'The Bachelorette' recap: Charity has "phenomenal" date with Aaron Bryant, record-breaking kiss with Joey Graziadei, and Brayden Bowers allegedly calls Charity "classless"

The Bachelorette featured Adrian Hassan telling Charity Lawson that Brayden Bowers had called her "classless," Charity having a "phenomenal" date with Aaron Bryant and a record-breaking kiss with Joseph "Joey" Graziadei, and The Bachelorette star eliminating five guys during the Season 20 episode that aired Monday night on ABC.


At the second Rose Ceremony of the season, Charity denied roses to Caleb Arthur, a 29-year-old a resident physician from Ann Arbor, MI; John Henry Spurlock, a 30-year-old underwater welder from Virginia Beach, VA; Josh Young, a 28-year-old Harvard grad student from Bethlehem, PA; Kaleb Kim, a 26-year-old construction salesman from Norcross, GA; and Spencer Storbeck, a 32-year-old medical sales director from Moorpark, CA.

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The Bachelorette broadcast began on Day 2 of Charity's journey to find love after the first Rose Ceremony of the season.

At the beginning of the episode, there were 19 men left in the running for Charity's heart.


The remaining men included Aaron B., a 29-year-old software salesman from San Diego, CA; Joey, a 27-year-old tennis pro from Koloa, HI; John Buresh, a 27-year-old data scientist from New York, NY; and Xavier Bonner, 27, a 27-year-old biomedical scientist from Carrboro, NC.

Aaron Schwartzman, a 33-year-old a firefighter from San Diego, CA, was still in the competition, as well as Adrian, a 33-year-old realtor from North Hills, CA; Caleb Balgaard, a 24-year-old pro wrestler from Orlando, FL; and Dotun Olubeko, a 30-year-old integrative medicine specialist from Brooklyn, NY.

The rest of the men in the running for Charity's heart were James Pierce, a 28-year-old attorney from Chicago, IL; Michael Barbour, a 29-year-old yacht captain from South Holland, IL; Sean McLaughlin, a 25-year-old software sales representative from Tampa, FL; Tanner Courtad, a 30-year-old mortgage lender from Pittsburgh, PA; and Warwick Reider, a 27-year-old construction manager from Nashville, TN.

The Bachelorette host Jesse Palmer approached the group of men and asked Brayden -- who was sporting a scarf with an intricate design as well as long, dangly earrings -- what was up with his outfit. Brayden said he likes to mix things up and be himself, and Jesse joked, "I feel like Brayden was like, 'I got the First Impression Rose. F-ck it!'"

Jesse then revealed one lucky guy would be going on an incredibly romantic one-on-one date with Charity -- and the person on the Date Card was Aaron B., who immediately felt nerves and butterflies.


Charity said Aaron B. made her feel comfortable and like the best version of herself in his presence.

Aaron B. thought Charity was a passionate, empathetic and clear-headed woman who knows what she wants, so he was hoping The Bachelorette star would view her as a potential husband.

Charity picked Aaron B. up in a red convertible for their "legendary" date, and they drove up the Hollywood hills to the Hollywood sign, where they popped champagne and talked about family and the future.

Aaron B. shared how he wanted an "everlasting" love like what his parents have, something that will last 40 or 50 years, and he hadn't been lucky in the past. Charity felt the same way given she admires her parents' long-lasting and healthy marriage.

"I haven't felt this spark in a minute -- like a true, genuine spark, and someone I can see in my life. It just feels so good," Aaron B. told Charity before kissing her.


Charity concluded that feelings had developed for Aaron B. overnight and he was definitely taking this process seriously.

Charity and Aaron B. then walked right up to the Hollywood sign, and Aaron. B revealed that he had been holding onto a double-sided coin. Aaron B. had therefore tricked Charity into a kiss using that coin on Night 1, but Charity laughed it off and made out with the suitor.

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Meanwhile, Adrian voiced how he seemed to be the oldest and most mature guy in the house. He wished everyone would just focus on Charity as several men joked around in the pool and Brayden was shown asking for a drink refill.

That night, Charity and Aaron B. enjoyed dinner at the historic Los Angeles Theater, and a small part of Charity was worried that a man like Aaron B. was too good to be true.


Aaron shared with Charity how he's close to his two brothers and had been in a four-year relationship during college while he was playing football. Aaron B. admitted he wasn't the best boyfriend because he had struggled with active listening and communication.

Aaron B. said he wanted to get better and so he began going to therapy. But once he became a more vulnerable and emotional man, Aaron B. claimed women he dated took advantage of him and would flirt with other men right in front of him.

Aaron B. told Charity that she felt like "a safe space" for him to open up, and Charity thought Aaron "doing the work" to become his best self was extremely attractive.

"I hope I can be the man that you deserve because you are a ton of green flags," Aaron B. told the Bachelorette. "You're just an incredible woman. Just know that, and don't let anyone ever tell you differently."

Charity said she could clearly trust her gut and intuition because it had told her that Aaron B. is a good man. She called her date "phenomenal," and it capped off with a private performance by American Idol alum Lauren Alaina.


Charity and Aaron B. kissed and danced the night away, and Charity gave Aaron B. a rose. She was so thrilled he had vocalized his feelings for her.

"I feel like it's attainable and it's in front of me. If this is a sign of what's to come, it's a really good feeling," Charity gushed in tears.

Back at The Bachelor mansion, a Date Card arrived for Dotun, Tanner, Adrian, John, Caleb A., Caleb B., Kaleb K., Xavier, James, Aaron S., Sean, and Brayden.

The next day, Charity woke up feeling "the absolute best," and she kicked off her first group date of the season with 12 men.

Charity and the men relaxed at the beach until Jesse arrived with an announcement.

Jesse explained how the men would be split into two groups and compete in a dodgeball game -- the fourth annual "Bachelorette Dodge Bowl" -- wearing only tighty whities. The winning team, and the MVP from either team, would be able to celebrate at an afterparty with Charity that evening.


"I can't believe we're doing this when [Yosef Aborady] has a daughter at home!" Aaron S. joked about one of the villains from Clare Crawley's The Bachelorette season who had criticized Clare for asking the men to wear thongs on a group date.

After five games, the team comprised of Brayden, Caleb A., James, John, Kaleb, and Xavier ultimately won. Charity also named Adrian from the opposing team her MVP for the day, which Brayden didn't think Adrian deserved.

Brayden told Charity that night at the afterparty that he was "crushing" on her and wanted to learn everything about her. And John shared how he had played professional basketball for one year before taking the lead and initiating a sweet kiss, which pleasantly surprised Charity.

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Meanwhile, Brayden complained about how he hadn't received the first one-on-one date. The other guys voiced how receiving the First Impression Rose and the first date was a long shot on this show, but Brayden disagreed.

Brayden also announced to the men how he wouldn't have picked Adrian as the date's MVP. Brayden's little jabs here or there visibly bothered Adrian, a father of one who thought Brayden was acting "like a child" and was on The Bachelorette to be on "Spring Break."


Adrian then explained to Charity how he had sacrificed a lot to go on the show and wasn't there to "kick it with the boys." Adrian shared with Charity how he has a daughter and she's his "everything" back home.

Adrian complained about how he was thinking about missing out on time with his daughter while the other guys partied.

"It's like a vacation home, like Spring Break. They're having a blast and flipping in the pool. I'm not here to play games with you. I'm not here for that. It's not a vacation for me," Adrian said.

Charity asked if it seemed the guys weren't there for her as a result of their behavior, but Adrian couldn't say one way or the other. Adrian had confidence in Charity that she'd figure it out for herself.

Charity subsequently made it very clear to the men that her purpose for being on the show was to find her "person" and her soul mate. She wanted to make sure everyone was competing for her to hopefully have the same outcome.

Charity then gave the group-date rose to John, and James worried Charity's uncertainty could bleed into their connection and have a negative impact on it.


Once Charity left the room, John declared that the guy on Spring Break needed to be vetted and go home, and Adrian admitted he saw a lot of the guys "playing" in the house.

Adrian told the men that Charity was looking for something real and she expected the same in return.

The next day, Charity embarked on another group date hosted by Season 19 The Bachelorette co-stars Gabby Windey and Rachel Recchia. Charity said she had no idea what the date was going to entail other than the fact they were in a park in Los Angeles.

The men who participated in the date were Joey, John Henry, Josh Young, Michael Barbour, Spencer Storbeck, and Warwick Reider.

Gabby and Rachel set out to find which man had the best chemistry with Charity, and the winner would attempt the "longest kiss in Bachelor Nation history" with The Bachelorette star.

The men were put to the test by answering several questions about themselves, such as where they liked to put their hands when kissing a woman.


Rachel pointed out to Charity how Joey wouldn't stop looking at her and maintained great eye contact. Charity thought it was attractive that Joey made her feel like they were the only two people at the whole event.

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The guys were also asked to share a personal kissing story, whether it be the best or worst one their lives.

Joey tried to stand out by telling a story about how all he could think about was kissing Charity because she's beautiful and lights up every room. Joey said he envisioned having an amazing first kiss with her, and, in a big twist to the story, it ended up being the longest kiss in Bachelor history.

Charity was flattered and impressed, and so she selected Joey as the winner of the Q&A. Charity and Joey therefore attempted to break the record for "the longest kiss in Bachelor Nation history," which was previously held by Sean Lowe and Lesley Murphy from The Bachelor's seventeenth season.

