Gabby Windey and Rachel Recchia probably expected that being co-stars of this season’s The Bachelorette would have its challenges, but it’s turning out to be no bed of roses.
On the July 25th episode, the announcement was made that the men would be divided into two groups (those here for Rachel and those here for Gabby), so that each Bachelorette could focus on developing relationships with those men who are interested in persuing her, as detailed by E! Online.
I think the plan was to avoid more embarrassing revelations like Gabby had experienced on the group date the night before, when at least two men told her they actually preferred Rachel. Hayden Markowitz actually told Gabby that he thought Rachel’s “morals” alligned more closely with his own and that he thought Gabby was a “little rough around the edges.” What?! Who says that? It was no wonder poor Gabby ended the evening in tears.
Meanwhile back at the Rose Ceremony, Gabby and Rachel took turns offering roses to the men, who had the choice of either accepting the rose or admitting they were actually here for the other Bachelorette. What seemed like a sensible plan quickly took a turn, when no less than three of Rachel’s choices admitted they were more attracted to Gabby. And once her rose had been declined, show host Jesse Palmer swooped in and confiscated the refused rose, denying Rachel the opportunity to offer it to another suitor.
Now it was Rachel‘s turn for tears. As she told Gabby, “This was supposed to be us taking the power back. We literally handed it right back to all of them by doing this.”
“I just feel so bad. And so rejected,” Rachel told Gabby.
“This is how I felt last night,” said Gabby referring to her horrible group date experience.
“But [that] was, like, private. This was so embarrassing and public,” Rachel tearfully said. Um, hello? National television, Rachel. Nothing on this show is “private.”
Former Bachelorette Katie Thurston is not having any of it, tweeting, “THIS IS SO F–KING RUDE I HATE THIS.” (My thoughts exactly.)
Katie added in a separate tweet that Gabby shouldn’t let any of these men make her feel bad about herself. “Gabby—you don’t need to be someone’s cup of tea when you’re a shot of whiskey!” Katie encouraged. “Rough around the edges? Find yourself a man who LOVES your boldness.”
Another former Bachelorette contestant Clay Harbor tweeted, “My favorite relationship so far is Gabby and Rachel. They are both pulling for each other regardless of the fact they are forced to compete in a way. Loving this friendship. #TheBachelorette”
And the rest of Bachelor Nation isn’t much happier with situation. As one Twitter user wrote, “It’s okay for the men to prefer one bachelorette over the other, but no need to degrade them and put them down.”
Another fan added, “The stupid thing is that Rachel and Gabby each should’ve had their own group of guys to begin with.”
As disappointing as the episode was, Gabby has previously said that she and Rachel “have no regrets” about the way this season unfolded. “We just both respect each other and love each other so much that we would never, ever want to make the other one feel compromised or like we were competing against each other,” she said. “To me, there was no other way. There was no other option.”
I’m already looking forward to After the Final Rose. I have a feeling Hayden has some heat coming his way for his insensitive treatment of Gabby.
TELL US- WERE YOU SHOCKED BY SOME OF THE MEN’S COMMENTS ABOUT THE WOMEN? DO YOU THINK GABBY IS “ROUGH AROUND THE EDGES?” DO YOU THINK RACHEL’S “PUBLIC” REJECTIONS WERE WORSE THAN GABBY’S “PRIVATE” ONES?
[Photo Credit: ABC/Gizelle Hernandez]
