Bachelorette Blowup: Rude Dudes Leave Both Women Feeling Rejected, Decide to Divide Guys

This two lead experiment has been a messy disaster from the beginning, and its edges started leaning into cruelty tonight. By the end of the evening, both women were feeling hurt and unwanted and like they never should have agreed to be the Bachelorette -- and it's only Week 3!

Clearly, this isn't working at all, so it was high time for a change. At least it had already been decided that they would do their one-on-one dates separately. Those moments were able to continue offering true clarity.

Last week, that gave Gabby a stronger connection to Nate -- who's quickly emerging as a fan-favorite and "Bachelor" contender in fandom should his journey on the show not work out. Rachel learned that she had no connection with Jordan V and sent him packing, but that's also clarity.

This week, two more guys got the chance to enjoy one-on-one dates with the women. And no matter how those days wound up for them, they could be grateful that they didn't have to be part of the 19-on-2 date from Hell that started off fun and great and ended in cruelty and tears.

After a rough one-on-one last week, it was great seeing Rachel quickly enjoy a strong connection with Zach. They were joined by "Queer Eye" star Karamo for an impromptu fashion show, some light snacks and then they were ushered off to a movie premiere.

Now, we know that these shows are sometimes mocked for cheap looking productions, but we seriously have to question this "red carpet" treatment. It was like four feet of red carpet three feet wide in what looked like a back alley with like six photographers.

It was so lame and ridiculous, albeit cute for the couple, that passersby were caught on camera giving it a serious WTF?! At least Rachel and Zach were having fun hamming it up for the cameras.

We were just cracking up at the production team trying (and failing) to find a camera angle where this didn't look like the world's lamest an smallest red carpet. At least the theater itself was very nice, as was the film premiere.

Rather than a big-budget tie-in film promotional spot, it was intimate home movies of Rachel and Zach, accompanied by sweet messages from their mothers. The whole experience was so individualized and personal and emotional, it really brought the two of them together.

This time, Rachel was more than happy to give out the date rose, which Zach accepted -- escaping the fireworks to come!

One of the breakout stars of the last season of "The Bachelor" has to be Gabby's Grandpa John. He's as sarcastic and funny as she is. But it was still weird when she randomly decided to bring him along for her second One-on-One of the season with Erich.

She definitely immersed Erich into her world. Not only did they hang with her grandpa, but they went for an intention-setting ceremony with a sound ceremony host, Kirsha. Gabby explained that it was something she enjoyed doing to center herself and get out of her head.

Grandpa John looked ready for a nap at one point, but for him the experience was interesting as he's down for something new, but not something he'd probably ever do again. But it is insight into Gabby and what she believes and how she lives her life.

Later, they enjoyed a light afternoon of bowling, where Erich was able to let loose and have a good time. Gabby is definitely always a good time, but she got to be a bit much for herself when she opened up a bit about her estranged mother, who she doesn't believe loves her.

At this point, Gabby's insecurities resurfaced and she began to question if she was worthy of being the Bachelorette, or if she's too messy and complicated a person for any of these guys to be into.

It didn't help that she'd already attempted to give the guys more time with her during Rachel's one-on-one by crashing their hangout session at the Mansion only to find an awkward and tepid reaction from the guys. She was definitely breaking convention there, and it was clear they didn't know what to expect.

But when she makes it clear she's not into throwing the football around, why is that the only thing they could come up with? It didn't look like the guys were being intentionally mean, they were perhaps trying too hard to be polite, and weren't sure how to proceed.

In the case of Erich, though, he's ready to take this journey with her, mess and all, telling her so at dinner on their date. He scored the second rose of the night -- and was also spared involvement in the drama to come!

For the first time in Bachelor Nation history, 19 guys went on a group date. It was with both leads together, so there was definitely plenty of mess built in. All episode long the stage had been being set for the fireworks to come.

The women were saying that this was the week to start building deeper connections with the guys, while some of the guys were feeling ready to declare which way their hearts were leading them, while still others didn't feel they'd yet had enough time with either woman to see which connection has more life.

The day portion of the date was perfectly fine and fun and silly with Bachelor Nation photographer Franco Lacosta orchestrating some truly ridiculous costumes and hilarious photo moments -- including an almost nothing-there-at-all "leaf" costume for Jacob. At least he leaned into it -- and Rachel was definitely peaking.

It all looked like good fun and spirits were high heading into the evening portion. Rachel was having some great conversations with the guys, which was a huge turnaround from her Cocktail Party experience where the guys kept telling her they were more into Gabby.

Unfortunately, tonight was the reverse of that, with Gabby starting to get her ticket on the rejection train. And it's not just that she was being rejected, but it was how she was being rejected.

It's one thing to say you're more into Rachel than Gabby, but is it necessary to tell Gabby your "morals" line up more with Rachel and that Gabby is "rough around the edges"? Do you need to tell her that if she were the only Bachelorette, you'd probably just walk?

