It’s no secret that Tayshia has a great group of guys in front of her, and this week their “masculinity” was tested in a series of challenges. Who is the most macho guy this season? These challenges will help Tayshia discover that! The first group date included Montel, Demar, Ivan, Ed, Ben, Chasen, Bennet, and Joe. They head over to the date, where Ashley and Jared, a couple that met on Bachelor In Paradise in March of 2018, are waiting for them. They had a tumultuous season, but the duo has since gotten engaged and married and appear to be a strong couple. They explain that the men will be competing for the title of “Grown-Ass Man” and whoever is unsuccessful in completing the challenges will be labeled as a “man-child”, so it is clear the stakes are high.
Of course, the first part of this challenge is answering math questions, because all adult men must excel at math, I guess. I had trouble pinpointing why this was part of the challenge and why math was so masculine. To my surprise, Bennett, who brags about being a Harvard graduate, did not deliver in this portion of the competition. The next part of the competition was a tug-of-war that symbolized fighting for Tayshia and the last part was a breakfast in bed challenge where the men were challenged to prepare a meal for Tayshia while she lounged in bed. Being the Bachelorette sounds really nice sometimes, aside from all the drama she probably deals with. Bennet managed to redeem himself in this portion of the challenge when he made beignets for Tayshia, and he donned a plush white robe while he snuggled in bed next to the Bachelorette. Ultimately, Bennet wins the award, which leads to a steamy kiss between him and Tayshia. Ed is dubbed a man-child which means he has to carry around a babydoll who he names Carlos for the rest of the episode. How embarrassing, but at least he can do basic math, unlike Bennet.
At the cocktail party, Bennet said he wants to take Tayshia away, but Chasen swoops in before he can get the chance. Quite surprisingly, Bennet has not changed out of his bathrobe and he is still wearing it for the cocktail party. What a look. There is some drama brewing between Ed and Chasen at this party too. Chasen reveals during this talk that he is going to be an uncle soon and that makes him realize that he is ready for the possibility of having children.
Ivan also pulls her aside and blindfolds Tayshia so he can feed her strawberries, and then goes in for a kiss. I can see how this was supposed to be sexy and fun but the whole thing just reminded me of Dale and Clare sneaking off to make out and use a blindfold weeks before, and it made my stomach turn. Also, where is the consent? That is so important in romantic relationships and sexual escapades and this situation with Ivan and Tayshia lacked any aspect of consent before or during the blindfolding.
The guys are hanging out in the meantime and Bennet, of course, has to stir the pot between Chasen and Ed. Ed insults Chasen by calling his shirt a size medium and Chasen responds to this by telling Ed that he has “chicken legs”. Sick burns guys. I’m sad they are using such heated words in front of young Carlos. They also mention that they think Chasen is there for the fame and not to find his one true love, and Ed makes sure to relay this message to Tayshia. Tayshia decides to talk to Chasen again to sort things out, and he tells her that he is working on “pivoting” his interest from Clare to her. Super reassuring for Tayshia, I bet, but she seems to buy his explanation and sends him on his way and tries to nudge him to apologize to Ed. She comes back then and awards the group date rose to Ivan, who gratefully accepts it. At the rose ceremony, Tayshia says goodbye to Montel, Peter, and Jay, and the rest of the guys are safe along with Ivan.
The next day there is another group date, this time featuring Eazy, Chasen, Ed, Ben, Brandon, Spencer, Jordan, and Joe. They all head to the gym at the resort where they find Tayshia being tackled by a professional WWE woman. The men learn that they are going to be fighting each other WWE style. It could just be me, but I am kind of tired of watching the men in athletic settings. I feel like that comprises most of the dates this season, and has proven to just be objectifying and icky. Tayshia rubs oil on the men so they look sleek as they wrestle one another- again, unnecessary, but it makes for good TV, right? Ed was supposed to wrestle Chasen, but he, unfortunately, has shoulders that dislocate chronically, so he sits this one out. Joe was very nervous to wrestle and said “I’m a lover, not a fighter” which is honestly so adorable and I think he has the right idea.
Because Ed cannot physically partake in this challenge, Noah hops the fence and wrestles Chasen even though he was not really invited to this date in the first place. He was supposed to just watch in the audience. Noah ends up losing but is still invited to the cocktail party with the rest of the date goers and the guys were upset with this development. Tayshia then hints to Noah that she would love it if he got rid of his mustache, which prompts him to leave and come back to the party with a razor in hand. He lets Tayshia shave off his mustache and he looks 10000% better without it. Good call Tayshia.
Meanwhile, Ben had devised a whole plan to go last in the order for talking to Tayshia because he wants to have the last drink of the night with her and enjoy some quality time, but that plan never came to fruition and when he approached Tayshia, he was told the night is over. And in a stunning turn of events, Noah, who wasn’t even on this date card, got the group date rose because he looks so good without his mustache. All the men are very upset by this and Ed hilariously claims that he would “call him out in front of the whole house tomorrow, man to man, and tell him, ‘Noah from Oklahoma, your rose means f—ing nothing!’”
Make sure to tune in next week to see how that call-out unfolds!
Watch the Bachelorette on Tuesdays at 8/7c on ABC, or next-day on Hulu!