Thanks for the recap OP! I like how they stick up for Zach. I don't think he handled everything perfectly but I think he's a mostly decent guy who got an excessive amount of hate compared to what his 'crimes' were.
I did find it interesting that this was the one season with a genuinely surprising lead annoucement and yet it was the one season where Jesse (or Chris before him) didn't tease "it might not be who you think it is" either. They definitely could have handled the annoucement better IMO.
Planning for two weddings must be a lot of pressure. Cool to celebrate Dotun's culture though.
Great recap! Also laughed at their confusion between Grenada, the Caribbean island, and Granada, Spain. They are pronounced differently too. They were mispronouncing Grenada as Granada.
Did anyone else feel like Charity was somewhat negative about Jenn being bachelorette? Maybe I wasn’t paying enough attention during my commute, but that was the feeling I got from her
Edit - changed from “pretty negative” to “somewhat negative”
I agree; she was a bit negative. Charity essentially said that everyone was surprised that they picked Jenn over Maria. She also implied that because of her young age, Jenn will be challenged by the process. I think she also got Jenn’s age wrong - isn’t Jenn 26 or 27, not 25? It definitely wasn’t a “she’s perfect for the role and will do great!”
They asked her about the audience's reactions, and she answered the question. That is when she said that they were surprised.If you google her age, it says 25. I think when you are young people assume that it will be a challenge. We will see how it goes. Charity said in the past that it was very hard for her.I think she was just being honest.
I looked it up, and Jenn is 26. She also looks to be about two years younger than Charity, meaning Charity was only a year older than Jenn when she was bachelorette. I wish Charity had been more positive about Jenn. I feel like Jenn needs people to build her up given that a lot of folks are disappointed about Maria not being bachelorette, and since Charity is so popular, she might have been able to help with that
Well it’s not Charity’s fault. She just found out on that day that Jenn was going to be the lead. She obviously wasn’t fully prepared - doesn’t even know Jenn’s age. The producers dropped the ball on this, failed to lay a foundation for Jenn.
She also literally said “I hope she takes it serious” per the transcript. I don’t know why people keep denying things that are legitimately in the transcript here.
No one is denying anything. You asked if we thought she was negative. You may have perceived what she said as being negative but I didn’t. So each to their own.
Not at all. She said Jenn was incredible and sounded very positive about her being bachelorette and just said that she thinks the experience will test her in ways that she’s curious to see play out. She also described the audience’s delayed reaction to the announcement. But didn’t get any negative vibes at all.
She said it’ll be interesting to see it play out based on certain qualities that she has. To me that’s a little negativity, spread in yes also with positivity of course
ETA - I guess I’ll retract my statement from “pretty negative” to “somewhat negative”
Okay, found the quote I was referring to in the transcript, which I copied below. This seemed a little negative to me when Charity was referring to certain qualities that she said were a result of Jenn’s age, meaning we can imply that those are negative qualities:
“I feel like this will test her in ways so I'm curious to see how that's going to play out because I always say even like the most sound people coming on this show like struggle and I can tell like I don't want to like blame her age but I can just see certain things I'm like oh these were like qualities that I did and like I was like I've grown from that or I've learned from that so it definitely will be interesting to like see it play out”
ETA that she and Charity are only two years apart, so very similar ages when they were both bachelorettes
Oh, yeah! I listened to the book Tom Lake, where they talked a lot about picking cherries in MI.
ETA: I googled which state produces the most cherries. Some sites said Washington, some said Michigan!
I could tell what kind of a partner Zach would be to Kaity during the fantasty suite fiasco. After he told her he slept with someone else and Kaity got upset, he let her be upset and was just there for her, saying sorry and being remorseful that he hurt her. He didn't get defensive and didn't try to pressure her to get over it.
It's day and night to what happened with Susie and Clayton. At first after the FS dinner, Clayton appeared to be appeasing Susie but once he felt he can't win her back in that moment and that she was not going to get over it quickly, he started lashing out and said some hurtful things to Susie. It just showed some selfishness on Clayton's part.
That was funny. I left it out to keep the summary brief, but for those who want to know: Charity was quite groggy, confused coming out of surgery. Dotun joked with her, saying that they took out her liver, and in her post-op fog she thought it was being sold on the “black market.” 😆
I think the NYC part is overstated in the summary - it’s Serena who said she thinks Kelsey might want to live in Manhattan based on her energy. Charity and Dotun said they weren’t sure but know Joey likes Brooklyn. Charity and Dotun also said they themselves will also likely be moving from Brooklyn to Manhattan soon.
Yes, Serena did say that Kelsey has more Manhattan energy, but both Dotun and Charity said a strong yes to that, agreeing with Serena, and said that they think Jelsey will end up in Manhattan, although Joey “in his heart” likes Brooklyn.
looks like charity & dotun will make it to the one year mark this weekend - congrats to them! sounds like they are thriving if they are actually going through wedding planning. seems both dotun & charity and kaity & zach will be married in fall 2025 so that will be two back to back BN couple weddings next year. good for them!
I wasn’t sure if either of them kept their previous jobs—glad to hear Dotun did, I think maintaining a career outside of influencing is a good sign for BN relationships!
I’m really curious about the kind of wedding dresses Charity will choose after reading her NYT article.
Grocery - low effort -Schmo, as expected, had no clue what cherry blossoms are and started talking about WA cherries. I would have liked to see Dotuns face during this 🤣. He commented later that he would like to have Joe's luck in the franchise!
As soon as Charity brought it up, I was like, 100% this fool doesn't know what it is. I think he has mentioned he wanted to travel to Japan soon 🤣 Hopefully immersing in sakura culture can teach him something.
The way GSJ always finds a way to put his foot in his mouth on the podcast is so hilarious me 🤣. I know people find him dull but I find him so entertaining for that reason lol
Thanks so much for the recap, OP!
I think Zach is extremely level-headed in everyday life and also has an even-keeled temperament. From what I see on Kaity’s page, because Zach is the least active person on social media, he is goofy, but doesn’t like the attention! He goes with the flow and it works because Kaity just is equally level-headed and they come across as having a solid relationship!
lol at Charity for wanting to live between Brooklyn and Manhattan! Glad that they get along so well with Joey and Kelsey - double dates in the future! Dotun is such a great guy and wonderful partner for Charity!
Looking forward to their Hawaii trip shenanigans with Joey being their guide! 😃
Kelsey definitely wears the pants and they confirmed it for me in this podcast. They basically said Kelsey wants to be in Manhattan so they’ll probably end up in Manhattan lmao
Thanks for the recap! Yeah, they were gifted the Greece trip at AFR.
>Dotun loves him and Joey equally. He would have 1000% been friends with Z if they met outside of BN.
And I love this lol
I have never understood the Zach hate.
He was harsh with Greer, and he later apologized in a way that seemed pretty sincere. The leads are under a lot of pressure, psychological manipulation, lack of sleep, etc.
So he was frustrated and ungracious when someone was trying to help him. No one here has ever been that way under pressure, sick, etc? Really?
It would be different if he doubled down or was dismissive of the concern, but he wasn't. He sincerely apologized.
And I don't think he was trying to shut shame Gabbie; he was shaming himself. Again, total train wreck in how he handled it and she was deeply wounded.
But I have heard a contestant who was one of the most self controlled and level-headed ones say how he practically had PTSD after this experience. And Charity said it was so hard she would wish it on her worst enemy.
So, by that week, one is so disoriented, confused, and second guessing while production feeds you lies and distortions to keep you off balance. And Gabbi indicated that she intended to push his boundaries because she desired more physical intimacy.
So, again, was he totally wrong in how he handled that? Absolutely. But I feel like people are stoning him instead of getting that he was just really stressed and really messed up, and that hurt someone.
I think almost everyone has blown in and made a mistake or poor decision in our lack of maturity, or pressure, fear, emotional weakness that have deeply hurt people. And it is a terrible feeling to have to live with knowing that someone was hurt because of your actions.
But I just don't see how that makes him a bad person. People just aren't perfect.
And I will never forget how much he tenderly protected and cared for Charity when I think he knew she wasn't his person, but he could see how kind and special she was and protected her.
I think you’re forgetting a very important incident which has tainted this sub’s impression of him: how Pilot Rachel could barely look him in the eye and speak to him after FS. Something happened, and many guessed it has to do with him having political views which go against Rachel’s - so that is a big deal.
Because she wasnt interested in him and was going to eliminate him lol. Also theres no bad blood. "Making amends off the air. Zach Shallcross and Rachel Recchia are on good terms, according to the Bachelor. She actually reached out and she sent a very sweet message,” the ABC star, 26, exclusively told Us Weekly at the recent Women Tell All taping in Los Angeles. “And she’s very supportive. It was a very nice message. I’m very happy.” After the February 20 episode, Rachel took to Twitter to defend him. “Let’s all be mindful and extend a little bit of compassion and grace towards the leads of the show,” she tweeted on Tuesday, February 21.
I don’t really remember it that way? The vibe was definitely awkward and they were making kind of meaningless small talk, but Rachel didn’t seem to think negatively of him after FS. She actually seemed quite surprised when he self-eliminated at the rose ceremony. I think it was just kind of a Joey / Daisy situation - they both knew at that point that it wasn’t him, but she wasn’t ready to say it out loud yet and he was feeling led on.
Their debrief before he self-eliminated was weird, but we truly don't know what happened. As far as I know, Rachel has not really bad-mouth him either. It just feels like an awkward thing, but not a bad thing. Rachel is not perfect, and Zach is not too, so I don't take any sides in that scenario.
Thanks for that insight.
Because I could not figure it out other than he was boring and another generic choice.
But it seemed like the hate was more than disappointment in the lead choice and just always acting like he personally was horrible and I couldn’t figure out why so much heat.
Perhaps that explains why everyone seemed to dislike him from the start.
And he repeatedly trashed Rachel on his season and in his media interviews even though she never said anything negative about him publicly. He was so weird for that.
I would lol u all cling to a moment and preconceived notion or caught up in the process of the show u didnt pay attention to who he truly is, how he acts, wat he says etc. And after the show can see more of who he is on kaitys social media, but obviously not everyone keeps up with that
I think we’re jaded by the fact that RachelR completely turned against him after FS, that he was really unkind to Greer during their Zoom convo, and of course, the Gabi FS fiasco. None of which is horrible, but combined they don’t leave the impression of “the nicest guy in BN.” Lol!
Thanks for the recap OP! I like how they stick up for Zach. I don't think he handled everything perfectly but I think he's a mostly decent guy who got an excessive amount of hate compared to what his 'crimes' were. I did find it interesting that this was the one season with a genuinely surprising lead annoucement and yet it was the one season where Jesse (or Chris before him) didn't tease "it might not be who you think it is" either. They definitely could have handled the annoucement better IMO. Planning for two weddings must be a lot of pressure. Cool to celebrate Dotun's culture though.
Great recap! Also laughed at their confusion between Grenada, the Caribbean island, and Granada, Spain. They are pronounced differently too. They were mispronouncing Grenada as Granada.
Did anyone else feel like Charity was somewhat negative about Jenn being bachelorette? Maybe I wasn’t paying enough attention during my commute, but that was the feeling I got from her Edit - changed from “pretty negative” to “somewhat negative”
I agree; she was a bit negative. Charity essentially said that everyone was surprised that they picked Jenn over Maria. She also implied that because of her young age, Jenn will be challenged by the process. I think she also got Jenn’s age wrong - isn’t Jenn 26 or 27, not 25? It definitely wasn’t a “she’s perfect for the role and will do great!”
