It’s Fantasy Suite week! Gabby and Rachel are taking their final three to overnights to determine who has got the full package—if ya know what I mean 😉. Kidding, kind of.
The final group is in Riviera Maya, Mexico and the women are very aware of where they were in the process with Clayton versus what they are feeling/experiencing now that they’re in control (in theory).
First, we get a girl chat, which it feels like we haven’t had in a while. Gabby is looking forward to figuring out if the physical intimacy is there with her men and to ensure that they’re serious about moving forward with her. Rachel is mindful of how Clayton treated his final three, and what it felt like in fantasy suites with him. They both want to make sure they don’t unintentionally make each of their men feel like they’re the final one when in the end they can only choose one.
Rachel runs through her men with Gabby and she seems to want Tino the most, but she is getting the least from him. She also says she’s falling in love with Aven and is scared to tell him because she doesn’t want to lead him on, especially since she isn’t sure who will be standing with her at the end (Rachel girl, be serious).
This is the first time we hear Gabby is expecting and wanting an engagement from one of these men. She acknowledges that Johnny is probably not ready for an engagement yet and that Jason might feel similarly. She’s the most comfortable with Erich and looking forward to seeing how an overnight with him might change that.
The women agree that they want to rewrite what Fantasy Suites mean for them since their journey on The Bachelor was so terrible. I hate how much Clayton has plagued this season. It has been a throughline since episode one. Although they’re no longer shitting on the guy, he’s still been centered so much as it relates to the moves and feelings Rachel and Gabby have for their men. I really hope this is the last we hear his name this season.
Gabby and Erich
At the end of Erich’s hometown, the couple shared that they were falling in love with one another. Gabby seems the giddiest around Erich. You can feel her excitement about him, she seems to let her guard down a bit more around him, we’ve seen this since their first one-on-one when Gabby got emotional about her relationship with her mother.
They are visiting/swimming in a cenote. Erich says Gabby and he always have fun together, but the process hasn’t been easy because he’s always aware of the other men she’s dating. They take turns jumping off of different points of the treehouse (?) that’s near the cenote. They reach the highest peak and Gabby’s nerves almost get the best of her, but Erich encourages her, and together they make the leap. The perfect metaphor for love.
Erich shares how happy he was to see Gabby with his family, but also how hard it was. The trip home was too short for him and he wishes he could’ve spent more time with his dad and seen his family spend more time with Gabby as well.
Gabby is looking gorgeous in a slinky yellow sequined dress. Similar to the day portion, they’re all over one another. I mean that in the best way possible. Their physical chemistry is hot.
Erich shares that his family was absolutely obsessed with Gabby, which makes it easier for him to fall for her and see them together at the end. Gabby shares her experience as a child whose dad was in the military and gone often and a mom who worked several jobs to make ends meet. She’s attracted to the fact that Erich’s family seems whole. A relatable feeling, for sure.
He shares that he’s in love with Gabby and doesn’t want to leave this experience without her. Gabby says she’s falling for him and she can really see them together at the end of the journey. Of all the couples, I feel like we’ve seen the most of this relationship. I know many people watch this show and question how two people could fall in love in two months, but this is one of the few times I actually see it. From Gabby sharing her childhood wounds and how they affect her today, to Erich sharing about his dad and bringing her home to see her mesh so well with his family, I can see how they’ve gotten to this point. I wish it was as easy to see with some of the other relationships of this season.
The next morning we don’t get any gratuitous shots of the couple in bed. Instead, they’re in the kitchen, making breakfast and enjoying each other’s company. After experiencing fantasy suites, Erich says he needs to try his best not to think about the other men and the connection and experiences Gabby might have with them overnight.
I have thought about how I’d want this to go down if I was ever on this show more than I’d like to admit. I think I’d want to go second or last. Being first would be tough because that means you have to wait the longest to see the lead again and you know (or can imagine) what the lead is doing with the other contestants. Whereas if you go second or last, there’s less time to spiral like that.
They both take a long time to say goodbye. Gabby seems nervous that a switch could flip if she lets him walk away and Erich is scared that she could be falling in love with someone else. She says the expected “just trust me” line that so many leads do, but does that really work on anyone who is letting their walls down with another person and unsure if their week will end with a break-up or an engagement? It certainly wouldn’t work on me. I also feel like at this point, I’d say ‘rules be damned!’ and tell my final one that I’m picking them/don’t plan to have sex with the others/whatever. But Gabby doesn’t operate like that, she was open about that on Clayton’s season and sounds like she was open with Erich about it too.
Aven, Rachel, and Tino’s Doubts
I feel the most cheated by this relationship. We’re always missing out on their moments of connection and getting surface-level convos from them. I’m not sure if that’s because they aren’t talking about much with one another, or if it’s because we just aren’t seeing it.
The couple is spending the day on a yacht. The women may have gotten fewer men, and screwed over in other ways this season, but they’ve gotten some of the best and most realistic one-on-ones we’ve seen in a while. They look great together lounging on this rich-ass yacht.
While Rachel and Aven are living their best lives, Tino is talking to Jesse about how much he hates waiting for his moment to spend with Rachel. At least you’re not waiting with the other men you’re competing against in the same fucking room, Tino.
Aven and Rachel are shocked and happy with how well his hometown went. Rachel said she felt so welcomed and accepted. Aven’s dad, AJ, was the perfect amount of skeptical without being disrespectful, meanwhile, Tino’s dad was an asshole. Tino keeps trying to play off his hometown as his dad being reasonably skeptical, but dude you have to admit that your dad and his Justin Bieber combover were not very nice. Given his performance, it’s totally normal for Rachel to feel some type of way after how her potential future in laws treated her.
Rachel is on the beach waiting for Aven to join her for dinner. She’s looking easy, breezy like she’s about to meet her husband of 20 years at the end of the boardwalk. Love that for her.
She didn’t waste any time getting to the point. Rachel said, fuck the cameras, do you want to be engaged to me at the end of this? Because otherwise, I don’t need to take you to my hotel room. Aven says he’s ready and asks if she feels the same. Rachel admits they have an incredible connection (we have yet to see it), that she is ready to get engaged, and that she’s falling in love with him.
Aven seems confused when Rachel hands him the fantasy suite card. Aven, have you seen this show before bro?
Before heading to their suite, they get their second fireworks show of the season. Is Aven going to be Rachel’s sleeper pick?
We’re back to the bedroom wake-up shots, plus Rachel commenting on Aven’s package in a roundabout way 😭. They both agree that the overnight portion took their relationship to new heights.
Tino and Rachel
Rachel is going into her time with Tino wanting to discuss how much his hometown shook her. After spiraling for the last few days, Tino is just happy to see her.
They’re going on a horseback ride in the Mexican jungle and end with a “picnic” which included no drinks or charcuterie and was on the edge of a cliff. They’re recapping the hometown date and talking around the behavior of his parents, plus the way she was blindsided the last time she experienced a Fantasy Suites. Tino does very little to actually reassure her and instead repeats “everything will be fine,” a few times before making out with her.
They both know they need to talk about his hometown and the fact that they can’t just name it doesn’t seem to bode well for the longevity of their budding relationship.
Rachel is scared to move forward because of what happened in Tino’s hometown. She wants to discuss this openly and understand how that is affecting how he’s feeling and thinking about the next steps.
They get into the hometowns conversation and Rachel starts off convinced that Tino’s parents do not like her. She’s worried about how their journey could end in an engagement if his parents are feeling so strongly against it. We learn that Tino’s dad shared that he pretty much wouldn’t accept a proposal between the two of them, at least not right away.
Tino assures Rachel that it’s the process they don’t trust, not her. He says his parents will come around and that he sees Rachel as the future, so his parents have to get on board.
What do y’all think? Can two people make it work without the family's blessing? I say maybe. It depends on the person and the family. I think community is a big part of being in a relationship and starting a family. It’s so important to have people rooting for you and while it doesn’t have to be blood family, it has to be someone (friends, cousins, aunties).
Anyway, all of these concerns are pretty much for nothing because Tino drops that he loves Rachel and doesn’t want to leave this experience without her. Rachel doesn’t skip a single beat in saying it back. Fuck legitimate concerns about a lack of familial support, just say I love you and make out to the sounds of the Gulf of Mexico.
We don’t even get a cut of them the next morning.
Johnny and Gabby
I cannot in good faith take this relationship seriously. We literally do not know this man. Not one thing. I don’t even know what the fuck he does for a living.
Anyway, they too are on a boat, it doesn’t seem as nice as the yacht Aven and Rachel got, but I see we are already repurposing dates within the same season. Gabby says she’s hopeful for a future with him and can see a life with him outside of this, but I just don’t believe it.
Johnny says that he’s feeling more and more comfortable with Gabby as time passes by and that she makes him want to be a better man.
I think I said this in a previous recap, but it seems like Johnny is just understanding what and who he wants to be going forward. It can be a lot to be experiencing that type of growth and then jump into a pretty serious relationship where an engagement is expected sooner rather than later.
Gabby asks where he’s at in regards to an engagement at the end of this and Johnny lowkey avoids the question. He can see himself with Gabby, but he’s not sure he’s 100 percent ready to bring his full self to the relationship. It’s hard to hear, I’m sure, but at least it’s honest.
Johnny says he doesn’t think he can get to an engagement by next week and it scares him to have to make that decision so soon. Seems like Gabby knew this might end up this way. They’re at two different places in their life and so they have to say goodbye. No overnight for Johnny.
Meanwhile, Jesse is asking Jason how he feels about Gabby and he’s pretty quick to tell him that he’s not ready to get engaged, nor is he in love with Gabby. Again, respect the honesty, but yikes.
Just because this show likes for their couples to end up engaged, doesn’t mean they should. Nor should they be pushed so forcefully in that direction. We need other stakes at the end of this game that don’t revolve around a ring. Maybe the couple lives together for a month a la Love is Blind?
As if Rachel hasn’t dealt with enough emotions for the day, she gets a card from Erich asking her to meet him. He shares that he’s really struggling thinking about her with other men because he’s in love with her. Gabby reveals that they already discussed this in Fantasy Suites, he feels like these overnights are essentially her cheating and he’s not cool with it.
It’s actually wild because at this point (of what we’ve been shown) Gabby has only had one overnight and it was with Erich. She doesn’t like that Erich is making her defend her decision and explain herself again.
I understand both of their feelings in this situation, but I especially feel for Gabby. She’s already heard his feelings, she’s already explained herself and what she plans to do and Erich coming to see her in this manner makes it seems like he’s now trying to convince her to see it his way and that isn’t fair.
I know the internet will likely try to compare this situation to Susie and Clayton’s disagreement and while there are similar themes for sure, I appreciated the tone and words they used with one another. They didn’t get loud or disrespectful, and they didn’t storm away from one another, so that feels like a good start, but not convinced it’ll be enough. We’ll see on tonight’s episode.
Tonight we get to do it all over again. I’ll be back in your inboxes tomorrow morning with that recap. See ya soon ✌🏾