Rachel Recchia has left the beach. On Thursday’s episode of Bachelor in Paradise, the former Bachelorette opted not to hand out her rose and left Mexico in tears.
Before Rachel’s shocking departure, Blake sat down for a frank conversation with Jess, telling her that his ex-fiancée, Katie Thurston‘s, arrival on the beach made him realize that they were stagnant in their relationship.
“I had way, way, way less time with her, but we were able to accomplish so much more. I’ve had so much more time with you, and I feel like we’re kind of going in circles,” Blake said. “… We had such a great start and then it just started to fester and circle. I just feel like everything’s pointing to, as much as we want this to work, that it’s not going to.”
Jess admitted that “there’s truth” to Blake’s statement, telling him, “I thought at this point I would be hopelessly in love. I thought things would look differently, and that’s not where I’m at.”
Jess assured Blake that she was leaving the relationship “with no hard feelings,” before telling the cameras, “He was all in and I wasn’t. It was just me. I just couldn’t get there and I wanted it so bad… I just feel like such a bad person.”
As he was driven away, Blake said, “At this point, I just feel like I’ve tried it all… I feel like a failure right now.”
Also dwindling was Mercedes and Tyler’s relationship, as she confronted him with her feeling that “there’s really no depth” to their romance. Tyler told Mercedes that he’d been looking for a spark with her that he’d yet to find.
“I feel used. If there’s no spark… I just feel like you’re here having fun and that pisses me off, because now I feel like my time has been wasted,” she said. “I could’ve left here with someone and had an amazing relationship, and now we’re at the end and I can’t. You weren’t honest with me. I don’t think you’ll be getting my rose tonight.”
Things appeared to be going better for Rachel, who told Jordan that “there is no one else I would rather give my rose to.” That all went downhill, though, when Jordan expressed an interest in Mercedes without Rachel’s knowledge.
Elsewhere, with Blake out of the picture, both Brayden and Tanner expressed interest in Jess, with the latter telling her, “You maybe being open is enough for me to want to stay here.”
At the rose ceremony, things proceeded normally at first; Eliza’s rose went to Aaron, Kat’s to John Henry, Kylee’s to Aven, Olivia’s to Michael, Sam’s to Peter and Jess’ to Tanner.
The dramatics started when Mercedes awarded her rose to Jordan, who happily accepted it, much to Rachel’s shock. With only Brayden and Taylor left, Rachel ran out of the rose ceremony in tears, telling host Jesse Palmer that she needed to leave the beach.
“Even if I’m not leaving with anyone, for me Paradise has been just being able to stand on my own two feet for the first time,” Rachel told the cameras. “… It’s just been the most amazing experience and I’m just happy, but it’s sad because it’s ending.”
Brayden and Taylor were thus sent packing, and the former was left feeling “deflated” over how it all turned out.
“I feel like I shouldn’t have gone on that date with Becca,” Brayden admitted. “I had really good vibes with Rachel, but I messed up the potential for the relationship with her… I gotta do better. I gotta be better.”
In the preview for next week’s finale, Aaron expresses his love for Eliza, John Henry considers proposing to Kat, and Peter tells Sam that he cares about her. Aven, however, appears to be annoyed by Kylee’s focus on a proposal, leaving her sobbing. Scattered shots show Jess, Aven, Sam and more singles crying, before the group attends a surprise Paradise wedding officiated by Jesse.
When ET spoke to the franchise host about what’s to come on the finale, he teased, “There have been a lot of familiar faces that have arrived to the beach. There are a few more surprises in store, people that are going to be showing up.
“We also have a wedding, which I’m really excited for people to see… It’s a full-circle moment that I think is really going to surprise people and bring a smile to people’s faces when they see that,” he said. “It was one of the more happier moments that I can remember since I’ve been hosting. It’s going to be really, really special and really exciting.”
Bachelor in Paradise airs Thursdays on ABC. Keep up with all the drama on the beach with ET’s coverage of the show.
RELATED CONTENT: