NOTE: This post contains spoilers for Season 28, Episode 10 of The Bachelor.
Hello members of Bachelor Nation, and welcome to the recap for the Women Tell All (or WTA) episode of Joey’s season! All your favorites and not-so-favorites were in attendance, ensuring that the night was going to be “explosive and emotional” as Jesse Palmer put it.
The cheering audience was holding signs like “Maria 4 President”, “Hottest Bachelor Ever”, and “Maria Gets Our Final Rose”. Joey was inexplicably shirtless in front of a mirror, solemnly preparing to come face to face with his 16 exes. There was an announcement for a brand new podcast hosted by Susan and Kathy from The Golden Bachelor, which will be called Bachelor Happy Hour: Golden Hour. Joey and Jesse experienced “Joeymania” firsthand when they crashed multiple Bachelor viewing parties. Honestly, there were peak Bachelor Nation vibes going on here… and we were only five minutes in.
Now let’s get to the actual drama…
Roll Call!
16 women joined Jesse on stage for the WTA including, Sydney, Lauren, Allison, Edwina, Starr, Evalin, Taylor, Katelyn, Autumn, Kelsey T., Lea, Jess, Madina, Lexi, Jenn and… Maria (cue screams of support from the audience).
DEBUNKED: Lea is a "girl's girl".
The first major topic of discussion amongst the ladies was Lea’s date card which allowed her to steal a one-on-one from one of the other women. In case you forgot, she threw the card in the fire during the first episode. About half of the women at the WTA admitted they would have kept it, but Lea defended her decision to throw it away.
Maria stated that no one had a problem with her throwing it in the fire and that many of them respected the fact that she did so- the problem was the way Lea made it seem like she did that for the women and not for her own personal gain. “The tears felt like a performance,” said Starr, “It was a great performance until it wasn’t.”
Remember when Lea pulled Madina to tell her that she thought her being nice to Maria meant she was being a bad friend to Sydney (after Sydney had already been sent home)? If you missed that, I’d recommend reading my recap for that episode here. Anyway, that’s the conversation that was brought up next.
Madina said that the conversation with Lea was a waste of time and that it was frustrating to hear Lea call herself a “girl’s girl” just to have Lea pull her aside to tell her how to act. “Honestly, you owe me an apology,” said Madina. Lea gave a halfhearted apology, that went a little sideways. Luckily, Jesse Palmer interrupted to guide everyone to the next topic.
DEBUNKED: Maria told Lea to "shut the f--- up".
Maria repeatedly denied that she told Lea to “shut the f— up” when Sydney brought it up during the season, and she denied it again at the WTA. “Because I said it!” piped up Lauren, who was sitting directly behind Maria. “She was telling me to practice patience, and to be quiet, super condescending for no reason,” said Lauren.
Lea claimed that she didn’t care about the comment, but multiple women swiftly pointed out that she really, really did. Lea’s response to all this was that she just didn’t “wanna feel gaslit”, which did not go over well with the women.
After taking so much heat from the other ladies, Lea left the stage during the commercial break for a little solo cry sesh. Jess left to comfort her, and Lea eventually returned to the stage. Maria went over to check on her and gave her a hug before the show resumed. Aw!
CONFIRMED: Sydney and Maria speak two different languages.
Then it was time to tackle the absolutely blown out of proportion issue that was Madina’s age. Madina said her intention was just to bring up an insecurity she had, and that “bully” was not the right word to use when describing how she felt. She admitted that she felt pulled in two different directions because Maria wanted to know who said that comment and Sydney did not want her to tell.
Sydney said her intention was to stick up for Madina. However, Edwina did not agree. “She just never liked Maria to begin with”, she said. Jess tried to get in on all the shouting, asking why Edwina was making such assumptions. Edwina said that she was quiet and observed in the house, she saw it. “Don’t try to stop me from saying what I feel,” Edwina said to shut Jess down on that front.
Sydney insisted that she and Maria just communicate differently, and ….Maria agreed. “I speak the truth and you make up lies,” Maria said, “You’re absolutely right, we do speak different languages.” Point for Maria!
Jess vs. Maria
Next up, Jesse wanted to know why Jess blew up at Maria in Spain. Jess eventually conveyed that it was building up for a while because every time she tried to give her “two cents” in a conversation, Maria interrupted her and told her to shut up. Maria denied this over and over again- unfortunately by interrupting Jess. However, Maria admitted that she told Jess to “zip it” one time, but they had worked through that already.
“Do you feel like if it was someone else you would’ve had a problem?” Edwina asked Jess. Jess admitted that she felt some animosity toward Maria and probably would not have reacted the way she did if it were someone else.
“There’s nothing I can do for you women, you three, perfect seating arrangement,” quipped Maria, referring to Lea, Sydney, and Jess. Madina chimed in then, adding that it might have been Maria’s delivery in this situation that rubbed people the wrong way. “Is it delivery? Or is it just someone having an opposite opinion than your friend group?” asked Lexi (I’m thinking the latter).
Jesse interrupted the women then, which we all know is akin to music playing during someone’s thank you speech at an awards show. Time for the next topic! Or, in this case, the first Hot Seat.
Hot Seat: Lexi
The first to join Jesse in the Hot Seat was Lexi, who was one of my personal favorite contestants from this season. A little recap- Joey and Lexi had a great connection, but she left in Montreal after determining that her and Joey’s timelines for having children did not align.
Lexi commended Joey for the way he handled their conversation about her endometriosis diagnosis, saying that he told her he would want to keep a “toolkit” with him to help her in case she had a flare-up. Let’s just go ahead and add this to the very long list of reasons why Joey has been the best Bachelor to ever grace our screens!