Charity and Joey had to kiss in front of all the other men, and they broke the record with a four-minute and 25-second kiss. Gabby and Rachel then revealed that the two of them would be enjoying a one-on-one date that evening, which upset all of the other bachelors.


Once the men returned to the mansion, except for Joey, everyone discussed the date. John Henry said that Charity got to see their personalities, and Josh added that, for the most part, it was a great date because the guys got to share some information about themselves and interact with Charity.

"How can you be glad for that, to have to sit there and watch somebody [kiss]? That's not cool man," Brayden countered.

Brayden didn't understand how everyone could say they were okay with watching another man kiss the woman they were dating. Brayden suggested boundaries had been crossed and Charity's behavior made him feel like "a chump" and "a punk."

Josh asked Brayden if he would've thrown a fit and walked away from the date, and Brayden said he wouldn't have thrown a fit but he also wouldn't have just stood there and watched.

Adrian snapped at Brayden, asking him to respect another man's opinion. Brayden explained that he was just upset about the situation because it didn't sound like a great date.

"I was just angry for them. I'm angry for me. I feel like they were disrespected," Brayden told the cameras.


"I'm not going to put up with someone disrespecting another human being in any regard, and tonight, I'm going to go and pack my bags. To be honest, I don't know if this is someone I can have a relationship with."

Meanwhile, at the afterparty, Charity bonded with Joey as they talked about marriage and love. Charity decided to give Joey the group-date rose for being vulnerable with her and making her feel at ease and comfortable. Charity was convinced that Joey was there for her, and only her.

Later on, Jesse surprised Charity's men and informed them that there was not going to be a cocktail party that night. Instead, there was going to be a BBQ during the day with Charity in attendance.

Charity grabbed a moment alone with Dotun, who shared how he had actually been leaning towards not appearing on The Bachelorette until he learned Charity was going to be its star. Dotun showed Charity his "Resident Alien" card that he received upon entering the United States at age four.

Dotun surprised Charity with his ability to be goofy and in-tune with his emotions, and the couple shared a kiss. Charity said she definitely saw husband qualities in Dotun.

Tanner also insisted that he was ready to find his "forever" person and was on the show for the right intentions. Charity thought he was sincere, and then Sean played a little mini golf with Charity.


"The guys here surpassed all of my expectations," Charity told the cameras.

But off in the distance, Brayden was preaching about how it's important to be selfish sometimes. Brayden had packed his bags before the BBQ, and he said if he didn't hear what he needed to hear from Charity, he was going to go home.

Brayden then sat down with Charity and admitted he had "a lot of doubt" in her character, "to some degree," for kissing a guy for so long in front of all the other guys. Brayden said it wasn't fair to the other guys and he was ready to run away.

Charity explained how there's a thin line between making one man feel special and making all of the other men feel seen at the same time. Charity said the longest kiss wasn't coming from a malicious place.

Brayden told Charity that he felt they had connected on a really cool level and she deserved to be cared about. Brayden clearly felt better about the situation, and Charity said she appreciated his honesty and the fact he was being vulnerable and not holding back with her.

"For me, honesty is always what someone should lead with," Charity said in a confessional.


Adrian proceeded to apologize to Charity for the "Spring Break" comment because it had been weighing heavily on her heart. Charity told him not to apologize, and then she asked what a lack of maturity means to him.

Adrian said a lack of emotional intelligence is what he had been referring to.

"Group date's over and everybody comes back, and they talk about this kiss... Brayden was invalidating Josh's feelings. Josh was like, 'I still had a great night, it was a good time,'" Adrian told Charity.

"And [Brayden] was like, 'No.' That was a little immaturity in Brayden I saw. He was like, 'Oh, that's classless and that's disrespectful to the guys.' And I was just like, 'I don't think Charity has been disrespectful.'"

Charity didn't like hearing the word "classless," especially since Brayden hadn't used that verbiage when speaking to her earlier. Charity said she had a strong connection with Brayden and she wasn't sure if there was miscommunication or something that had been misinterpreted between the guys.

"But there are too many incredible people here for me to be so fixated on this," Charity noted.


Charity left the party early and upset, and Adrian confessed to the group he had talked about Brayden. Xavier didn't understand why Adrian was "running his mouth so much about other people."

Charity trusted both Adrian and Brayden, but they had told her two different stories. Charity didn't know whom to believe, but she planned to trust her gut.

At the second Rose Ceremony of the season, Charity handed out roses to Dotun, Tanner, Caleb B., Warwick, Michael, Sean, Xavier, Aaron S., James, Adrian, and Brayden.

Brayden called Adrian "insecure" for trying to ruin his connection with Charity.

"You know what, bro? F-ck off! That's what I've got to say about that," Brayden vented in a confessional. "This rose means that she trusts me. She's an awesome lady and I want to see if we match."

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Click here to read The Bachelorette spoilers for Charity's season, including which bachelors made it all the way to the end.

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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski