Rachel Lindsay has faced some hard choices this season, but you usually think of competition on The Bachelorette being hardest for the men.
Doesn’t everyone fantasize about being the center of attention?
But apparently there was something this season that was so hard on Rachel Lindsay that she considered quitting.
Ahead of The Bachelorette‘s hometown dates, boyishly charming Dean Unglert pleaded with fans to please be nice about his dad, who is a Sikh and is, unrelatedly, pretty eccentric.
(It was a great way to address discrimination)
Rachel was totally nice to Dean’s dad on the date, and even tried to mediate between the father and son.
(Those two have had some issues regarding emotional distance and old resentments)
But … Rachel ultimately ended up saying goodbye to Dean Unglert.
Dean had admitted that he was starting to fall in love with Rachel, so we can only imagine his heartbreak.
And that’s to say nothing of countless fans who were captivated by him and were rooting for him to at least make it past his hometown date.
Apparently, this was all very hard for Rachel.
It’s one thing to say the qualities that you’re looking for in a man. …
In Rachel’s words, from the beginning, she’s been seeking a man who is: “confident, very self-aware, direct, honest and a man who knows where he’s going,” adding that she “loves ambition.”
(And, you know, who doesn’t want to meet the Slytherin of their dreams?)
Now that Dean has been sent away to live on a farm upstate where he can run around with other suitors, Rachel is down to three options.
There’s Eric Bigger, a charming motivational speaker who is handsome but not quite the fan-favorite.
There’s Bryan Abasolo, who’s been shaded by the others but who wowed Rachel with how he treats her and who promised her a “fairy tale ending.”
(So who’s going to show up to curse their firstborn?)
And then there’s Peter Kraus, an energetic personal trainer who is honestly just way more handsome than any of his competition.
One of these final three was spotted on Bachelor in Paradise, spoiling that he doesn’t get the spot.
And if you’ve been keeping up with The Bachelorette spoilers, you already know which of them is going to win.
In an interview with Us Weekly, Rachel Lindsay says that she wanted to quit The Bachelorette at times because the decision was so rough.
“I connected with each guy and that made this so hard.”
That’s the danger, you know?
It’s like going to adopt a puppy and falling in love with all of them.
(Or if you’re not a pet person, going to the buffet line and only having so much room on your plate, whatever)
“Honestly, I wanted to quit and run away rather than proceed.”
We cannot even begin to imagine the fallout if she’d tried to quit. Can you?
But, Lindsay says, she persevered.
“I was like, ‘the greater the risk, the greater the reward.’”
That makes sense. if she’s falling that hard for each of them, then the best of them has to be a super close bond, right?
“I knew what I wanted and I couldn’t quit.”
She’s engaged now, so clearly she’s happy that she stuck with it to the end.
Even if you’re great at making decisions, this would have to be difficult.
No, this isn’t Sophie’s Choice — the suitors get sent home, not killed.
(Has that already been an episode of Black Mirror? Probably)
Though maybe one day we’ll have a series as part of the Bachelor Nation that will allow or even focus upon polyamory.
Allowing “multiple winners” might seem like a cheap move, but consider this:
All of that undercutting of each other that suitors do early on the show?
That won’t work if two would-be finalists are feuding at the end and can’t get along.
We wonder if, whenever a show like that comes around, Rachel will look back and wish that she’d gotten to enjoy the best of both (or more than two) worlds.
But if she’s happy with her choice, she’s happy with her choice.
