The Bachelor: Arie Luyendyk Jr. Learns Bekah M.'s Age, Krystal Still Isn't Here to Make Friends
This week, Arie Luyendyk Jr.‘s remaining Bachelor contestants pack up their bags and travel to South Lake Tahoe — but not before another rousing, go-get-’em pep talk expertly designed to inspire light fear and panic, courtesy of Chris Harrison.
“Good morning! Everybody doing all right? It’s hard to believe there’s only 15 of you left, but that’s a good thing, because that means more dates for everybody and more time for everybody. But it also means tougher decisions — more emotions. It doesn’t get easier from here on out!”
ONE-ON-ONE WITH SEINNE
The first date card in Tahoe goes to Seinne, a saintly, soft-spoken Yale-educated queen who seems almost too good for reality TV, like Rachel Lindsay before her. Arie and Seinne spend the day parasailing while the rest of the women stalk them via binoculars from their cabin balcony. Seinne, in a remarkably sensible display of levelheadedness for someone on The Bachelor, says she likes Arie but can’t use “the L word” yet. Meanwhile, Krystal is already picking out their imaginary kids’ names.
Seinne keeps it real throughout the date, openly admitting to Arie at dinner that she’s fairly doubtful she’ll be the one living out the “fairytale ending” when all of this is over.
“When I was 14, I remember seeing my parents struggle with their relationship, so I learned at a young age that love was very difficult and complicated and there can be heartbreak,” she says. “In addition to that, I’m a black female, and they don’t tell a lot of stories about girls like me having the fairytale ending. Growing up in the U.S., you don’t see love stories with girls that look like me. I didn’t have something to look at and say, ‘Oh, that could be my story.’ ”
“There are other girls that this love story looks more appropriate for,” she adds. “If that makes sense.”
Arie, obviously realizing that Seinne is a national treasure who must be protected at all costs, gives her a rose. Ten points for Arie.
GROUP DATE
This week’s group date opens a real can of worms — literally and figuratively.
Chelsea, Krystal, Becca K., Marikh, Ashley, Jacqueline, Jenna, Tia, Kendall, Lauren, Brittany and Caroline are selected to spend the day hiking with Arie in the woods. After getting some survivalist tips from a retired Green Beret Combat Commander in the U.S. Army Special Forces, Jacqueline almost drinks her own urine, while Kendall enthusiastically volunteers to eat a bunch of live worms even though there’s absolutely no need to do so. Arie also eats worms, and then they kiss. Gross.
Next, the women are tasked with navigating their way through the forest to their final destination. The group is split into three teams, one of which is joined by Arie. (It’s unclear how the teams are decided, but the two teams that have to trek through the snow without Arie are less than pleased.)
Arie’s team completes the challenge first, arriving at a secluded cabin and immediately stripping down to enjoy the hot springs and some champagne. At one point, Arie puts his arm around Krystal, a semi-flirtatious move that prompts Tia and Caroline to retaliate by jokingly draping their limbs around each other. Krystal points out that she feels like she’s at a high school summer camp and everyone is trying to hook up with the counselor, and that actually paints a pretty accurate picture. Please, no more group hot tub dates.
Krystal spends the day dragging the other girls behind their backs for being desperate or too aggressive, but she doesn’t have her own strategy nailed down.
“I’m not sure what I’m going to say [to Arie],” she says, breezily. “But whatever I do, I have a feeling it’s going to be perfect.”
As the night wears on, Tia and Caroline become increasingly frustrated with Krystal — especially when they find out she’s used her time with Arie to whine about feeling “ostracized” by the other women in the house. Krystal, hot tip: Maybe if you didn’t say things like, “I come across as flawless,” they would like you more.
Joke’s on Krystal, though, because Tia gets the group date rose.
ONE-ON-ONE WITH BEKAH M.
The final one-on-one this week goes to Bekah. Much ado has been made about Bekah because there’s 14-year age difference between her and Arie — which she has conspicuously avoided telling him about until now. Finally, after a day of horseback riding and hot-tubbing, she’s forced to break it to him.
“I’m 36 — things have just slowed down so much for me,” he says. “I enjoy waking up with the sun, which I never enjoyed five years ago. I’m in a different place than I was in my late 20s — so my fear with you is that you might be where I was in my 20s. I think it’s a valid fear.”
When she reveals that she’s not just in her 20s, but in her very early 20s — she’s 22 — Arie quite literally covers his mouth in shock.
“Twenty-two years old is so damn young,” he says later. “I’m just thinking of all the problems that could come up. I could see myself falling in love with her, but I also don’t want to get through this whole thing, be at the end, and then afterwards have her realize, ‘I’m not really ready for marriage.’ At 22, does she really know? I think we might be too far apart.”
“I just want to settle down, I want to have a family,” he continues. “I want to share that with somebody. I’m not here for a 22-year-old girlfriend. I’m here to find a wife. Now that I know that she’s 22, everything is flipped upside down, and I don’t know what to do.”
Despite his reservations about Bekah being ready for longterm commitment, Arie decides to take the “risk” and give her the rose.
“I know it might bring me heartache in the future, but I’m here to find love and to find a fiancée and eventually a wife,” he explains. “And I think the first step to finding that is to be vulnerable and be open to this.”
ROSE CEREMONY
By the time the rose ceremony rolls around, there are 14 women left — Maquel had to leave due to a death in the family — and three of them already have roses secured: Seinne, Tia and Bekah.
Arie decides to cancel the cocktail party and head straight into the ceremony because he’s already made up his mind. But moments before he’s about to hand out the first rose, Krystal interrupts and asks for a moment alone with him, prompting a collective eye roll among the rest of the women — particularly Caroline, who thinks Krystal is playing Arie “like a fiddle.”
Obviously, Krystal didn’t have anything of consequence to say except that she “respects” Arie’s decision, so that was a waste of time. The rose ceremony resumes, and Arie ends up sending Brittany and Caroline home — but if next week’s preview is any indication, Krystal’s demise might be on the horizon.
The Bachelor airs Mondays (8 p.m. ET) on ABC.
