The Bachelorette star Desiree Hartsock sent three more bachelors packing during last night's broadcast of the ABC reality dating series' ninth season.
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"I'm blown away. I'm f-cking blown away," Brandon said following his ouster.
"I did not expect that, especially because of the fact that [Ben Scott] is the biggest liar I've ever met. Man, I can't believe that. What a mistake. What a giant mistake. I pretty much just had my heart smashed by a hammer and it sucks so bad because I'm in love with Des. She just didn't feel it. I'm so disappointed. Once again, someone left me -- once again. Way to go, Brandon. I can't even cry. I'm just out of tears."
The Bachelorette's third ninth-season episode began with host Chris Harrison telling the 16 remaining bachelors there would be a single one-on-one date and two group dates over the course of the next week. There would be a rose up for grabs during each -- and if the bachelor on the one-on-one date failed to receive a rose, he'd be ousted immediately.
Chris Siegfried, a 27-year-old mortgage broker from Seattle, WA; Brian; Drew Kenney, a 27-year-old digital marketing analyst from Scottsdale, AZ; Michael Garofola, a 33-year-old federal prosecutor from Miami Beach, FL; Brooks Forester, a 28-year-old marketing consultant from Salt Lake City, UT; Brad McKinzie, a 27-year-old accountant from Denver, CO; Mikey Tenerelli, a 30-year-old plumbing contractor from Winfield, IL; Brandon; Zack Kalter, a 28-year-old book publisher from Newport Beach, CA; and Ben, a 28-year-old entrepreneur and single dad from Dallas, TX, then learned they'd be accompanying Des on the week's first group date.
Michael G. noted there were nine great guys going on the group date and Ben was coming along too.
For the date, the guys learned how to play dodgeball and played a few quick games against the National Dodgeball League. Chris Harrison soon arrived at the date's location and informed the bachelors they'd face each other in a "winner takes all" match in two randomly-assigned teams.
The Red Team ended up being Mikey, Michael, Brooks, Chris, and Brandon versus The Blue Team -- Ben, Drew, Zack, Brad, and Brian. The match took place in a public arena outside of a mall. The guys were required to dress in tanks and small, tight shorts featuring their team's color.
The Blue Team won Round 1 and the Red Team took Round 2. It all came down to the third and final round in which Brooks got hurt and had to be taken to the hospital. He appeared to have broken his finger and claimed he was in a lot of pain. Once Brooks left the scene, the game resumed and the Red Team wanted to take it home for Brooks. However, in the end, Zack battled Chris alone in the netted arena and the Blue Team won.
Afterward, Des decided to take all the men to the after-party despite the initial rules. She felt she needed more time with everybody and didn't want to deprive herself of the opportunity. She was sad that Brooks was going to miss out on the fun.
"I just broke my finger playing dodgeball and they had to realign it, and in doing so, I passed out. My body felt really light and there were all these doctors around and I had oxygen in my nose and stuff was all hooked up to me. It's one of the more painful feelings that I've had in my life. The whole idea was to go and be competitive to spend some more time with Desiree and I end up kicking my bed out of pain basically. It's just frustrating," Brooks said while footage of him in the hospital aired.
Meanwhile, at the party, Brad told Desiree he has a three-year-old son named Maddox at home. Brad explained he hadn't dated in two years because he's raising his son alone, as the mother was an alcoholic. Brad then opened up about a time he had gotten arrested for domestic violence and got issued a restraining order only for trying to stop his son's mother from driving drunk. Des appreciated how he wasn't trying to hide his past and seemed to like the idea he had a son.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOWBack at the mansion, Kasey Stewart, a 29-year-old advertising executive from San Luis Obispo, CA, got the date card and the only one-on-one of the week.
During the group date, Chris was worried he was running out of time, so whisked Des out of the room and brought her on the building's roof. She thought the gesture was creative and romantic, and Chris thought they shared a connection.
Brooks then arrived at the date and still appeared to be feeling under the weather. Desiree was thrilled to see him, and the pair went off to chat for a bit and shared a kiss.
