'The Bachelorette' recap: Tayshia hits back after her integrity is questioned
Tayshia laid down the law after discovering what some of the men had been saying about her right before the rose ceremony on Tuesday's episode of "The Bachelorette."
The episode kicked off with a group date that featured Bennett, Ivan, Blake, Riley, Demar, Kenny and Zac competing for the only one-on-one date, each using his limited musical skills to write and perform a love song for Tayshia. The winner was Ivan, who touched her heart with his spoken-word piece, and sealed the deal by inviting Tayshia on stage to sit next to him as he performed it.
The date began with Ivan joining Tayshia in her suite for a fun evening of games, including Twister and a pillow fight.
However, things turned serious when the two shared an emotional conversation and bonded over their similar backgrounds of being mixed-raced and the difficulties they faced growing up.
Ivan shared that his younger brother battled substance abuse issues and went to prison for four years.
"Going through tough times in life, they mean a lot -- because if I never had him, I never would have been so open to people going through things, like drugs or alcohol," he said. "I understand and I don't pass judgement on anybody ... as tough as it is, it's taught me so much and he's affected me in ways he'll never realize."
He said that he was his brother's confidante while he was serving his time and his brother opened up to him "about the stuff that goes on behind there."
This led the two to then approach the topic of police brutality, which Ivan said "really hit home" for him.
"My brother used to tell me stories of how these C.O.’s [correctional officers] literally beat him up," Ivan said. "I felt so bad because my first question was like, ‘Well, Gabe, what did you do?’ But it doesn’t matter. Like, no matter what George Floyd did either way, or what my brother did, these people have a job to do, and they need to do it right. They can’t just be hurting people for no reason, you know?"
Tayshia spoke about how the events of the world have affected her and reflected on her upbringing in Orange County. "Being the only person that looks like me, I’m realizing that I’ve been trying so hard my whole life to blend in," she said. “Because I knew I was different, you know?"
She said hearing people shout "Black Lives Matter" extremely affected her because "those are people in my backyard that I’ve been trying to prove for so long that I’m the same as them."
After their moving conversation, Tayshia offered him the date rose.
Next, former Bachelorette Becca Kufrin and Sydney Lotuaco, from season 23 of "The Bachelor," visited Tayshia and helped her plan an outrageous game of Truth or Dare for six of the men: Bennet, Demar, Kenny, Blake, Zac and Riley.
The dares include chugging disgusting smoothies, having host Chris Harrison autograph "a part of their body where the sun doesn't shine" and proposing to Tayshia after eating a spicy habanero pepper.
Later came the "truth" part of the date and Zac had all the right words for Tayshia, who enjoyed "looking at the stars and talking about life" with him. He was rewarded with the date rose.
Heading into the rose ceremony, Ben and Ed both felt they needed to make a bold move to ensure they wouldn't be sent home... So each decided to surprise Tayshia with a late-night visit at her villa.
The risky move paid off for Ben, who impressed Tayshia for "showing up," something she said he needed to do earlier during his group date. The two shared a romantic evening together and bared their souls while enjoying champagne with strawberries.
Ed, on the other hand, in what turned into a comically awkward moment, knocked on the wrong door and wound up spending the evening with Harrison. "That was weird," mused Chris as he watched the embarrassed and frustrated bachelor head home afterward.
Meanwhile, trouble was brewing at the men's quarters where some of the guys were still fuming over Noah's stunt from last week, in which he crashed a group date, monopolized Tayshia for most of the evening and then managed to snag the date rose.
Noah attempted some damage control at the pre-rose ceremony cocktail party, privately telling Tayshia that some of the guys were "discrediting" her thought process and that they viewed her awarding him the rose as a "stunt" to "shake things up."
Tayshia then gathered the men together to reaffirm the promise she made when she first met them — that she was being her "true self" before telling them all to "grow up."
"If you're going to be questioning me," she warned, "I'll gladly walk you outside."
At the rose ceremony, Jordan C., Joe, Kenny and Chasen were sent packing.
Here are the remaining men:
- Ben, 29, an Army Ranger veteran from Venice, Calif.
- Bennett, 36, a wealth management consultant from New York City, N.Y.
- Blake Moynes, 29, a wildlife manager from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
- Brendan, 30, a commercial roofer from Milford, Mass.
- Demar, 26, a spin cycling instructor from Scottsdale, Ariz.
- Eazy, 29, a sports marketing agent from Newport Beach, Calif.
- Ed, 36, a health care salesman from Miami, Fla.
- Ivan, 28, an aeronautical engineer from Dallas, Texas
- Noah, 25, a registered travel nurse from Tulsa, OK
- Spencer, a 30-year-old Water treatment engineer from La Jolla, California;
- Riley, 30, an attorney from Long Island City, N.Y.
- Spencer, 30, a Water treatment engineer from La Jolla, California
- Zac C., 36, an addiction specialist from Haddonfield, N.J.
The Bachelorette returns Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
