'The Bachelorette' recap: Rachel Lindsay's bachelors meet her family, Peter Kraus romance begins to crumble

The Bachelorette star Rachel Lindsay introduced Peter Kraus, Bryan Abasolo and Eric Bigger to her family before inviting Eric to join her in the Fantasy Suite in Spain during Monday night's Season 13 broadcast on ABC.


The Bachelorette broadcast began with Rachel explaining to Peter, Bryan and Eric after Dean Unglert's elimination that they'd be meeting her family in Dallas, TX, because her sister Constance was eight months pregnant and couldn't travel to their next destination in Europe.

Rachel said the guys would be meeting several members of her family, and Peter was up first.

Peter's feelings for Rachel were growing and strengthening every day, but Bryan noted behind Peter's back that he may not be ready to propose -- or even say "I love you" -- if he was the last man standing at the end of this process.

Bryan hoped Rachel would see that Peter was allegedly not committed all the way. But right before Rachel walked Peter inside her family's home and introduced him to her loved ones, Peter confessed, "I'm falling in love with you." Rachel was taken aback by his sweet profession, and she said those same words in return to ensure Peter knew she reciprocated his feelings.


Peter met Constance as well as her husband Alex, and Rachel's mother Kathy, uncle Jeff, aunt Connie and cousin Andrea. Peter gushed immediately at the dinner table about the "instant connection" he felt with Rachel, saying it was as if they had known each other for much longer. Peter said "a force" brought them together, suggesting fate played a role in their romance.

Peter said that he knew he was feeling love for Rachel when she walked into the room for the Rose Ceremony in Dallas and he realized he didn't want to lose her, that the mere idea of living without her was suddenly terrible. Rachel told her sister that Peter was "the most reserved" of all the guys, but Rachel was that person on Nick Viall's season of The Bachelor.

Peter was then shown telling Alex how he saw no red flags with Rachel and he liked her from the start. Peter, however, admitted he wasn't sure he could feel certain enough about his future with Rachel to propose in two weeks. Peter wanted to wait until he knew Rachel was absolutely "the one" for him before asking her parents for their blessing to propose marriage to Rachel.

Rachel's mother actually liked the fact Peter was hesitant, because she thought it made his intentions genuine and real considering The Bachelorette journey is a whirlwind. She appreciated Peter's honesty, knowing that he held Rachel's heart very dear to him because he wasn't going to take a commitment lightly. Kathy found Peter very nice and engaging.

After the family visit, Peter told the cameras that he felt a lot better about his relationship with Rachel.


"I've truly realized my feelings for Rachel today and how much I can see myself being a part of her family in the future," Peter said in a confessional.

The next day, Eric met Rachel's family while Bryan was bragging to Peter -- who was clearly annoyed by Bryan's overconfidence -- about how he was going to ask Rachel's parents for their blessing to propose.

Eric told Rachel before she brought him home that the last time he met a woman's family was in college about seven years ago when she had invited him to Thanksgiving. Eric felt confident in himself but anxious at the same time because this was unchartered territory for him.

Rachel's cousin admitted that Peter had set the bar very high but everyone was excited to get to know Eric. Once Eric walked into Rachel's parents' home, he revealed he has three sister and a 13-year-old brother. Eric explained how he grew up on the streets of Baltimore and saw dysfunctional relationships his whole life, which prompted him to run from love and serious relationships.

Eric last dated a woman for eight months in 2015, and his lack of experience in the dating department worried Rachel's sister. Constance could tell Rachel and Eric weren't on the same playing field emotion-wise, noting that the bachelor may not be ready for an engagement since he's never even been in love before.


Andrea, on the other hand, said Eric seemed real and noted that he wouldn't treat this like a fairy tale. It also didn't take long for Eric to gush to Rachel's clan about how he loved her unconditionally. Eric confessed, however, he was not "in love" with Rachel yet.

Eric made it known he wants a wife and children and believed he could get to that point of being in love with Rachel. He was prepared for marriage to be about compromise, sacrifice, happiness and love, adding that he wanted to build a strong foundation with Rachel.

Eric then asked Kathy for permission to propose to Rachel, and she said she'd be comfortable with that because she trusted her daughter's judgment. Kathy thought Eric was an honest man, and she was beginning to understand how Rachel had a very tough decision ahead of her.

The following day, Bryan got ready for his visit with the family. He felt confident and thought he'd impress Rachel's loved ones. But first, Rachel introduced him to two of her best girlfriends from work. Bryan told the girls that he's 37-years-old and ready to settle down. Since Bryan comes off so charming, Rachel admitted to her friends, "I thought he was a douchebag," upon meeting him.

Rachel, however, promised her friends that Bryan was the real deal, and he confessed flat out that he was "in love" with Rachel. Bryan thought he won Rachel's girlfriends over, but he had a tough battle ahead of him.


Upon joining Rachel's relatives at the dinner table, Bryan immediately started to gush about how he wanted to build a legacy with Rachel because he has so much love for her. He said he aspires to have a marriage similar to his parents' because they have been married for 40 years. Bryan said his love for Rachel was real and when they were together, he forgot about everything else.

