The Bachelorette featured Gabby Windey dumping Johnny DePhillipo and realizing her future husband may not be on the show but Rachel Recchia having the opposite experience and saying "I love you" to Tino Franco during the Season 19 "Fantasy Suites" episode that aired Monday night on ABC.
|
ADVERTISEMENT
|
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)
Gabby eliminated Johnny, a 25-year-old realtor from Palm Beach Gardens, FL, halfway through their Fantasy Suite date.
The Bachelorette broadcast began with Gabby, Rachel and their remaining men in Riviera Maya, Mexico.
Gabby and Rachel kicked off their week with a champagne toast and private discussion about how they both planned to be physically intimate with one or more men in order to figure out if they were compatible in that sense.
Gabby said she intended to run around and play with her bachelors naked but she also needed to utilize the time to get to know them on a deeper level.
"I have been dreading this week because of what happened with [Clayton Echard]," Rachel explained.
"I have been so scared to be honest with them because of how he made me feel in that moment when he stood in front of us and said, 'Not only have I been intimate with both of you but I'm in love with all of you and [Susie Evans]' and his general disregard for everyone's feelings but his own."
Gabby also felt Clayton had manipulated her, and so she said she'd be careful with her words and expressing herself during her own Fantasy Suite dates.
Rachel then explained to Gabby how Tino's family didn't approve of her or make her feel very welcome during his hometown date, and she wasn't sure how they were going to move forward without the support of Tino's loved ones. Rachel, however, was falling in love with him.
Rachel shared how Zach made his feelings known and is funny, a gentleman, emotional and vulnerable.
Rachel added, "I don't think I'm there with Zach, and this is days away from an engagement. I really need to use the time to be honest with myself and with him... But everything is so perfect on paper."
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOWRachel said she and Aven had built a great foundation and they had both an emotional and physical connection. She said Aven was able to be honest with her and she believed everything that he said. Rachel noted how she was falling in love with Aven but had yet to tell him that.
In turn, Gabby opened up about how she and Jason had a special connection that she never felt with anyone before. She said he was the most emotionally available to her and she was "definitely falling in love" with him, although Jason hadn't proclaimed love for her yet.
Gabby said she and Johnny had a lot of fun together and he had grown a lot -- but she was ready for an engagement and feared Johnny may not be. Gabby was hoping Johnny would surprise her.
Gabby, who had already told Erich that she was falling in love with him, said she and Erich had good banter and a strong connection but her feelings for her remaining men could change in the Fantasy Suites.
"We get to rewrite what this week means and make it into something positive and ending with an engagement for both of us!" Rachel gushed.
For Gabby's first overnight date of The Bachelorette season, she and Erich stripped into their bathing suits and jumped into a natural waterhole in the ground hidden within a jungle.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOW: WHOM DID 'THE BACHELORETTE' STARS AND THEIR BACHELOR PICKS ULTIMATELY END UP WITH?! (PHOTOS)
Gabby was afraid to jump off the highest landing of a structure, but Erich held her close and was loving and supportive. He attempted to give Gabby the courage to take a leap of faith, and Gabby said that Erich made her feel safe. Gabby and Erich therefore jumped together.
ADVERTISEMENT
After a fun day in which Gabby and Erich had connected, Gabby told the cameras how she wanted to push Erich into being honest about their feelings. She wanted to know if Erich would be able to give her unconditional love and accept her for who she is.
Erich told Gabby how his family was "obsessed" with her and he thought she was so amazing and attractive. Gabby said the hometown was so "easy" for her and she could see herself being a part of his family, especially since her childhood was rough and she had to grow up quickly.
"There were times growing up when I had to change who I was in order to receive love as a child," explained Gabby, whose father was often gone working in the U.S. Air Force and her mother was constantly working two jobs.
Erich then shared, "I'm past the point where I'm falling for you or I'm falling in love with you. I am in love with you, Gabby, and I do not want to leave her without you."
"You're so sweet," Gabby replied, before kissing the bachelor. "I do really see a future with you... and I am falling in love with you. I really am."
Gabby said Erich had taught her that she can be loved, and then she offered Erich the key to a Fantasy Suite. Erich said he "obviously" wanted to spend the night with Gabby and he was so excited for some "just us" time.
"We finally get to revel in each other and be together," Gabby gushed.
"And so I want to shed every last wall. I want to give both of us the chance to really feel each other's love. When I'm with him, I want to be with him, and I can see myself with him forever. When we kiss, the world really does melt away. I think the future is going to be so, so good."
Following an "incredible" night together of being raw and real, Erich said Gabby was even more wonderful than he had thought and he was totally "obsessed" with her. The pair was shown making breakfast together, and Erich noted how it sucked there were other relationships happening.
