‘The Bachelorette’ Season 16, Episode 9: Bring on the Serious Convos
Because she’s been there and done that, literally, former Bachelor contestant/tear fountain Ashley Iaconetti is recapping this season of The Bachelorette for Cosmopolitan. With insider insight as well as a clear eye for what’s going down both in front of and behind the cameras, she’s got a whole lot to say...and you’re gonna wanna hear it.
This post contains spoilers for last night’s (12/8/20) episode of The Bachelorette.
There were two deeply emotional conversations that took place in this episode. Because I see them as so important, let’s mention them right off the top. Last week, Ben opened up about his long struggle with bulimia and how his sister served as his main support system. We find out this week that not only was she by his side through that chapter, but she also played the role of what he calls his “guardian angel” through two suicide attempts. Based on his conversation with Tayshia, his sister doesn’t know all the details, but she was the person he leaned on the most throughout the turmoil of his most difficult years. Ben’s decision to make Tayshia the first person he opens up to about this demonstrates just how seriously he’s taking their relationship and how comfortable he feels with her.
I’m so sad that Ben felt that low. I’m so happy that, by the grace of God, he’s still with us today. It was truly brave and powerful that he choose to speak about this. We need to talk about it more so that people can see they’re not alone in having feelings of helplessness. Ben’s openness and vulnerability is commendable. I think now we understand why he felt he couldn’t accurately depict who he was in an art piece last episode. He had too much to unpack to do so in that room full of men. Getting naked was still a little bit of a weird choice for me, but I get it a lot more now than I did last week.
Riley bared his soul to Tayshia when he explained his family background. When his parents split up, he lived with his dad. He later found out that his dad had some qualities that didn’t sit well with him. He reconciled a relationship with his mother after years of estrangement and changed his name to hers.
I know we’ve heard plenty of stories from cast members in the past, but there’s something about the depth of the serious conversations this season that feels so much more intimate. It doesn’t feel like, “Okay, this is the time I tell my sad story.” It feels more like, “This is the time I’m going to share with you what makes me me.” Does that make sense to you guys?! Maybe it’s because this season doesn’t have all the glitz and glamour that comes with the travel and everything feels more real, raw, and relatable. I also think it could be Tayshia’s disposition.
Now, let’s talk about Tayshia’s decision-making process this week. Between having both Clare and Peter on the show so in the past year, we’ve done a lot of analyzing of the lead’s decisions in recent past. But I feel like Tayshia hasn’t made any sort of controversial decisions until last night…and to call them controversial is honestly a stretch. They were the kind of decisions that might have you uttering “What the f*ck is going on?” under your breath instead of yelling, “What the f*ck are you doing!?”
For example: Spencer and Demar got eliminated before Blake? I get that nothing ever ended up developing emotionally between Spencer and Tayshia since their initial first-night attraction…but I feel nothing between Tayshia and Blake. Ever since Blake sculpted a penis during the art group date and has garnered a reputation for bringing sex into every conversation, I’ve been turned off by him. Also, Demar is so sweet and so cute! Jared and I got to meet him on the group date we hosted and we got great vibes!
The biggest WTF moment of the episode occurs when Bennett reappears after being sent home at the top of the show. His return is not so shocking. He’s being rejected, which a Harvard man like himself might not be used to, by a highly intelligent, strikingly gorgeous woman who put him in his place. He’s definitely shook and possibly lusting in that “I want what I can’t have” sort of way. His normally robotic self is feeling things, and he’s interpreting these feelings as love. The stunning part of this is that Tayshia believes him when says he’s in love with her, and she admits that she planned on giving him that two-on-one rose. Even more mind-boggling is that she appears to be considering bringing him back to join the group as she makes her hometown week selections.
Last week, Eazy got sent packing after a fun date and and an “I love you.” Now condescending drama king Bennett might get a second chance after saying “I love you”? I’m starting to feel like maybe we missed out on seeing some quality Bennett content. You know how we had glimmers of another side of him existing? There was the time when he got down on one knee at the truth-or-dare date and when he got emotional speaking of his broken engagement….I particularly feel like the latter moment was cut short. Maybe there’s more to him than we’ve seen. Still, I highly doubt Tayshia allows Bennett to stick around, but we’ll know for sure next week!
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