The Bachelor star Nick Viall eliminated Danielle Maltby and Kristina Schulman during Monday night's episode on ABC.

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Danielle, a 31-year-old neonatal nurse from Nashville, TN, was denied a rose on her one-on-one date with Nick in Bimini, the closest Bahamian island to the United States.

"I don't know what to think right now. I thought this was my time. I really did," Danielle said in tears following her ouster.

"I didn't want it to work out because I've been through so much already; I wanted it to work out because someone actually wanted to be mine. But this wasn't the case. I'm heartbroken and I'm upset. All I want is for him to walk through that door right now and have him say, 'Danielle, I just made the biggest mistake.' Please walk back through that door."

Out of respect for her, Nick later eliminated Kristina, a 24-year-old dental hygienist from Lexington, KY, in private before the Rose Ceremony.

"I'm obviously disappointed. I didn't think I'd be going home. I did picture my life with Nick," Kristina said in her final words. "I never pictured it with anyone else. I know what I deserve and that's why I came here, because I wanted to find love. I was falling in love with Nick and it's hard to go back home. This is the most vulnerable I've been. I really wanted it to work for me."

The Bachelor episode began where last week's broadcast had left off, with Nick questioning whether he could continue on with the process in light of the connections -- or lack thereof -- he made with the women up to this point.
 
After sending home both Danielle Lombard and Whitney Fransway, the six remaining girls -- Raven Gates, Vanessa Grimaldi, Danielle M., Kristina, Corinne Olympios and Rachel Lindsay -- were upset and taken by surprise.

Raven said it would be heartbreaking to think this process might not work for Nick, and she worried he was "just going to throw in the towel." Rachel noted she'd be "devastated" if Nick chose to walk away from them.

Nick sat down with host Chris Harrison and explained that he felt very strongly about Danielle L. in the beginning, so the fact his feelings changed so drastically and he sent her packing was alarming. Nick feared his relationships with the bachelorettes left could also falter and he'd end up alone again.

Since Nick had his heart broken twice by Kaitlyn Bristowe and Andi Dorfman on The Bachelorette, he had trouble trusting his own emotions and was filled with insecurity the show might not bring him lasting love. He appeared to seriously question leaving the show.

"I'm terrified. I feel like he's checking out. Maybe he's not ready for this," Vanessa said in a confessional. "He doesn't necessarily need to end up with somebody at the end of this. Maybe he's just done with it, and that's what scares me."

Nick visited the girls the following morning and explained where he was coming from, but after thinking it over, the Bachelor determined his connections with some of the remaining women were so strong that he needed to see this process through. Nick revealed that what he felt for Danielle L. didn't compare to what he was feeling for the women in that room.

"I've been close [to true love] before. And I just don't want to get that close anymore. I want to get all the way there," Nick told his bachelorettes.

"I'm so happy Nick is optimistic again and he's not going anywhere," Vanessa noted. "I feel so relieved."

Nick then canceled the cocktail party and Rose Ceremony that night, and everyone took off to Bimini. Once the ladies moved into a villa at Resorts World Bimini, they received the week's first Date Card, which read, "Vanessa, let's go deeper."

"You lucky bitch," Corinne said to Vanessa, who seemed put off by the comment.

Corinne was angry Vanessa was going on her second one-on-one date of the season when she hadn't even gotten one yet. Corinne wanted to be the girl at the end whom Nick gets down on one knee for.

"I'm really frustrated and I'm bloated," Corinne told the cameras before venting to Rachel about how Vanessa doesn't have much depth other than talking about eating pasta with her Italian family.

Vanessa was thrilled about her date because she confessed it felt like years since she had a one-on-one with Nick. After the whole debacle in St. Thomas, Vanessa didn't doubt what they had, but his reaction after the two-on-one date with Whitney and Danielle L. made her take a step back.

For their date, the couple sailed on a yacht. Nick revealed to Vanessa that he felt like he was forcing his relationship with Danielle and didn't want to lose a connection like that again. Vanessa promised she wasn't going anywhere, and her walls fell back down.

Vanessa believed she and Nick were very open and honest with each other, and she felt so lucky to meet a man like him, someone she initially thought didn't even exist.

Vanessa and Nick then went snorkeling in the ocean, but instead of looking at fish, they were all over each other in the water and couldn't stop kissing.

"This feeling is love. It's love," Vanessa gushed. "It's just so real what we have. I want to tell him I love him and I'm falling in love with him, but he doesn't know it. I haven't said it, but I'm sure he feels it," Vanessa said.

Meanwhile, a Date Card arrived at the bachelorettes' villa with the following names on it for a group date: Corinne, Kristina and Raven.

Back on Vanessa's date, she acknowledged Nick definitely reciprocated such feelings of love and couldn't wait to see his facial expression upon opening up to him. At dinner, Vanessa told the Bachelor that she wanted him to meet her family and she can see a future with him. Vanessa thought it just felt easy with Nick.

"I feel comfortable and confident enough to tell you that I am falling in love with you," Vanessa told him.

Nick smiled and kissed Vanessa, however, he explained that he only wanted to say "I love you" to one woman on this journey -- and he hoped it would be the last woman he ever says those three little words to. Nick was only going to express love if he found the greatest love of all, so it would be like saying "I love you" for the first time. Nick's admission took the wind out of Vanessa's sails.

Vanessa was disappointed because she thought they were on the same page, but Nick asked her to trust her heart. Vanessa was just "hurt" because she assumed their relationship was different and so he'd tell her exactly what she needed to hear.

"I'm just afraid to end up like Nick did -- heartbroken at the end of this," Vanessa said.

The next day, Kristina, Raven and Corinne embarked on their group date with Nick. The foursome went out on a boat and swam with fish and sharks. Corinne was upset because Kristina got most of the attention on the date when she had planned to totally steal the show. Since Raven also enjoyed a one-on-one date recently, Corinne felt like the third wheel.

Kristina also exited the ocean after seeing a large shark and started to cry on the boat. Nick comforted her and spent a lot of time with her alone, so Corinne grew more and more insecure and worried. Corinne was falling for Nick, but she thought he was falling for Kristina. And Nick did admit later on that his connection with Kristina was really strong.

That night, Kristina consoled Nick when he started to cry about how difficult this journey can be, and Raven revealed her dad was diagnosed with lung cancer and that's why she lost interest in law school and moved back home.

Meanwhile, Danielle M. learned she'd be accompanying Nick on the next one-on-one date. Her card read, "Let's ride off into the sunset together."

Back on the group date, Corinne expressed to Nick how she was nervous about going home because they never had a one-on-one date together. Nick assured the bachelorette she had to be doing something right, and she felt happy about their relationship.

"I feel complete when I'm with Nick," Corinne told the cameras, adding that she "made up for lost time."

But Nick ended up giving the group-date rose to Raven. That night, the couple enjoyed a concert by Adam Friedman on the beach, and he was excited to meet her family.

"I am falling in love with Nick, and now that I have a rose, maybe I have some reassurance he's feeling the same way," Raven said in a confessional.

But Corinne was "flabbergasted" over Nick's decision, noting, "I always want to be the apple of Nick's eye."

The next day, Nick and Danielle M. rode bikes for their date around the island, ate food, shopped, and played basketball with locals. Danielle thought it was a wonderful day, and she wanted a future with Nick. Danielle was definitely falling for him "like 150 bagillion percent."

Danielle thought she had "a natural rhythm" with Nick, and the pair definitely had fun together. While Nick thought Danielle was very sweet, he noticed a lull in their conversation during the day, so he hoped to "catapult" their romance forward at dinner that night. He didn't know whether nerves were the issue or their chemistry, but he needed to find a woman with whom he could have natural conversation.

Meanwhile, the next Date Card addressed to Rachel arrived and said, "Let's get a taste of the local flavor." She anticipated making a last impression before hometowns.

Back on Danielle's date, Nick said he felt comfortable with her, and she gushed about how she was crazy about him and hadn't felt this way for a man since her fiance passed away. Danielle was scared to fall in love but very ready.

"I want you to know that my heart is very open and it's very open for you. I want to take on anything with you -- good, bad and everything in between. And I'm not sure that's something I ever really felt. I care about you," Danielle told Nick.

But upon hearing her admission, Nick realized he didn't feel the same way. Nick explained to the bachelorette that while they had a strong friendship, if he was being honest with himself, he didn't see a future with her and it broke his heart. Nick therefore said goodbye to Danielle M., elaborating how there needs to be a longing for one's partner when they're apart and in love, which he was missing with her. 

The remaining women were blindsided by Danielle M's ouster.

That night, Corinne snuck into Nick's hotel to visit him and make a move on him. She said she'd "live in a shack with no diamonds for Nick... when I want something, I get it. No ifs, ands or buts."

Corinne didn't want to be outshined by other girls, so she dressed up and surprised Nick, wanting to turn their spark into a fire.

"My sexabilities are top notch... I know how to make a man feel good," Corinne insisted. "I do it way better than anybody else because my heart is gold but my vagine is platinum."

When Corinne and Nick were alone in the bedroom together, Nick could be heard telling the bachelorette he was very attracted to her but wanted to slow things down. Nick found Corinne "tempting," but at the end of the day, he rejected her.

"I don't think this is a good idea," Nick could be heard saying behind closed doors. "Don't feel bad, it's fine."

"Oh my god," Corinne said of her rejection on the way out of Nick's hotel.

Nick worried intimacy with Corinne would upset the other women and potentially ruin his relationships with them, so he learned his lesson from Kaitlyn's season and told Corinne he wasn't ready to have sex -- especially since one or both of them might regret it down the road.

"Oh my god, this is so terrible," Corinne told the cameras in shock. "It backfired. Everything went wrong and now I'm really terrified and self conscious... if I don't get a rose, I'm going to be devastated."

The next day, Nick intended to relax and chill with Rachel on their one-on-one date, and the couple did just that. They went to a little local bar and had some beers. Nick found Rachel "intelligent, smart and charismatic." She revealed she's a daddy's girl and never brought home a white man to meet her family -- although she has dated white men in the past.

Rachel made it clear she's not playing games with Nick and is on the show for the right reasons. Their romance certainly wasn't slowing down, and they both had an easy and fun connection.

"My walls are down. I'm vulnerable. I am falling for Nick," Rachel said in a confessional.

Before the season's next Rose Ceremony, Nick confessed to Chris that he needed to let a girl go beforehand because he cared deeply for her. He knew whom he needed to send packing and was absolutely dreading breaking her heart. Nick wanted to break the news to her personally and privately.

Corinne was a wreck, thinking she was going home, but Nick visited the girls' villa and eliminated Kristina outside.

Nick told Kristina that going into hometowns, he had such a love for her but he wasn't "in love." He revealed that he had stronger relationships with other women. Kristina, typically soft-spoken and sweet, bluntly replied, "You didn't give me a fair chance."

Nick didn't want to lead Kristina on hoping their chemistry could grow in the weeks ahead. He thought it was better to let her go now when he knew other relationships were further along. Nick told Kristina that she deserved better than him, and she reminded him how much she has to offer.

Kristina wasn't really buying that Nick thought she was "amazing" because she flat out said, "But you're letting me go." Nick wasn't ready to say goodbye to Kristina, but he felt he had to. It broke his heart to see her cry, and the last thing he wanted to do was hurt her.




About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

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