Erich tried not to think about Gabby in Fantasy Suites with other men and get inside his head, but he admitted to Gabby in the morning how he felt "confused." Gabby asked the bachelor to be patient with her.
Gabby told the cameras that she thought she was "in love" with Erich and he deserved to know; however, she wanted to save those words for just one person at the end of the process.
"I can definitely see it being him, but I need to save it for the right moment," Gabby explained.
ADVERTISEMENT
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' COUPLES NOW: WHO DID 'THE BACHELOR' STARS AND THEIR BACHELORETTE PICKS ACTUALLY END UP MARRYING? (PHOTOS)
Gabby wasn't 100 percent sure that she wanted to be engaged to Erich, and so she vented, "I'm going to throw up."
The next day, Tino told the cameras how he was definitely falling in love with Rachel and it hurt him to think about Rachel exploring other physical connections on the show. He said the thought was "torture" for him and made him want to throw up.
On that note, Rachel's first overnight date was with Aven, who said it was "overwhelming" how attractive Rachel looked sometimes. The couple sailed on a yacht with a hot tub onboard, and they kissed and drank champagne in the sun.
Aven said it was scary to feel so strongly about a woman, especially when there were other men involved.
Meanwhile, The Bachelorette host Jesse Palmer met with Tino, who said it was gut-wrenching to be without Rachel and the process was trying his patience more than he could've ever imagined. Tino insisted his relationship with Rachel was worth it and so he'd see things through. He was optimistic things would end "amazingly."
Tino also said it was horrible to think about Rachel feeling like his parents didn't like her.
"If I wasn't so sure that she's going to be Future Mrs. Whatever, this would be, probably, an easy week to walk away from," Tino told Jesse. "I knew in hindsight for weeks that I felt this strongly about her, probably since Bruges."
Tino acknowledged how it was hard to be patient and wait -- "gutting," in fact. Tino said he certainly didn't need to sleep with other women to confirm his feelings for Rachel and so he couldn't imagine her sleeping with other guys. He also worried his family being so skeptical could weigh on Rachel's decision about him.
Back on Rachel's date, Aven shared how his family loved and accepted Rachel, and he reiterated how he was falling in love with her.
That night, Rachel said she wanted to have "intimate time" with Aven that night and she thought it would be important for them to "explore" their physical connection. Rachel said that was the last missing piece of her relationship with Aven and he "could be The One."
ADVERTISEMENT
"What that word [love] means to me is huge, and of course I know it means the same to you. And you would never use that word if you weren't absolutely feeling it, which is why I'm comfortable saying that I am falling in love with you," Rachel shared. "I truly mean it."
Aven said Rachel's proclamation of love meant the world to him, and then he accepted the key to a Fantasy Suite. Rachel gushed about how Aven was everything she wanted and more.
The pair watched fireworks and then settled into their suite, and Rachel and Aven were shown making out on the bed. Rachel said she could see herself spending the rest of her life with Aven.
The next morning, both Rachel and Aven were on "Cloud 9," and Aven said his relationship with the Bachelorette felt natural and right. And Rachel shared how the date was going to be hard to top, before confirming of the couple's physical connection, "Aven is the full package!"
It then became time for Tino and Rachel's Fantasy Suite date, and the couple went horseback riding before having a picnic on rocks by a waterhole.
Rachel admitted she felt anxiety coming off of hometowns, and Tino could sense she no longer felt completely comfortable with him. Rachel was clearly nervous because she didn't know how she and Tino were going to move past his disapproving family when they mean so much to him.
Over dinner that night, Rachel confessed how it seemed like Tino's family didn't like her, specifically Tino's dad.
"I think the last thing your dad said to me was like, 'Well, I'm not going to disown him if he gets engaged. I just can't accept it,'" Rachel recalled.
"Really?!" Tino replied. "I didn't know that!"
Tino said his father didn't really get him in his dating sphere and his family was more skeptical of The Bachelorette situation, not Rachel as a person. He said his family couldn't fathom how two people could feel so strongly about each other in such a short amount of time.
Tino promised Rachel that his parents wouldn't be mad at them if they chose to get engaged and he refused to leave the show without her.
ADVERTISEMENT
"My heart is a little bit in my throat saying this, but I love you, Rachel. I am in love with you. I love everything I find out about you, and I feel like it's overdue. But I'm so happy to say it."
Rachel then surprisingly responded, "I love you, too! I really do!"
Rachel had been waiting for this declaration for so long, and then Tino accepted a key to the Fantasy Suite. Rachel hoped Tino's family would come around because she could definitely see Tino being the guy with her at the Final Rose Ceremony.
