Hi y’all! Thanks for checking out this week’s Rose Report---a blog where I break down the crazy things a group of women do in hopes of winning the heart of Denver’s Ben Higgins. A little about myself: I’m a 28-year-old producer, an avid Bachelor/Bachelorette fan (Chris Harrison is my spirit animal) and admittedly, I don’t like red roses.
We ended last episode with some of that “to be continued…” BS – so let’s get straight to it. Is Olivia going home or not?! The episode ended with Ben asking to talk to Olivia. So, here goes! If you haven’t seen Monday’s episode (Episode 3), stop reading now because there are spoilers ahead. I repeat: THERE ARE SPOILERS AHEAD.
The episode starts out with the girls talking about Olivia, and Amanda admits that she told Ben the truth about her – that she said something offensive. Amanda of course talking about the “teen mom” comment made in last week’s episode. She tells the girls she’s pretty confident that Olivia will be going home – the other girls don’t buy it just yet…or maybe they just don’t want to get their hopes up.
— Kelly Ann Schuberth (@KellySchuberth) February 9, 2016
Ben confronts Olivia and asks her what’s going on. Olivia gets her “I’m lying” voice on and immediately plays the victim – she says she feels that the girls hate her and thinks she’s aggressive because she touches Ben and gets roses. WHUT? No one has ever said you’re aggressive because you touch Ben. And no one thinks you’re aggressive because you get roses. That makes 0 sense. Try again, Liv.
So Olivia goes on to tell Ben she feels like she can’t win and that it’s been hard for her to fit in with the group because they like to paint their nails and do their hair. OKAY hold up sister – these women are locked in a house for hours on end bored out of their minds. So what if they resort to painting nails and doing their hair?! Olivia you’re digging yourself deeper and deeper. Ben isn’t buying it.
Ben straight up asks Olivia if it’s a surprise that this is being brought up, and she says it’s not at all, because she’s confident and that’s intimidating. She keeps trying to explain herself and finally starts bringing the tears. Then we get to a shot of Ben and Olivia walking out – Olivia still with that rose in hand – and Ben tells the women how hard this is for him. Looks like Olivia is staying.
* internal evil laugh *@BachelorABC #TheBachelor pic.twitter.com/aPpmUqstvX
— Good Morning America (@GMA) February 9, 2016
It’s time for the rose ceremony that we never got to on last week’s episode. Reminder, Olivia and Lauren H. both have roses already. There’s still a part of me that feels like Ben could change his mind and send Olivia home. Maybe I’m just hopeful.
Caila gets a rose. Lauren B. gets a rose. JoJo gets a rose. Becca gets a rose. Leah gets a rose. Emily gets a rose. That means Jennifer is going home. She seemed like a sweet girl, but we never learned much about her. But damn, it’s gotta be hard to see Olivia staying over you.
After the break the girls arrive in the Bahamas and it is GORG. Umbrella drink, anyone? The girls are super excited to be there, but Amanda makes a good point that Olivia is somewhat of a distraction. I get it, it’s hard to have an amazing time when you have her in the back of your head.
Chris Harrison shows up and gives the ladies a rundown of how the dates are going to go while they’re in the Bahamas: a one-on-one date, a group date, and the two-on-one date. AWKWAAAARD! Slash my favorite time of the year. I can’t get enough of the awkwardness. Let’s do this.
Becca opens the first date card of the trip and it’s the one-on-one date….for Caila. Leah, who’s from Denver, is upset that she hasn’t been on a one-on-one date with Ben and starts lining up who has been on those dates and who hasn’t. Keep in mind, this is the second one-on-one Caila has been on. If I was in Leah’s position, I’d be bumming too.
Caila knows she’s super lucky to be on another one-on-one with Ben, and says she’s still in shock. Ben says he knows Caila has already been on a one-on-one and some of the other girls haven’t, but he makes a good point about the fact that Kevin Hart and Ice Cube crashed their first date. He really just wants more time with her to see if there is a connection.
Back at the hotel Leah is in the bathroom crying, saying she’s not sure why she’s even there. She thinks she’ll be asked on the two-on-one (that’s what I think too at this point) and she says she’s not going to put herself through that if Ben doesn’t even want to get to know her. Everything Leah is saying and what she’s upset about makes sense– all the stuff going through her mind is what would be going through mine. I hope Ben gives their relationship a chance – she seems like a really down to earth person and HELLO lives super close to Ben. Like 10 minutes close. I’m feeling like her luck is about to turn around in this episode though. Hang in there, Leah. Denver has your back!