"I love my conversations with Brooks and how he just brings out the best in me. Everything comes naturally to where we don't have to try to make it work. There's just a chemistry there that works. It was nice to see that he wanted to make the after-party even after such an injury. It's so special to me," Des said.
Des then gave the group-date rose to Chris, who made a great impression on her that night, and the pair got to enjoy a private concert by Kate Earl. Des said Chris continued to surprise her and she loved his personality traits. She also noted how she felt comfortable around him and could be herself. Likewise, Chris said he felt like he had known Des for awhile and their moment at the concert was the beginning of something great. The couple danced and kissed the night away.
The next day, Chris Harrison called Desiree with "bizarre news" about one of the guys. Without revealing the bachelor just yet, Des hinted she thought the guy had been so sincere and didn't see it coming, and she explained that finding love and her husband wasn't a game to her.
It turns out Brian had a girlfriend back home, and Desiree immediately pulled him aside to talk before embarking on her date with Kasey. Desiree didn't directly ask Brian about his girlfriend but gave him many opportunities to bring it up and be truthful. However, Brian continued to dodge the real answers.
Brian told Desiree he felt something strong for her and was dead serious about the process. He insisted his past relationship didn't end awhile ago but that it was over emotionally long before that. He told Des there was companionship and a friendship still there, but they just didn't see a future with one another.
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The guys were equally as shocked about what was unfolding before their eyes. Stephanie started grilling Brian, saying he had told her they wouldn't see anyone else. Stephanie claimed they were together the day before he left for filming in California and told her he was going on a business trip and just needed some time to himself to clear his head and figure things out.
Stephanie explained she wanted to call it quits that very day but he suggested they just take a break because he still loved her. To make matters worse, Stephanie admitted the couple slept together right before Brian left for the "business trip." While Brian wasn't owning up to much, he did admit they had slept together. Stephanie was angry at how Brian was acting like they weren't together still, and she finally called him a "lying, cheating, deceitful pig."
Stephanie insisted Brian was a liar and told Desiree to watch out because he wasn't the type of guy she'd hope to end up with.
"Is there any chance this guy is staying here?" Chris Harrison asked Des after they both watched the crazy conversation play out between Stephanie and Brian.
"No, not a chance," Des replied.
Brian then quickly gathered his things and was escorted out of the mansion.
"I don't know what was going through his head or what he was thinking coming here. It takes someone with no character to come onto a show for love knowing he has a relationship back home. He needs to do some soul-searching I think. The idea of doing that to someone else and not even thinking about how that feels to her, it's ridiculous," Des explained following Brian's ouster. "Going forward I can only trust my intuition and hope it's right."
The guys agreed Brian's stint was "so disrespectful" and hoped it wouldn't place doubts in Des' mind about the guys she had left. Des then approached her remaining bachelors and asked if they had anything they wanted to tell her. Des was expecting honesty out of everyone, and while the guys had a chance to speak up if any of them were there for the wrong reasons, no one did.
Brandon was especially bothered by Brian's actions, because Brian apparently became a role model in Stephanie's son's life. Brandon explained he had many father figures in his life whom he'd grow to love but then the guys would leave his family and disappear. Brandon related to Stephanie's son in that sense and was pretty repulsed by what Brian had done.
The next date card arrived at the mansion and Dan; James Case, a 27-year-old advertising executive from Chicago, IL; Juan Pablo Galavis, a 31-year-old former pro soccer player from Miami, FL; Bryden Vukasin, a 26-year-old Iraqi War veteran from Missoula, MT; and Zak Waddell, a 31-year-old drilling fluid engineer from Mico, TX, then learned they'd be sharing the upcoming group date.
Meanwhile, Des was looking forward to having fun with Kasey, as she believed he was trustworthy and would get her back on a high after such a rocky start to the day.
The pair went bandalooping, which is hanging off the side of a building in a harness. The couple danced, did flips and goofed off until they exhausted themselves. Des said the date wasn't going like she had hoped it would go but it wasn't Kasey's fault. She just had a bad morning with the Brian situation, and it affected the rest of her day even though she tried to focus on Kasey.