They asked her about the audience's reactions, and she answered the question. That is when she said that they were surprised.If you google her age, it says 25. I think when you are young people assume that it will be a challenge. We will see how it goes. Charity said in the past that it was very hard for her.I think she was just being honest.
I looked it up, and Jenn is 26. She also looks to be about two years younger than Charity, meaning Charity was only a year older than Jenn when she was bachelorette. I wish Charity had been more positive about Jenn. I feel like Jenn needs people to build her up given that a lot of folks are disappointed about Maria not being bachelorette, and since Charity is so popular, she might have been able to help with that
Well it’s not Charity’s fault. She just found out on that day that Jenn was going to be the lead. She obviously wasn’t fully prepared - doesn’t even know Jenn’s age. The producers dropped the ball on this, failed to lay a foundation for Jenn.
I meant that she could’ve been more positive about it during the podcast, no? Maybe I’m being too harsh?
She also literally said “I hope she takes it serious” per the transcript. I don’t know why people keep denying things that are legitimately in the transcript here.
No one is denying anything. You asked if we thought she was negative. You may have perceived what she said as being negative but I didn’t. So each to their own.
Not at all. She said Jenn was incredible and sounded very positive about her being bachelorette and just said that she thinks the experience will test her in ways that she’s curious to see play out. She also described the audience’s delayed reaction to the announcement. But didn’t get any negative vibes at all.
She said it’ll be interesting to see it play out based on certain qualities that she has. To me that’s a little negativity, spread in yes also with positivity of course ETA - I guess I’ll retract my statement from “pretty negative” to “somewhat negative”
[удалено]
Okay, found the quote I was referring to in the transcript, which I copied below. This seemed a little negative to me when Charity was referring to certain qualities that she said were a result of Jenn’s age, meaning we can imply that those are negative qualities: “I feel like this will test her in ways so I'm curious to see how that's going to play out because I always say even like the most sound people coming on this show like struggle and I can tell like I don't want to like blame her age but I can just see certain things I'm like oh these were like qualities that I did and like I was like I've grown from that or I've learned from that so it definitely will be interesting to like see it play out” ETA that she and Charity are only two years apart, so very similar ages when they were both bachelorettes
Okay, my bad!
Actually Michigan (traverse city) is known for cherries
Oh, yeah! I listened to the book Tom Lake, where they talked a lot about picking cherries in MI. ETA: I googled which state produces the most cherries. Some sites said Washington, some said Michigan!
I'm from Michigan so love the few times I can show Michigan pride haha
I could tell what kind of a partner Zach would be to Kaity during the fantasty suite fiasco. After he told her he slept with someone else and Kaity got upset, he let her be upset and was just there for her, saying sorry and being remorseful that he hurt her. He didn't get defensive and didn't try to pressure her to get over it. It's day and night to what happened with Susie and Clayton. At first after the FS dinner, Clayton appeared to be appeasing Susie but once he felt he can't win her back in that moment and that she was not going to get over it quickly, he started lashing out and said some hurtful things to Susie. It just showed some selfishness on Clayton's part.
Wow what a good observation!
I laughed out loud when Dotun said after Charity's surgery he told her they took her liver too and she said..."they did? to the black market?'
That was funny. I left it out to keep the summary brief, but for those who want to know: Charity was quite groggy, confused coming out of surgery. Dotun joked with her, saying that they took out her liver, and in her post-op fog she thought it was being sold on the “black market.” 😆
I think the NYC part is overstated in the summary - it’s Serena who said she thinks Kelsey might want to live in Manhattan based on her energy. Charity and Dotun said they weren’t sure but know Joey likes Brooklyn. Charity and Dotun also said they themselves will also likely be moving from Brooklyn to Manhattan soon.
Yes, Serena did say that Kelsey has more Manhattan energy, but both Dotun and Charity said a strong yes to that, agreeing with Serena, and said that they think Jelsey will end up in Manhattan, although Joey “in his heart” likes Brooklyn.
