This Bachelorette Hometown Breakup May Be The Saddest (And Cringiest) Ever
It was so hard to watch.
We’ve finally reached the point in this season of The Bachelorette where things are getting real between the leads and their contestants. I mean, it has to be pretty serious for them go on hometown dates and meet families, which they did during Week 7. Well, they did with most of the contestants, at least. When it came time for Rachel Recchia to meet Tyler Norris’ family, Rachel just couldn’t go through with it, so she cut their hometown date short. Here’s the breakdown of went wrong between Rachel and Tyler, and why she sent him home early from The Bachelorette.
For his hometown date, Tyler brought Rachel to the Wildwoods boardwalk in Wildwood, New Jersey, where he runs a shop called Spirit Ball. He also worked on the boardwalk as a teen, so it was a very special spot for him to share with Rachel. Tyler was trying to make it clear to Rachel that he was serious about taking their relationship to the next level, but Rachel wasn’t so sure.
Going into their hometown date, Rachel said she felt like her bond with Tyler was the furthest behind of all her relationships, so she used the first part of the date to see if she could “get there” with him.
Tyler felt confident throughout the date and even introduced Rachel to some of his friends who work on the boardwalk, but Rachel was feeling “a bit of a struggle.” It hit her that things were getting close to the end of the journey and she had other relationships that were stronger.
“It was great meeting his friends, but I am feeling apprehensive about everything because there is something bigger happening tonight,” Rachel said, out of earshot of Tyler. “Meeting family and friends, it’s so overwhelming. I definitely feel like I have a strong connection, but I definitely feel like my last hometown, I had a different feeling going into the night than I feel today.”
Rachel ultimately felt like she hadn’t strengthened her relationship with Tyler enough to bring his family into the equation. “It just isn’t enough time,” she explained to cameras. “I don’t feel like I’m ready.”
At the end of the day portion of their hometown date, Rachel was feeling guilty and sat Tyler down for a difficult conversation. But before Rachel could get the words out, Tyler told Rachel he feels like she’s his reason for getting through all the difficult times in his life and that he’s in love with her. Tyler was ready to continue telling Rachel how amazing she is, until Rachel finally interrupted him to deliver her heartbreaking news: She needed to send him home because she didn’t have the same feelings for him.
Once Rachel officially broke up with Tyler, he took the news surprisingly well and comforted Rachel through her tears. The really brutal part, though, came when Tyler had to go meet his family all alone, even though they were expecting him to show up with Rachel. At least he had his family to comfort him after this truly sad breakup.
Season 19 of The Bachelorette continues Monday, Aug. 29 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
