Why Did Jason Leave On The Bachelorette? He Isn’t Ready To Commit To Gabby

As almost anyone who’s ever watched The Bachelorette can tell you, the show is all about the whirlwind, romantic journey towards an engagement. That means audiences, leads, and, presumably, the contestants all know what they applied, auditioned, and signed up for... And yet, every season, without fail, someone always seems to forget what show they’re on, and begins to wonder whether or not they’re ready to propose on a show, that has an entire framework constructed around a proposal. Which leads us to this Season 19’s most recent self-elimination courtesy of Jason Alabaster.

In Jason’s defense, it wasn’t like the writing wasn’t already written on the wall. During his hometown visit, he made it fairly clear to his family that he didn’t think he was ready to pop the question in the near future — a fact he may have wanted to relay to Gabby at any point. Then, during the Fantasy Suites episode, which aired Sept. 5, Johnny and Gabby broke up on a beach during a sunset. Their relationship met its demise due to Johnny’s unpreparedness to get engaged in such a small timeframe — sound familiar?

What then followed was a brief moment of optimism, wherein Gabby voiced her feelings of remorse for her and Johnny’s relationship, before focussing on the fact that she still had two men excited about a potential future together. However, intercut with Gabby’s affirmations of hope was a conversation between Jason and host Jesse Palmer, which featured a fairly dubious Jason, detailing just how unready he is to get engaged — despite the fact that proposals were just a week away.

To make matters worse, Gabby had spent a fair portion of the episode questioning whether or not she was loveable, or if she was standing in the way of her own romance. Regardless, Jason and Gabby still had a date to get through, and a whole lot of uncertainty to work through. The prelude to the date opened with Gabby feeling more than confident in her relationship with Jason.

“There’s no question to his intentions,” she said of her finalist. However, Jason clearly wasn’t on the same page, telling cameras during a confessional, “I need to tell Gabby how I feel, and be honest with her.”

The duo started off their date off by playing tennis, which was followed by a romantic dip in the pool. “Being with him just feels completely effortless in every sense,” Gabby said of Jason. “This is more than fun, it’s really just comfort, I’m truly falling in love with him.” Gabby, made it clear that she could see the future with Jason. “After today I just know it’s going to work for us.” In fact, it’s hard to overstate just how convinced Gabby was as to her and Jason’s connection and potential future.

However, when it came time for dinner Jason had his sights set on being “authentic and transparent.” He didn’t waste time diving into his misgivings. “I know what the expectation of this is,” referring to the possibility of an engagement. Jason continued, “I don’t think I’m fully there yet,” which visibly seemed to shock Gabby. “I don’t think in seven days, I’ll be ready for [an engagement,]” stating that it wouldn’t feel right in his heart.

The circumstance and production of the show started to get to Jason, despite Gabby’s continued wondering if this was the end, or just a detour. For all her prodding, it didn’t seem like Jason was going to shift his perspective as he reiterated that he was a “realist.” Gabby then removed herself from the table, “to wait this long to hear where he’s at definitely hurts,” she told the cameras during a confessional. Gabby added that she wished Jason had told her about his uncertainty earlier, considering he’d known for some time. Jason later approached Gabby in hopes of repairing their situation, stating that he could see them finding a more authentic love later in life, specifically outside of the show. In doing so, the couple were able to reconcile, long enough for Gabby to extend an overnight invitation.

Gabby did so in the hopes that they could have one night that might “change” everything. “Tonight we can truly share our feelings with each other, and then who knows what could happen,” she said. But then came time for morning, which was a sequence of Gabby rehashing her behind-closed-doors conversation with Jason, which culminated in the duo ultimately breaking up.

She sought him out one last time while they continued to talk in circles about their incompatibility. “I don’t know if you were really fighting for it, I think I was, and you were following my lead,” she told him, before moving to end the conversation. They shared one last goodbye hug as she made her way toward the door, and closed it both literally and figuratively on Jason.

“I tried so hard not to be reckless with other people, and he was reckless with me,” she said. “It’s not that he didn’t want an engagement, he didn’t want me.” The sequence closed with a tearful Gabby leaving with production, trying to make sense of the mess.