'The Bachelorette' recap: Rachel Lindsay rejects DeMario Jackson & Fred Johnson, faces Eric Bigger drama

The Bachelorette's third episode featured Rachel Lindsay kicking DeMario Jackson to the curb after he begged to re-enter the competition as well as eliminating four other bachelors.


The episode kicked off with Rachel choosing not to allow DeMario, a 30-year-old executive recruiter from Century City, CA, to come back after the incident involving his girlfriend from back home, Lexi, during a previous basketball group date.

After being ousted from Season 13 in last week's episode, DeMario took an Uber to the Los Angeles mansion to tell Rachel he had "f-cked up" and wanted a second chance. DeMario apologized for not "keeping it real" with her when that's basically all she asked of her suitors. 

"I want to let you know that I can't let you go," DeMario told Rachel. "Yes, I did mess up with the Lexi situation by not being 100 percent truthful with you and with her coming out here. I was just being caught completely off guard."

He continued, "I want to move forward from this and I understand your trust is something I might not be able to have right now, but I want to be able to gain that trust back. And I feel like the No. 1 way for me to be able to do that was to come here and speak with you and hopefully be on that panel tonight and see if I can earn a rose from you."


DeMario told Rachel that he really believed she was the woman of his dreams and they could have something special together.

Rachel, however, said she needed a man who doesn't lie when confronted in a difficult situation, recalling the moment DeMario pretended he didn't even know who Lexi was when they had been dating on and off for seven months apparently.

"What I saw in the gym yesterday, that was a boy. I'm looking for a man," Rachel told the bachelor, "and I feel like I have some amazing men in that house who are here for me. So I'm glad you've realized you should move forward but I need you to know that 'forward' isn't inside the mansion, it's outside of it."

DeMario walked away and just said "damn" with a big smile on his face. It's unclear whether he was impressed by Rachel's strength or shocked by how brutal she was to him.

Rachel went on to send Lucas Yancey, a 30-year-old "whaboom" from Santa Monica, CA; Blake Elarbee, a 31-year-old aspiring drummer from Marina del Rey, CA; and Jamey Kocan, a 32-year-old sales account executive from Santa Monica, CA, home during The Bachelorette's second Rose Ceremony of the season.


"The feud between Blake and I was the biggest trash... it's a shame. I don't give a sh-t about Blake," Lucas told the cameras.

"I'm so pissed. I am genuinely shocked by the fact I'm going home with the clown. He ruined it for both of us," Blake vented.

"I hate him. He lives in my town and I can't get away from him."

Lucas and Blake then argued outside in the mansion's courtyard. Blake cussed Lucas out and called him a "wannabe comedian" and "washed out joke." Lucas told Blake to go back to his pathetic "clown" life of steroids and dieting.

For Week 3's first group date, Rachel invited a group of men to appear on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, where they were required to take their shirts off and dance for women in the live audience.


The selected guys were Fred Johnson, a 27-year-old executive assistant from Dallas, TX; Bryan Abasolo, a 37-year-old chiropractor from Miami, FL; Jonathan Treece, a 31-year-old "tickle monster" from New Smyrna Beach, FL; Peter Kraus, a 31-year-old personal trainer and business owner from Madison, WI; Alex Bordyukov, a 28-year-old information systems supervisor from Grosse Pointe Park, MI; and Will Gaskins, a 28-year-old sales manager from Miami, FL.

On this date, Bryan, Peter and Will all revealed they had kissed Rachel already, and Fred realized he was way behind the pack.

Fred, who said Rachel was "deeply rooted in my soul," asked Rachel's permission later that night to kiss her, which ultimately resulted in his elimination.

While Fred said the kiss was pure "bliss" and helped him to envision Rachel in a wedding dress, the Bachelorette told the cameras, "It was like a little boy was kissing me," adding that she could not reciprocate his feelings and probably would never be able to.

"I was falling in love with her. I can say that," Fred said in his final words. "I was. I gave her all of me. I was super open and super transparent, but she couldn't get over the fact I was someone from her childhood and I can't force her to move past it. I was hoping it would be me getting the rose, but then in a matter of seconds the wind is knocked out of me."


The next day, Rachel embarked on a one-on-one date with Anthony Battle, a 26-year-old education software manager from Chicago, IL. They rode horses down Rodeo Drive and went in and out of stores and clothing boutiques. Rachel found him "really endearing and cute" and ended up giving him a rose.

The couple's date ended with some dancing and kissing to the music of a quartet. Rachel called it "a fantasy" come true.

Before the week's last group date commenced, Eric Bigger, a 29-year-old personal trainer from Los Angeles, CA, was shown venting to a couple of the guys about how he wasn't sure if Rachel was genuine because it seemed like she was "playing a game until she gets what she wants." He told the guys he couldn't give a girl his all whom he wasn't going to marry.

Iggy then confronted Eric about his behavior, and Eric yelled at him for entering a conversation that didn't include him.

The second group date turned out to be a mud wrestling match organized by Raven Gates, Jasmine Goode, Alexis Water and Corinne Olympios from Nick Viall's season of The Bachelor. Rachel hoped her girlfriends would help her make some good decisions.


The invitees were Brady Ervin, a 29-year-old male model from Miami, FL; Dean Unglert, a 26-year-old startup recruiter from Venice, CA; Adam Gottschalk, a 27-year-old real estate agent from Dallas, TX; Kenneth "Diggy" Moreland, a 31-year-old senior inventory analyst from Chicago, IL; Bryce Powers, a 30-year-old firefighter from Orlando, FL; Lee Garrett, a 30-year-old singer and songwriter from Nashville, TN; Jack Stone, a 32-year-old attorney from Dallas, TX; and Eric.

While on the party bus traveling to the date, Lee and Bryce revealed to Raven that Eric was the guy "least appropriate" for Rachel, saying he was most likely on the show for the wrong reasons. Raven eventually voiced this concern to Rachel.

The mud wrestling match ended with Bryce surprisingly defeating Kenny, and Rachel's girls decided they liked Dean the best.

That night, Eric talked to Rachel about how he was trying to be vulnerable with her when he usually runs away from his feelings. He asked for some reassurance, which Rachel provided with the date's rose. Rachel informed Eric, however, that Lee and Bryce had thrown him under the bus by saying he might not be ready for a relationship with Rachel.

"Lee has a lot of snake in his DNA. I hope he doesn't get a rose. I don't trust him at all. I really don't," Eric told the cameras.

Lee couldn't believe Rachel ignored her friends' warning and gave Eric a rose. He noted that the decision said a lot about Rachel.


The episode concluded with the cocktail party preceding the season's third Rose Ceremony and more drama between Eric and the rest of the guys. Eric said he couldn't help that he was opinionated, and he disliked how the guys were telling him to act like someone he's not.

Rachel didn't see this bad side of Eric the guys had apparently observed, however, she told Eric she'd keep an eye on him going forward since red flags had been raised.

With that said, Eric started screaming at Lee, Iggy and Bryce for saying his name. He told everyone to mind their own business and make this journey about Rachel, rather than about himself. Eric's outburst appeared to shock the guys, and previews for the next episode suggest Rachel is going to experience a breakdown.






About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski