'The Bachelor' star Brad Womack ousts Alli Travis and Jackie Gordon

The Bachelor star Brad Womack eliminated two bachelorettes and narrowed his love search to six women during last night's broadcast of the ABC reality dating series' fifteenth edition.


Alli Travis, a 24-year-old apparel merchant from Columbus, OH, was eliminated on her one-on-one date with Brad, while Jackie Gordon, a 27-year-old artist from New York, NY, was eliminated during the sixth episode's Rose Ceremony.

"I feel really dumb that I'm crying right now. It's just weird to think about this coming to an end so abruptly, but I can honestly tell you that I had feelings for him," Alli lamented following her ouster.

"I feel happy that I met somebody like Brad to kind of give me a higher standard of what I want and who to fall in love with, and the next guy that I date better watch out. Because you have high standards to beat. I'm really really going to miss him a lot."

The Bachelor's sixth fifteenth-season episode began with Brad and the remaining eight bachelorettes traveling to Costa Rica, where they had previously learned they would be spending the week. Once they all arrived at The Springs Resort and Spa, the women discovered Chantal O'Brien, a 28-year-old executive assistant from Seattle, WA, would be getting the first one-on-one date in Costa Rica.


The women learned there would be two one-on-one dates and a group date over the course of the next week. There would be a rose up for grabs during each date -- and if the bachelorettes on the one-on-one dates and the group date failed to receive a rose, they would be ousted immediately.

Since she already had a one-on-one date with Brad, the other women - especially Britt Billmaier, a 25-year-old food writer from Woodinville, WA, and Alli -- were a little jealous of Chantal's opportunity to get more alone time with Brad.

Brad then picked up Chantal for their date and he noted he chose her because he was a little concerned about how dramatic she has been acting and needed some time away from the stress to just be alone with her. They took a helicopter to the longest zipline in the world, and once they arrived, it began raining. The rain has been symbolic of good luck for the couple, as most times they are together it rains.

Back at the resort, Jackie, Britt, Ashley Hebert, a 26-year-old dentist from Philadelphia, PA; Emily Maynard, a 24-year-old children's hospital event planner from Charlotte, NC; Shawntel Newton, a 25-year-old funeral director from Chico, CA; and Michelle Money, a 30-year-old hairstylist from Salt Lake City, UT, learned they would be accompanying Brad on the week's group date, leaving Alli with the remaining one-on-one date she had been anticipating for quite some time.

After Brad and Chantal went ziplining and had a great time together, they enjoyed a picnic by river, where it began to rain again. As it started to pour, Brad brought Chantal into a room where they dried off and shared a room-service dessert. The couple dove into conversation and Brad told Chantal she has been scaring him and cannot do that again to him.


Brad expressed his worry that Chantal was playing games with him, but she reassured him that she felt great with him and is done putting him in stressful dramatic situations because she was just in a bad place at the time.

"That goes to show that I'm being totally 100% honest," Chantal told Brad.

"I get that. Just don't play games with me. No, not you... I don't like it," Brad requested.

After the couple reached a good point in their conversation, Brad knew things were back on track.

"I've been so happy all day only because it just works with Chantal. I finally believe after listening to Chantal -- I don't think she's dramatic at all -- just like she said, she had a rough patch, it is what it is, she's over it. I'm going to give her that. I'm going to respect her enough. I'm moving on," Brad said in a confessional.


"Today was perfect -- perfect ending rain and all -- Chantal, please, will you accept this rose?" Brad asked her.

Chantal accepted the rose and couldn't have been happier that the two of them were getting even closer.

"This is by far the best rose, because we're at a point where he's very serious about finding someone special to spend the rest of his life with. So, him giving me that rose tonight shows that he can see himself spending his life with me... After tonight it's differently. Tonight, I felt his love and the feeling of completely and totally giving yourself up to falling in love. I did fall in love with Brad tonight," Chantal explained. 

The following day, the six women went on their group date and learned they would be rappelling down a waterfall. Each girl started off going down on their own, despite how terrified Jackie seemed to be about heights and making the descent. Michelle then got angry because she and Brad had made a pact that they would never rappel down anything with anyone else during their prior one-one-one date which required them to descend down a skyscraper. 

Although she was convinced Brad forgot the promise he made to her, he didn't. Brad mentioned in a confessional that he remembered the pact he and Michelle made and would live up to it. He then told her the two would go down together and the other girls got very jealous that he didn't want to have the experience with them.


Brad and the bachelorettes then went to relax and swim in Costa Rica's natural hot springs, and Brad pulled Jackie aside to tell her how proud he was of her for overcoming her fears on the group date. But then Brad realized Jackie was jealous that he rappelled down the waterfall with Michelle when she had needed him more due to her fear of heights, and all he could do at that point was try to make her feel better and explain himself. 

Emily and Brad then had some alone time on the group date and Emily told Brad she was nervous about their relationship progressing and eventually coming to a halt.

"Tell me how you feel -- good or bad," Brad asked Emily.

"I find myself really starting to like you and that it super scary," Emily said.

"Why is that scary? That should be fun right?" Brad questioned.


"It is fun... but I do things in relationships to kind of sabotage it -- like guys that I really like, I run away the opposite way," Emily explained.

What Emily said worried and scared Brad, but she told him she wanted to be more open, but just doesn't know how to really do that. Brad told her he wouldn't let her sabotage what they had, and then they shared their first kiss in the water.

Michelle then got some alone time with Brad and told him her concerns about not wanting him to end up with Chantal, along whether or not they really have a true connection. She then got a little angry at him and Brad had to question her motives, revealing that Michelle's behavior has pushed them two steps back.