Understandably, Gabby was taken aback by these comments from Hayden and Jacob, respectively. Tyler also told her he wasn't into her, but at least he didn't take it to such a personal level, triggering her insecurities.

Things were so bad for Gabby -- with Rachel oblivious -- that she didn't even give out a Group Date rose. Rachel's jaw probably hung open bigger than the guys. She'd just given her rose to Aven and really thought it had been a great night.

She immediately checked in with Gabby and was livid to find out how Hayden and Jacob had spoken to her. She was ready to throw down, but Gabby shut that down. Again, it's not that the guys had a preference, but the audacity of throwing personal attacks into Gabby's character into the mix, and just being so disrespectful about it.

And so, a decision was made. Actually, two decisions were made. There would be no Cocktail Party, which was unfortunate for some of the guys as they'd still had almost no time with the women all season long. Nevertheless, they were basically told to figure out who they wanted to date.

The women had decided it was time to start their separate journeys. That meant a Rose Ceremony with two stacks of roses. Tonight, a rose from Gabby meant you wanted to exclusively pursue her. One from Rachel meant you wanted to exclusively pursue her.

Aven and Zach, already in the winners' circle for Rachel, found themselves wondering if the guys would all be genuine about their feelings. They were basically having to make up their minds right now. Would someone say yes to one woman even if they had feelings for another just to stay on the show?

And what would happen if the "wrong" woman were to offer them the rose? Well, turns out we would find out just that. Rachel was very concerned, after Gabby's terrible night, that her friend was about to face some rejection.

She needn't have worried ... for Gabby. As it turned out, despite her rough evening, Gabby had a much better sense of which guys were there for her than Rachel did. Poor Rachel was rejected right there in front of everyone not once, not twice, but three times!

In an unprecedented situation, host Jesse Palmer explained what that would mean. It meant each guy who rejected a rose could return to the lineup and hope the other woman would select them. But was that even possible?

It's safe to assume that Rachel and Gabby worked together to curate their lists, assuring there was not overlap. So were they hoping that Gabby would call an audible and decide to pursue something with them after they'd rejected Rachel?

As for poor Rachel, with each rejection, Jesse simply took that rose away from her, whittling her choices down one by one by one. In the end, Rachel wound up with 8 guys out of the 11 she chose. Gabby ended with 9.

Rachel's Men (Aven, Ethan, Hayden, Jordan, Logan, Tino, Tyler & Zach)

Gabby's Men (Erich, Jason, Johnny, Kirk, Mario, Michael, Nate, Quincey & Spencer)

Rachel was rejected by Alec, Termayne and Meatball -- but Gabby had already chosen her men so there was really no room for them on Team Gabby. In other words, it was time for them to go.

Interestingly, Jacob (who'd said he would walk if it was just Gabby) was the only guy picked by neither Bachelorette, so this would have been a Rose Ceremony where he'd have been the only guy to go if everyone had said, "Yes." That says something about not being unnecessarily rude.

If you tuned out before the closing credits, you missed a last-minute plea from one of the guys who'd rejected Rachel. He'd been saying all episode that he wasn't yet sure who he wanted to pursue, hoping the canceled Cocktail Party would give him clarity.

So when Rachel asked if he'd accept her rose, he made a quick decision and rejected her. But then rejecter's remorse kicked in (is that a thing?), and he sought her out after the Rose Ceremony for a second chance. It was pretty funny when he asked her if she felt there was a connection and she reminded him she'd offered him a rose.

So was he really regretting rejecting Rachel, or was he regretting it because rejecting her meant he rejected the chance to continue on the show? Is it what Aven and Zach were worried about? The real question, as it was left unresolved, is if Rachel will give Meatball another chance and even things up with Gabby with nine suitors each? Fans were definitely not feeling this move by Meatball.

From here, with or without Meatball (and it looks like with), you might think it would be smooth sailing, but that's not the case. The fears of Aven and Zach start to bear fruit as some guys admit that they have feelings for the other Bachelorette than the one they accepted a rose from.

Even divided, things are gonna stay messy this season. Who's idea was this to have two Bachelorettes at the same time instead of just two separate seasons with two deserving women? Would they have ever done this with two men?

• "At one point do you think we need to figure out where everyone stands, 'cause I feel like that would give me so much more clarity. I would feel so much better moving forward if I knew where the guys were at." --Rachel
• "Yeah, I want these guys to be assertive and make that decision fast. I feel like they have spent enough time with us, so I think now the ones that are lingering are in the middle, it's kind of sketch." --Gabby
• "She's one for one for kicking people out." --Nate (razzing Zach after he's selected for Rachel's one-on-one)
• "If Zach doesn't come back, I think every one-on-one-card we're gonna be praying that it's not our name." --Kirk
• "Fumble. I know what that means." --Gabby (not interested in football)
• "I don't want to play anymore. I didn't want to play to start." --Gabby (not enjoying impromptu football tossing)
• "It's kind of frustrating the guys aren't being super forward with me ... the Lack of effort is a decision at this point." --Gabby
• "Is she completely off the table for you?" --Karamo (to Zach about Gabby during one-on-one with Rachel)
• "It was crazy because, like, I had this feeling with you almost right out the gate. I felt that there was sparks or chemistry, whatever you want to call it. And I just knew at that moment, it didn't matter that there were two bachelorettes. I felt something with you." --Zach (to Rachel)
• "If all it takes is for you to look good to say it's a match, well baby, this is a match." --Karamo (liking how Rachel and Zach look together)
• "I think because of everything that I've been through, I feel my feelings more deeply. And it's a blessing and a curse because it hurts way more." --Gabby (struggling after poor visit to guys at mansion)
• "I think it does take kind of the right person to know how to love me." --Gabby
• "It stirred up a lot of emotions. I'm, like, the luckiest son in the world." --Zach (after watching home videos)
• "He was an aspiring pilot. He wanted to be a military pilot. He loved planes so much so that when we were kids, he would just drive us to any airport and we would sit in, like, a parking lot of an airport and we would just watch planes take off and land and he would name everyone of them." --Zach (to Rachel)
• "Stop. Are you ser-- I used to do that with my dad." --Rachel
• "I think Rachel could be my future wife. This is crazy to say out loud, considering how early it is, but it's very real. What's going on, it's very real. I'm falling for her. I'm falling for her really, really hard." --Zach (emotional during one-on-one date)
• "Have you got a date for me?" --Grandpa John (to Gabby)
• "S---, come on. This is about me!" --Gabby
• "This day has been, like, a lot of fun. It's, like, the senior citizen's bowling tour, literally." --Zach (on date with Gabby)
• "There's nothing like making out in a bowling alley." --Gabby
• "With a bunch of teenagers and old people. We'll keep it PG." --Zach
• "I'll, like, never know what it is to have a mother's love and that's something that's hard and I'll miss." --Gabby (to Erich)
• "I can't, like, explain what it's like to have a mom who doesn't love you. Like, it's hard. Like, am I too broken for anyone to love? I'm terrified. What if Erich decides that I'm not for him?" --Gabby (to producers after walking away from Erich)
• "People want to see the Rachels because she's easier. I'm too complicated. Like, I'm messy." --Gabby
• "Guys, I got a leaf. What am I supposed to do with this?" --Jacob (seeing his group date costume)
• "I feel like there's not enough to the imagination." --Gabby (seeing the costumes)
• "I'm just happy to see Gabby, she looks really good. I'm happy to see that she's smiling and having a good time with the group date." --Nate
• "I've got some forbidden fruit these women can have. I don't know if they're gonna want it this early. But it is tasty." --Jacob (ahem)
• "I've seen Jacob's 'situation' multiple times today. And it scares me, because I just can't stop looking." --Rachel
• "I just felt, like, a really good connection with Rachel." --Tyler (to Gabby)
• "I do have my intentions fully for Rachel. And I think you have the bubbly aspect to you, the goofy aspect, and you're a little bit more, like-- I don't want to say rough around the edges, but y'all want people to be very direct with y'all. So I obviously wanted to make sure that I express that to you." --Hayden (to Gabby)
• "I really wanted to talk to you, because like, I think we can, like, joke around and just be, like, funny and just cause a ton of laughter, but I don't know if maybe we've had the connection that I think i wanted to have with you from the get-go. Even if, like say you were the only person here, I don't think I could have the heart to continue, because at the end of the day we're trying to find someone for the rest of our f---ing lives." --Jacob (to Gabby)
• "I think these guys coming to me saying that because I'm different they don't want to be with me is, like, validating that I'm maybe too much for people." --Gabby
• "My biggest fear was being too rough around the edges and now I am that for people. When it comes down to it, I want to be rough around the edges because I know who I am on the inside and I'm f---ing proud of it." --Gabby
• "Tonight has kind of been hard for me in ways, so I feel like I can't give a rose tonight." --Gabby (shocking Rachel and guys at group date)
• "Honestly, you can't-- What do they think, insulting one of us is gonna make the other-- Like, because there's two of us they think they can act that way?" --Rachel (after finding how Gabby was treated)
• "If someone were to reject her rose tonight, this could end in disaster." --Rachel (about Gabby)
• "Look, I don't want to be the guy to first decline the rose of the night, but I am gonna have to decline the rose. I feel like we could be great friends outside of this, obviously, but I feel like I have a deeper connection with Gabby." -- Termayne (rejecting Rachel's rose)
• "Um, unfortunately, I don't think I can. I just don't think I'm the right one for you. Thank you, Rachel. Pleasure to meet you." -- Alec (rejecting Rachel's rose)
• "I'm sorry, um, I cannot. I'm here for Gabby. Um, I just have to go with my heart." --Meatball (rejecting Rachel's rose)