By Arienne Thompson, USA TODAY
Check every Tuesday for our Bachelorette recap of Monday night's episode.
Craig Sjodin, ABC
Ashley Hebert is ready to find her husband on 'The Bachelorette.'
Craig Sjodin, ABC
Ashley Hebert is ready to find her husband on 'The Bachelorette.'
June 27
One girl's relief is another man's heartache. Ashley learned that lesson the hard way when she divulged to the group that, yes, Bentley traveled to Hong Kong to see her, yes, she had fallen for him and, yes, she finally got closure on their relationship.
Wait, what?
That's what Blake, Lucas, Constantine, Ames, Ben, Ryan and Mickey found themselves asking when Ashley dropped the Bentley bombshell on them during the rose ceremony at the end of the episode.
But let's backtrack a little bit. Before all the drama that reduced Ashley to a sniveling, apologizing mess, she was actually having fun for a change.
She had an adventurous one-on-one date with Lucas on a "pirate ship" and a passionate solo date with frontrunner J.P., who said he didn't want the night to end.
On the group date, she got to watch Mickey, Ames, Blake, Ryan, Constantine and Ben duke it out in a dragon boat race for her affection. That night, during the cocktail party with the guys, Ames managed to sneak some alone time, planning a makeout session with Ashley in the elevator, as he admitted off-camera that he's "totally falling for Ashley."
However, throughout the episode Ashley kept invoking the spirit of bad boy Bentley. Just as last week's preview teased, he traveled all the way to Hong Kong to clear up that whole "dot dot dot" issue with Ashley.
She dramatically clutched her chest and hit host Chris Harrison with a high-pitched "Shut up!" when he revealed that Bentley was in the hotel waiting to have a chat with her. She finally mustered up the courage to head down to Room 4315 to confront the guy who broke her heart. When he opened the door, they shared an awkward kiss before launching into the business at hand.
Harrison warned her beforehand not to leave the conversation with any doubts or questions, and Bentley made sure that wasn't the case.
"I think you know where I'm at. ? It doesn't look good for me and you," he said with that Cheshire Cat grin.
"So, this is a 'period'?" Ashley clarified, before launching into a line of insults aimed at Bentley.
"He's such a player. He disrespected me to the core," she said in her confessional interview. "Bentley, if you're watching this, (expletive) you. I'm done with you."
All righty, then.
Fast-forward to the rose ceremony night when she finally tells the guys about Bentley's visit and their heated "breakup." J.P. had already been apprised the night before on their solo date and seemed a little taken aback then, but quickly recovered.
Most of the guys, however, were none too pleased to learn that they were essentially Ashley's sloppy seconds.
"She's wasting my (expletive) time," Lucas growled.
"I don't want to play second fiddle to anyone," said Blake.
Mickey was even more direct, telling Ashley, "I obviously felt like you lied to us. ? If your gut is that that's what you're interested in, please send me home."
Ultimately, his wish was her command. Mickey took off his mic, gave her a final hug and then hit the ferry back to the hotel to gather his belongings.
You'd think his abrupt departure would mean no other man would have to go home that tense night, but you'd be wrong. Blake, who softened after Ashley's tearful apology speech, got the boot and sounded a little bewildered before he left.
"I was fairly confident that I would be around next week. ? I just want a friend. I don't know what she's looking for."
Next week: The gang goes to Taiwan, and later in the season, to Fiji. We also get a preview of the long-awaited proposal, which looks like a train wreck. Awesome!
June 20
Apparently Bachelorette producers have adopted that "dot dot dot" philosophy that Bentley left Ashley with a few weeks back. Despite trumpeting the evil contestant's return last week with a sleek teaser, Monday night's episode was decidedly Bentley-free.
This week, the testosterone-fueled clan travels from Phuket to Chiang Mai, Thailand, and settles at the Mandarin Oriental. Cutie construction worker J.P. immediately assesses the set-up: "This place is prime for romance." Ashley agrees: "It's the perfect place to fall in love?This could be a very happy ending for me."
Winemaker Ben F. nabs the coveted one-on-one date and proclaims, "There's a hundred percent chance that Ashley will get kissed today." (Confident much?)
The duo heads to an outdoor market, where Ashley tries on a kimono and Ben F. struggles to put on a knit hat. "Your head's too big!" Ashley exclaims. (Just what Ben wanted to hear, we're sure?)
Next up? Decorating parasols, of course. Ben F. is having a grand time: "I'm beginning to see her as a potential fiance? Wife? Of mine."
In front of a "sacred temple," Ashley and Ben F. make googly eyes at each other and talk about kissing while the camera lingers on Ashley's short skirt. They decide to avoid being sacrilegious and share a cheesy "mental kiss." (Ashley's a little more forthcoming to the camera later: "I just want to jump on him?so I can only imagine what tonight is going to bring.")
At an outdoor dinner where thousands of flowers have been arranged in an intricate pattern around a table, Ben F. reveals he's been an "emotional zombie" since his father's death more than four years ago. But he assures viewers that he's recently come out of his fog and is ready to spend time "making her the priority, spoiling someone else for once." Awww?
Cue Ashley's best baby voice: "Ben, will you accept this rose?"
"Love is worth fighting for," or so says the group date card. The guys take up Muay Thai training and fighting. "This is a really hot way to see the men, to see if I can find masculinity in these guys," Ashley pontificates.
After struggling during training, pretty boy Ames ends up with the bright pink boxing garb after he oh-so-politely lets all the other guys pick their outfits first.
The plan? The guys will fight one another. "I hope they don't take it too serious," Ashley chirps. (Um, right, and we hope that Ames won't look ridiculous in fuschia.)
Blake tops Lucas; JP struggles against Mickey, but pulls it out. ("The jew from Long Island kicked the Irishman's (expletive)," he muses.)
Next up is Ames vs. Ryan P., and it ain't pretty. Ames takes a beating and is confused and glassy-eyed post-fight. Ashley sends him to the ER to get checked out. (We think Nick defeats Constantine in the "heavyweight battle," but that fight is overshadowed by everyone's concern for poor Ames.)
Back at the hotel for the evening soiree, Ryan P. laments hurting Ames, and Ashley says there's a "dark cloud" over the evening's festivities. Surprise! A loopy Ames appears and sweetly tells Ashley: "After many tests (at the hospital) I was told that I'm totally in love." (In reality, he has a mild concussion.)
Lucas shows Ashley how to swing golf clubs, and Blake waxes poetic, saying, "Falling in love is a marathon, not a sprint." (But wait, has he forgotten the premise of the show? We thought Ames had the concussion.) Advantage: Blake. He gets the rose.
Ashley takes Ben C. and William on the two-on-one date. They start with a comfy (read: awkward) raft trip through an elephant park. William takes Ashley aside, and in a move more suited for the catty ladies on The Bachelor, backstabs Ben C., saying he's been talking around the house about how he's going to clean up on the dating websites post-Bachelorette. And another one bites the dust: Ashley marches (literally) over to Ben C. and sends him packing immediately.
But not so fast, William. ? At dinner later, Ashley realizes she's looking for a "man" after William boasts, "I'm not ready to fully grow up. I'm looking for someone to have fun with." Over and out, Billy.
In a heart-to-heart with host Chris Harrison, Ashley continues to pine for Bentley. She yearns to ask Bentley a few simple questions, and Harrison vows to do what he can to make it happen.
In the final rose ceremony, Nick, the personal trainer, is sent packing. "I think she's missing out on a perfect husband," he says.
Next week: The group heads to Hong Kong, and (maybe) Bentley appears.
? By Alison Maxwell
June 13
It was raining Bentleys in Thailand, as Ashley whisked the guys away on a trip to Asia, but couldn't stop talking about the villain who broke her heart last week.
She mentioned the two-faced suitor in almost all of her confessional interviews and kept repeating that she was still trying to come out of her "dark place." It wasn't lost on her, however, that her Bentley addiction might pose a problem with the other guys. "If I were in their shoes, I would be upset," she admitted.
But the show must go on, and it did, with Constantine scoring the first solo date. The unrelenting rain in Phuket derailed their planned kayak trip to a private beach, so they struck out to do some random sightseeing, which culminated in a cringe-worthy staged exchange with a "village elder" who told them the key to his 36-year marriage was forgiving and forgetting. Despite the cheese factor of that piece of theater, Ashley and Constantine proved that they actually do have some chemistry, which was more than apparent when they shared dinner in bed on a beach. (Yeah, that's normal.)
During the date, Blake and Ben F. tried to console an unnerved J.P., who was freaking at the thought that Constantine and Ashley were making out. "Everyone's going after the same piece of fruit," Blake so eloquently puts it. Ashley and Constantine don't end the date with a lip lock, but she does give him a rose, saying "hopeless Ashley is now hopeful again," post-Bentley.
The next day, Ryan (aka Matthew Morrison) grates on the rest of the guys as he bossily supervises the face lift they give a Thai orphanage on the group date. Ben F. says his "Ryan-meter" is off the charts and that he can't take anymore. The group's annoyance foreshadows the Ryan smackdown that happens during the rose ceremony cocktail party. The guys seem genuinely impressed with the group date since it incorporates service and allows them to spend time with children who are less fortunate. J.P. is especially touched and seems about ready to propose to sweet ole Ashley.
During the party that night, Ben F. capitalizes on his one-on-one time with Ashley ? that includes an intense kiss ? helping him score the second rose of the episode.
Ames, who sat at home while the other guys made over the orphanage, gets the other solo date and, at first, seems like a strange, soliloquy-spouting robot. It's soon clear to Ashley and the viewers, however, that we just haven't gotten a chance to know him. He's spontaneous, poetic and has a killer smile, with wit and intellect to match. He impresses Ashley during their kayak trip to a private beach (sorry, Constantine) and keeps the charm flowing during their intimate (albeit seemingly never-ending) dinner date. Ashley makes him squirm a little, but unsurprisingly, he nabs the rose.
Before the next evening's rose ceremony, Blake pulls Ryan aside to essentially tell him that everyone hates him because he's too "on." Ryan looks pretty hurt when he runs to tell Ashley that he has no friends. Hilariously, she tells him that she has her doubts about how genuine he is, too.
Ashley throws a wrench in the rose ceremony, telling Chris Harrison she wants to send home just one of the 12 guys, not two. Harrison agrees and the drama begins. She gives Lucas the first rose, prompting him to let out an authentic Texas yee-haw. The last two standing are Ben C. and the widower West, whom Ashley grilled about his dead wife. She admitted to him during a one-on-one moment that she's not convinced he's over it, and, in the end, gives him the boot.
He looks forlorn in the car ride to the airport and waxes poetic about love and loss. "I had a great love and I will always cherish that ? but at least I had it."
Next week: The gang continues their Thai adventure and Bentley may make his return. Dot dot dot?
? By Arienne Thompson
Willa Ford Yvonne Strzechowski Hilary Duff Amy Smart Julia Stiles
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