After the break Caila and Ben are at dinner and Ben isn’t afraid to get down to business. He wants to make sure he can get below the surface, and get to know who Caila is behind her smile. Fair enough, she does tend to smile AT ALL TIMES. I get it though. Sometimes that’s the best defense. Ben says he wants someone who will cry with him and wants to know what she’s like in a relationship when she’s struggling or when something is wrong. Caila says she feels like she’s being put on the spot when he tells her to be vulnerable. He tries to clear things up and says he’s not asking her to tell him her deepest darkest secrets. He says all he wants to know from her is if she thinks he’s someone she could be with. She tells Ben he’s doing everything he possibly can to get her to open up, and then says, “I feel like I love you.” WHOA. That is not what I saw coming. But wait. Then she says she feels like she’s not ready. So she “feels” like she loves Ben, but isn’t sure. I’m confused.
Okay let’s regroup here. Caila isn’t sure if she loves Ben or not. Something to her doesn’t feel right. So they’re still having the conversation and Caila drops a bomb – and it’s not the “I love you” kind of bomb. Caila says, “part of me is afraid because you’re greatest fear is being unlovable, and my greatest fear might be breaking your heart.” Now Ben is confused too. First she said she thinks she might love him, now she says something isn’t right. CAILA WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!
Back at the hotel there’s a knock on the door. Time for the next date. Leah says there’s a part of her that would rather be on the two-on-one than be on the group date. This date card is for the group date though, and Lauren B., Becca, Amanda , JoJo, Lauren H. and Leah are on it. Leah is bummed.
Okay but let’s get to what this really means. Olivia and Emily are going to be on a two-on-one! That means one of them is going home. That also means the claws are about to come out. Everyone at work said this episode was amazing – so I’m pretty sure this is where the good stuff starts. Hang with me.
GET YOUR POPCORN READY.
Olivia vs. Emily. TONIGHT.@BachelorABC #TheBachelor pic.twitter.com/1NF8H1rfpV
— Good Morning America (@GMA) February 9, 2016
Back to Caila and Ben. He’s trying to figure out what’s going on. She says she’s sorry she’s being confusing an this is what she was afraid of. OMG I can’t keep up! She then says, “I know I’m falling in love because I feel like I’m being understood. I feel like I’m understood when I’m with you.” Cue the sappy love music. Caila is finally making sense y’all. Kind of. Not really. She could be in love. Maybe. Either way, Ben gives her the rose, so he obviously feels something for her.
It's time for the group date! The girls and Ben are on a boat and Becca starts to think they’re going to be swimming with sharks or something scary. The girls pull up to the island to find out what they’ll be doing for the day.
Ummm the girls will be swimming with pigs and feeding them hot dogs for the date. Don’t worry though, Ben says they’re chicken hot dogs. Phew. The pigs are chasing the girls and some of them are getting pretty aggressive. The women’s reactions are pretty funny. Finally some action in this episode!!!
Leah is still waiting for Ben to talk to her, and JoJo gives her a suggestion and tells her she should go talk to him instead. She doesn’t, but Ben does come to talk to her. At this point she’s a little standoffish and almost looks like she’s going to cry.
Leah is honest with Ben and asks him why she hasn’t been given a chance like the other girls. Ben tries to explain, and ends the conversation by asking her if she’ll make the most of the date with him. Pretty sure this was just the editing, but it then flashes to Leah crying and talking about how Ben is an idiot for not giving her a chance. Again, I think that was all editing, and maybe she really said that before she had the talk with Ben. But what do I know!?
Later in the evening, while Ben is off talking with someone on the group date, the rest of the women begin to discuss where they are in the process. Lauren B. talks about how close they’re getting to the end and how that means Ben could be coming home to meet their families soon. Flash to Leah in the diary room talking about how confident Lauren B. is and how it shows. Leah thinks that’s scary because that means Ben could end up with her.
Leah and Ben finally get some one-on-one time together and I can already tell Leah is about to make a big mistake. She’s about to start talking shit. Uh oh. She tells Ben there are some women in the house that are different around him than they are in the house. She says one person in particular comes to mind: Lauren B. She says it’s hard to see how they are together and then how Lauren B. is around the girls. Cue Lauren B. walking in to interrupt the conversation. Yikes.
Lauren B. can tell something is off, so she asks Ben what’s wrong. He tells her what he heard (oh boy) about her possibly acting different in the house than around him. Lauren B. is confused and says she’s been genuine with the other women. To be honest, I haven’t seen two sides of Lauren, but obviously we only see a small portion of what goes on, so I guess it’s possible. Lauren B. is definitely confused and feeling upset that someone would say something about her that she doesn’t think is true.
Lauren B. comes back to the group and as soon as Ben leaves she breaks down. She tells the girls what happened, and Leah comes walking up and asks what happened. Lauren B. tells her, and Leah says, “it wasn’t me.”
Leah really perfected the "I am guilty" reaction for this one...@BachelorABC #TheBachelor pic.twitter.com/VNQOcDMnyA
— Good Morning America (@GMA) February 9, 2016
Becca straight up asks Leah if she did it, and Leah not only lies, but says she’s not the kind of person to do that. Lauren B. is so upset and she doesn’t know what to do. Leah, this one is coming back to bite you in the ass. UGH I’m so upset! WHY LEAH WHYYYYYYY!!!