The couple then kissed on a bed, and Tino said he and Rachel were falling in the feeling.
The next day, Gabby embarked on her overnight Fantasy Suite date with Johnny, who felt more confident in himself and his relationship more than ever before.
Gabby and Johnny spent the day on a boat, with Johnny gushing about her beauty, brains and fun. Johnny called the Bachelorette "my person" and seemed smitten with her, and Gabby continued to see new sides of the suitor.
Gabby said her connection with Johnny felt easy, natural and comfortable, and she could see it progressing, but she set out to discover whether Johnny could truly see a future with her.
Johnny told Gabby while sitting on a beach with her after the boat ride how she made him want to be a better man, but Gabby flat out asked him if he'd be ready to get engaged in a week or so.
Johnny said that was a hard question because the process moved so quickly.
"I don't know. I know how I'm feeling about you. I'm so into you. But the end result scares me... But I also didn't know I'd be here on a beach with you, falling in love with you," Johnny said.
Johnny told Gabby that she deserved everything and should get everything that she wants. Johnny said he could see himself being with Gabby but he wasn't ready to give 100 percent.
ADVERTISEMENT
Gabby took a moment and walked away from Johnny because she could tell that he wasn't ready to commit. Gabby felt "so ready" to leave the show engaged, and so she felt "really frustrated" with Johnny and ultimately determined they shouldn't continue on dating.
Big questions had yet to be answered, and Gabby didn't want to go into a Fantasy Suite feeling that way.
"You are exactly the person I'd want to fall in love with and to be my person forever, but umm, I just don't know if I can get to an engagement in the next week or so," Johnny explained.
Johnny said he was trying to be honest and just didn't feel ready yet, and Gabby said it was hard to hear. A big part of Gabby had been hoping it would be her and Johnny in the end, but she could tell they wanted two different things.
Gabby then kissed Johnny goodbye, and he said he felt "numb" and very upset. Johnny said he'd love to give Gabby an engagement, but he didn't think he could do it within a week.
Gabby said it felt like a punch in the gut but Johnny couldn't give her what she needed. She also felt loved by Erich and Jason, which she noted trumps all pain and heartache.
However, Jason was shown telling Jesse how he wasn't quite in love with Gabby just yet. Jason planned to be honest and upfront with Gabby while taking their relationship day by day. Jason also said it would be hard for him to get to the point of an engagement in a week or so.
Later on, Gabby received a letter under her hotel door that read, "I need to see you. I'll be waiting on the bridge."
Gabby didn't know what to expect, and it ended up being Erich on the bridge waiting for her.
Erich explained how the thought of Gabby having an overnight date with somebody else, and doing what they did, "crushed" him. Erich said this wasn't going to be easy for him and he was having "a really hard time." He said he just wanted to tell Gabby how he felt.
Gabby broke down into tears as Erich insisted their meeting was supposed to be a positive one. Erich said it wasn't his intention to put her on the spot and they had talked about this off-camera.
ADVERTISEMENT
"No, that's not why I brought you here at all," Erich said.
Gabby turned away from him and vented, "I don't know."
"You do know," Erich countered.
Gabby felt frustrated because Erich had mentioned in the Fantasy Suite how he felt like she'd be cheating on him if she slept with other men. She felt like they were rehashing the conversation and she was being pressured not to have sex with anyone else.
"Him being like, 'I don't want you to have what we have with somebody else, well, that's not for you to say," Gabby lamented in a confessional. "You are here knowing that I could have it with somebody else."
Erich said he couldn't pretend like he was cool with everything, but Gabby didn't know what to say or if Erich needed her to prove something to him. Gabby said she had always been open and honest with him and she'd get "into" it with him if he really wanted that.
Erich apologized for the direction their conversation had taken, and Gabby said she understood what he was trying to say -- but she didn't want to have to defend herself.
"I don't want to let you go," Erich noted.
But Erich's opinion of Fantasy Suites didn't feel good to Gabby, and she wondered, "Why don't you trust what we have?"
Erich said he didn't want to give Gabby an ultimatum but he owed it to her to tell her how he felt.
"I feel like he was testing me, and that's not something that you do to someone you love," Gabby told the cameras.
ADVERTISEMENT
Gabby cried about how the people she wants to love her never do.
"It's all coming crashing down, and I hope this doesn't end up in a big, fat dumpster fire. But right now, this feels like the end for me," Gabby shared in a confessional.
The episode concluded with Gabby telling Erich how she had walls and barriers up with him and she didn't know how to handle the situation or what to do next.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)
Interested in more The Bachelor news? Join our The Bachelor Facebook Group!
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