Lexi also mentioned how thankful she is for the response from Bachelor Nation. “When I was going through that I felt so alone,” Lexi said, so she was grateful that she allowed others to feel seen. “What comes next for you?” Jesse asked. “I’m ready to meet my person,” said Lexi (so, maybe our next Bachelorette?).
Hot Seat: Jenn
Jenn then joined Jesse in the hot seat to talk about her time on the show. Quick recap- Jenn made it to the week before hometowns before being sent home.
Jenn quickly became emotional watching her journey with Joey back, since she was watching her heart break. She said that she felt like she put everything on the line, but was left wondering “what happened?”. She then mentioned how the show has helped her grow closer to her mother since it helped her see Jenn as a full-fledged adult.
What’s next for Jenn? “I just have a new sense of hope,” said Jenn, and she’s ready to find her person. Sounds like another Bachelorette audition to me!
Hot Seat: Maria
Then it was time for the Hot Seat of the night, the one everyone was waiting for- Maria! After watching highlights of her journey with Joey, Maria said it was “sad” but “everything happens for a reason”. Her dad, however, may not be feeling as positive. “Joey has a hit out on him currently,” Maria joked, “He should probably sleep with one eye open.” She was just joking, of course!
Then Sydney and Maria had a chance to put their feud to rest. “I pride myself on being honest,” said Sydney, but admitted that she “was annoying” on the show. Sydney also admitted that she should have been more “resolution-oriented” rather than just pointing the finger at Maria.
Maria said that she felt that she had to protect herself on the show, but that she does not condone or respect the extreme hate that both Sydney and Lea have been getting online. Lea then had her chance to speak to Maria, and said that she did not truly get a chance to know her. “I watch the TV and I’m like ‘I love that girl’,” said Lea after apologizing to Maria.
“I wanna make up,” said Maria before leaving the Hot Seat to give both Lea and Sydney hugs.
Kelsey's Note
Taking a break from normal WTA content- we headed back to Tulum to pick up where we left off last week on Joey’s journey to find love. CCTV footage showed Joey finding Kelsey A.’s “we need to talk” note. This sent Joey into a mini spiral since the note gave literally zero context as to what she wanted to talk about. Clearly, he thought (much like everyone else) that something was very, very wrong and that she’d likely be breaking up with him. “I’m over giving everything I can and feeling like they’re not choosing me,” said Joey to the camera, “This is like my worst nightmare coming true.”
And then Kelsey knocked on Joey’s door to chat…
False alarm, Joey!!! Kelsey just wanted to tell him that she misses him and that the days when she doesn’t get to see him are difficult. Oh! And she really wants to meet his family. That’s it Kelsey? Really? You almost gave our poor angel baby a heart attack for this?
While clearly relieved, Joey expressed his frustration with her leaving a vaguely worded note. Kelsey immediately picked up on what he was saying and felt bad for stressing him out. Kelsey said that she would word the note differently if given another chance, but I’m betting that the producers were a major influence on the mysterious nature of the note.
The Rose Ceremony
A rose ceremony during a WTA? Weird, but let’s go with it.
Rachel, Kelsey, and Daisy all rolled up to the Rose Ceremony location feeling nervous. Daisy said that it was difficult to know that either she or one of her close friends was going to get hurt that day. Aw!
Joey then arrived and handed out two roses.
His first rose went to… Daisy.
His second rose went to… Kelsey.
You know what that means… Rachel was sent home. At their stop at the Goodbye Bench, Joey told Rachel that while he “has love for her” he just couldn’t get there. Rachel said in her confessional that she naturally feels like it was something she did wrong, because Joey didn’t do anything wrong.
Hot Seat: Rachel
Rachel joined Jesse to talk about her departure from the show. Crying bittersweet tears, she said that the final moment between her and Joey was still beautiful because “you can see how much love there was between” them. Rachel admitted that a part of her wished that she could have been vulnerable sooner during her journey with Joey, but she felt that she opened up as much as she could at the time.
Joey then joined Rachel and Jesse. Rachel joked that it was nice to see Joey cry- at least he cared that she left. She also said that Joey taught her that the high standards set by her dad can actually be met, and that she can have the type of romantic relationship that she deserves. Yes, Rachel!
Then, in a moment of true vulnerability, Rachel opened up about the hateful and racist messages she has been receiving ever since the Hometowns episode aired. She said that her family really enjoyed the Hometowns episode, but then she woke up to hateful DMs and TikToks of people pretending to puke every time she and Joey kissed. What is wrong with people? Honestly…
And Rachel wasn’t the only one receiving hateful messages- a majority of the other women raised their hands to say that they too have received hate this season (including Susan and Kathy from The Golden Bachelor).
Jesse Palmer faced the camera and addressed all viewers and members of Bachelor Nation. “We love your strong opinions. But I think it’s so important that we uplift these women.” Joey jumped in as well, reminding everyone of the courage it takes to be on the show. Rachel got the final word on the subject, and reminded everyone to be kind and that they are all real people with real feelings. Amen!
Let's wrap this WTA up...
Then Joey got to talk to a few of the women he sent home, and we finally got to hear from Kelsey T.! She said that she talked to her dad right after the show. He apologized for a lot and is much more present in her life now.
Then it was blooper/outtake time! We got to see Rachel’s impression of Joey’s rose ceremony shoulder shimmy, Joey chowing down on macarons during his shopping date with Maria, a lot of stumbles and falls, and some transparency regarding women’s defecation problems.
Whew! That was a long one...
Thanks for sticking with me through that roller coaster ride. What did you think of the episode? Who do you think is going to be the next Bachelorette? My money is on Maria, but I’d also really love Lexi in the role too.
Let me know what you think down below, and join me next week for a recap of the finale and ATFR! Can you believe we’re already at the end of Joey’s season?