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Des called it a "disastrous date" due to the weather and her mood, but she knew Kasey had the potential to be an amazing husband and was an amazing man who deserved a great date. Kasey told Des it didn't matter what they did, he just enjoyed spending time with her. Des then offered Kasey a rose and told him that he had been such a great sport all day.
The following day, Des went on her group date with the selected guys. They dressed as cowboys and learned how to do some stunts that are in the movies. They worked with the stunt coordinator from the Disney move The Lone Ranger -- learning how to lasso, quickly draw their pistols and fight for justice. It was a cowboy boot camp, and the final challenge was to ride a horse and save Des by utilizing all the stunts they had practiced.
The guy to impress Des the most and do the best job would win some alone time with her. In the end, Des picked Juan Pablo as her "Lone Ranger" because he did his whole scene in Spanish.
As a prize for winning, Juan Pablo got to watch The Lone Ranger with Des inside a romantic barn. Des said it was the best date she had in forever. She noted Juan Pablo was "the best and worst movie date" because he was distracting in a good way. They eventually shared a kiss Des described as "passionate."
Afterward, Des and the guys sat around a campfire at the ranch. She spoke with the reserved Bryden first and admitted she had to take the lead at times because Bryden didn't know when to make the moves. After a kiss, Bryden felt they had re-established their connection. Zak W. then got some time with Des and kept her laughing. He said he had a great "love drunk feeling."
James then got to talk to Des and told her that he left his sick father at home to come on the show. He wanted to attain a settling feeling, knowing that his journey was worth it and he wasn't wasting his time away from home and his father who had a cancer spot on his pancreas and probably needed his son.
Des reassured James that she could see a life with him by giving him the group-date rose. Des wanted to spend more time with James and get to know him better. She wanted to pursue things with him, and in exchange for the rose, James gave her a daisy. Des thought the gesture was very cute, and James called Des "one in a million."
Zak W. was disappointed and realized he needed more time with Des to convince her that he was the right guy with her.
The next day, Chris Harrison told the guys the cocktail party had been canceled, and instead, there would be a relaxed pool party leading into the Rose Ceremony at night. Before the party commenced, Ben asked Des to take a 15 minute car ride. She accepted the offer and thought Ben was a humble, sweet man and a good father. They kissed in the car when they got back, and Michael G. suggested Ben's behavior was representative of character flaws.
During the party, Ben lied to the guys, saying he hadn't gotten a chance to speak with Des yet. The guys were pissed about his dishonesty, especially Mikey, who confronted him. Ben said the guys were jealous and he just wanted to keep the details of his relationship with Des private. Ben said the show was called The Bachelorette, not Let's Make Friends.
Brandon then pulled Des aside and told her that he never wanted to see her get hurt, so he would never hurt her or take her for granted. Brandon then admitted he was falling in love with her and thought about her all day long. He gave her a quick kiss, but there was clearly no passion on that kiss from Desiree's end.
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Before the Rose Ceremony began, Michael G. said if Ben got a rose, Des would be making a huge mistake.
Besides James, Kasey and Chris, Desiree gave roses to Bryden, Juan Pablo, Zak W., Brooks, Drew, Zack K., Brad, Michael G., Mikey, and finally Ben. As a result, Brandon and Dan were eliminated.
Brandon was obviously shocked and devastated about his ouster, so Desiree followed him out and took a moment to speak with him about her decision. Desiree said they lacked chemistry and it was something she couldn't explain but she just knew he wasn't the guy for her. He couldn't believe the choice she was making. Des apologized and Brandon and he said he appreciated her.
"I'm really bummed," Dan explained. "It didn't work out. I'm missing out on an unbelievable girl. She's something special. Ben got the last rose I was pretty much expecting to get. She's been basically duped by this guy. I'm hoping Des sees through all the lies and I'm hoping she does sooner rather than later."
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
