The Bachelorette Switches Up the Format After 1 Man Calls Gabby Windey 'Rough Around the Edges'
This post contains spoilers from Monday's episode of The Bachelorette.
Only three episodes in, the two Bachelorettes situation has already gotten messy.
During Monday's episode, the remaining men started talking among themselves about whether they preferred Rachel Recchia or Gabby Windey.
Host Jesse Palmer also informed the guys that Gabby and Rachel would each offer a one-on-one date, and there would also be a "massive" group date.
"I feel like this going to be a big week for us," Gabby, 31, said to Rachel, 26.
RELATED: The Bachelorette's Rachel Recchia and Gabby Windey Are in for an 'Unsettling' and 'Unhinged' Season
RACHEL'S ONE-ON-ONE
Rachel asked Zach to go on her one-on-one, which began with meeting up with Queer Eye's Karamo Brown. "Today I really want to see if Zach is here for me," Rachel told the cameras.
Karamo, 41, informed the couple that they'd be going to a Hollywood premiere that night before Zach, 25, explained why he felt more attached to Rachel than he did to Gabby.
"It was crazy because I had this feeling with you almost right out the gate," Zach told Rachel."I felt that there was sparks or chemistry — whatever you want to call it —and I just knew [in] that moment, it didn't matter that there were two Bachelorettes. I felt something with you."
ABC
Rachel liked that answer, so she and Zach proceeded to try on outfits for the premiere. The flight instructor landed on a sparkly yellow gown and Zach selected a velvet suit.
They arrived at the premiere of Me & You and walked the red carpet, sharing a kiss for the cameras. "It felt like we were movie stars," Zach said in an on-camera interview. "It was so fun."
Rachel and Zach went inside to an empty theater for a private screening. First, Matt White played piano for them before a slideshow of photos and videos of Rachel growing up started to play. That was followed by a photo and video montage of young Zach. Both of them also received messages from their mothers back home.
"Watching him as a child and hearing his mom talk about him, I really feel so much closer to him," Rachel told the cameras. "It's really special."
After the movie, Zach told Rachel that his dad used to drive him to airports as a kid to watch planes and Rachel said she did the same thing growing up. "I feel like I have spent weeks with you already," she told Zach.
The tech executive called the date one of the "absolutely best nights of my life." They ended the evening dancing on stage, and Rachel gave Zach a rose.
"I think Rachel could be my future wife," Zach said in an on-camera interview, adding, "This is crazy to say out loud and actually think about, considering how early it is, but it's very real what's going on. It's very real. I'm falling for her."
GABBY'S ONE-ON-ONE
While Rachel enjoyed her date with Zach, Gabby stopped by the house to visit with the other men. They tossed a football around, but Gabby wanted more.
"The lack of effort is a decision at this point," she told the cameras. "It doesn't show initiative. It doesn't show that you're ready. I feel like I'm giving so much to them and they're not giving everything back. My expectations are so high that I'm terrified to be let down."
With that being said, Gabby had low expectations going into her one-on-one date with Erich. To help lift her spirits, she brought in Grandpa John to see how Erich would fit in with her family.
"I know it's early, but I think it'll be nice to be able to see how Erich interacts with my family," Gabby said in an on-camera interview.
ABC
Gabby, Erich and Grandpa John went for a sound bath that started with an energetic clearing. "I would like to set an intention of moving forward in this journey with confidence despite any fears I may have, because I truly believe that the risk is worth the reward," Gabby said.
For his intention, Erich, 29, cited "presence, just being here in the moment."
Grandpa John fell asleep. "That was an interesting experience," he told the cameras.
The trio headed to a bowling alley and Gabby found another woman, Julie, to join their squad and play on a team with Grandpa John.
"Erich, he's rising to the occasion," Gabby said in an on-camera interview. "He seems like he's into me."
Gabby and Erich eventually spent some time away from John and Julie at the bowling alley and shared a kiss. "I'm lucky that we get to have this connection and hit it off because I don't know if I've had that with Rachel," Erich told her.
Craig Sjodin/ABC
Then, Gabby and Erich went to dinner and the real estate analyst told her about his parents. "They are absolutely soulmates," he said. "They're just like the best team I've ever seen. I know it's a lot to ask for but that's what I want."
Gabby recounted her estranged relationship with her mom. "I'll maybe never know what it's like to have a mother's love and it's something that's hard and I'll miss," she said.
The nurse needed a moment to step away from Erich. "I can't explain what it's like to have a mom who doesn't love you," Gabby said to a producer. "Like, it's hard. Like, am I too broke for anyone to love? I'm terrified. What if Erich decides I'm not for him?"
When Gabby returned to Erich, she laid out her feelings.
"A big part of me worries and is really scared that people aren't going to be able to resonate with me and when we sat down initially and talked, I was really so scared," Gabby said. "This is a huge honor and I don't want to f--- it up. I'm not polished. I'm not like anyone they've seen in the past. I'm not like Rachel."
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Erich thought Gabby's life experience made her "really in tune with your emotions." He then told her, "You've had a much different upbringing and I think it's shaped you as a really unique person."
Gabby said she believed "because of my past, I have that capacity to love that deeply."
Erich assured her, "As much as you want out of me, I'm willing to give. I'm here to see where this goes."
They kissed and Gabby gave Erich a rose. "Today with Erich was one of the best days I've had so far," Gabby told the cameras.
RELATED VIDEO: Kaitlyn Bristowe Reacts to The Bachelorette Having Two Leads: 'Why Are We Doing This Again?'
GROUP DATE
For the group date, Gabby and Rachel embarked on a classic Bachelor photo shoot with Franco Lacosta. "We're hoping today we can see who we can picture ourselves with," Gabby told the guys.
The men put on costumes and dove right in. The first setup consisted of some of the guys wearing Daisy Dukes at a car wash, then Rachel dressed as a pilot to steer a group of men on a plane and Gabby served as a doctor at a hospital for another batch of her suitors.
Jacob bared it all as the Adam to Gabby's Eve. "I just can't stop looking," Rachel admitted to the cameras.
To wrap up the photo shoot, Franco captured Tino and Logan each proposing to Rachel, and Tyler and Nate proposing to Gabby. "Whenever you enter a room, the world melts away," Nate, 33, said to Gabby as Rachel teared up behind the scenes.
Craig Sjodin/ABC
"Nate makes me feel special in a way nobody else has here," Gabby told the cameras. "Right now, I feel so loved and seen."
But Gabby's attitude changed when everyone headed to SoFi Stadium after the photo shoot. Rachel made out with Aven and Tino on the field, and Jordan H. reiterated, "I'm here for you." Meanwhile, multiple men approached Gabby to tell her that they, too, preferred Rachel.
"I just felt like a really good connection with Rachel, like, amazing one," Tyler told Gabby. "And I really do want to pursue that and I want to be straight up with you."
Hayden then expressed a similar sentiment to Gabby.
"I looked at today and my own life and what my values line up with and you know, I do have my intentions fully for Rachel," the leisure executive, 29, said. "And I think you have the bubbly aspect to you, the goofy aspect and you're a little bit more — I don't want to say rough around the edges — but you want people to be very direct with ya'll so I wanted to make sure that I express that to you."
ABC
Mortgage broker Jacob, 27, also piled on, telling her "even if say, you were the only person here, I don't think I could have the heart to continue."
That, of course, hurt Gabby. "My biggest fear was being too rough around the edges and now I am that for people," she told the cameras. "When it comes down to it, I want to be rough around the edges 'cause I know who I am on the inside and I'm f---ing proud of it."
Gabby filled Rachel in on her conversation with the men, and Rachel couldn't believe it. So Rachel understood when, after she extended a rose to Aven, Gabby couldn't do the same to any of the other guys.
"Tonight has kind of been hard for me in ways so I feel like I can't give a rose," Gabby informed the group.
ROSE CEREMONY
After the way the group date unfolded, Gabby and Rachel wanted to ensure they had the power along their journey, not the men. Accordingly, Jesse told the guys that Rachel and Gabby wanted to cancel the cocktail party and go straight to the rose ceremony.
"Rachel and Gabby realized that his whole thing, it's just not working for them," Jesse, 43, said. "And to be honest, if this thing continues to go down this path, they're not going to find love. So at the end of the day, that journey is over. But that doesn't mean they're just willing to give up."
Jesse explained to the guys that the format as they knew it would change going forward.
"This is how it's going to work: Gabby and Rachel decided that the best way moving forward is to continue on their journeys separately," he continued. "If you accept a rose tonight, that means you are committing to dating one woman, that woman that offers you the rose that you accept, and not the other."
At the rose ceremony, Gabby spoke to the reason behind the pivot. "Some conversations last night were hurtful and the impetus that we needed to move forward in our two separate journeys," she told the men.
Gabby and Rachel then started to call out names, with Rachel offering roses to Logan and Tino and Gabby extending roses to Nate and Johnny.
But when Rachel called Termayne, he said, "I am going to have to decline the rose," explaining that he felt a "deep connection" with Gabby.
ABC
Jesse said that, from there, Termayne could rejoin the group to see if Gabby would offer him a rose and if he didn't, the 28-year-old would have to leave. And Rachel couldn't give that rose to anyone else.
When Rachel went to present Alec with a rose, he had a similar response.
"Unfortunately, I don't think I can," the wedding photographer, 27, told Rachel. "I just don't think I'm the right one for you."
ABC
Tyler, Ethan and Jordan H. all accepted roses from Rachel, but then, when James a.k.a. Meatball got offered a rose from her, he, too, declined.
"I'm here for Gabby," the meatball enthusiast, 25, said to Rachel. "I just have to go with my heart."
After that happened, Rachel and Gabby stepped away. "This was supposed to be us taking the power back," Rachel said. "We literally handed it right back to all them by doing this."
Rachel told the cameras she felt "humiliated," but she returned to the ceremony and extended a rose to Hayden, who accepted. Meanwhile, Spencer, Jason, Mario, Kirk, Quincey and Michael welcomed roses from Gabby.
With all the roses handed out, that meant Alec, Tremayne, Meatball and Jacob all went home — but Meatball made a last-ditch effort to stay.
ABC
"We just didn't get that one-on-one time," he said to Rachel after the rose ceremony. "I feel like we just never got that opportunity but I really want to get to know you. I think there are feelings that I have for you."
He asked for another shot, but Rachel won't decide until next week if Meatball will stick around.
The Bachelorette airs Mondays (8 p.m. ET) on ABC.
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