Bachelorette Finale: One man breaks up with Tayshia while another returns
NEW YORK -- It's finale week on "The Bachelorette." But before we get to see who wins Tayshia's final rose, she has to get through her fantasy suite dates! Brendan, Ivan, and Zac are the final three left vying for her heart. The guys started off talking about how it's so weird that they are all still dating her and how hard it is to be around each other. JoJo was still at the resort and she stopped by to chat with Tayshia to give her a bit of a pep talk going into those dates. She told her it's a great feeling when you get to the end and it's so clear who is the one for you. Let's hope Tayshia gets that same feeling!
Ivan's Fantasy Suite Date
"Ivan our love is timeless," his date card read. He got emotional as Zac read the date card. He was very anxious. Tayshia took him to a set up of two ice baths where they would have the world's longest coldest kiss. They were going to try to make it a kiss for the record books. Chris Harrison was there to officiate and keep the time. The record was 5 minutes and 16 seconds, so that's what they had to beat. They struggled as they sat in the freezing cold ice bathtubs and they held on and smashed their lips into each other. Tayshia said that once they had some synchronized breathing going on it really calmed her. "It was really hot while being really cold," she said. They hit 6 minutes and 35 seconds, a new record!
Later, Tayshia and Ivan headed to dinner to get to know each other better. Ivan said going into this part of the date that wanted to tell her that he's falling in love with her. Tayshia said that the date they had earlier made her feel like they could conquer the world. He said that he loved how real their date was with her family last week. Then, Ivan started to talk about how hard it is for him to say, "I love you" to anyone and then went into a story about how he started falling in love with her a few weeks ago. "Tayshia, I am undoubtedly falling in love with you," he said. Tayshia told Ivan that she's been falling for him too. She was so happy that he told her how he felt. Tayshia took out the fantasy suite card and he happily accepted the offer to spend the night with her. She walked him over to a shiny metallic trailer that was set up special for them. They sat outside, had a toast with some champagne, and then headed inside. It was cute, but somewhat small inside. Still, they were excited to spend some quality time together.
In the morning, they woke up and shared some breakfast outdoors. Ivan said that he feels like he would have no problem proposing to Tayshia after the night they shared with each other. The other guys were a bit bummed that Ivan had such a great time with Tayshia and that they stayed up all night long and watched the sunrise together. Likewise, he felt like he just told Tayshia his feelings and she was off to explore her other relationships.
Zac's Fantasy Suite Date
"Let's explore each other," Zac's date card read. He left for his date not long after Ivan got back from his. Tayshia stayed up all night long so she's probably exhausted. They painted each other's bodies and then rolled all over a canvas. They laughed a lot and seemed to have a lot of fun together. She loves his swagger. It ended up in a paint war/makeout session. She definitely seems to have more passion with Zac than Ivan. But, is there more than just the physical attraction there? Zac says, yes, he's falling in love with her and he wants to tell her that.
For the dinner portion of the date, they sat under the bell tower at the resort and talked about what they like about each other. Zac loves the adventure she brings and Tayshia said that she loves the level of comfort he gives her. Tayshia asked Zac why his mom thought that he didn't want kids and yet when she says she wants five kids, he doesn't bat an eye. Zac said it was that he felt he didn't deserve someone in his life or a family, and that she has made him want to get married and be an amazing husband and father. He said he now feels he deserves those things in his life. Then he got serious, and Tayshia said, "You look stressed!" Zac just needed to regroup so he could tell her that he loves her! He said it. "I love you!" Tayshia started to cry and she told him, "I love you too!" Wow! She said that she had been trying to find things wrong with him and she couldn't. "I'm just so happy!" She attacked his face with more passionate kisses. He seems like the one. Of course, he accepted the fantasy suite!
They walked over to a beautiful suite at the resort. Seems a bit unfair that Ivan got a trailer! Ha! Zac and Tayshia shared some champagne and could hardly wait to get the crew out of the room. "Zac loves me and I love Zac!" she said.
The next morning, Zac and Tayshia were dancing and jumping on top of their bed. They seem ridiculously in love. He trusts their relationship 100%. Zac says he wants her to feel like the most desired person in the world for a very, very long time. Zac told the other guys a little bit about his date, but added, "She's the real deal."
Brendan's Fantasy Suite Date
Brendan's date card read, "Let's see what the future holds." Tayshia took him to go look at engagement rings with Neil Lane. Brendan looked like a deer in headlights. Neil showed them some beautiful jewelry that she could wear on their wedding day. Handmade earrings, a few different bracelets, and then he pulled out engagement and wedding bands. No solitaires, just bands. Brendan was sweating. He was not into this at all. Tayshia was gushing over the rings and he was just not ready for it. When they took out the men's rings, and Brendan tried them on, his hand was shaking.
That evening, Tayshia hoped to get some answers from Brendan about how he was feeling. Brendan said that it was fun to see her blinged out. Tayshia went digging and said that she could see him being the one, but that she doesn't know how he feels. Brendan said that he feels like he could see her as the mother of his children, but their date reinforced the gravity of that moment. He said that he's not ready to get engaged, despite thinking that he could be at the beginning of this process. Brendan said that he feels like there's a big part of him that is still broken and needs time to heal from his past relationship. Tayshia realized she was getting dumped when he said, "You deserve a man who is complete and a man who is healed from his past and unfortunately right now I'm not that man." Yikes. She said a younger version of herself might have been mad at him but she knows what he's been through. She said she doesn't want to push anyone to love her. She's been down that road. Poor Tayshia! Then she revealed to the producers, she really thought he was the one she was going to end up with. That's shocking, especially since she had that amazing overnight with Zac. She's got to wrap her head around this. As she said goodbye to Brendan, she cried and he wished her the best. As the limo drove away, she sobbed.
Advice from Rachel Lindsay
The next day, Tayshia woke up alone, but she wasn't alone for long. Rachel Lindsay, "The Bachelorette" from season 13, was there to give her some advice. They talked about it being a blessing that Brendan left when he did. At least she didn't leave the show with him and find out later. Tayshia said she's ready to have her parents meet Zac and Ivan, and she can't wait to get their input. Rachel asked her if she had any regrets and Tayshia said that she missed Ben. She was upset he didn't show enough emotion to her, and Rachel said that it was probably just a defense mechanism. Yep, she nailed that one!
Ben Returns
Before we could get to the rose ceremony, Ben shows back up! He knocked on Chris Harrison's door and asked if he could go talk to Tayshia. He hated the way he left things with her. He told Chris that he's in love with Tayshia, and he needs to tell her.
Tayshia was getting ready for the rose ceremony, and she was feeling pretty good because she wasn't going to have to send anyone home. Or would she? Knock, knock, it's Ben! She didn't look thrilled to see him. "Of course, are you kidding?" she muttered under her breath. He told her that he hated how they left things and that he didn't know how to react and that he didn't know what his feelings were at the time, but "I'm in love with you." He told her he blew it by not telling her in the moment, but he's never felt that feeling. He said, "The thought of the life we could have together, it keeps me up at night." Wow. That's powerful. She stopped him and needed to think, she was just in shock. She walked out to talk to the producers about what she should do.
Finale Preview
There appear to be three men in this episode! Her parents try to help her make sense of things. Who will she pick, will she pick anyone? Will they want what she wants? There's just so many questions. We'll find out Tuesday night!
