kendall thought that Krystal did not show kindness.

Bekah also mocked Krystal for feeling "disrespected" by Arie, saying the fitness coach had a "temper tantrum." Seinne said Krystal was just hoping for a reaction from Arie and some attention. The girls, however, hoped Arie would react to Krystal's absence my sending her home.

Once at the afterparty, Arie didn't want to disrespect the girls on his date by checking on Krystal, but he felt it was necessary since Krystal was experiencing such feelings of anger toward him. Arie believed it was important to address the issue head-on.

Arie then approached Krystal in her hotel room, saying she should have gone to the party and confronted him about their problems face-to-face -- rather than hide from them.

Krystal told Arie that she felt disrespected and simply needed more from him, but Arie admitted this type of disruption just made him pull back from her more. After a short heated conversation, Arie asked Krystal to stay in her room. 

Arie wasn't happy about her behavior and said he wanted to spend time that night with the other women who actually wanted to be on the date with him. Arie told Krystal that he'd see her in a few days, and she couldn't believe how cold he had acted towards her.


"Now that things have deteriorated, I really kind of question everything," Arie noted.

During the afterparty, Kendall stole Arie away first. She explained how she had experienced "layers of love" before but never met a man she actually wanted to marry. Kendall tended to be in relationships that burned bright and fast, admitting to Arie that they never lasted longer than 8-10 months.

Kendall, however, felt excited about Arie because their romance was more of a slow burn, yet they were continuing to build a pretty deep connection.

Arie said Kendall surprised him every time they spoke and he wanted to open up to her emotionally. He found her to be quirky and analytical, and he loved spending time with her.

"I was worried about not finding somebody. And now I'm more worried about choosing the right person," Arie confessed to the cameras.

Meanwhile, Arie was worried about falling for Bekah since she was only 22 years old. They had a lot of passion and fun, and Arie loved her spirit and energy, but he said he was looking for a wife -- someone truly ready to take that next step in life with him.   


Arie then took the other Becca to his hotel room for some quiet, alone time. Their one-on-one date had been so long ago, so Arie wanted to make sure that Becca knew he hadn't forgotten about her. Becca really appreciated the extra, special time.

Meanwhile, Krystal got ready for the afterparty and said she initially wanted to skip it only so she wouldn't leave her "self-respect" at home.

Once at the party, Krystal announced to the group of bachelorettes that her feelings had been hurt and she was just standing up for herself that day by skipping out on the party.

But the girls were incredibly frustrated with Krystal and her antics. Lauren stormed away mid-conversation, sick of the fact Krystal wanted to allegedly start more drama and be the center of attention, while Bekah seemingly just couldn't stand the bachelorette. 

Lauren and Arie were then shown playing "21 questions," learning about each other's favorite colors, how they took their coffee, how they like their eggs, etc. Lauren told Arie that her biggest fear in this process was to fall for him and he'd choose someone else, and then Arie divulged how he was afraid of choosing the wrong person at the end.

Lauren viewed Arie as an amazing person. She was still a little guarded, but getting the group-date rose later that night helped to take her walls down and allow her to become more vulnerable. Becca was pretty upset and disappointed that the rose went to Lauren.


The following day, Arie and Tia embarked on their one-on-one date to The Everglades, where they enjoyed an airboat ride. It was a very country date for a country girl. Tia was excited and nervous to spend the day with Arie, but it turned out to be a blast.

The couple saw an alligator and a turtle, and then they stopped at a random house in the middle of the swamp to eat frog legs, catfish and fried corn on the cob. Arie was attracted to how Tia felt comfortable in her own skin and called things like she saw them.

Tia said sitting with Arie and being wrapped up in his arms just felt "normal and right," and she definitely had butterflies for him. Tia couldn't even look at Arie in the eyes because he made her feel so flustered with a "lovey dovey feeling" in the pit of her stomach.

That night at dinner, Tia wanted to let Arie know how she was feeling, although being so honest scared "the sh-t" out of her. But first, she opened up to Arie about how she didn't envision herself staying in Little Rock, AR, forever and she was okay with having a different religion.

Tia also explained that she often dated guys whom she wanted or needed to fix in the past. It became apparent to Arie that Tia didn't have much luck in her love life up until this point. 

Once the conversation plateaued a little bit, Tia told Arie that their journey felt like a fairy tale and then admitted, "I feel like I'm falling in love win you."


Arie got to know Tia very well that day, and said he valued her more than she could ever know. Arie asked Tia to remain confident in herself because he loved everything that he was seeing. Tia's love confession was a great surprise, and the pro racing driver could certainly envision a life and a future with her.

"I don't know the last time I was this happy. I could see a marriage and love so good," Tia gushed in a confessional. "I feel like he's falling for me like I'm falling for him."

It then became time for the cocktail party preceding the season's fifth Rose Ceremony.

Krystal was ready to do whatever it took to get a rose because she thought she'd fit into Arie's life wonderfully.

After Kendall played a light-hearted game with Arie in which she asked him strange questions, such as whether he'd ever try human meat in a life or death situation, Krystal began speaking to bachelorettes one by one in order to clear up some of the drama and negativity.

However, the conversations didn't get Krystal far with the other girls because they accused her of not taking responsibility for her actions and constantly making excuses or blaming things on other people.


Kendall simply believed that Arie was not the guy for Krystal, and Marikh noted that Krystal was attempting to manipulate Arie and everyone else. Krystal was fed up with the other women, saying they just didn't operate on her level.

Jacqueline was then shown having a romantic moment with Arie. She thought they made sense as a couple, and Jacqueline confessed that she was infatuated with him.

The bachelorette was attracted to Arie's lack of an ego and she believed they had great chemistry. In turn, Arie considered Jacqueline "super attractive and smart," and he felt so lucky to have such an amazing group of women.

Despite Krystal's outburst, Arie said it was a really great week in his journey to find love.

Krystal and Arie then talked in private. She explained how she was just emotionally invested in him and didn't like to see his connections with other women. Arie admitted his connection with Krystal was further along because she had met his family, but he warned her that she needed to think through some of her hasty reactions.

Arie noted that Krystal's behavior pushed them a couple of steps back, and Krystal insisted her response at the bowling match was out of character.


Krystal revealed to Arie that the date just brought back bad memories because her mother had worked in a bowling alley for most of her childhood and Krystal watched men come and go, lying to her mom and making promises they couldn't keep. Trust therefore holds a great deal of weight to Krystal, but Arie didn't appear very sympathetic.

Arie advised Krystal to trust him because the process was only going to get harder. It was a heavy conversation, and Krystal just hoped Arie was going to be compassionate towards her.

At the Rose Ceremony, Arie handed out roses in the following order: Bekah, Seinne, Kendall, Becca, Jacqueline, Jenna, and Krystal -- eliminating Marikh, Maquel, and Ashley.

"Everyone else deserves a rose more than Krystal does," Bekah complained to the cameras. "I have no respect for Krystal. I think she's an immature person who has a very high opinion of herself."

"If the girls thought I was a threat before, watch out ladies," Krystal said as the episode came to a close.






About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski