The Bachelorette featured Jenn Tran saying, "I love you," to a doubtful Marcus Shoberg in the Fantasy Suite and denying Devin Strader what he desperately needed to hear to continue the process during the Season 21 episode that aired Monday night on ABC.
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Jenn met up with Jason Mesnick's wife Molly Malaney from The Bachelor's thirteenth season, and Jenn revealed how she was convinced she was going to get engaged by the end of the process. She was "falling for" all three men at this point.
Molly essentially voiced how Jonathon was her favorite on the radio-show group date because he seemed authentic and really in the moment with Jenn, but Jenn voiced how he seemed to be in his head a lot and struggled to be vulnerable with her.
Marcus, on a similar note, was struggling to let his guard down, even though The Bachelorette star was smitten with the bachelor and found him resilient, strong and stable.
"In the past couple of weeks, I just feel like I've been putting so much more effort in the relationship and investing so much more of my feelings into him. Going into this week, I need him to be able to envision us at the end of this together," Jenn explained.
But Devin had already told Jenn that he was "in love with" her.
"I am not there yet with him, but I did tell him that every time I see him, I fall a lot harder for him," Jenn shared.
"I may be self-sabotaging it, because Devin is saying all the right stuff and doing all the right things, and that's hard for me to accept. Internally, I haven't had that my whole life... so I want to lean into those feelings because it's been hard for me my entire life to accept those feelings."
Jenn wondered if it was "too good to be true" with Devin.
Meanwhile, Devin was golfing with The Bachelorette host Jesse Palmer and explained how he was in love with Jenn but really needed to hear that back in order to feel ready to propose marriage to Jenn.
Jenn's first date in Hawaii was with Devin, and the pair took a helicopter ride over the island. Jenn loved joking around with Devin, and she said she could totally be herself with him. He made her feel loved and supported, and Jenn appreciated how he was consistent in his actions and words with her.
"I have never felt any type of way about a woman the way I feel for Jenn. I feel it in my bones that I'm the guy for Jenn," Devin told The Bachelorette cameras, adding, "I'm looking forward to the possibility of getting down on one knee with Jenn."
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOWDevin told Jenn that he couldn't wait to buy a house for his wife and have kids, and Jenn could tell that he was ready for a life with her.
Jenn said the feelings in her heart for Devin had to "catch up to" her head. A part of her was afraid she wouldn't be able to get there with Devin in time.
Jenn admitted to Devin that she was trying to lean into her feelings of love for him but she needed a little more time. She assured him that she was well on her way, and Devin claimed he'd patiently wait for her. But Devin really needed to hear an "I love you" back at this stage in the game.
That night, Jenn opened up to Devin about her fear of sabotaging the good thing they had because he spoke to his soul. Jenn admitted a part of her wanted to run away because it was getting "real" for her and she had been hurt in the past.
Devin had also been hurt and cheated on, and so he was worried about being wrapped up in an unrequited love.
But Devin didn't hold back, and he shared with Jenn over dinner that he loved her because she accepted him for who he is and she had been a rock for him.
"I would love to call you my fiancee, and I would love to call you my wife. Those things go hand in hand for me," Devin explained to The Bachelorette star.
Jenn thanked Devin for being "unwaveringly there" for her, and she repeated how much his love truly meant to her.
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Devin was checking off every box she wanted, and Jenn hoped to love Devin by the end of The Bachelorette.
Jenn then invited Devin to join her in the Fantasy Suite. They popped a bottle of champagne and fell onto the bed kissing.
Waking up next to Devin, Jenn said she felt "amazing" and that Devin was "better than Pete Davidson -- in every way."
Devin said he never loved a woman in this way before, but he revealed how Jenn didn't express her love behind closed doors either. Jenn told Devin that she could see a future with him, but that's all she said.
"I didn't hear it back and it's unfortunate... For me, there's no more love I can give without hearing it back," Devin lamented to The Bachelorette cameras.
