The Bachelorette 's Rachel Recchia Thinks She Found 'My Happy Ending' After Last Hometown Date
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Warning: This post contains spoilers from Monday's episode of The Bachelorette.
Before the men could tell all, Rachel Recchia embarked on her final hometown date.
She traveled to Salem, Massachusetts, to meet Aven's family but felt nervous "because my last hometown with Tino didn't go as I planned," Rachel, 26, said in an interview.
RELATED: The Bachelorette: Erich Schwer's Dad Allan Died After Meeting Gabby Windey During Hometown Date
Rachel and Aven, 28, embraced Salem's spookiness and visited a witch who put together a love spell for them.
"I am the most nervous to meet Aven's family, so when it comes to love with Aven, I will try anything," Rachel told the cameras.
After casting the spell, the witch accidentally knocked over the table where she performed the magic and the items on it shattered. Rachel fretted that that might've been a bad sign for the evening to come.
"I truly am shaking," Rachel said before meeting Aven's parents, who hadn't been in the same room since his college graduation. She also worried because Aven's parents didn't approve of his last two girlfriends.
But Aven assured her, "It's going to be fine."
ABC
RELATED: The Bachelorette: Rachel Recchia Faces the 'Hardest Thing I've Had to Do' During Hometown Dates
Rachel and Aven met his parents at a restaurant and began with a toast. Aven's mom Dawn told the couple she wishes "both of you all the best on whatever this journey is for you."
Aven recalled talking with Rachel on the first night and connecting in "10 seconds."
"I, like, knew," he recalled.
Despite Dawn's support, Aven's dad A.J. expressed some skepticism. "The dinners and the hotels and the travels around the world, that's all great, well and fine and it's fun, but in real life, that kind of stuff doesn't happen all the time," he said in an interview.
A.J. chatted privately with the Bachelorette and asked her what attracted her to his son. "He's just truly so incredible, honestly," Rachel gushed. "I just feel like we have so much in common just on a level of what we want and how we want to raise a family and how we want to live our lives."
A.J. also asked about the possibility of "wholeheartedly" committing to love with Aven. "My feelings for Aven are so strong. I truly do see a future with him," Rachel said. "But can I sit her right now and be like 100 percent? No, I can't, to be honest. But our relationship is just so special."
When A.J. talked to his son, he told Aven that Rachel stood up "pretty good" to his "tough questions." He proceeded to ask Aven if the sales executive felt ready for marriage.
"Yeah, I am getting to that point. I am," Aven said. "If I get to the validation from Rachel to getting to the end of this and being like her showing me that she feels the same way as I do in that she sees a future with me, I feel like that's enough validation."
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By the end, A.J. came around to Rachel. "I like her," he told Aven. "I hope it works out. She's great. She's welcome to the family. Don't stop fighting for her, man, because she's a good catch."
Rachel felt the good vibes, too. "I feel so much better," she said to Aven.
Aven told her he had "zero doubts" about their relationship. "My feelings are getting really, really strong and I like, I am, like falling in love with you," Aven continued. "I am. I really am."
"I'm so happy right now," Rachel responded.
To the cameras, Rachel added, "I do feel like I'm falling in love with him. I feel really confident this could be it. This could be my happy ending."
Back in the studio ahead of the Men Tell All special, host Jesse Palmer revealed that Rachel and Gabby Windey didn't send anyone home at their latest rose ceremony and extended roses to all of the guys who they brought on hometowns.
MEN TELL ALL
Jesse wasted no time diving into the juicy topics with the guys, like confronting Jacob about what the mortgage broker said to Gabby that caused him to get eliminated.
"There's no excuses for my actions," said Jacob, 27. "I was rude, I was selfish, I was ignorant of her feelings. I need to take ownership on that that I did mess up."
ABC
Jesse, 43, also mentioned that Hayden and Chris failed to show up.
"He's a misogynist and honestly, his Rambo doesn't need training, he needs training," Jacob said of Hayden, referring to the 29-year-old leisure executive's dog.
RELATED VIDEO: Kaitlyn Bristowe Reacts to The Bachelorette Having Two Leads: 'Why Are We Doing This Again?'
LOGAN STANDS BY HIS DECISION
The topic turned to Logan changing from Team Rachel to Team Gabby.
"I saw this moving connection with Gabby and so I accepted a rose and you know, if that's seen as a bitch move, so be it," Logan said. "But I thought it was worth exploring if it means spending the rest of my life with someone."
Quincey accused Logan of leading Rachel on and Jesse asked the videographer, 26, if he regretted the move.
"I wish I had done it in a more graceful way that didn't affect so many people," Logan responded, "but I don't regret pursuing Gabby, no."
ABC
Jesse asked what Logan had to say to the Bachelorettes, to which Logan replied, "I'm sorry for making things even more hard that they needed to be, but I hope they can just see my heart is in the right place."
Jesse interrupted the serious conversations to have his Oprah Winfrey moment when he announced Virgin Voyages, who provided the Valiant Lady ship on which Gabby and Rachel had their European excursion, would be giving everyone in the audience a free cruise.
Craig Sjodin/ABC
NATE ADDRESSES THE RUMORS
Nate entered the hot seat next and Jesse asked him how it felt to watch back his breakup with Gabby.
"Seeing how beautiful our journey was, it just brought up so many raw emotions," said the electrical engineer, 33. "Even though we broke up, it was still a beautiful moment that I got to share in time with her."
ABC
Though Nate called the breakup "one of the toughest goodbyes ever," he also said, "There's no hard feelings" with Gabby.
Jesse didn't let Nate go before asking him about online rumors that the father of one hid the fact that he has a daughter from a former girlfriend for more than one year.
"I went through a pretty traumatizing time when I went through divorce and essentially, the foundation that was built around my daughter was pretty much crumbled," Nate said. "And the one thing that I protect most in this world is my daughter. I would never bring her into a situation I thought was dangerous, a situation that I feel is unstable. And so it just made me put a wall up protecting my daughter from the instability of my dating life."
The former NFL player followed up by pressing Nate on the internet speculation that "you were dating two women simultaneously."
"I would say I'm deeply sorry for the way that I acted," Nate said. "I should've been more communicative. I should've been more clear in my actions and I pray that you forgive the man that I was because I'm not that same person."
As for whether his feelings for Gabby were real, Nate insisted, "Every emotion I had with gabby was real."
RACHEL AND GABBY HAVE THEIR MOMENT
Rachel and Gabby came out to face their exes, and Jesse asked the ICU nurse, 31, what happened between her and her first impression rose recipient Mario.
"A lot of it was the navigation of having two Bachelorettes," Gabby said. "I had thought after our first conversation that he wanted to get to know Rachel, which I obviously understand why, but there was a lack of communication there. I didn't know what side he was on and things progressed so fast. It did seem a little late compared to some of the other men."
Craig Sjodin/ABC
Mario insisted that by the time it came for the men to choose sides, he firmly stood with Team Gabby. "I didn't pivot and we did see that this season with a few guys that did pivot — one being Logan, where he was accepted and I was sent home because of that," said the personal trainer, 31. "So for me I just felt like, you know, kind of like you did me wrong."
Gabby apologized for making Mario feel that way, but still felt that the conversation they did have came too late in the process. "To me, it felt like you were still entertaining both sides," Gabby said.
ABC
Jesse questioned Rachel about sending home Jordan V. after that first one-on-one.
"I never wanted anyone to feel like they were being strung along and so it was such a hard decision," she said. "But I just really was following my heart at the end of the day."
Drag racer Jordan harbored no ill will. "I'm just glad I get this opportunity to be a part of your journey," the 27-year-old said.
Jesse also circled back to the Jacob situation now that Gabby arrived. She wanted to hear what Jacob had to say though before she spoke to the issue.
"It was extremely hurtful what I had said, obviously, and it took me watching it back to see that moment," an emotional Jacob said. "I mean, I still have so much emotion towards it. You mentioned it yourself, I just didn't have self-awareness. I'm realizing that now and I'm trying to learn and better myself. Just know that. So I'm sorry for my actions. I know you may not accept this apology, but I am truly and deeply sorry."
Gabby appreciated the apology. Jesse then asked the women how they felt about what went down with Logan, too.
"I was obviously hurt because I did keep my heart open," Rachel said. "I just wish you were a little more honest earlier, but I understand."
RELATED: With Gabby Windey Reduced to Tears in Tense Preview, Will Rachel End Up the 'Only Bachelorette'?
Rachel also apologized to Tyler, Meatball and Ethan, who didn't get to go on the group date in Bruges after she canceled it to deal with the Logan situation.
As for the breakup with Tyler during hometowns, Rachel said, "I knew the level that I needed to be at that night for him, and I didn't think I could get there in the end."
ABC
The small business owner, 25, seemed to have accepted how things played out. "I think you did everything perfectly," Tyler said to Rachel. "I know that it didn't end the way I wanted it to, but I respect what you did and you did it with the most class."
After showing some bloopers, Jesse brought out Bros stars Billy Eichner and Luke MacFarlane to discuss their upcoming romantic comedy. The actors weighed in on some moments from the show, and the episode wrapped with the Billy on the Street star, 43, inviting Meatball, 25, to recreate the moment when he doused himself in tomato sauce.
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The Bachelorette airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