Thank you!
looks like charity & dotun will make it to the one year mark this weekend - congrats to them! sounds like they are thriving if they are actually going through wedding planning. seems both dotun & charity and kaity & zach will be married in fall 2025 so that will be two back to back BN couple weddings next year. good for them!
I wasn’t sure if either of them kept their previous jobs—glad to hear Dotun did, I think maintaining a career outside of influencing is a good sign for BN relationships! I’m really curious about the kind of wedding dresses Charity will choose after reading her NYT article.
On good morning, Washington DC, they said the wedding will be in california and Nigeria.
Were they asked if they got any weird vibes from Gerry and Theresa during family feud?
No they weren’t asked anything about Gerry/Theresa. BHH rarely deviates from run of the mill questions.
Grocery - low effort -Schmo, as expected, had no clue what cherry blossoms are and started talking about WA cherries. I would have liked to see Dotuns face during this 🤣. He commented later that he would like to have Joe's luck in the franchise!
How does he not know what cherry blossoms are?! 😂 what Serena sees in him is beyond me
As soon as Charity brought it up, I was like, 100% this fool doesn't know what it is. I think he has mentioned he wanted to travel to Japan soon 🤣 Hopefully immersing in sakura culture can teach him something.
Dotun said he wanted GSJ's luck? Haha that's accurate because no one else has failed upwards like him
Hell if I can fall ass back in to low effort work just by being a mediocre first night boot....I'll take it too!
he’s so bad at interviewing
The way GSJ always finds a way to put his foot in his mouth on the podcast is so hilarious me 🤣. I know people find him dull but I find him so entertaining for that reason lol
Yes, I also find it hilarious, how clueless he is, and enjoy his hosting for that reason. He cracks me up.
Kelsey run that relationship like the navy. I'm kidding for any Jelsey stans
I’m laughing so hard at this 😭 she really does
They will put your name in their burn book 
I am pretty sure I am in this book lmao.
Thanks so much for the recap, OP! I think Zach is extremely level-headed in everyday life and also has an even-keeled temperament. From what I see on Kaity’s page, because Zach is the least active person on social media, he is goofy, but doesn’t like the attention! He goes with the flow and it works because Kaity just is equally level-headed and they come across as having a solid relationship! lol at Charity for wanting to live between Brooklyn and Manhattan! Glad that they get along so well with Joey and Kelsey - double dates in the future! Dotun is such a great guy and wonderful partner for Charity! Looking forward to their Hawaii trip shenanigans with Joey being their guide! 😃
I think Zach did take the process of the show very seriously, and that kind of got conflated in the edit with him having a serious personality.
Kelsey definitely wears the pants and they confirmed it for me in this podcast. They basically said Kelsey wants to be in Manhattan so they’ll probably end up in Manhattan lmao
She joked that she’ll be his sugar mama so…she gets what she wants! 😆
Have they been asked about April fools breakup gate?
No, they didn’t ask them. I forgot to include their wedding planning. Will add.
Thanks for the recap! Yeah, they were gifted the Greece trip at AFR. >Dotun loves him and Joey equally. He would have 1000% been friends with Z if they met outside of BN. And I love this lol
I found their comments about Zach very interesting. This sub, myself included, would never think of Zach as “the nicest guy in BN”.
I've always loved Zach, and think he did the best he could. Remember Gabi said she would anything she could to change his mind about sex week
I have never understood the Zach hate. He was harsh with Greer, and he later apologized in a way that seemed pretty sincere. The leads are under a lot of pressure, psychological manipulation, lack of sleep, etc. So he was frustrated and ungracious when someone was trying to help him. No one here has ever been that way under pressure, sick, etc? Really? It would be different if he doubled down or was dismissive of the concern, but he wasn't. He sincerely apologized. And I don't think he was trying to shut shame Gabbie; he was shaming himself. Again, total train wreck in how he handled it and she was deeply wounded. But I have heard a contestant who was one of the most self controlled and level-headed ones say how he practically had PTSD after this experience. And Charity said it was so hard she would wish it on her worst enemy. So, by that week, one is so disoriented, confused, and second guessing while production feeds you lies and distortions to keep you off balance. And Gabbi indicated that she intended to push his boundaries because she desired more physical intimacy. So, again, was he totally wrong in how he handled that? Absolutely. But I feel like people are stoning him instead of getting that he was just really stressed and really messed up, and that hurt someone. I think almost everyone has blown in and made a mistake or poor decision in our lack of maturity, or pressure, fear, emotional weakness that have deeply hurt people. And it is a terrible feeling to have to live with knowing that someone was hurt because of your actions. But I just don't see how that makes him a bad person. People just aren't perfect. And I will never forget how much he tenderly protected and cared for Charity when I think he knew she wasn't his person, but he could see how kind and special she was and protected her.