"I've given everything I can to this point, and I want to know that I'm 'The Guy.' I don't want to say, 'I love you,' to her and have her turn around and say it to someone else. If she did that, I would be crushed!"
Jenn then embarked on her overnight date with Jonathon, and he looked forward to diving deeper with her. The couple drove around in a Jeep exploring the island together, eating donuts and shopping. They also enjoyed a picnic by a beautiful waterfall.
Jonathon told Jenn that he wanted to be a breath of fresh air for her and make her feel relaxed, but Jenn wanted to have those more serious, intense conversations with him as well.
Jenn said the romance was "there" with Jonathon and she wanted to get there with him. The bachelor made her feel so light, happy and at ease.
That night, Jenn talked to Jonathon about how she looked forward to raising her children in Vietnamese and Buddhist culture, and Jonathon, who is half Black, agreed that having blended family would be a blessing and they'd have so much to teach and share with their kids.
Jonathon told Jenn that his feelings for her were real and she could definitely see that future with her. With that being said, Jenn asked Jonathon to accompany her into the Fantasy Suite.
"I am falling for her, and the feelings are so far ahead from where I thought they'd get on Night 1," Jonathan shared with The Bachelorette cameras.
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"I feel like I could spend the rest of my life with this guy. I just know there is so much more potential to grow. This is exactly what I've been looking for -- this feeling," The Bachelorette star said in a confessional.
Jonathon and Jenn woke up the next morning beaming with happiness, and Jonathon, after a night of great conversation, said he felt more confident in his relationship with Jenn than ever before.
Devin, however, was spiraling in the meantime.
"I don't feel like I'm The One; I just feel like I'm one of," Devin noted. "If she turns around and says, 'I love you,' to someone else, that would kill me inside."
While Devin was head over heels for The Bachelorette star, Marcus admitted to Jesse during a game of golf how he wasn't in love with Jenn yet and he was worried about her feelings for him being further along.
"I'm doing everything I can do to get there. I think it would be wrong for me to get down on a knee right now with how much uncertainty I have," Marcus confessed to Jesse.
"I think I want to see what it is she sees in me and maybe peel back the reasons of why she's chosen me through this journey... I am trying."
Marcus was afraid he was trying to grasp at feelings that weren't there, and he noted how it was time to figure out if Jenn was his person or if he needed to bow out of the competition and go home. Regardless, Marcus was ready to put his fears aside and give the date his all.
Ahead of her date with Marcus, Jenn revealed, "I'm in love with Marcus. I've been feeling it for a couple of weeks now."
For their overnight date, Jenn and Marcus took a boat ride in the ocean, and they couldn't stop kissing.
Jenn gushed about their physical chemistry and the natural banter they had. She felt fun and flirty with Marcus, and Marcus tried to focus on his strong connection with Jenn rather than on his doubts and reservations.
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At sunset, Jenn and Marcus went snorkeling with the Manta rays because they lit up at night. Jenn explained how she and Marcus had "an unspoken connection" and there was "so much depth" to their relationship.
That evening, Jenn couldn't wait to fully explore her relationship with Marcus, whom she could see at the end of The Bachelorette with her.
When asked how he was feeling at dinner, Marcus confessed that he was nervous.
Marcus shared it was "really hard" for him to be called last at the previous Rose Ceremony because it made him realize that he could still go home brokenhearted. Marcus admitted he got in his head and it was hard for him to recover from that.
"I think an engagement... is something that I only want to do once," Marcus told Jenn, adding how it's very important to him to be a good and present husband and father down the road.
"That's something I want to feel certain about, having that confidence in myself and having that confidence in my partner. And I think there is so much potential right now and there have been a lot of things that aligned with us, that I've never experienced with anyone."
Marcus proceeded to compliment Jenn by telling her that she's driven, ambitious, resilient and special.
But Marcus, who came from a broken family and was feeling doubt, admitted he was definitely "not in love with Jenn" at that moment.
Marcus therefore told Jenn, "I am worried because I feel unsure, and you deserve someone that is sure about you. I don't know if I'm putting pressure on myself because of how fast this process has been or because of how quickly the end of this process is approaching, but it's been hard for me to get to a point where I feel comfortable saying that I am in love."
Jenn appeared disappointed, deflated and upset. She audibly sighed and looked down at the dinner table.
Marcus apologized, but Jenn assured Marcus that he was following his heart and wasn't doing anything wrong.
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"I'd be lying if I didn't tell you that I am in love with you and the way you make me feel and the way we've had so many moments that I can't explain, where I felt so comfortable with you and so close to you," Jenn told Marcus.
"I felt like I needed to say that to get it off my chest, and not necessarily for you to say anything [in reply]. I would be doing myself a disservice in not saying how I truly feel."
Marcus broke down into tears hearing how Jenn felt about him, and he struggled to compose himself. Marcus said a part of him wanted to keep trying and exploring their relationship, and Jenn was clearly open to that.
"You make me feel amazing, you really do. And that means the world to me, just that," Marcus said.
"Even though I'm not there yet, I wouldn't be sitting in front of you right now if I didn't think it was possible. I want to continue to be hopeful. You deserve all the love in the world, and I am trying to get there."
Marcus told The Bachelorette cameras how Jenn had said the one thing he really needed to hear but didn't know he needed to hear.
The pair then went into the Fantasy Suite together, and Marcus was hoping to find clarity and confidence with Jenn. He wanted to feel as strongly for her as she felt for him.
"If Jenn and I make it through this, I would feel like the struggle to find love was worth all the discomfort to get there," Marcus said, before telling The Bachelorette star that he believed in them.
Jenn had high hopes Marcus would be in love with her by the end of the week and that he'd propose marriage to her.
The next morning, Marcus said waking up next to Jenn felt magical and the night was hugely beneficial to the both of them. Marcus said the evening squashed some of his doubts, and Jenn was more in love with Marcus than ever before.
But Jenn wanted to be confident in the man standing across from her at the Final Rose Ceremony.
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Devin broke down into tears about how he loved Jenn but she didn't seem to feel the same way.
"I didn't want to scare her about my true feelings about how bad it was inside for me Leaving that [Fantasy Suite] room, I didn't feel whole," Devin told Jesse.
"I told her I love her again on the way out and got nothing. It hurts me because I keep giving and giving and giving -- and she is growing from that -- but I am withering away. I don't know what to do. I don't sleep here. She says I make her feel some kind of way, but if that's true, why can't I feel it?!"
Devin cried to Jesse about how he felt wanted by Jenn but not needed or loved.
Devin repeated how he didn't feel like The One. Instead, he felt like "one of" a few. Devin said he needed more from Jenn, which made him feel selfish.
"But it's a part of who I am. The person who walked in her derived from the person who got hurt in the past," Devin explained.
"And this is the first time I didn't speak from the heart. I spoke what I thought I should say. But for me, that's what I needed to feel sane... and I didn't get to do that.
Devin admitted that he regretted withholding what had been bothering him. While he never wanted to give Jenn an ultimatum, he really needed to hear if she loved him.
"I wish I could've said the things that I wanted to say," Devin lamented.
Jesse advised Devin to hang on and continue fighting for Jenn.
"Could you really stop now?" Jesse asked.
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Devin then explained in a confessional, "But is she willing to make those feelings real? If you feel a certain way about a person, then you should express it because it could be too late for me. I don't want to have to feel like I feel right now. I don't think I should."
Devin confessed that he felt himself "slipping away" from Jenn.
"My gut is strongly disagreeing with my heart," Devin said. "You can love somebody and not have them love you back, and that is the realization here."
Devin admitted to The Bachelorette cameras he felt totally lost, and he noted, "I can't keep moving forward. I can't do it anymore. I know what I need to do today. I need to talk to Jenn."
Devin was scared about being brutally honest and not having Jenn accept that. Devin was doubting himself and teased, "This is probably the end for me, and it scares me to no end."
The episode concluded with Devin knocking on Jenn's hotel door and her answering with a big smile on her face.
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
