Welcome to our recap of The Bachelor Season 28, Episode 9! This week, Joey Graziadei is in Mexico with the three remaining women for Fantasy Week. Joey has overnight dates with his final three women, but one woman has a mishap that sends her to the hospital. Some of the Golden Bachelor women are recruited to advise the contestants, which inflames one woman’s fear of heartbreak and sends her into a tailspin. Here are some highlights from The Bachelor Season 28, Episode 9.
“Love yourself before you can love anyone else”
They’re in Tulum, Mexico, for Fantasy Week. Joey thinks it’s beautiful and the type of place he’d want to get engaged.
“I’ve got three great women here that I feel confident about,” Joey tells us. Unfortunately, Joey feels like he’s falling in love with all three of them. It doesn’t work that way, hon. This isn’t Sister Wives. You can only pick one.
“I’m struggling with the fact that I don’t feel right,” Joey admits. “I know I have the best intentions; I know I’ve been honest through all of this, I know I have a good heart, and I have so much to give. I just really want someone … to reciprocate it.”
Rachel needs someone to advise her and give her some guidance in this difficult environment, so here comes Susan Noles from The Golden Bachelor to bring the “mom energy.”
“Think of me as your mom [or] your best friend right now,” she tells Rachel. “I’m in your corner.”
Rachel admits to Susan that she’s actually in love with Joey, and Susan encourages her to “say it!”
Rachel’s been cheated on by both guys she’s been in love with, so it’s hard for her to trust. She’s got her guard up.
“At the end of the day, it’s so scary that he could pick someone else over me,” she admits.
“That’s the past. Don’t let that get in the way,” Susan says. “You have to love yourself before you can love anyone else.”
Sidelined by a cenote
Rachel gets the first date. “Rachel does bring a different side out of me,” Joey says. She brings out more joking and banter. “We just have this gel that makes sense.”
They walk through the jungle and end up at a beautiful cenote surrounded by platforms at various heights. They have a great time jumping off the platforms until Rachel injures her face jumping from the second highest.
She tries to pretend she’s fine, but finally admits, “It hurts so bad.” The show’s medic comes in to check her out. Even though she assures the medic she’s okay, Joey can see she’s still in pain. At last she agrees to go to the hospital and get checked out.
“There’s nothing you can do in moments like this,” Joey interviews. “All I can do is just be with her and try to make her feel better.” This is real life, Joey. In a relationship, that would be your job.
But after x-rays, the doctor says everything is fine. They can continue with their date.
“I know that today was cut short,” Joey says, following the dinner that nobody ate. “But I do have something for you.” It’s a note from Jesse Palmer.
“I know today was tough,” Joey continues. “But I do want more time.” And they’re off to the Fantasy Suite.
The next morning, Rachel interviews, “Last night was perfect, just spending the night with him, waking up with him.”
“I am falling for Rachel,” Joey confesses. “I love how much fun we have. It was nice to wake up with someone you feel so comfortable with.” Hmm, that sounds like friendship, not passion.
But he’s got another date to get to, so they say their goodbyes.
Leslie rattles the crap out of Kelsey
Next up is Kelsey, who gets a visit from Leslie Fhima from The Golden Bachelor. Boy, these ladies are really making a career out of being on that show. God bless ‘em.
Leslie is here to offer advice and counsel to Kelsey, as Susan did for Rachel. Leslie shares that she and Kelsey have something in common: Leslie also lost her mom young.
“Your mom would be very proud of you,” Leslie tells her.
Kelsey admits to Leslie that she’s in love with Joey, though she feels “insane saying it.”
“This is do or die,” Leslie says. “You have to be open and honest … and be present in the moment.”
But then Leslie says she was devastated that she wasn’t chosen at the end. She tells Kelsey to be careful and remember there are two other women in the equation.
Wow, that went sideways. Now Kelsey’s worried that she’s going to get her heart broken. She admits she’s “totally freaking out and terrified.” Nice work, Leslie.
Swimming with sea turtles
Finally, it’s time for Kelsey’s date with Joey.
“I know there’s a real love that’s building between Kelsey and I,” Joey says. But he’s worried because Kelsey’s never used the “L” word. She might have done it today, Joey – if Leslie hadn’t talked her out of it.
Joey and Kelsey are going on a boat ride. In a confessional, Kelsey admits that she loves Joey, but she’s afraid to tell him because of the two other women. She’s in her head. Thanks, Leslie.
When the boat stops in a cove, they spot a turtle in the water. “Have you ever swam with turtles before?” Joey asks her. “Today’s the day!”
They jump in and swim, not only with a turtle but also with a stingray. They’re having a special day.
Walking into dinner, Kelsey voiceovers, “Today … I was so happy to be there with Joey. Whenever I’m with him, it’s just so easy, and … I’m so happy.”
She wants to share that she’s in love with Joey, but Leslie has her totally shook. She’s terrified about being heartbroken. But in the end, she manages to tell him she loves him.
“I haven’t had a doubt about how I felt about you for a very long time,” Joey tells her. “I’m falling in love with you.”
Kelsey feels like she’s “on top of the world.” And they’re off to the Fantasy Suite as well.
“When I look into Kelsey’s eyes,” Joey says, “I feel like I can see what my future is. It’s really exciting.”
The next morning, Joey and Kelsey make breakfast together.
“Waking up with Joey … feels so natural and so right,” Kelsey interviews. “It feels like something I could do for the rest of my life.”
For his part, Joey admits, “I can’t stop smiling.”
Sandra soothes Daisy
It’s Daisy’s turn to meet with Sandra Mason from The Golden Bachelor. Daisy needs some “mom energy.”
Daisy tells Sandra that she’s “so in love with” Joey. Sandra encourages her to “keep those positive thoughts.”
“Don’t worry about the others,” she says. “Be open, and don’t be afraid to talk with Joey … about how you feel.”
Sandra brought the energy Daisy needed.
Daisy walks down a jungle path to meet Joey. They’re going quad riding.
“I’ve never been so sure of anyone in my life,” she interviews. “Whenever I’m around him, I feel like I’m the only girl in the world.”
“When I’m with Daisy,” Joey confesses, “there’s nothing [else] I can think about … When I kiss her, like, she just makes me feel whole … It’s definitely scary to say, but I can picture a future.”
Since they’re dirty and sweaty from their quad ride, Joey says he has “one more surprise.” It’s an outdoor shower in the middle of the jungle! And it’s hot.
“I’m falling so in love with him,” Daisy says. “I always want him to be a part of my life.”
At dinner, Daisy tells Joey she’s very emotional and has sometimes felt “shut down” by the person she was dating. But Joey says he’s learned “all feelings are valid.” It’s important to talk through your feelings with your partner.
“You’re special,” Joey says, “and I feel lucky … I am falling in love with you, and it’s been building for a while.”
As she moves in for a kiss, a flash of sheet lightning lights up the sky — very dramatic. And with that, the third couple is off to the Fantasy Suite.
The next morning, Daisy says, “Nothing can bring me down … I mean, we’re falling in love with each other.”
“We need to talk”
Back in her room, Kelsey’s totally in her head. Leslie really did a job on her.
“It’s hard to think about the situation that we’re in,” she says. “I left my overnight with Joey so confident that it’s me.” But now she’s worried that his other relationships could be stronger than hers.
“I keep going back to what Leslie said,” Kelsey muses. She’s in her head and terrified of being heartbroken. “I would be devastated.”
She decides she needs to talk to Joey, so she goes to his room. But he’s not there, so she goes back to her own room and writes him a note: “Joey, we need to talk.”
She leaves the note on Joey’s door. When he comes back and finds it, he starts having his own little freakout. See how much trouble you caused, Leslie?
“I would rather leave now than have my heart completely broken,” Kelsey says.
But Joey doesn’t want her to leave. “I want her to want to be here,” he says. “This is like my worst nightmare coming true.”
TO BE CONTINUED…
Next week, The Women Tell All! That should be fun. I wonder if Leslie will be there.
The Bachelor Season 28 continues Mondays at 8/7c on ABC.
TELL US – WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THE BACHELOR SEASON 28, EPISODE 9? DO YOU THINK LESLIE SHOULD HAVE REMINDED KELSEY OF THE OTHER WOMEN? DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE?
