(LOS ANGELES) — Becca Kufrin is on the hunt for love and redemption, so on the second episode of The Bachelorette Monday, she planned two group dates and a one-on-one for a lucky guy. But, in the end, the rocky week had Becca feeling defeated after drama overshadowed her hopes.
“I didn’t think it was going to be this hard,” she said, later adding, “I’m fearful of not finding somebody at the end of this.”
The episode started out hopeful for the first group date with Clay, Nick, Chris R, David, Jean Blanc, Jordan, Connor, and Lincoln. The group met Becca at a farm where she pampered the bachelors with custom-tailored tuxedos. As they proceeded to get undressed and into their dapper new looks, Becca uncomfortably giggled and ogled at the guys’ chiseled bodies.
“The guys look hot!” she said. “It’s fun to sit back and watch these guys get dressed up in their tuxes. I was trying to cover my eyes and then peek a little bit.”
Once dressed, Becca surprised them with a fun obstacle course presented by her predecessor Rachel Lindsay and fiance Bryan. The couple explained that the guys would have to run through a messy obstacle course, which included sitting in an ice water bucket, climbing a stairs covered in eggs and Cisco, and crawling through mud — all while dressed in their tuxes. The game, Rachel said, is meant to symbolize how relationships can get messy — something Becca learns later in the episode.
Lincoln takes an early lead and ultimately wins the game, earning him a kiss and a special picture with Becca. But, some of the guys believed he cheated by pushing others out of the way and rushing the timer.
The group date began to heat up when Becca presented Lincoln with a framed photo of them kissing, which Lincoln proudly presented to the group and displayed on the center of the table. It rubs most of the guys the wrong way, especially Connor. So much so that he throws the picture out the window and it shatters in the pool.
Lincoln confronts Becca about Connor’s behavior and told her that Connor is aggressive and destroyed something that is very important to him.
“It was like a trophy for me,” he said while crying. “Watching it get broken, broke my heart. It really broke my heart”
When Becca confronted Connor, she explained she wants a man that can control himself and act more maturely. She told him she had to think about what to do next.
Becca ultimately gave the first rose to Jean Blanc because she explained that he knows how to make her feel special and noticed. But, the situation earlier left a sour taste on a otherwise decent night.
After the not-so great group date, Becca was looking forward to her first one-on-one with lucky Blake. Together they drove down to an abandoned warehouse, confused why they were there. Turns out, it was demolition time. The warehouse was filed with memorabilia from Arie and Becca’s relationship — including an old race car and even the couch Arie broke up with her on!
It was Blake and Becca’s job to destroy everything with a sledgehammer…with a little help from Lil Jonwho was there to play “Shots.”
“Arie broke my heart, and I’m ready to break everything that reminds me of him,” she said as she smashed everything to smithereens.
At a much calmer dinner, Blake explained how he recently fell in love with a girl just as she was planning to break up with him. While it crushed him, he said it taught him how to be open and comfortable with love. He seemed to be saying everything right because Becca declared him the man-to-watch.
“I’m definitely getting some strong feelings for Blake. The more time I spend with him, the more smitten I am with him,” she said. “If Blake keeps giving me what he gave today, I can see him as my husband, as my partner, my equal, my teammate. All of it.”
Despite the declaration, Becca had a second group date to go on with Garrett, Rickey, John, Ryan, Alex, Christon, Trent, Leo, Wills, and Colton.
Like the first group date, things got physical. This time with some dodge ball. After a particularly grueling practice with some strict child coaches, the boys participated in the Ultimate BacheloretteDodge Ball Tournament, which pitted the guys against each other.
After the game, more drama rose when Colton confessed to Becca that he dated Tia — another contestant from Becca’s season of The Bachelor and Becca’s close friend — prior to coming on the show. It put Becca in a bad mood again, as she explained that she doesn’t know how to deal with the information. She said she’s worried that he came on the show hoping the bachelorette would be Tia.
“I’m really questioning everything,” she said through tears. “At this point, I feel like I should have so much hope in so many people and the fact that I don’t — I’m fearful of not finding somebody at the of this and going through all of this again and not having it work out.”
Before the Rose Ceremony, the guys had one last chance to get some alone time with Becca and renew her hope in this competition. Male-model Jordan decided to take an unconventional route to getting Becca’s attention by walking up to her in just his underwear, interrupting David’s one-on-one. While Jordan did get his moment to chat with her, it created a riff between David and Jordan.
Finally, after an emotional week, Becca decided to send home Alex, Rickey, and Trent, while Colton, Jordan, and Connor made it through with the other contenders despite the doubt they caused her this week.
Following Monday’s episode, the remaining men are:
Garrett, 29, a medical sales representative from Reno, Nevada
Lincoln, 26, an account sales executive from Los Angeles, California
Blake, 28, a sales representative from Bailey, Colorado
Jean Blanc, 31, a colognoisseur from Pensacola, Florida
Christon, 31, a former Harlem Globetrotter from Los Angeles, California
Clay, 30, a professional football player from Chicago, Illinois
Wills, 29, a graphic designer from Los Angeles, California
Connor, 25, a fitness coach from St. Petersburg, Florida
Jason, 29, a senior corporate banker from Seattle, Washington
John, 28, a software engineer from San Francisco, California
Ryan, 26, a banjoist from Manhattan Beach, California
Nick, 27, an attorney from Orlando, Florida
Colton, 26, a former professional football player from Denver, Colorado
David, 25, a venture capitalist from Denver, Colorado
Jordan, 26, a male model from Crystal River, Florida
Leo, 31, a stuntman from Studio City, California
Mike, 27, a sports analyst from Cincinnati, Ohio
Chris R, 30, a sales trainer from Orlando, Florida
Becca continues her quest for love Mondays at 8 p.m. on ABC.
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