Why Did Jordan V. Go Home On The Bachelorette?

We’re just one week into Rachel Recchia and Gabby Windey’s season of The Bachelorette, and we’ve already been treated to a few surprises. The first of which came thanks to both of our leads, who, after not feeling like they’d been able to speak to all of their male contestants on the first night, opted to postpone the elimination ceremony. Even though both women wanted to give everyone a chance to potentially light a spark, some contestants simply couldn’t get their tinder alight, which is exactly why Jordan V. had to go home.

It happens... Sometimes being attractive, single, and in the right place at the right time just isn’t enough to spark a flame, just ask Rachel Recchia and Jordan Vandergriff. Audiences will remember Jordan as the Georgia-born drag race driver from Week 1, however, as this season has shown, he didn’t quite have the speed to get that far beyond the starting line this season.

Jordan and Rachel’s date was a foray into weightlessness by way of an anti-gravity chamber. Despite the fact the couple was literally floating in one another’s presence, they came crashing back down to earth shortly thereafter. The second half of their date consisted of a romantic dinner in the lobby of the Los Angeles Theater, where Jordan was able to open up about himself. However, it became clear that whatever spark Rachel was looking for, she certainly wasn’t finding with Jordan.

Rachel had mentioned how she loved their playful chemistry, but was looking for a deeper connection. Their conversation seemed to start okay, as the duo bonded over their passion for speed, her as a pilot, and he as a drag racer. Jordan continued on, speaking about his family, and his history, and yet, for Rachel, there appeared to be something in her way. “He’s here for me, he’s being honest, but the more the day’s progressing, I just feel like there’s something missing,” Rachel told the cameras.

She excused herself from the table and sought guidance from one of the show’s producers, a little unsure on how to navigate her lack of interest.

“I’m just trying,” Rachel said. “I want to like him a lot, but I know it’s not him.” It didn’t take long for Rachel to make her way back to the table and explain to Jordan that she simply wasn’t feeling what she’d hoped to feel, and therefore couldn’t give him a rose at the climax of their evening. As unfortunate as it was, Jordan handled the rejection graciously.

The date wasn’t supposed to finish with such an abrupt elimination, in fact, it was supposed supposed to conclude with one the franchise’s traditional folksy slow dances to an even folksier band. And being that production had already booked Ashley Cooke and Brett Young to serenade the prospective couple, the show still needed their money’s worth. What ensued instead was a performance by Cooke and Young that served as the backing track to Jordan and Rachel’s final goodbye. Which ultimately turned the sequence in to a sort of “in memoriam” for Jordan and Rachel’s short-lived courtship.