After hearing weeks of rumors and allegations that he had only come on the show to promote his music and actually had a girlfriend back home, The Bachelorette star Jillian Harris finally eliminated Wes Hayden, a 32-year-old musician from Austin, TX, from the competition for her heart during last night's broadcast of the ABC reality dating show.

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"She shot me down, I'm going down in flames.  The first guy ever on The Bachelorette to ever make it to the Top 4 with a girlfriend," Wes said during his post-elimination limousine ride. 

"You know, I think it's going to take me a long time to be able to get back on my feet," he said with a smirk.

"Yeah... my acting days are over.  I've definitely gone as far as I could possibly go with Jillian.  I mean I've already done everything I needed to do so this is just kind of another bump in the road.  I'm going back home, I've got my dog waiting, and my band.  We're pushing a brand-new single right now [and] I got a big radio tour I've got to do ASAP."

The Bachelorette's eighth fifth-season episode began with Jillian and her four remaining bachelors traveling to Spain for a series of individual dates with the 29-year-old interior designer from Vancouver, BC.

Jillian's first date was with Kiptyn, a 31-year-old business developer from Encinitas, CA.  After meeting at a public park in Madrid, the pair spent some time walking around the park and discussing whether Kiptyn would be ready to propose to Jillian if she selected him at the season's final Rose Ceremony.

"I think a proposal seems quite off at this point and time. It's something I want to do the right way -- do it once -- and it's something you can't rush," Kiptyn told Jillian.

"I think I want an engagement, but like you said I have to be realistic about it.  The two people have to be ready.... but there's still a lot of time," Jillian replied.

After an afternoon dance lesson in which the couple learned how to flamenco dance complete with tight-fitting costumes, Kiptyn and Jillian took a scooter ride to a restaurant where they enjoyed a romantic dinner.

During the dinner, a waiter presented the couple with The Bachelorette host Chris Harrison's invitation to forgo their individual hotel rooms and spend the night in a romantic fantasy suite together.  However unlike most former The Bachelor and The Bachelorette stars -- and unlike her decision when the same offer was extended during her appearance on Jason Mesnick's The Bachelor edition -- Jillian decided to decline the offer.

"This is the hardest decision for me, but I don't think I'm ready to spend the entire night with somebody yet," Jillian told Kiptyn.

"I respect that," Kiptyn replied.

"I can't spend the night with somebody that, not that there's no concerns, [but] I want to make sure that Kiptyn and I are heading in the right direction before we spend the entire night together," Jillian explained to the cameras afterwards. 

"There's a small part of me that wishes I would have accepted the overnight card, but I want to know that he feels like I'm the one that he wants to spend the rest of his life with and he can't live without."

Jillian's second date began with her meeting Reid, a 30-year-old realtor from Philadelphia, PA, in a public plaza in the city of Sevilla.  After spending some time shopping in a nearby shop, the couple enjoyed a picnic in a local park.

During the picnic, Reid seemed to allay Jillian's concerns that he had been holding back a bit.

"I feel like Reid has really opened up in the last little bit, and when I'm around him I feel like there's that mutual bubbly connection," Jillian said afterwards.  "I have fun with him and he makes me laugh in a way that's natural."

That night, the couple enjoyed a waterfront dinner in which Jillian pressed Reid to tell her why he felt they were a good fit.  Although he seemed to stumble through a long, awkward answer, Jillian was happy with his response.

"I smile because I like what I hear," Jillian told Reid when he expressed some concern that she didn't like his answer.

Similar to her date with Kiptyn, Jillian rejected the offer to spend the night together in a fantasy suite after Reid stated he'd defer the decision to her.

"I have been struggling with my feelings for multiple people, which I've never had before in my entire life," Jillian told Reid.

"That makes sense," Reid told Jillian.  "I want to do whatever you want to do."

"I feel like I'm falling in love with Reid and I love who I am when I'm with Reid," Jillian said after the date.  "And that is something that's so special to me.  I didn't think I'd be this crazy about somebody and still feel so much like myself.  I know I made the decision for us not to spend the night together but I'm so comfortable with him and I have such a good time, I just hope I made the right decision."

Jillian's third date also took place in Sevilla.  After meeting Ed, a 29-year-old technology consultant from Chicago, IL, in a nearby park, the pair immediately set about attempting to make up for the time they lost when the newly returned bachelor decided to quit the show before the season's fifth Rose Ceremony to allegedly avoid being fired from his job.

"I missed out on a lot of key things with Ed.  I didn't get a chance to meet his family and he left me and he sort of broke my heart a little bit," Jillian explained before the date began.  "There's a lot that Ed and I have to catch up on."

"I just couldn't start thinking about you," Ed told Jillian.  "When I got home I [was] 'What am I doing?'  Even when I was leaving I was like 'What am I doing?'"

After continuing their heart-to-heart conversation while enjoying a horse-drawn carriage ride around the city, the couple concluded their afternoon with a drink at an outdoor table in a city plaza.  While at the plaza, Jillian grilled Ed about his family members, whom she hadn't gotten the chance to meet since her hometown dates took place during his absence from the show.

"I know that I need to get caught up with Ed, I know that I need to make sure that he's the right one for me, but there's the irresponsible part of me that doesn't care, that just wants to make out with him," Jillian laughed afterward.

Following their afternoon together, Jillian and Ed spent the evening enjoying a rooftop dinner where they continued making up for lost time -- including a discussion in which Ed asked Jillian if she'd be willing to move from Vancouver to Chicago.

"We didn't talk about this, I guess we skipped out on some of these conversations," Jillian told Ed.  "I'm definitely not opposed to moving.  I am bummed out I didn't get to go to Chicago but maybe at the same time maybe we wouldn't have been able to be this close and this open with each other if you hadn't made that decision [to leave]."

During the dinner, Ed also told Jillian that he could envision them "grow[ing] to really be with each other like really great couples do" and beginning a family within two or three years.

Like the earlier one-on-one dates, the waiter also concluded the dinner by presenting the couple with Chris' invitation to spend the night in a romantic fantasy suite, however unlike her dates with Kiptyn and Reid, Jillian decided to accept the offer, citing her need to spend more time with Ed to make up for his previous absence.

"I definitely know that when I think of what this card represents I'm not ready for it... but I do also want to make sure that you and I get caught up because I think we have something special," Jillian told Ed.

"We're sleeping in our clothes," Jillian told Ed after they entered the suite.

"I think that's a very respectful thing and actually I think it's a very good decision," Ed replied.

"I feel like this is what we needed and I'm happy I made this decision," Jillian said afterwards.

Jillian's fourth and final date took place in Barcelona, where she met Wes on a local street and then took him on a bike ride around the city.

"A lot happened with Wes and I on out last date and I'm doing my best to put it aside," Jillian said before the date began.  "And if there's any place Wes and I should be able to overcome all the crap we went through in Austin, this is the place we should be able to do it."

However as soon as the bike ride ended it quickly became obvious that the hometown date incident in which eliminated bachelor Jake Pavelka had returned to the show and insisted Wes had repeatedly told him he had a girlfriend had severely damaged their relationship.

"I'm a little worried about Wes lack of affection and as much as I'm having fun with Wes I feel like we have so much to talk about," Jillian said afterwards.  "When Wes [was] telling me he thinks we make a great match and he thinks we're perfect he sat as far away from me as possible and I don't even know what to think.... I definitely do not feel any romance.  I feel like all day I'm analyzing what Wes says.  I should be on top of the world but I can't help but feel like I have a lot of anxiety."

Jillian attempted to discuss her concerns with Wes during a picnic, however Wes seemed to brush off her concerns.

"Relationships are all about bending and like I said, nothing will break if it will bend," Wes told Jillian.

"With you it's like you're always focusing on defending yourself instead of focusing on you and I.  Do you know where it's coming from?" Jillian told Wes.

"I don't know, maybe I like to run my mouth sometimes and talk a big game with the guys," Wes replied.

Wes was also completely unreceptive to Jillian's "hypothetical" question about what he would do if they were to decide that "the best thing" would be for him to move to Vancouver for a couple of years.

"Um... that would be crazy," Wes replied.

The country singer also had appeared to have no answer to a follow-up question in which Jillian attempted to ask him if he'd be willing to live any other American city.

"The bird has no foot.  God, what's wrong with me," he replied in which seemed to be an awkward attempt to change the subject.

During their evening dinner, Jillian made it clear that she planned to use the meal to attempt to get answers to her lingering concerns, however Wes seemed to quickly become somewhat frustrated with the discussion.

"I haven't told any of those guys that I have a girlfriend, I honestly haven't," Wes told Jillian when she attempted to ask why Jake would have been so insistent he had a girlfriend back home.  "I don't have a girlfriend and I don't feel like I need to talk about that, I mean go ahead and clear the table... if I had a girlfriend I would be gone, I would not still be here."

However Jillian remained skeptical of his answer and also attempted to point out that, given his career, she also had other reasons to be concerned he hadn't come on the show for the right reasons.

"If what you are saying is true and you don't have a girlfriend you [still] do happen to have a career that is going to benefit from this," Jillian told Wes.

Wes then acknowledged that his manager had told him he "needed to go" on the show and also urged him to make sure he didn't get eliminated right away, which seemed to frustrate Jillian even more.

"And you think your manager was the one who thought it would be good for your career?" Jillian replied.

"I thought it would be good for myself as well but if I came here to sell records I've already played you a song, I've already done the whole full band thing [during my hometown date], I've already showed you what I do and I want you to know that if I wanted to go home I think that my mission would have been accomplished," Wes told Jillian. 

"I mean I still feel like any publicity would be good publicity so I've done all that.  If I had a girlfriend, if I was here to sell records, I would be gone."

However Jillian continued to remain skeptical of Wes' words.

"All day today if you really were crazy about me then you would have come up to me, I would have kissed at least one today and you never [did]," Jillian said.  "That's why I'm asking all these questions.  You asked me to trust you back in Austin and I did, and that was hard for me to do, and now if you and I have been through so much and you really are here for the right reasons then you should be showing that physically and affectionately of being that way with me."

A clearly frustrated Wes then attempted to suggest that he might have felt that he was worried she hadn't wanted him to kiss her or may have turned away from his kiss, but Jillian rejected the suggestion.

"Who gives a f--k if you're that guy that falls in love with me and tries to be affectionate with me and I turn away?" Jillian asked.  "Wouldn't you rather be that guy than that guy who doesn't show me any affection?"

"It's hard for me to think that you could possibly be falling in love with four different people," Wes said, causing Jillian to ask how she would be able to choose him as her final suitor if he was unwilling to be affectionate until then.

"I do think that you maybe originally came on this show for the wrong reason, but if you do feel differently now I need to know that," Jillian said as she began to break down in tears.

"I'm not here to hurt you but I'm going to be true to myself because 'Numero Uno' is most important here," Wes replied.

Jillian also attempted to revisit Wes' girlfriend controversy by asking "why" Laurel Kagay -- the alleged girlfriend Jake had mentioned by name when he returned and spoke with Jillian -- was "important" to the country singer.

"Well, I spent six years with this person," Wes told Jillian -- a statement that would appear to conflict with Laurel's own recent claims that she and Wes had dated for three years but had ended their romantic relationship about a year before he went on the ABC reality dating show.  "She's one of my best friends and I think that she always will be, she's somebody I can trust.

"She broke up with me," Wes added when Jillian asked him who had ended the relationship.

However Wes appeared to have a weak explanation for the cause of the split when Jillian asked for additional details.

"Because of our differences," he replied.

Undeterred by the brief answer, Jillian continued to quiz Wes about why Jake had even known the name of Wes' alleged girlfriend, resulting in a momentary slip of the tongue in which Wes appeared to acknowledge he still viewed Laurel as a current girlfriend.

"I told him the whole story, I said you know my girlfriend -- I mean ex-girlfriend," Wes told Jillian, causing Jillian to turn away as Wes seemed to stop talking and just shake his head over the slip-up.

Remarkably, Wes still seemed to think the dinner had gone well enough to merit the couple spending the night together.

"Um... I think we should, actually," Wes told Jillian upon reading the overnight fantasy suite invitation after it was delivered to the table.

"I feel like you and I have had so much time doing what you and I just did," a still tearful Jillian replied.  "I know you're frustrated and I know you feel like we've spend a lot of time talking about [stuff] you don't want to talk about.  But I have gotten a lot of questions answered tonight and I'm going to skip it."

"I understand," Wes replied as he sighed.

"It just became really clear to me.  He does have something to hide and he's showing it," Jillian said after the date ended.  "I'm embarrassed Wes came on here and has a girlfriend and has been riding this out as long as he can ride it out, potentially for his career."

"But I feel more sorry for him than I do for me right now... I just feel sorry for him because I don't think Wes realizes how talented he is.  He didn't need this to become successful in his career.  He didn't need this but I need this, I need this for me and I don't need anyone taking this away from me."

Given her disastrous date with Wes, the Rose Ceremony seemed, albeit unbeknownst to the other men, to carry little suspense.

"I've never been more sure at a Rose Ceremony about who I have to send home," Jillian told the cameras before the ceremony began.

Wes also seemed to be anticipating his departure.

"If it's me, you boys know that I will be back home having lots of sex," he boasted to Kiptyn, Reid and Ed as the bachelors waited for Jillian's arrival.

Wes' boasting continued after his elimination.

"Let me tell you what -- tonight I'm in Spain and it's about to go down," he said after Jillian escorted him to a waiting limousine.  "I'm going out, you know, [and] I'm cutting off the chains... I'm a free man."

"How'd I lose to Reid?" he added.  "You've got to be kidding me.  I was born at night but not last night.  And Ed.  Those boys couldn't get so much as a nimble back in Texas."

After watching him leave, Jillian only seemed to become more confident that she had made the correct decision.

"When I walked Wes down the stairs I knew that I had made the right decision," Jillian said after he departed.  "I needed the time to make the decision on my own.  If I had let Wes go at his hometown I think I would have always wondered 'What If, what if Jake wasn't telling the truth?  What if it was taken out of context?  What if, what if?' Now I know for sure."

"If Wes came here with a girlfriend he should regret doing that and if Wes came here single and actually was falling for me he should regret not showing it," she added.  "I've given it my all with this guy and I can't waste any more time with Wes.... the bad boy is definitely gone."
About The Author: Steven Rogers

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