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Katie & Blake’s Conversation About Sexual Assault
Despite only joining the competition this week for Episode 5 on July 5, Blake and Katie’s connection is already one of the strongest. To make up for lost time, Katie invited the Bachelorette alum on a one-on-one date full of horseback riding, slow dancing, and making out. But during the romantic dinner portion of their date, the mood shifted when Blake inquired about Katie’s sex-positive attitude. The Season 17 star spoke candidly about surviving sexual assault, her complicated relationship with sex over the past decade, and how the Me Too movement helped her take some of her power back.
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Connor B. & Greg’s Bromance
If there’s one thing that brought us all to tears in this episode, it was the undeniable chemistry between Connor B. and Greg. During a brief moment, the camera panned to the duo cuddling, and fans can’t quite get over it. “Can we discontinue the bachelorette and continue with Greg and Connor’s journey??” one fan tweeted. Someone else on Twitter called their bromance “the #bachelornation spinoff we deserve.” We couldn’t agree more.
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Michael A.’s Injury
Hearts broke everywhere when Michael A. and his “dad bod” got injured during this week’s group date. The guys played a competitive game of Bachelorette Bash Ball — a combination of basketball and rugby — and Michael called it “the worst day I’ve ever had in my life.” Unfortunately, things only got worse from there when Justin knocked the fan-favorite contestant to the ground, making it difficult for him to breathe.
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Hunter’s Group Date Rose
After Thomas’ elimination last week, producers wasted no time finding a new villain. Hunter’s mean streak came out during Bash Ball when he boasted about setting himself apart from the other contestants. “My goal is for [Katie] to forget about these other relationships and for these guys to come back to the house with their tail between their legs,” he said. Of course, his attitude rubbed several of the guys the wrong way, which was why it was a major letdown when Katie offered him the group date rose.
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Connor B.’s Song For Katie
As we’ve learned from Jed Wyatt on Hannah Brown’s season, writing songs for the Bachelorette could be a major red flag. Fortunately, Connor’s original ballad was very well-received by Katie and viewers, who swooned over the 29-year-old math teacher when he brought out his ukelele. The heartfelt performance even brought Katie to tears.
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Michael A.’s Words Of Wisdom
Although Michael already shared his emotional past with Katie, he waited until this week to tell the other guys that he is a widower. Having experienced such a huge loss, Michael stressed to the other contestants just how precious time is. The 36-year-old’s words touched many of the men in the room, including Greg who burst into tears. Intent on taking Michael’s advice, Greg then found Katie to let her know how much he cares about her.
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Tre’s Hunter & Thomas Comparison
If you thought we were done talking about Thomas, you thought wrong. Hunter’s villain-like behavior — including his competitiveness on the group date and his bold decision to steal Katie away at the cocktail party despite already having a rose — inspired Tre to compare him to Thomas. Hunter, however, didn’t seem to care all that much. “I’m focused on Katie,” he said in a confessional. “I don’t give a sh*t what they think. They can sit and let that fester while I’m on my one-on-one with her, falling more for her."
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Katie & Andrew S.’s Conversation About Race
If there’s one thing we know about Katie, it’s that she’s always willing to have tough conversations. When Andrew S. opened up about his ex’s concerns regarding what people would think if they had mixed-race children, Katie reassured him that it never even occurred to her. “Know that for me, I think our love could be so beautiful, and our children would be just as beautiful as that love,” she said during the dinner portion of their date. “That’s never crossed my mind. And maybe that’s because I’m naive as a white woman.”