March 11, 2024
BACHELOR NATION ON ABC/Youtube
On the latest episode of 'The Bachelor,' Joey Graziadei traveled to Mexico where he spent private, off-camera time with his top three contestants in the Fantasy Suites.
As his tenure as "The Bachelor" speeds to a close, Montgomery County's Joey Graziadei had the chance to spend some valuable time off-camera with his final three contestants during the latest episode of the ABC dating show.
On the ninth episode of Season 28, which aired Monday, Graziadei took his remaining bachelorettes — Rachel Nance, Kelsey Anderson and Daisy Kent — on dates in Tulum, Mexico. Each date ended with the possibility of a private evening in the franchise's infamous "Fantasy Suites." Plus, Delco's Susan Noles and a few other "Golden Bachelor" contestants stopped by Mexico to offer advice to the top three ladies.
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Each episode this season has begun with a clip foreshadowing events to come in that episode, and this week was no different. In the first clip of the episode, viewers see a distressed Graziadei pondering the meaning of an ominous note that says, "We need to talk."
But, before fans have the chance to mull over what it all means, the episode rewinds back to the beginning of Graziadei's time in Mexico — where he could be getting engaged in a few short weeks — when he's feeling uneasy for a different reason.
Things are heating up in Tulum. #TheBachelor pic.twitter.com/GZg5lhLmR5
— Bachelor Nation (@bachnation) March 11, 2024
"This is the type of place that I'd want to get engaged and I have three great women here that I feel confident about," Graziadei says in an interview.
"I'm in a place that I feel like I'm falling in love with all of them, but I've been struggling with the fact that I don't feel right. I know I have the best intentions. I know I've been honest through all of this. I know I have a good heart, and I have so much to give. I just really want someone to want that from me, and I want it to be reciprocated. I think that's the hardest part about all of this, for me to fully let go while there's still three women here."
Graziadei says he's scared to get hurt again and feels nervous recalling his time on "The Bachelorette," when he had "zero doubts" that he was ready to get engaged to lead Charity Lawson. But she gave her final rose to someone else.
"She didn't choose me, which crushed me," Graziadei says, getting emotional. "I don't want to feel like that again."
Here's what happened when Graziadei took the three finalists on dates in Mexico:
(Spoilers ahead)
For his first date in Mexico, Graziadei spends time with Nance, a 26-year-old ICU nurse from Honolulu, Hawaii. Before Nance meets up with Graziadei for their date, she receives a visit from Delco's Susan Noles, a fan-favorite contestant from ABC's dating show spinoff "The Golden Bachelor."
"('Bachelor' host Jesse Palmer) wanted me to spend this time with you and make you feel comfortable and talk to you about this whole journey," Noles tells Nance. "Think of me as your mom, your best friend right now."
"So when Jesse suggested that I do this, I got it, because how could he sit there and talk about those things? You need a real woman with experience," Noles added in an interview.
Nance opens up to Noles about feeling like she can be herself with Graziadei, and how she's falling in love with him and can see a future together. But she tells Noles that she feels herself holding back because she was hurt by the way her last two serious relationships ended due to cheating.
"Obviously, I knew when I was coming here there would be other women involved," Nance tells Noles. "At the end of the day, it's so scary that he could pick someone else over me, and I feel like that's kind of been a pattern for me, is that I don't get picked."
"That's the past," Noles replies. "That's your fear. Don't let that get in the way. What I learned about myself from ('Golden Bachelor') was, I am the prize. ... You have to love yourself before you can love anybody else."
Nance leaves their conversation hoping that she can let her guard down on her date with Graziadei, which could possibly be her "last chance."
Graziadei then picks up Nance for their date. He tells producers that while Nance brings out a different side of him, and he always enjoys their banter and joking, he feels like she is holding back from him.
The date starts off on a high, literally, with the couple braving heights to jump off lofty platforms into crystal blue water. There's even a sign that reads, in Spanish, "Love is a leap of faith."
But that leap of faith quickly comes crashing down when Nance hits her face and hurts her jaw during a jump. Despite protesting that she feels OK, Graziadei worries about Nance and can tell she's in a lot of pain. The pair head to the hospital, where she receives X-rays and is eventually cleared. Despite the date taking an unexpected turn, Graziadei sticks by Nance's side and comforts her throughout the ordeal.
