Why Did Rachel Leave The Bachelor? Here’s A Women Tell All Recap

Joey Graziadei’s Bachelor season is drawing to a close, but not before a sit-down with the season’s eliminated contestants on Women Tell All. The March 18 special promised to follow up on last week’s Fantasy Suites cliffhanger and the fates of Rachel Nance, Kelsey Anderson, and Daisy Kent.

Jesse Palmer began the show with the exciting announcement that Golden Bachelor alums Kathy Swarts and Susan Noles would be helming a new podcast, Bachelor Happy Hour: Golden Hour, which will be out soon.

Then came some fun footage of Joey and Jesse hanging out at Bachelor watch parties, before Joey’s Women Tell All began in earnest.

Putting The Maria-Lea-Sydney Drama To Bed

The first conflict of the evening involved Lea Cayanan, as several of her castmates questioned her motives for throwing that one-on-one date card in the fire on Night 1.

Lea said she was “standing on business” and trying to prevent her fellow castmates from being anxious about getting their dates stolen. However, Maria Georgas disagreed with Lea’s comment about doing it for the other women’s benefit, and Starr Skyler said Lea’s tears on that evening felt like a “performance.”

Madina Alam also opened up about Lea pulling her aside in Malta, and asked for an apology. Lea said she was “very sorry” and acknowledged it wasn’t her place to confront Madina about being friendly with Maria. Following her castmates’ criticism throughout the evening so far, Lea stepped away from the stage in tears during a break. When she returned, Maria gave her a hug.

Sydney also explained why she felt “compelled” to defend Madina at the start of the season (though Edwina Dorbor claimed Sydney simply didn’t like Maria). Jess Edwards also spoke up, claiming that Maria told her to shut up multiple times, which she refuted.

Later in the evening, Maria, Sydney, and Lea seemed to fully reconcile — with Lea telling Maria she seemed like a “wonderful woman,” and the three sharing a hug.

Looking Back On The Bachelor

Several women got the chance to speak about their exits from the show, with Lexi Young praising Joey for how he reacted to her endometriosis conversation and reiterating that her decision to leave was “only fair” to her and Joey.

Jenn Tran, who left before Hometowns, said being on the show made a “monumental” positive impact on her relationship with her mom and family. Kelsey Toussant, similarly, said her once-estranged dad was “very present” in her life after the show.

About That Note...

Of course, one of the most highly anticipated parts of the Women Tell All special was finding out what happened with Kelsey’s “we need to talk” note for Joey.

She came to his room and said she missed him, explaining that the days in between seeing each other left her “wondering.” She also said she wanted to meet his family.

Joey would have been relieved, but said in a confessional he “shut down” after the note activated his fears about rejection. “It just sucked,” he said.

In her own confessional, Kelsey said she felt bad for stressing him out and wished she had approached the note differently.

Rachel Left The Bachelor

Sadly, Rachel did not receive a rose from Joey after Fantasy Suites. Joey simply explained that he didn’t have “those feelings of love” for her. She told cameras she felt it was her fault for not opening up sooner. But at Women Tell All, she thanked him for improving her confidence and allowing her to know her worth. In an interview after the special filmed, Rachel expanded on her feelings.

“I said all season, what’s meant to be is meant to be. What will find me, will find me,” she tells Bustle. “I think me getting hurt also allowed me to teach myself to let someone take care of me, and I’m not used to that ... so, it was a beautiful reminder for me to slow down.”

Rachel opened up about receiving racist comments after the Hometowns episode, and how her parents — who enjoyed sharing their culture that week — were upset to see their daughter being attacked.

Jesse addressed viewers directly and called for an end to the “noticeable rise in hate” on social media.

The evening concluded with a round of unseen clips from throughout the season and, finally, a sneak peek at the finale — including a tearful final rose ceremony (or lack thereof) and Daisy remarking that something felt “off” between her and Joey.