It’s time for Ben to give out the rose on the group date and he gives it to Amanda. Lauren B. is now questioning everything, and is worried what was said to Ben is going to affect their entire relationship.
We’re back at the hotel now and Lauren B. is talking to Emily about what happened. Emily tells her she’s sorry this has happened to her, and she thinks what was told to Ben isn’t true. Lauren B., Amanda and Emily are trying to figure out who could’ve told Ben that, and they come down to Leah. They try to figure out why she would want to lie about that, and Amanda tells her it’s because she’s intimidated. Emily says people are just jealous, and that Leah was just using it as a defense mechanism.
Meanwhile, Leah is heading over to Ben’s hotel room to talk to him again. In her diary room interview, she tells the producers that she’s going over there to make sure Ben believes her and knows that she thinks Lauren B. isn’t the right girl for him. WHERE IS THIS ALL COMING FROM I’M SO CONFUSED.
— Kelly Ann Schuberth (@KellySchuberth) February 9, 2016
Ben pops open a bottle of wine and the two sit down and chat. Ben is super concerned with what she said about Lauren B. being different around him. Ben realizes that once again, all Leah is doing is talking about how other girls are wrong for Ben instead of them getting to know each other. He realizes there’s a disconnect, and tells Leah there’s something missing. She seems pretty shocked when she realizes what’s about to happen. Ben is saying goodbye. Leah packs her stuff up to go home. She says she didn’t see this coming. I hate to be the one who has to say it, but karma is a bitch.
Okay. Time to get over that and move on. It’s time for some REAL drama. It’s time for the two-on-one date with Olivia and Emily. YAAAAS. I’m really hoping for some drama here. This season has been kind of boring. I REALLY miss Lace.
— Kelly Ann Schuberth (@KellySchuberth) February 9, 2016
Olivia grabs Ben to chat immediately. I’m hoping right now that he’s going to send her home right away and then spend the rest of the day getting to know Emily one-on-one. I feel like I could be right. She talked about herself to Ben for SO long and didn’t give him time to say ANYTHING. OMG Ben is nodding like he’s listening but damn I’m not sure. She finally comes out and tells Ben she’s in love with him. Olivia comes out of the conversation feeling pretty good, as usual.
Side note here – maybe Ben is going to send BOTH of them home on this date??! He can do that right? He can do whatever he wants, he’s the freaking Bachelor. Right?! Okay, moving on.
Emily and Ben are catching up now, and even from the beginning the conversation seems forced. Emily tells Ben she’s ready to fall but she wants him to know she’s waiting on him. She says she wants to be here more than he knows. She basically has diarrhea of the mouth right now and can’t stop talking. Ben hasn’t said a word and I’m starting to have a bad feeling.
It’s time for Ben to figure out who gets the rose, and he decides to pick up Olivia and take her away. He’s carrying the rose while he walks her away, by the way. Emily is super upset but I think she needs to just WAIT and see what’s about to happen because I have a good feeling Ben is about to tell Olivia what’s up.
After the break Olivia and Ben are walking through the water and Olivia is all smiles. She said she feels bad for Emily just sitting there back on the beach, but she knows that now Ben knows who she is and they can move forward and start life together. Then this…
OMG THAT JUST HAPPENED.
Ben goes back to Emily and tells her he doesn’t want to stop this journey with her, and asks her to accept the rose. She says yes and screams with joy. Then we see Olivia all sad and in shock about what just happened. I actually feel kind of bad for her at this point. I really think she just has some growing up to do. I will admit, I’ll miss her drama. I bet she’ll try to come back later in the season though.
Who thinks Olivia will be that girl who tries to come back later in the season? pic.twitter.com/FwikR4SQko
— Kelly Ann Schuberth (@KellySchuberth) February 9, 2016
The girls are waiting around for the cocktail party and they’re all anxious to talk to Ben. Especially JoJo. She wants to tell him how she feels and that she’s falling for him. In walks Chris Harrison. You know what that means. Not good news. The cocktail party is canceled for the night, and they’re going straight to the rose ceremony.
We start off with Becca getting the first rose. Then it’s JoJo. Then it’s already time for the final rose, believe it or not. Which Lauren will it be?! Lauren H. or Lauren B.? Lauren B. gets the rose, and that means Lauren H. is going home. She was really starting to grow on me. But I do think Ben and Lauren B. have a much stronger connection and I’m not really surprised.
Can we talk about the previews for the rest of the season now? It’s gonna get good y’all! I hope you’ll stay with me as Ben searches for “the one.” I’ll be live tweeting the show every week and would love to hear your opinions, so tweet me at @kellyschuberth or use the hashtag #RoseReport.
In Chris Harrison we trust,
Kelly
P.S. We never saw how Leah got that black eye they teased, did we? Either the producers left it out or SHE’LL be back. I can’t see that happening but who knows.
