The Bachelorette Recap: Fantasy Suites and Family Friction

Welcome back to The Bachelorette, where Kaitlyn’s path to love is taking her on a tour of the Irish countryside and straight to the Fantasy Suites with her three remaining suitors — Shawn, Ben H., and repeat offender Nick. Last week she had an overnight escapade (well, another one) with Nick, and it helped her figure out her feelings. Now Kaitlyn just has to sort out her feelings for Ben and Shawn — in the Fantasy Suites, of course.

Here’s what happened on The Bachelorette:

The Drama: Shawn has decided that it’s time to talk to Nick and accuse him of not being there for the right reasons, but to his face for once and not just behind his back. Then Shawn brings up last season’s drama with Andi, but Nick is having none of that. They talk loudly at each other in a vaguely civil manner and then suddenly Shawn leaves. The end. Good talk. Later, Kaitlyn interviews that Nick and Shawn hate each other so much that it’s actually affecting her feelings for both of them.

The Overnight With Ben: Kaitlyn goes to meet Ben H. in Galway, probably just to get far, far away from Nick and Shawn. It’s the first overnight date, and they are both excited to get to know each other off camera, as the kids are calling it these days. “You are getting on this large animal that you might not have control of,” says Kaitlyn — oh wait, she was talking about a horse, not the impending night in the Fantasy Suite. She and Ben wear matching woolen sweaters, ride horses, feed some obstreperous donkeys, and make out everywhere. Kaitlyn says Ben is a “calming presence” who always makes her feel better. He wants to start a life together, and she mutters something about forever. So she’ll probably cut him. As they prepare to feast in a castle, Ben admits that he turned 26 on the show, and since Kaitlyn is almost 30 he’s worried that the age difference will come between them. She swears that his age doesn’t bother her. Then they head to the Fantasy Suite to prove it. When the cameras join them in the morning, Kaitlyn smirks that they got maybe half an hour of sleep and claims she’s falling for Ben. She’s definitely dumping him.

The Overnight With Shawn: Kaitlyn has sufficiently recovered from her date with Ben for her date with Shawn. They are going golfing, and Kaitlyn has a good enough swing that Shawn ticks it off “the checklist of wife material.” She beats him soundly at the game, and for her prize she orders him to strip down. He does, revealing that he wore Spanx underneath his golf pants. Then Kaitlyn steals his clothes, and Shawn chases her across the golf course in nothing but a black box. Presumably this is how every game in the Masters tournament ends. Kaitlyn admits that she and Shawn have had the most ups and downs of any of her relationships, but instead of seeing it as a giant red flag, she seems to thrive on it. So during dinner she grills him about Nick until smoke comes out of his ears like a character in a Merry Melody cartoon. Then she presents him with the Fantasy Suite card. They don’t even fake debate it, but head straight to the room. Kaitlyn claims that when she wakes up in the morning she’s going to know a lot more about whether Shawn could be her husband.

More Drama: Nick comes to talk to Shawn man to man. Shawn makes sure to mention that he just spent a whole night with Kaitlyn and suggests that they compare black boxes. Then he talks over Nick for a few minutes and then kicks him out. Shawn is so enraged by their encounter that he marches into the no-camera zone of the bathroom. Nick is unimpressed.

The Rose Ceremony: Chris Harrison emerges from the golf course? (Sauna? Wine cellar? Book tour?) to help Kaitlyn parse her relationships. She admits that she really likes Shawn and loves her time with Nick, but the drama between them is affecting her. Then there is Ben, who is “such a sweetheart.” That’s pretty much the death knell, right? She tells Chris, “I don’t want to blindside anybody, but I’m going to.” When she goes to face her suitors she realizes it is the harshest round of F/M/K anyone could play, and she loses it and runs to the hallway to cry. She finally returns and hands Nick the first rose. The final rose goes to Shawn. Ben looks sad, so Kaitlyn walks him out and whispers to him that he’ll probably be the next Bachelor. He looks torn up as he leaves. It’s just too bad that he can’t meet a nice lady out of say a pack of 25 eligible women … oh wait. Back inside, Shawn and Nick stand awkwardly next to each other, refusing to acknowledge that the other exists. The cameras just roll and roll while they avoid making eye contact with each other. Truly compelling television.

Meet the Family: Nick Edition: For some reason Nick’s entire extended family is crammed into the conference room of an anonymous hotel in Utah. Do they live there? Before they go to meet the family in this fake hometown date, Nick tells Kaitlyn he loves her, like, for real. They make out outside the hotel for a while and then go to the fifth-floor conference room for their appointment. Kaitlyn meets Nick’s brothers, and after she passes their apathetic test well enough, Bella, Nick’s adorable little sister, straight-up asks Kaitlyn, “Do you love my brother?” Kaitlyn hedges and Bella shrugs, cause she’s been through this rigamarole before with Andi. Then Nick’s mom pours herself a big glass of wine and goes to grill the second girl Nick has brought home from the TV. After pretending to care about meeting Kaitlyn for long enough, Nick’s mom goes to talk to her son. He assures her that Kaitlyn is “really good at making out,” which is the No. 1 item on his wife checklist. His mother bravely doesn’t make a gagging noise.

Meet the Family: Shawn Edition: Shawn’s mom “couldn’t make it” to the fake-hometown dates, probably because she doesn’t know that Kaitlyn is really good at making out. Or she just didn’t want to fly to Utah or wherever they are this time. Instead Shawn’s sisters came to grill Kaitlyn about her feelings. Kaitlyn tells them that Shawn caught her eye on the very first date and has never let him go, but she wants to know if Shawn is actually ready for marriage. The sisters assure her he is, and they all giggle and braid each others’ hair. Shawn’s dad however is having none of it. He is not here to make friends. He pulls Shawn aside and reminds him that this is all nuts. Eventually Shawn gets him on board, though. After his family gives her the seal of approval, Shawn tells Kaitlyn that he is in love with her.

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