By: Rebecca Capozzi | Treasurer and Staff Writer
Imagine what Tayshia is going through right now. With just six men left, Tayshia has big decisions to make. As she is sending men home, she is essentially choosing whose families she would like to meet. This is very important to Tayshia, so she is taking her decision very seriously.
I think I should start off by saying that Chris Harrison makes his return during this episode! He had to leave the resort in order to move his son into college. He said that he was able to hold himself together until the very end, and that he was very emotional while saying goodbye to his son. How sweet! Chris Harrison is the best.
I guess there were other important things that happened during this episode besides Chris’ return. Blake gets his first one-on-one date with Tayshia. This is a very spiritual date that involves a lot of breathing exercises and connecting with each other. There is one exercise that the woman makes them do that involves them taking off their clothing, sitting with each other, and staring into each other’s eyes. Why Blake is always on the dates that involve undressing? I have no idea! Unfortunately, Tayshia did not feel validation when she looked into Blake’s eyes.
This exercise made Tayshia come to the realization that Blake is not the one. After the exercise, Tayshia pulls Blake aside and tells him that she wishes that she had more time in order to get to a better place with him. But they unfortunately do not have that time. She tells Blake, “There are other relationships that my heart is more invested in.” He is shocked, as he felt a strong connection with Tayshia. As she walks him to the car, she is sobbing and repeatedly saying that she is sorry. When he leaves, she continues to sob. In her interview, she says, “That really hurt, but I know I did the right thing.” I was surprised with how emotional Tayshia was during this breakup. I honestly did not see much of a connection with Blake, so I was not expecting her to be so emotional. I think that this breakup caused her to realize how real this all is, and that all of the decisions going forward will be tough ones to make.
After her breakup with Blake, she went to see the rest of the men. She began crying to them and saying how hard this was for her. She says, as she is crying, “This is hard because I don’t want to hurt anyone.” As she is collecting herself, she asks Riley if he will go and talk with her outside. I think everyone knew that this could not be good.
When Tayshia pulls Riley aside, she tells him how grateful she is for him being so vulnerable with him. She also tells him “My heart is not 100% matching yours” and “I can’t help where my heart is.” He seems quite frustrated with Tayshia. He asks her, “Why did you keep me around so long?” He says that he can sit and argue with her all day, but he knows that the result will be the same, so he decides that it is instead time for him to leave. Tayshia is again very upset and cries as the car is pulling away. Even though this was very hard for her, she made a very good decision. It would not have been fair to keep Riley any longer if she knew that she was not going to give him a rose at the rose ceremony.
When it came time for the cocktail party, Bennett showed up! All of the men were completely shocked. Bennett tells the men that they should trust Tayshia’s decision to bring him back. Isn’t that funny that he is telling the men this even though he got sent home for questioning Tayshia’s decision making?! At the end of the day, Bennett’s invitation to the cocktail party did not do anything for him: Tayshia ended up canceling the cocktail party because she knew exactly who she wanted to send home. At the rose ceremony, she sent Bennett and Noah home. Noah was absolutely heartbroken, as he cried in the car. Bennett was upset too, but of course tried to keep a strong front for Tayshia.
Then it was time for hometown dates. This was very important because Tayshia got to meet all of the men’s families. Normally, this is when the couples figure out whether or not they are falling in love with each other. This is always a very significant week when fans normally begin to suspect which man or woman is going to be chosen.
Tayshia’s first hometown date was with Brendan. His niece, brother, and sister-in-law came to the resort to meet Tayshia. Brendan wanted to give her a taste of his small hometown, so they played fair games with Brendan’s niece! Let’s just say, I think Tayshia and his niece hit it off better than Brendan and Tayshia. Tayshia also loved the way that Brendan was around his niece.
“It just feels so easy and natural with you.”
It then came time for Tayshia to meet Brendan’s brother and sister-in-law. Brendan’s brother said that he definitely saw a connection between them. After meeting Brendan’s family, Tayshia said, “I truly feel like Brendan could be my husband.” Brendan has been a frontrunner since day one, so Tayshia feeling this way is no surprise, especially since she really connected with his family.
For Zac’s hometown date, he gave Tayshia the whole New York experience. They hail taxis together and get bagels at a street vender. She tells Zac how much she would love to be in New York with him. Zac was very excited for Tayshia to meet his family. They had gotten him out of some very dark times, and they are the reason that he is here today. Overall, Tayshia hit it off with Zac’s family. His brother did ask her some tough questions, but he understood that this process is very different and very different from how people normally find love. Zac’s family saw the smile on Zac’s face, and said that they have never seen such a big smile on his face. When they left Zac’s family, they were both extremely happy. Tayshia told Zac, “It just feels so easy and natural with you.” I did not think that their relationship could get any stronger, but Tayshia meeting Zac’s family only made their connection grow.
Ivan had the next hometown date. Their date was similar to their past dates, as it was closely related to what they would be doing together in the future. They cooked together with the help of a cooking tutorial from Ivan’s niece! Tayshia saw the glow in Ivan as he was watching his niece on the screen, and she realized how happy his niece makes him. After they made lumpia, which did not turn out so great, it was time for Tayshia to meet Ivan’s parents. Ivan’s mother was a skeptic of the process, but she liked Tayshia and trusted that her and Ivan would do what is best for them. Ivan also told his mother that he was not sure if he was ready to propose to Tayshia, but that he was falling in love with her. Ivan’s father connected with Tayshia, since they both got married and divorced at young ages. Overall, the date was going very well.
Then, the date got even better. As soon as the date began to come to an end, Ivan’s brother surprised him. Everyone, including Tayshia, began to cry. It was really such a beautiful and emotional moment. Ivan’s brother talked to Tayshia, and he told her that he saw the glow between them. When Ivan and Tayshia leave his family, they are both extremely happy. Ivan tells Tayshia that he is the happiest man in the world. I absolutely loved this hometown date. I loved how his mother expressed that she was a skeptic, but was still very respectful and trusted them. I also loved Ivan’s brother’s surprise! That is something that I have never witnessed on a Bachelor show!
The last hometown date was Ben’s. They pretended that they were at Venice Beach. They wernt roller skating and shopping at little beach shops. Then, Ben brought Tayshia to meet his sister, who practically saved his life, and then his good friend, who just happened to be Antonia Lofaso from the Food Network! He told them that he had never felt this way about anyone and that he was falling in love with her. At the end of the date, when Ben and Tayshia leave his sister and friend, he wanted to tell Tayshia that he was falling in love with her, but he was too nervous. So, he left Tayshia without telling her how he truly feels. Unfortunately, this caused Tayshia to send him home.
When Tayshia pulled Ben aside before he got into the car, he really did not say much. He just said, “I’ve got my heart broken, but I’ll be alright.” Tayshia was very upset by the lack of emotion that Ben showed. She felt like the last few weeks meant nothing to him. As soon as he got in the car, he said “I should’ve told her how I felt when I had the chance.”
Now there are three men left: Zac, Ivan, and Brendan. She has very strong connections with all three of these men, so it is very hard to make predictions at this point. I have a feeling that the next, and last, two episodes are going to be very emotional, since it is going to be very difficult for Tayshia to decide who she is going to send home.
Cover Image: “Date Night Events” by Robert Bejil Productions is licensed under CC BY 2.0