Bryan's outpouring of emotion only made Rachel's family question him more out of skepticism. For starters, Kathy asked whether Bryan's loyalty would lie with his wife or his mother if they were ever to get into an argument, and after a moment of hesitation, Bryan said his wife would come first.

The family's questions became more personal and probing, and Rachel actually grew uncomfortable. While Kathy said she needed to assess the men Rachel was bringing home, Rachel didn't think her loved ones treated the other two men like that.

However, Bryan never backed down, except when he left the dinner table briefly for a break from the interrogation.

Bryan said Rachel felt like his girlfriend after one week and her genuine nature made him fall hard. Constance's gut told her that Bryan was a charmer, and while he came across direct and open, she wasn't sure there was sincerity behind all of his claims. Constance explained that Bryan always seemed to have an answer for everything.


Alex accused Rachel of handling the dating process with her emotions rather than her mind, which she whole-heartedly denied. The energy of this family visit was very different from the other two, and Rachel had a difficult time understanding why. It was obvious Rachel felt strongly for Bryan because she was so defensive of him and their connection.

Although it was hard for Rachel's family to believe that Bryan was truly in love with Rachel after only nine weeks, Rachel said she was falling in love with the bachelor and he had been most vocal about his feelings up to that point.

It then became time for Bryan to ask Kathy for her blessing to pop the question to Rachel, and just like her exchange with Eric, Rachel's mother said she trusted her daughter's choices and therefore gave him her permission to take that "initial love and build on it." Bryan said that Rachel was everything he wants in a future wife and he believed that Rachel loved him in return.

Rachel was impressed with how Bryan handled himself on the date. She didn't have clarity on the men left because she was falling in love with all three of them, but it was nice to see them through other's eyes.

Rachel, Bryan, Eric and Peter then took off to Rioja, Spain for the Bachelorette's round of overnight Fantasy Suite dates.

Eric received the first date in Spain and the couple took off in a helicopter to observe the beautiful sights.


"I'm feeling feelings of love. There's no question about that," Eric told the cameras.

The couple went to San Juan de Gaztelugatxe and Eric acknowledged he'd never find another girl like Rachel. Meanwhile, the Bachelorette wanted a teammate in this life, someone who's confident and self-aware, and she thought Eric fit that description. After the pair made a wish at a monastery, Eric intended to become vulnerable with Rachel that night and express what he was really feeling.

That night, Rachel and Eric enjoyed a romantic dinner at Ezcaray, La Rioja. Eric told Rachel that she challenges him to be open and it felt amazing.

"Without you, there's no experience. I'm happy, you push me, you embody everything I want in a wife, and I swear every time I'm with you, we get better with time and it allows me to fall right now," Eric told Rachel.

"Nothing else matters and I've never felt that before. So I just want to say, I'm in love with you. I tried to run, Week 3 or 4, but that's not happening no more. This is it, and I'm here. I'm here for you. And I'm happy. I'm just really happy. I never felt this way about a girl, ever. So, Rachel Lindsay, I love you."

Rachel said it felt amazing to know exactly how Eric felt because she no longer had to wonder. Eric then accepted the Fantasy Suite invitation, and they were both excited to talk about everything. Eric wanted to continue building on his love because he no longer feared the circumstances.


The next day, Rachel and Peter visited a romantic vineyard. She said Peter read her and understood her more than anyone else on this journey. For their date, they drank wine in a cellar and were gifted with their very own locker filled with special aged wines. Peter gushed about having a key to this secret locker forever, as it's something he could always share with Rachel.

While sitting outside and talking, Rachel told Peter that her family thought they would balance each other out well in life, and Peter agreed that he can get stuck inside of his head sometimes and tends to have trouble letting loose.

However, Peter and Rachel were not seeing eye to eye on the concept of an engagement.

Later that night, Peter explained that he saw an engagement as being a direct reflection of marriage in that they might as well be one in the same. Peter said he only wants to get engaged and married once in his life, and so a proposal carries extremely heavy weight.

Rachel -- who was falling in love with Peter -- told the bachelor that she believes a proposal would allow them to cultivate a relationship outside of the show. Rachel admitted that she didn't choose to appear on the show and make such sacrifices for the process in order to leave the show with just a boyfriend.

Peter was well aware that Rachel was looking to seal the deal with an engagement at the end of this journey, but he just couldn't promise her that he would be ready or willing to take that next step. Peter advised Rachel not to give up on what she believes or needs in life but they may not be able "to find common ground with something so polar opposite."


"I don't really know where to go from here, to he honest," Peter confessed to Rachel.

Both individuals were totally speechless because they didn't know how to move forward from that conversation. Rachel started to cry, and Peter just appeared helpless. Rachel was always hopeful for a future with Peter, but she said with a snap of her fingers, that image was gone.

For the first time ever, Rachel was thinking her romance with Peter may not work out, and she found this revelation "absolutely devastating." The episode ended on this cliffhanger, so it's unclear whether Rachel will invite him into the Fantasy Suite.






About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski