The Golden Bachelor featured Carol Freeman quitting the show and Mel Owens eliminating Nicolle May and Cheryl Steele right before hometown dates during the Season 2 episode that aired Wednesday night on ABC.

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Carol, a 63-year-old family manager for baseball all-star Freddie Freeman from Villa Park, CA, quit the competition and left The Bachelor mansion after Mel had never asked her on a one-on-one date.

RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS) 

Mel then denied roses to Cheryl, a 66-year-old retired IRS employee from Englewood, CO, and Nicolle, a 64-year-old yoga instructor from Miami Beach, FL, at the Rose Ceremony preceding his Final 3 women's hometown dates.

"I'm a little surprised at this outcome. I really thought it was going to be my name [called]. It should've been! But that's okay because it's just the universe's way of saying something is better for me just around the corner," Nicolle said in her final words.

"Mel didn't choose me, but maybe you'll choose me for the Golden Bachelorette! You never know!"

Mel's Final 3 bachelorettes as a result are Cindy Angelcyk Cullers, a 60-year-old retired biomedical engineer from Austin, TX; Debbie Siebers, a 65-year-old fitness professional from Denver, CO; and Peg Munson, a 62-year-old retired firefighter and bomb tech from Las Vegas, NV.

The Golden Bachelor broadcast began with Peg saying she felt "confident" in her connection with Mel after their fun festival date, but Carol was apparently feeling the total opposite way.

"If I don't get the one-on-one, I'm not where I need to be for a hometown," Carol confided in her pal Cindy.

Carol and Cindy were the only women who hadn't received a one-on-one date yet this season, and so Carol added, "The one-on-one would be really important. I don't feel like I've had enough time with him. I need to connect more."

The Golden Bachelor host Jesse Palmer then shared with the women how only three of them would be taking Mel home to meet their families.

Jesse also revealed how Mel had decided not to hand out a rose on any of the dates, meaning he's announce all of his elimination decisions at the next Rose Ceremony.

A Date Card then arrived for Carol, Cheryl, Debbie, Nicolle, and Peg.

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Mel and the group of ladies visited Butterfly Mountain, a spiritual place with a lot of energy, according to Mel.

The Golden Bachelor star said he wanted to see if he was in alignment with these ladies.

Mel first enjoyed a a mud cleansing with Peg, and he gushed about their electricity and chemistry.

Mel then hopped in a cold-plunge tub with Cheryl, who shared with Mel, "I just want you to know that I have true feelings for you, Mel, and I really feel like I'm falling in love with you."

Mel replied, "You know I had a connection with you on the first date, and [those feelings] haven't gone away."

Cheryl told Mel that she'd love to take him home to her family in Colorado, and she anticipated her family was "going to go crazy" and be "happy" for her.

Mel shared with the cameras how Cheryl was "loving and caring" and so he felt like a "lucky" guy to be dating her.

Mel proceeded to try a tantric yoga session with Debbie, who told Mel that it would mean the world to her to introduce him to her family. Debbie hadn't been in a relationship in 14 years.

"I'm really, really falling in love with you," Debbie told Mel.

"Since we started here, it's so easy to be with you, and I'd love to meet your family," Mel replied.

Mel then shared how Nicolle was one of his favorites because she had made him lemon bars. He boasted about how there was a strong connection between them but he still had some questions about her that went beyond superficial things.

Mel and Nicolle enjoyed a tarot card reading, and then Nicolle opened up to Mel about how she needed more income and would love to author a cookbook of plant-based recipes. Nicolle also mentioned her work on social media.

Mel said that, through his observations, he had some questions about Nicolle.

"There were a few things in our conversation that just gave me pause," Mel admitted in a confessional. "This could've been what Robin was talking about."

Mel was referring to how Robin had warned him that some of the women were on the show for the wrong reasons. Robin seemed to be talking about Nicolle only, but she didn't identify anyone in particular.

The group date ended with Carol and Mel meeting with a shaman, who cleared their chakra system.

Carol said she wasn't in a good headspace, and then she decided she needed to tell Mel that he wasn't her guy.

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Carol explained to Mel how her lack of a solo date this season made her feel like Mel wasn't connecting deeply with her.

"I don't know if I can continue on this journey with you, and this is hard because I really care about you. I do," Carol told Mel.

"I respect that. You have to be true to yourself, and your feelings come first -- your well-being," Mel told Carol.

Mel seemed disappointed because he and Carol were finally getting to know each other a little better. Carol had been excited about the idea of a hometown date, but she just didn't feel close enough to Mel to continue the journey.

Carol cried during her exit because it was a sad moment, but she said she knew it "just wasn't right" with Mel and he wasn't her "catch" of a lifetime. She felt optimistic, however, about her chances of finding love elsewhere.

The next day, Cindy embarked on her one-on-one date with Mel, and the pair went horseback riding.

Mel seemed a little stressed out trying to ride the horse, but Cindy thought it was cute. Mel also said Cindy put him at ease and she looked totally "elegant" on the horse.

Mel and Cindy subsequently enjoyed a picnic, and Cindy told the cameras that she really wanted Mel to  meet her family.

Cindy had been divorced for seven years, and she revealed to Mel how she had come from a broken home and her dad was "an awful person." Cindy therefore said she was looking for a family-oriented man.

Cindy got pregnant during her marriage, eventually welcomed three kids, and stayed home with them for 20 years.

"And then I found out that the marriage wasn't what I thought it was," Cindy shared, adding how her divorce was "miserable" but she got through it.

Cindy told Mel that she wanted to fall in love again and her feelings for him were "real." In fact, she said her strong feelings for Mel shocked her.

Cindy called Mel articulate, kind and better than anything that was written on paper about him.

Mel then gifted Cindy a framed letter that revealed he had named a star after her.

"I do feel like the stars are aligning for us," Cindy told the cameras, before looking at the stars with Mel that night.

Mel said his night with Cindy was an, "I can't believe it moment," and Cindy said Mel was her stars, moon and sky all wrapped up into one.

"I am falling for Mel Owens. It's not just a little bit scary -- it's a lot scary," Cindy cried in a confessional after date. "I wanted to fall in love, but what if he doesn't catch me?"

Before the Rose Ceremony, each bachelorette got to touch base with family members at home via Zoom, and Mel talked to Jesse Palmer about how he had strong feelings for multiple women.

Mel, however, said he never really learned enough about what Nicolle does for a living.

At the Rose Ceremony, Mel handed out roses to Cindy, Peg, and Debbie.

Mel walked Cheryl out, and she told The Golden Bachelor star how it had been "an amazing journey" and she wished him all the best.

"My heart is broken. It feels empty right now. I have this love that built up for Mel ever since I met him, and to be going home, you know, without Mel and without him going to my hometown, it hurts. It hurts inside my heart," Cheryl lamented in her final words.

"I can't believe this," she added.

Mel walked Nicolle out next, and he confirmed that he was very attracted to her and was sorry.

"And when it doesn't work out with the one you pick -- because it probably won't -- you call me, okay?" Nicolle told Mel. "Okay? I mean that."

RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)

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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

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