It then came time for Brad to decide who to give the group date's rose to. But he chose to take a different course of action.

"Here's the deal. Obviously there's a rose here tonight, okay. Ladies, these roses mean more to me now than they ever have. This is a big deal to me, and I'm going to take every single second that I have to think about who to give the roses to. So, tonight, I'm not going to hand out a rose. All of you do really mean a lot to me. I've had a lot of interesting conversations tonight," Brad told the women on the group date.

"I want you to know that I'm not going to just hand this rose to the woman who jumped first or the woman that overcame her fear. I'm giving this rose to a woman that I can see a future with. So, I need to take time. Thank you for an incredible day. I hope you understand."


Brad knew that he was not confident in his choice of who to give the rose to so he simply chose not to hand it out. He expressed in a confessional that he didn't want to have any second thoughts of which lucky lady would have received the rose.

The next day, Brad picked up Alli for their first one-on-one date and they rose horses to a 40 million-year-old cave, which they were going to explore together. Alli, being terrified of bugs, screamed when she saw bats in the cave and had trouble composing herself, but Brad was there to comfort her and convince her to get over her fears.

The couple then found a waterfall in the cave, where a picnic was setup past a small flight of stairs made of natural stone on a level landing called an "altar" -- which was previously referred to in the clue on Alli's date card.

"Going through the cave with Brad does represent my journey here, and I definitely feel like Brad is the kind of man I could marry," Alli said.

Alli and Brad then enjoyed a private dinner on a floating platform at a hotel pool, but their conversation turned flat quickly.

"When I finally have the chance to sit down and talk with Alli, I don't know how to explain it. We're in the most romantic setting in the entire world, and we're making small talk," Brad said.


Although Brad wasn't going to give up that easily, Alli started to tell Brad how her last relationship didn't work out because she couldn't picture the man's face when she thought of the man she would see on her wedding day. But her explanation sparked a common concern in Brad's mind about Alli, and he then realized what they had was on a friendship level rather than an intimate or romantic connection.

"I'm going to use what you just said. I can see myself hanging out with you through everyday of my life. Here's the problem. I don't know if that constitutes saying that you and I are falling in love, and so Alli, I can't give you this rose. I can't. I think you're an amazing woman, but I think at the end of the day, I think we both know that we have a very strong friendship, but I think that's where it ends," Brad told Alli.

"I feel so stupid right now," Alli replied.

Back at the hotel, all the girls figured Alli would be going home because she and Brad seemed to be at different places in their lives. Alli hoped to travel and find adventure, while Brad was looking to just settle down in Austin and stay put.

After Brad and Alli's date ended, Brad feared he wasn't 100% percent confident in his decision and needed time to process how he's feeling and think because he was emotionally drained. However, Michelle interrupted his thoughts and barged in to steal some one-on-one time.

Brad was uncomfortable that Michelle was possibly breaking the rules and she came in to again discuss the other girls and why they were not good for him. Brad was getting frustrated that Michelle concentrated on Brad's relationship with other women and not their own.


Later on, when the cocktail party preceding the Rose Ceremony took place, each of the bachelorettes had one last chance to secure some private time with Brad. Brad spoke to Emily and she admitted she is vulnerable around him, but regretted sharing with him the idea that she sabotages relationships.

Then Brad spoke to Michelle and told her that she's truly scaring him. He revealed that her obsession with wanting him to send all the other women home has become the focus of their own relationship, telling her that they have moved 10 steps backward.

"What makes you so confident that you know me well enough you can make that statement? Brad asked Michelle.

Michelle then got upset and began to cry, worrying that she may not know Brad as well as she thought. Although she did not see him with any other women, she now began to fear that maybe she pushed Brad too far and would lose him herself. 

Meanwhile, Shawntel and Chantal were both wondering who gave Brad grief about not giving out the rose on the group date and wanted to know why he was upset. Michelle finally confessed that she went to Brad's room and didn't feel bad about it. Jackie then stated that there was an "icy tension" in the air, but nothing could have been done to change what happened.

Chantal later took Brad away to talk and she had something very important to discuss with him, even though she was already safe from elimination.


"My feelings grew a lot for you and I have fallen in love with you. I love you, and it's scary saying that because I know I'm not going to get anything back, but that's okay," Chantal told Brad.

The couple then kissed and Brad confessed that Chantal had made his stressful day so much better.

The Bachelor's sixth Rose Ceremony then commenced.

"I need to admit something. A lot of times before Rose Ceremonies, I put a lot of pressure on myself to try to tell each of you how I'm feeling -- not studder or anything like that -- so I practice my little speeches. I didn't do that tonight at all, because I wanted you to hear it from my heart," Brad told the bachelorettes. 

"I needed each of you today more than I can say. You are each amazing incredibly beautiful women, and for you to actually be genuinely concerned about me, is very humbling. I truly mean that. Thank you."

Besides Chantal, Brad gave roses to Ashley, Emily, Britt, Shawntel and Michelle.


"I wanted that last rose. I wasn't expecting it right now to be that close and get to that point with him and want more and know that there could be more if he gave me a shot. It just -- it kind of hits you -- the more it hurts when you actually like, are in love. You feel like, 'What's wrong with me?'" Jackie said following her elimination.

"God, I can't believe he looked at me and said, 'I don't want to be with you.' That sucks. Brad's a great guy. I just feel like I fell short. I feel like I constantly put up a wall and like try to make sure that nobody can get through it. It would have been great to fall in love here, and I wanted it to be mutual."






About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski