'The Bachelorette' recap: Jenn Tran rejects ex Matt Rossi but feels "worthless" after Austin Ott quits on her

The Bachelorette featured Jenn Tran rejecting ex-boyfriend Matt Rossi and Jenn Tran feeling "worthless" and worrying about ending up alone after Austin Ott suddenly quit the show during the Season 21 episode that aired Monday night on ABC.


The Bachelorette episode also featured two Rose Ceremonies.

At the fourth Rose Ceremony of the season, Jenn denied roses to John Mitchell, a 25-year-old medical student from Delray Beach, FL, and Thomas Nguyen, a 31-year-old retirement advisor from Tucker, GA.

And then during a group date in New Zealand, Austin Ott, a 28-year-old sales executive from San Diego, CA, decided to quit the show because he wasn't feeling a strong connection with Jenn.

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At the fifth Rose Ceremony of the season, Jenn eliminated Dylan Buckor, a 24-year-old medical student from Elk Grove, CA.

The Bachelorette broadcast began with a drama-free cocktail party in which Thomas said he was hoping to build on the foundation he had built with Jenn. He felt they had a lot in common as first-generation Americans.

Little did the men know, however, Jenn's ex-boyfriend Matt Rossi had flown from Boston to New Zealand on his own dime to profess his love to Jenn.

Matt had asked to join the competition and fight for Jenn's heart, and The Bachelorette star was totally taken aback by Matt's grand gesture. She didn't know how to proceed.

The Bachelorette host Jesse Palmer approached Jenn before the cocktail party preceding the fourth Rose Ceremony of the season and asked how she was feeling, and Jenn said of Matt, "No one has ever told me that they're in love with me before, so it has me even more confused now."


Jenn explained to Jesse that Matt had been her friend for years but she had 11 "amazing" bachelors still in the picture who made her feel worthy and deserving of love. Jenn said she could see her future with them and she didn't want to upset them or stir up jealousy and resentment.

Jenn then confronted her cast of suitors and explained how her ex-boyfriend Matt had flown all the way to Auckland to profess his love and win her back. She said Matt was there that evening and she needed to talk to him.

Jenn's bachelors appeared shocked, and Sam McKinney called the news "a gut punch."

Spencer Conley tried not to jump to conclusions, but Grant Ellis said it was ultimately Jenn's decision to make.

Marcus Shoberg pointed out how there was no blueprint for Jenn to follow, but he and Austin agreed Matt was going to have "an unfair advantage" if he joined the show at this stage in the game. Austin thought the whole situation was "whack."


Jenn proceeded to talk to Matt, who was dressed up in a tuxedo for the night. The Bachelorette star told Matt that he had touched her heart but she was confused why he was making this big move now.

"It's now or never. You're leaving this thing engaged, and there's no flexibility there... Us coming back together, I saw things in you that made [my feelings] so deep," Matt explained to Jenn.

"When we were starting out, we were such different people and not the adults we are today... I hope you can see how much you mean to me. I'm just not ready to let it go."

Jenn told Matt that she really cared about him. Jenn thought she and Matt had fun together and were compatible, but The Bachelorette star felt torn and didn't want to hurt anyone.

Devin Strader admitted to the guys he had been cheated on before and this situation felt like that again. He announced, "If Jenn walks in here with this guy, this rose [on my chest] doesn't mean anything to me."


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Matt then walked into the group of bachelors and shared how Jenn felt confident that her future husband was in that room and it was going to be him. Matt apologized to the men and insisted that he didn't want to take anything away from their experience. He wished them all the best.

Sam declared how he was happy that Matt was staying in the past, and then Matt told The Bachelorette cameras that he felt "a little defeated" and Jenn's journey had changed her.

"I have to respect that. At least we both get the closure we didn't get. It's just not what I hoped for," Matt noted.

Sam said Jenn had proven that she's the girl they all thought she was, and Devin acknowledged that he needed to have more trust in Jenn going forward.


When Jenn rejoined her group of guys, they were all impressed and smiling big.

Jenn let all of the bachelors know, "My husband is in this room," and she said that the "I love you" declaration had come from the wrong guy.

The Rose Ceremony then commenced. Devin, Marcus and Sam already had roses, and then Jenn handed out roses to Grant, Jeremy Simon, Jonathon Johnson, Spencer, Dylan, and Austin.

Jenn therefore eliminated Thomas and John M. from The Bachelorette's 21st season.

The next day, a Date Card arrived, and both Austin and Grant were optimistic they'd be asked on a one-on-one date with Jenn. However, the name on the card was Jonathon, and he gushed about feeling "over the moon."

Jonathon's card read that he and Jenn would be taking flight; however, and Jonathon said he's afraid of heights. Jonathon wasn't happy when he learned he and Jenn would be flying in a helicopter. In fact, it was "the last thing" he wanted to do that day.


But Jonathon said he and Jenn were in it together, and he put on a brave face for her.

Jenn comforted Jonathon and was there for him during the helicopter ride, but she was hoping to see sparks and more chemistry with Jonathon during this date. Both Jenn and Jonathon were hoping to establish an emotional connection and get deeper with each other.

Jonathon and The Bachelorette star flew into a vineyard, where they played games together, laughed, flirted and kissed. They also got cozy in a hot tub together with a beautiful view around them.

That night over dinner, Jonathon opened up about some emotional distress he had gone through in his life. Jonathon explained how he struggled to trust people and that's because he had fallen hard for a woman whom he had lived with for two years.

"We looked at rings, looked into the future and talked about kids, and then it all kind of turned south. She was going through a really hard time and so she would start to self-medicate and abuse alcohol... and this went on for months," Jonathon explained.

Jonathon said at one point, things got out of hand and they got into a fight.


"She would question my character and say that I was abusive, controlling and manipulative for questioning what she was doing. [She used] words that kind of haunt me still to this day," Jonathan shared.

Jenn appeared surprised and a bit concerned as Jonathon told this story.

"It reached a breaking point for her where she just snapped and said, 'Get the f-ck out! I don't want to see you again,'" Jonathon continued. "It tore me down... and absolutely destroyed me to my core."

Jonathon said he had grown up a hopeless romantic and so this event really affected him. Jenn said she understood how he was feeling because she had been in a "toxic" relationship before when the guy gaslit her.

Jonathon also shared how his mother was a single mom who had him at age 27. Jonathon's mom also had a daughter at age 17 and another child at 20. Jonathon explained how his upbringing was tough and he had to work for everything he achieved, and Jenn could relate to the bachelor.

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Meanwhile, another The Bachelorette Date Card arrived with the following names on it: Devin, Sam, Marcus, Spencer, Jeremy, Dylan, and Austin.

Grant was very happy that he'd be accompanying Jenn on the other one-on-one date this week, but Austin felt very disappointed.

Austin admitted that he felt the other guys were a few steps ahead of him and he needed to know if he had a connection with Jenn worth continuing and exploring further into this difficult process. Austin clearly felt behind the pack because he hadn't even received a single group-date rose.

Back on Jenn's date, Jenn gave Jonathon a rose and the pair made out in the rain, just like a scene out of a romantic comedy. Jonathon gushed about how Jenn was making rom-com love stay alive.

The next day, Jenn embarked on her group date with seven guys, four of whom she already enjoyed a one-on-one date with.

Jenn brought the guys to a sheep farm where the men were required to do some hard work such as herding sheep into a gate, shoveling poop, collecting wool, and drinking milk.


Sam felt in his element getting his hands dirty and working in nature, but Devin stopped shoveling crap to take a minute alone with Jenn. While Devin romanced Jenn, the other guys were annoyed and Sam called Devin disrespectful.

"I don't think that's something Jenn is looking for, but I don't really care. Lions don't concern themselves with the opinions of sheep," Sam told The Bachelorette cameras.

Austin thought he had put a lot of effort into the date and really showed up for Jenn that day, but Devin was dubbed the best farmer and partner for Jenn. Devin therefore received extra time with Jenn, and Austin complained about how Devin didn't deserve it.

At the afterparty that night, Devin told Jeremy that he thought he had won the group date earlier because he had shown initiative by prioritizing Jenn. Devin was convinced that Jenn liked him more than the other suitors and that's why everyone was so jealous of him.

Jeremy then opened up to Jenn about how he had been overweight and insecure when he was younger. He also admitted that he was afraid of being lonely.

But Austin was really struggling, and he lamented in a confessional, "There are so many guys who have a strong connection with Jenn, and I just don't have that. It sucks and it's not easy at all."


Austin decided to be honest and upfront with Jenn, and so he explained to her that he had been "playing catch up" the whole time and she had some amazing guys to choose from who were ready to give her everything that she deserved.

"With the way that things have gone for me in this journey, I don't think that I can do that," Austin told The Bachelorette star. "I don't think it's fair to you and I don't think it's fair to the other guys that I continue this journey with you."

Jenn was pretty shocked, but she said she understood where Austin was coming from. She chose to respect his decision and hug him goodbye.

Austin quitting The Bachelorette left Jenn feeling like she wasn't enough for him, and she asked the cameras, "Am I doing a bad job?... How many other guys are feeling this way? Is the next guy going to walk out the door too? Maybe I'm not enough for [any of the other guys]."

Jenn confessed that she was feeling scared yet she hadn't shared that with anyone. Jenn was afraid to break her "confident woman" mask that she had been wearing around the bachelors.

"It would break the facade of what an amazing person I am, and if I tell them, they'll see how worthless I am," Jenn cried to the The Bachelorette cameras.


"Today, I don't feel good enough and I don't feel worthy enough. As much as I can say that I see a future at the end of this, I also see a future where I end up alone because nobody chooses me."

Jenn added, "Austin leaving makes me feel like I failed and maybe I'm not the right woman for any of these guys."

Jenn didn't like being so vulnerable and showing the guys a part of herself that was weak and insecure, but she decided to let her bachelors in and be real with them.

Jenn expressed how she was feeling like she wasn't good enough, and she broke down into tears.

One at a time, the bachelors consoled and reassured Jenn that she was an incredible Bachelorette as well as an amazing woman.

"You've said you see your husband in this room. I'm going to speak for me and I'm going to speak for everyone else as well: we see our wife," Sam told Jenn, adding how he wanted to see all of her layers and sides.


Sam, Marcus and Devin, in particular, made The Bachelorette star feel a lot better, but Jenn chose not to hand out a rose because all of the men had helped her and turned the evening around for her.

The next day, Jenn and Grant went horseback riding in Muriwai, and Grant gushed about how Jenn was cool, smooth and knew how to carry herself in any situation. The date was extremely romantic as the pair rode horses along the shore.

Grant and Jenn sipped champagne while sitting on a blanket together on the beach, and it started to rain, which made the couple laugh and simply roll with the punches.

Grant assured Jenn that he was going to ride with her no matter what, and he said his feelings for her had grown and deepened.

At dinner that night, Grant opened up about what made him tick and want to be better. Grant shared how his father had been an addict for 30 years and addiction was a hard thing for him to watch growing up.

Grant recalled how the one person he had trusted the most was always lying to him.


"In my eyes, I thought, 'You're a man. Why aren't you doing what you're supposed to do?'" Grant said.

Once Grant's father lost his job, he checked into rehab. Grant said his father was out of excuses and was two months sober at that time.

"My mission is to be the man that my father wasn't," Grant concluded.

Jenn could relate since she didn't have a male role model in her life and wanted to have a father figure. Jenn said she had been searching for love in the wrong places and dating the wrong people as a result, which resulted in a horrible emotionally-abusive relationship.

"I hope he holds strong. It's his first time living," Grant shared with The Bachelorette star.

Jenn told Grant that, because of her negative past experiences, it was important for her to have a voice and stand up for herself. She also wanted to be able to talk about racism and hate she's faced without judgement or being gaslit.


Jenn said she felt closer to Grant than ever before and they had aligned during that date, and so she gave Grant a rose and a kiss. Grant knew, at this point, his romance with Jenn was deeper than just a physical attraction.

"I can see myself starting to fall, and I feel like it's supposed to happen this way," Grant told The Bachelorette cameras.

The men then gathered together for the cocktail party preceding the fifth Rose Ceremony of the season. Grant announced to the guys how he was "genuinely falling in love with Jenn" and he didn't say that lightly. Grant said it suddenly "hit" him that he was falling.

Since Jeremy hadn't received a one-on-one date with Jenn yet and Dylan only had a short time alone with The Bachelorette star, they were both worried about where they stood in this journey.

The men were also shocked to discover that Jenn had decided to cancel the cocktail party. Spencer had also been planning on being open and vulnerable with Jenn that night.

Before the Rose Ceremony, Grant started crying because he really cared about Jenn and didn't know how she was feeling about him. Grant was trying to hold it together.


At Rose Ceremony No. 5, Jenn handed out roses to Sam, Devin, Marcus, Jeremy, and Spencer.

Jenn therefore eliminated Dylan from the running, and Dylan wished her luck going forward.

"Love you, bros!" Dylan announced on his way out of The Bachelorette.

"It sucks. You meet someone who you feel, like, 'This person is right for me, this person is it.' And then for them not to feel that way is disappointing," Dylan said in his final words.

"It hurts. I'm sure it will hurt for a little bit. I thought there was more for Jenn and me, but I'm just not her person."

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Click here to read episode-by-episode spoilers about how Jenn's The Bachelorette season unfolds, including who Jenn picks as her winner and runner-up.

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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski