Why Does Kylee Go Home On The Bachelor?

After implying that Anastasia Keramidas might be on The Bachelor for Instagram followers, Kylee Russell was worried about being sent home herself. “I just don’t want to be collateral damage in all of this,” she said in last week’s episode. Despite being so nervous that she almost skipped the rose ceremony, Kylee ultimately got a rose — but it didn’t buy her too much more time. Kylee was sent home during the Feb. 20 Bachelor episode, following a week that was dramatic for much different reasons.

Zach Shallcross got COVID during the group’s trip to London, and was only able to go on a date with Gabi Elnicki before the rest of the week (including the group date) was canceled. The lack of face-to-face time with Zach was obviously a concern to the women, especially those who didn’t yet have a one-on-one date, like Kylee. “I know for me personally, a lot was riding on today,” she said, upon hearing that Zach was “under the weather.” “And I feel like if I don’t have today, then I’m not gonna have anything with him left.”

The upsetting surprise left Kylee feeling annoyed, she said in a confessional. “You weren’t too sick to stay up all night with Gabi. You’re not gonna be too sick to go on a one-on-one with Charity tomorrow.”

But alas, he was too sick for that one-on-one, too. It was only after their group date that the women learned Zach had tested positive for COVID, which forced the week’s cocktail party and rose ceremony to go virtual. “I’m tired of actually dreaming of your kisses, like I want it to be a real thing,” Gabi told Zach in a video chat. “And not have to wake up to Mercedes [Northup] beside me.”

Zach said things felt “really good” between him and Kylee, despite being virtual. “I miss her, and she knows how to put a smile on my face.”

Despite ending their chat on a positive note, Zach did not give Kylee a rose. She and Mercedes, who also was eliminated, ended up saying goodbye to Zach through a computer. “I wish you nothing but the best,” Kylee told Zach, who said, “it’s been an honor getting to know [her].”

Kylee tearfully said she felt “so stupid” in a confessional. “I just kept hoping he was my person,” she said. “I know I am good enough. It’s just gonna take the right person to see. But it’s just like, I’m tired of waiting for that right person.”

So, what has Kylee been doing after The Bachelor? In November, she posted her first Instagram after filming. “Tell a friend to tell a friend... SHE'S BACKKKKKKKKK,” she wrote, referencing Diamond Dondada’s song of the same name.

She’s also been recapping her Bachelor journey on TikTok, asking in a Jan. 17 video whether it was “too late to turn back” — seemingly foreshadowing her rocky time on the show.

While Kylee didn’t make it to the second half of Zach’s Bachelor season, she did make history during her time on the show: she and Mercedes were the first contestants to be eliminated in a virtual rose ceremony ever in Bachelor Nation. American Bachelor Nation, that is, because it has happened in Australia before.