The Bachelorette star Rachel Lindsay eliminated Bryce Powers, Kenneth "Diggy" Moreland and Brady Ervin during Monday night's episode of The Bachelorette's thirteenth season on ABC.

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Bryce, a 30-year-old firefighter from Orlando, FL; Diggy, a 31-year-old senior inventory analyst from Chicago, IL; and Brady, a 29-year-old male model from Miami, FL, were all eliminated at the Rose Ceremony that took place at the beginning of last night's broadcast.

"Rachel was somebody that -- even though I didn't get the chance to get to know her that well -- I could tell she is an amazing woman. I don't think it's really hit home yet," Diggy said following his ouster.

"Obviously there's tears, but I'm crying because I'm going to miss seeing Rachel and talking to Rachel. I definitely wish I would've had more time with Rachel. It would've helped her realize, 'I need to keep Diggy around and he's an awesome guy,' but at the end of the day, I hope she gets what she's looking for. That's all that really matters."

The episode began with testosterone high in the mansion at the cocktail party and Eric Bigger warning his fellow bachelors to keep his name out of their mouths and focus on themselves and their relationships with Rachel instead.

Lee Garrett admitted to cameras he enjoyed pissing Eric off, adding in a confessional that he didn't come on the show to make friends and he didn't care about any of the guys he was competing against.

"I think Lee is a moron. I think he's an idiot," Dean Unglert said, later telling the cameras that Lee is just "a b-tch."

Lee then interrupted alone time Kenny Layne was having with Rachel before the Rose Ceremony for a second conversation. Kenny was clearly ticked off and looked like he was going to flip out.

Rachel sat down with Bryan Abasolo afterwards. Bryan felt that Rachel was everything he was looking for in a woman -- great personality, smart, beautiful, and more. It was clear Rachel was smitten with Bryan, as she confessed it scared her that he's so charming. Rachel wondered if Bryan was "too good to be true," but he assured her that the situation was "one thousand percent real" and his intentions were pure.

Bryan told Rachel that he was going to give her the fairy take and he'd be there for her whenever she felt weak. Bryan explained to the Bachelorette how he saw a future with her and didn't care about any of the drama in the house.

And that's when Kenny began yelling at Lee for allegedly using their friendship as a tool to get ahead with Rachel and receive more time with her. Lee knew he looked like the bad guy, but it didn't phase him at all. 

"I get tickled when I smile and an angry man gets angrier," Lee noted in a confessional.

Dean suggested during the episode that Lee's antics were a form of racial targeting.

"The only people that I've seen Lee pick fights with have been not the people that he's used to seeing on a daily basis, from a cultural perspective. You know exactly what I mean when I say that," said Dean, referencing the fact Eric and Kenny are both African American while Lee is Caucasian. "The longer Lee sticks around, the more everyone will become aware of his intolerance."

Rachel could actually hear Kenny and Lee arguing, and she was "ridiculously annoyed" by it. She was disappointed in the guys, and the drama threw off her conversations and was very distracting.

"The pressures I feel about being a black woman and what that is and how -- I get pressure in so many different ways being in this position... I already know what people are going to say about me and judge me for the decisions I'm making. I'm going to be the one who has to deal with that, and nobody else, and that's a lot," Rachel cried in a confessional.

The Bachelorette host Chris Harrison then walked into the room and informed the men that the cocktail party was being cut short because Rachel knew what decisions she needed to make.

Diggy thought Lee should be worried because he was constantly stirring the pot and nobody liked him. In the meantime, Lee vented about how Kenny was a meathead and he didn't appreciate how Eric got all up in his face.

It then became time for the Rose Ceremony, and Rachel handed out roses in the following order: Will Gaskins, Dean, Jonathan Treece, Peter Kraus, Adam Gottschalk, Bryan, Matthew "Matt" Munson, Josiah Graham, Jack Stone, Ignacio "Iggy" Rodriguez, Kenny and finally Lee.

Diggy hoped Rachel was going to see how Lee knocked other guys down in order to build himself up. On his way out, Diggy thanked Rachel for allowing him to be open.

When Rachel cheered and toasted champagne with her remaining bachelors, she asked them to leave all the drama behind. She then informed the group they'd be traveling to Hilton Head Island in South Carolina for the next week of dates. Once there, Rachel called it "breathtaking atmosphere."

Dean received the first one-on-one date of the week. His date card read: "Our love is about to take off."

Dean and Rachel headed to Bluffton, and Rachel said she had high expectations for Dean and the bar had also been set very high for him because of the great interactions they already had. Despite Dean's paralyzing fear of heights, the couple took a ride in the Good Year blimp and even took turns in the co-pilot's seat.

Rachel thought Dean was a great sport on the date, and she loved how their conversation was always easy and comfortable. They also both enjoy adventures and taking risks.

While Rachel seemed impressed with Dean, Bryan was shown telling the other guys that Rachel probably needed to see maturity from him since he's such a young guy at age 26. Bryan knew Rachel would be attracted to Dean, but he knew Dean would have to step up to the plate and peel back some deep layers.

And Dean did just that. During a romantic dinner outside with trees all lit with sparkly lights, Rachel wanted to learn more about Dean and determine whether he was truly ready to settle down and get married.

Dean then revealed to Rachel how he comes from a strict religious family and his mother passed away from breast cancer when he was only 15-years-old. Dean told the emotional story of losing his mother and how her absence basically tore his family apart. Dean lived alone in his house from age 15-18.

Dean started crying during the conversation, but Rachel was so thankful he opened up to her in that way. Dean expressed how he can't wait to have a close-knit family like the one he grew up in, adding that he's extremely excited to become a father. Rachel told Dean that his character was shining through and she really appreciated his great outlook on life. Dean was the type of guy she wanted as a partner in life.

Rachel then gave Dean the date's rose and the pair danced to the music of Russell Dickerson at one of his outdoor concerts. Dean never expected to develop feelings for Rachel so quickly.

"I can feel myself falling in love with her and it feels really good," Dean told the cameras. "This is the best day of my life."

Rachel anticipated her date would be "good" and "fun," but she didn't expect her connection with Dean to be "so real." They could absolutely envision a future with each other.

The next day, the following guys embarked on a group date with Rachel: Alex Bordyukov, Anthony Battle, Peter, Bryan, Jonathan, Adam, Matt, Kenny, Lee, Iggy, Eric, Will and Josiah.

Lee said he wanted to win the competition even if it meant hurting other people's feelings.

For the group date, the guys first sailed around on a yacht on which they drank cocktails, danced, rapped and more. Josiah was extremely confident that he was the sexiest man on the boat.

Afterward, the guys participated in a "Bachelor Nation Spelling Bee." Most of the guys were actually wishing this portion of the date was a wet T-shirt contest instead, but Josiah bragged how extensive his vocabulary happens to be, and he said he was "born ready" for this challenge.

The last person to correctly spell a word would win the date's trophy. Kenny was out on the word "champagne," Iggy failed to spell "boudoir" correctly, Eric lost on the word "facade," Peter was out on "coitus," Anthony stumbled over the word "boutonniere," and Will couldn't spell "physiological."

Josiah ended up winning the Spelling Bee by spelling the word "polyamorous" correctly. Throughout the rounds, Josiah would flirt and compliment Rachel to the point everyone else was annoyed, especially Iggy, who seemed to think Josiah crossed the line from confident to cocky. Josiah wasn't sure if he could win Rachel's heart, but he said he had the "intellectual part" of the competition "in the bag."

That night, Josiah told the cameras that if he received the group-date rose that night, he'd probably end up in Rachel's Final 2.

Rachel then sat down with Peter to chat. She thought they had an organic, easy-flowing relationship, and the pair discussed how they'd both be willing to move and relocate for love. Rachel even pointed out that she is licensed to practice law in his hometown of Wisconsin. Peter didn't seem willing to move to Texas, however, he suggested maybe starting fresh in a new place together.

Rachel was the woman whom Peter wanted to be in love with and could see himself marrying.

Eric got to talk to Rachel next, and the Bachelorette acknowledged that he always made her laugh and feel comfortable. She was happy to be around him and thought they "could really be something."

Iggy was up next, but instead of furthering their connection, he decided to warn Rachel about Josiah, saying he attempted to cover up his insecurities with "a false sense of bravado." Iggy felt protective of her, which Rachel liked, but he had also spent a previous conversation with Rachel warning her about Eric's attitude.

When Iggy was finished with his conversation with Rachel, he confronted Josiah to let him know that his name had come up. Josiah was really frustrated and called Iggy "a b-tch" behind his back, along with "wack" and "lame." Josiah then accused Iggy of doing drugs and inserting steroids into his genitals.

Eric also called Iggy "a gossip queen," telling the suitor that he was part of the problem when it comes to the constant drama and tension in the group.

Rachel then approached both Lee and Kenny about their feud. Lee told Rachel that Kenny yelled at him in an aggressive manner for about 30 minutes, while Kenny promised Rachel that, while he overreacted a bit and sincerely regretted that, Lee had been throwing shade at him and was acting dismissive and disingenuous. Kenny, who initially thought Lee was his friend, said that Lee's smile didn't match his handshake.

"I don't give a f-ck about Kenny. I'm going to smile and if it pisses him off, it pisses him off," Lee told the cameras, later calling Kenny a "fake" pro wrestler and "a ballerina" instead.

Kenny told Rachel that he shook hands with Lee and everything was fine, but then Rachel didn't understand why Lee threw him under the bus again. Kenny argued that Lee may not be honest with Rachel and telling her the truth. Kenny felt robbed of his time with Rachel to advance their relationship forward. He felt, instead, that he spent all of his time defending himself about how he's not an aggressive or dangerous man.

Kenny believed that Rachel's body language was "in Lee's corner" during their conversation, so he assumed his side of the story didn't really register with her.

"If I go home, I'm going to feel real f-cked up about this entire process," Kenny said in a confessional. "He's a reptilian piece of garbage and I'm done with that."

But Kenny wasn't the only person whom Lee was rubbing the wrong way. Peter also vented about how Lee made him feel uncomfortable because he didn't act in a genuine manner.

The episode concluded with Kenny pulling Lee aside for a conversation. Adam said it looked like a fight was going down and blood was going to be shed.

"What the hell is happening now?" Lee could be heard saying.




About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

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