Later, during the evening portion of the date, Nance gets emotional as she laments losing time during the day portion of the date for her injury and hopes she isn't too late in the "Bachelor" process to truly open up to Graziadei and let him in.
"This can push you outside your comfort zone," Graziadei says of the show. "But I never want you to feel like you're not able to do this or navigate it however you feel comfortable with. And I feel like I really have gotten to know who Rachel is. And part of that is the slow burn. That's you. That's OK. That's how you would operate, so ... you can't look back on it differently."
Despite Graziadei's reassurances, Nance still worries that she's playing "catch-up" in comparison to where the other two women stand with Graziadei. She also opens up about the difficulties she has in knowing he'll be spending private time with the other contestants, especially given infidelity that she's dealt with in past relationships.
After comforting Nance, Graziadei shares with her a note inviting the couple to spend a night alone in the Fantasy Suite. In classic "Bachelor" franchise fashion, the invitation reads: "Should you choose to forego your individual rooms, please use this key to stay together in the Fantasy Suite."
Eager to spend time away from cameras to further their connection, the couple accepts the invite.
While viewers can never know for sure what happens behind closed doors of the Fantasy Suites, footage of the morning after usually offers a clear picture of whether the couples bonded off-camera or whether things fizzled when they finally had alone time. In Graziadei's and Nance's case, things seemed to have gone well for the couple during their overnight date.
They are happy and affectionate, and Graziadei tells cameras that he is falling for Nance, and that she told him that she loved him the night before. It seems that Nance heeded Noles' advice and opened up, after all.
"I really appreciated last night because of how vulnerable you were," Graziadei tells Nance during their morning together. "I feel like I saw a different side of you."
For his next date in Mexico, Graziadei meets up with Anderson, a 25-year-old junior project manager from New Orleans.
Before their date, Anderson also gets some advice from a former "Golden Bachelor" contestant. Anderson is paired up with Leslie Fhima, who was 72-year-old Gerry Turner's runner-up. The two women bond over both having lost their mothers when they were young. Anderson opens up to Fhima about being in love with Graziadei and how she's glad things went well when he met her dad during hometown dates.
Fhima advises Anderson to be careful with her heart. Fhima reveals that she wishes she wouldn't have felt so confident in her relationship on "Golden Bachelor" because she ended up heartbroken when Turner chose to get engaged to someone else. Fhima's advice shakes Anderson's confidence a bit.
"Coming into this, I was feeling really great," Anderson says in an interview. "But after talking to Leslie, that made me just realize how much I could have my heart completely broken."
During Anderson's date with Graziadei, they hang out on a boat, sipping drinks and musing on where they'd want to live one day. To Anderson's delight, Graziadei says he really enjoyed his time visiting New Orleans, where Anderson lives to be close to her family and friends. The couple also jump into the water, sharing kisses as a sting ray floats by.
Later, Anderson opens up a bit about her apprehensions following her chat with Fhima. In response, Graziadei tells her about his experience as a contestant on "The Bachelorette" and how he was "100% sure" Lawson would choose him.
"I do feel like sometimes that I struggle to be open because I still have that fear that it can be taken away," Graziadei tells Anderson.
Anderson goes on to tell Graziadei that after speaking with her father last week, she has more clarity on her feelings for him.
"I do love you, Joey," she tells Graziadei, who grins. "I feel confident in saying it because that's how I feel. And I'm just gonna be honest with, you know, all of this process and my emotions. And it's honestly so exciting to say it. I can't stop smiling."
While"Bachelor" franchise leads sometimes choose to refrain from sharing their feelings until they choose their final contestant, Graziadei can't help but share his feelings for Anderson.
"I can be closed off sometimes, I can hold back because they're scary feelings to share," he tells her. "But I haven't had a doubt about how I've felt about you for a very long time. Like, I'm falling in love with you fully. I've felt it for a while and I'm so excited about what can be and what can happen between us. And I don't want to hold it back anymore, 'cause it's hard in this position. Sometimes you feel like you need to, but I've wanted to say it to you for a while."
The couple also accept their invite to the Fantasy Suite, where they hang out in a private pool before the cameras leave. The next morning, the pair is giddy as they cook bacon together.
Anderson refers to Graziadei as "the man of my dreams," but does acknowledge that she's still fearful thinking about her conversation with Fhima.
Graziadei's final overnight date is with Kent, a 25-year-old account executive from Becker, Minnesota.
Kent is feeling emotional before her date with Graziadei and readily accepts guidance from "Golden Bachelor" contestant Sandra Mason. Kent tells Mason how she's falling in love with Graziadei, but it's hard spending time away from him because their time apart always leaves her feeling confused. Mason tells her not to worry about the other two contestants and to instead be open with Graziadei. She even half-jokingly advises Kent to add some "sexual oomph" to their conversations, suggesting a few pickup lines she can use on Graziadei.
During their date, Kent and Graziadei go quad riding through the jungles of Tulum before having a steamy makeout sesh in an outdoor shower. She also opens up to him about her uneasiness during their time apart.
"I'm just getting used to, like, the space in between," she tells him. "I get in my head about things. All my feelings and all my emotions are catching up to me, and so it's kind of been a lot to take in. Especially now, when I'm away from you, I miss you so much. ... I was doing things all week, and I'm like, 'I wish Joey was here. This would be so fun.' And like, I want to tell you about things, when I'm doing it in the moment. You know what I mean?"
"Well, the good news is, we have all of today, a lot more tonight, and I'm hopeful and excited," Graziadei replies.
During the evening portion of the date, Kent discusses a previous relationship in which she felt like her partner wasn't emotionally available and would shut her down when she tried to open up about her emotions. On the other hand, she tells Graziadei that she feels safe to open up to him because he is emotionally available.
Graziadei then opens up to Kent about a relationship he had when he lived in Hawaii that made him lose his confidence and question whether he was a good person and good boyfriend and whether someone would ever choose him.
"I have insecurities, especially through something like this, because I'm afraid someone falls in love with the idea of Joey as the Bachelor and not Joey as the person," he confides in Kent.
In return, she gets emotional, saying she's really thankful for Graziadei and they share an embrace. Kent tells producers that she feels like she and Graziadei are a lot alike, in that they're both scared and both want to be chosen.
Graziadei then brings up a moment during Kent's hometown when she told him she was falling in love with him and he replied simply that he was feeling the same way. In a rare-but-not-unheard-of move, Graziadei reveals his feelings of love for a second contestant in the same episode.
"You shared that you had real feelings and that you were falling in love with me... I think I said that I feel the same way; regurgitated it, just like word vomit-type thing because I have been holding back, 'cause I am scared," Graziadei tells Kent. "And I'm hopeful that this will work out. And I want to make sure that when I say it, it holds the correct amount of meaning and I say it correctly. I am falling in love with you, and it has been building for a while."
The couple accept the Fantasy Suite invite and swiftly place a "Do Not Disturb" sign on the door. The next morning, they're still giddy to be spending time together, and Graziadei believes that Kent would accept a proposal from him if he chooses her at the end. But, overlapping with shots of the happy couple, a storm is brewing involving another contestant.
So, about that note that was foreshadowed at the beginning of the episode.
While Anderson's date with Graziadei went well, she can't stop thinking about Fhima's advice to be cautious and understand that she may leave heartbroken. Anderson tells producers she would be devastated if Graziadei doesn't choose her and that she's not sure if it's something she'd be able to handle.
Anderson tries to go talk with Graziadei, but he isn't in his room when she stops by.
"There's something that I need to talk about with Joey," Anderson says in an interview. "I think it's important, because I made a promise to myself, and also to him, that whenever there is something that comes up in my mind, that I need to share it with him."
So, instead she writes a cryptic note reading simply, "We need to talk," and wedges it in his door.
"I don't understand what this is," a distraught Graziadei tells producers after finding the note. "I'm confused. I didn't expect to see a note on my door. I don't know what's going on. It could be bad things, could be good. ... But usually, when someone writes, 'We need to talk,' it's scary, and you think it could be something went wrong."
"This would derail everything, if something's wrong, if she needs to leave or something happened," he adds in reference to Anderson, as he gets increasingly emotional. "I don't want her to leave. I want her to be here. I want her to want to be here."
Unfortunately, that was all for Monday's episode, which ended on a cliffhanger with a promise that the saga is "to be continued." With no rose ceremony, and the "Women Tell All" — when fan-favorite (and least favorite) contestants will be paraded onto a stage to rehash all the Season 28 drama — happening next Monday, it could be a couple weeks until viewers find out who Graziadei selects for his final two, and likely even longer before we find out who (if anyone) he gets engaged to.
"The Bachelor" airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on ABC.
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