It’s a sad day in Bachelor Nation, rose lovers.
On this, the week before hometown dates, Gerry the Golden Bachelor had to send home three three!
wonderful women, including the one I was hoping would “win” it all.
The ladies dance in the pool.ABC
It’s hard to know how to proceed amidst such heartbreak, but proceed we must.
Another sunny day dawns on the Golden Bachelor mansion, which is eerily empty.
What’s going on?
Jesse Palmer delivers some big news.ABC
Have all the women fled because they’re too afraid to get their hearts broken?
Of course not, silly.
There are only six women left, and most of them are feeling confident in their relationship with Gerry.
Gerry and Faith on ‘The Golden Bachelor’.ABC
“I don’t remember the last time I fell for a guy like this,” gushes Leslie.
Ellen says her connection with Gerry is “more than I could ever imagine.”
Faith, however, is a little anxious because she hasn’t had a one-on-one date yet.
Gerry and Faith on ‘The Golden Bachelor’.ABC
(For the record, neither has Susan or Sandra.)
The pressure is really on now, because this is the final one-on-one date of the season before hometowns.
And here comes host Jesse Palmer with some even bigger news:
That’s right, rose lovers.
Faith and Gerry on ‘The Golden Bachelor’.ABC
Only THREE women will be taking Gerry home to meet their loved ones.
Let’s cut to the chase.
The final one-on-one date of the season goes to…
Gerry and his potential wives play Whac-A-Mole.ABC
I’m not sure, but I think she’s excited.
(And c’mon don’t bring your guitar, okay?)
Gerry picks her up in a yellow Bronco convertible.
Wheeeee!.ABC
Do the headlights work?
Also, they won’t be driving for long.
“I hate you!”
Theresa pours her heart out.ABC
hollers Susan with a chuckle.
Gerry praises her musical talent, and that’s what prompts Faith to Open UpTM about her difficult childhood.
Music, she says, is what soothed her soul during her “non-traditional” youth.
Gerry whispers sweet nothings to Leslie.
“I lived a lot of time alone, like a homeless teen,” she explains.
But with Gerry, she can see a relationship with a man who is emotionally open and healthy.
And the Golden Bachelor LOVES it.
Gerry and Ellen smooch.
You are homeward bound with Gerry the Golden fox in tow.
But first, go make out with him in the yacht hot tub.
Faith fills them in on the helicopter ride and the thrilling trip to the luxury yacht.
Gerry postpones the inevitable.
“That was my dream!”
(She was, in fact, just speculating that the group date would be on a yacht.)
It isn’t long before most of the women are regretting asking Faith for details.
Susan, Sandra, Theresa, Ellen, Leslie, and Faith on ‘The Golden Bachelor’.
“A hot tub onThe Bacheloris serious.”
She’s not wrong.
And now there are only two roses left.
Leslie comforts Ellen.
On to the group date!
Man, look at Ellen’s Whac-A-Mole stance.
Still, Sandra wins.
But everyone’s having fun.
“I haven’t done things like this since I was a teenager,” says Susan.
Omg, rose lovers, look at Sandra having the time of her life on the bumper cars.
She is just too cute!
Of course, tonight can’t all be about skee-ball and rides on the roller coaster.
“I feel like I’m falling in love with him,” says Theresa.
I’m putting my heart on the line."
“I don’t want you out of my life, Gerry,” says Theresa.
“I feel like I can’t live without you now.”
“We have so much in common,” he says.
“It’s always a joy seeing you.
And I’m especially touched about the things that you just said.”
Later, Gerry sits down for a chat with Leslie on the (thankfully stationary) Seaside Swing.
“There’s something to that,” he says.
As it turns out, watching the guy you like (love?)
(Someone has to experience this revelation at least once a season, right rose lovers?)
“You’re not doing anything wrong,” Leslie continues, choking up.
“It was feelings that I obviously had because I wasn’t chosen.”
She starts to cry, and Gerry comforts her.
“My feelings for you are really foreign to me,” says Leslie through her tears.
“I haven’t felt that way in a really long time…
I’m crazy about you.”
“Nobody does that for me,” says Leslie.
“I will,” replies Gerry.
Oh, my heart!
“I hope he’s feeling as strongly about me as I feel about him,” says Ellen.
“I feel like a weight is off my shoulders with you.
I feel like it’s a team,” she says.
“I am absolutely falling head over heels in love with you.
Rest in peace, Ellen’s bestie.)
The Golden Bachelor wants Ellen to know that her words have touched him deeply.
“I feel it so much,” he adds.
Ellen has no idea what’s coming.
And now she’s crying about how much she likes him!
“I haven’t found someone like him in seven or eight years,” she says tearfully.
“To want someone so much in my life after all that time is really hard, and wonderful.
I just hope he’s feeling the same way.”
Ellen is still crying when she gets back to the holding pen.
These women are just so, so pure.
At last, it’s time for the big reveal.
Gerry returns to announce who will get this all-important date rose.
Survey says…
No one!
At least, not tonight.
“I know the decisions I have to make… affect so many lives.
It just sits on my chest, and it’s like a heavy weight,” explains Gerry.
“I can’t do this.
It’s not something I can do.
The women are all disappointed, but they all support Gerry’s decision.
“It’s okay, I’ve waited long enough,” says Ellen.
“I can wait one more day.”
Oh boy, it’s rose ceremony time.
Look at these glamorous grandmas.
UGH, I hate that we have to say goodbye to any of them.
This show really has me questioning my stance on polygamy.
But three women three!
must go home tonight.
Let’s just get this over with.
Rose ceremony roll call!
Leslie and… oh boy, Gerry’s crying.
How will he announce this final rose?
you might do it, sir.
Ellen is, in a word, devastated.
“Oh my God,” she whispers.
“I’m gonna faint.”
When Theresa accepts Gerry’s rose, Ellen watches sadly.
“Okay,” she says under her breath.
“That’s it.”
The defeat in her voice is almost too much to bear.
Of course, what can he say?
“I hope you stay positive,” he adds.
“Because that’s you.”
Ellen appreciates his words, but she’s too upset to speak.
As she’s driven away, Ellen admits that she was shocked by his decision.
“I just thought he was the one,” she says.
Still, Ellen has enough lived wisdom and perspective to understand that something good can come from something bad.
“This experience has been one of the best experiences of my life,” she says.
That’s right, Ellen!
Say it with me, rose lovers: Ellen for Golden Bachelorette!
Welp, that was a heartbreaker.
But somehow, Gerry’s “journey” is almost over.
Next week is hometowns, and after that there are just two episodes left.
How are you feeling about his final three, rose lovers?
Were you as sad as I was to see Ellen go?
Let me know your thoughts on Twitter@KristenGBaldwin!
The Golden Bachelorairs Thursdays at 8 p.m. E/PT on ABC.