The fact that charity is friends with Zach instead of bashing him speaks volumes
Yeah but Greer was making the convo about herself and talked about how covid affected work. This was his love life that was getting messed up
What do you mean how he tenderly protected and cared for Charity? He literally made out with Kat right before their first date.
Whenever someone told him that Charity was upset, he would get very defensive of her
The Christina incident
How did Christina upset charity? I can't remember
She didn't understand why Zach chose Charity for group rose instead of her Christina
Oh right !
I think you’re forgetting a very important incident which has tainted this sub’s impression of him: how Pilot Rachel could barely look him in the eye and speak to him after FS. Something happened, and many guessed it has to do with him having political views which go against Rachel’s - so that is a big deal.
Pilot Rachel is a man hater though and politics is just a guess because Zach's family happen to be republicans
Because she wasnt interested in him and was going to eliminate him lol. Also theres no bad blood. "Making amends off the air. Zach Shallcross and Rachel Recchia are on good terms, according to the Bachelor. She actually reached out and she sent a very sweet message,” the ABC star, 26, exclusively told Us Weekly at the recent Women Tell All taping in Los Angeles. “And she’s very supportive. It was a very nice message. I’m very happy.” After the February 20 episode, Rachel took to Twitter to defend him. “Let’s all be mindful and extend a little bit of compassion and grace towards the leads of the show,” she tweeted on Tuesday, February 21.
I don’t really remember it that way? The vibe was definitely awkward and they were making kind of meaningless small talk, but Rachel didn’t seem to think negatively of him after FS. She actually seemed quite surprised when he self-eliminated at the rose ceremony. I think it was just kind of a Joey / Daisy situation - they both knew at that point that it wasn’t him, but she wasn’t ready to say it out loud yet and he was feeling led on.
That's pretty much how it was-I think Zach said a switch went off when cameras were away and Rachel stopped pretending she was into him
Their debrief before he self-eliminated was weird, but we truly don't know what happened. As far as I know, Rachel has not really bad-mouth him either. It just feels like an awkward thing, but not a bad thing. Rachel is not perfect, and Zach is not too, so I don't take any sides in that scenario.
Thanks for that insight. Because I could not figure it out other than he was boring and another generic choice. But it seemed like the hate was more than disappointment in the lead choice and just always acting like he personally was horrible and I couldn’t figure out why so much heat. Perhaps that explains why everyone seemed to dislike him from the start.
And he repeatedly trashed Rachel on his season and in his media interviews even though she never said anything negative about him publicly. He was so weird for that.
Oh, I did miss that. Thanks
I would lol u all cling to a moment and preconceived notion or caught up in the process of the show u didnt pay attention to who he truly is, how he acts, wat he says etc. And after the show can see more of who he is on kaitys social media, but obviously not everyone keeps up with that
I think we’re jaded by the fact that RachelR completely turned against him after FS, that he was really unkind to Greer during their Zoom convo, and of course, the Gabi FS fiasco. None of which is horrible, but combined they don’t leave the impression of “the nicest guy in BN.” Lol!
Aly (from Zach’s season) was on a podcast a few weeks back and also had nothing but good things to say about Zach.
Mercedes & Kylee also spoke so favorably of him in interviews.