SPOILER ALERT! This post contains details from Wednesday’s episode of The Golden Bachelorette.
It’s Week 4 in Joan Vassos’ journey to find a second chance at love, and it looks like this one will include a pretty tearful goodbye.
But first! The 11 remaining men are preparing for the week. They’re also still pondering Joan’s admission the night before that she’s not sure if her heart is ready for love again after the death of her husband. She’s still open to trying, but she wanted the men to know it may be a process — even after the cameras stop rolling.
The men take it in stride, and now they’re just ready to make sure she has a good week of dates ahead of her.
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The group date goes to Jonathan, Pascal, Dan, Charles, Gary, Mark, Gil, Chock and Keith. That means Jordan and Guy will be the lucky winners of the one-on-ones this week.
Soon after, the men are loaded onto a bus for the group date, trekking into Hollywood to see Joan. Kaitlyn Bristowe is also there to help these men put on a little performance…a striptease performance that is. Good thing they’ll also have some help from the original Chippendales dancers.
While some of the men are hesitant at first, they all get on board with the idea when they hear that the event will be raising money for Stand Up 2 Cancer.
The Chippendales dancers have a choreographed routine to teach the men, who will also need to add a bit of their own improv into the dance. Once they have their moves down, the men take the stage in front of a full audience, each in their own sexy costumes, to “bare it all” for Joan.
After the date, Joan gathers the men for a cocktail party. She tells them that, for the first time, she’s associating the word “cancer” with something positive, since they were able to raise money for a cause that is so near and dear to her, especially after losing her husband to the disease.
During the cocktail party, Joan and Chock have a heartfelt moment where she admits that she’s begun to miss him when he isn’t around, and she feels she’s found the No. 1 quality she was looking for in him — he makes her feel safe. Chock says he’s crazy about her, and he’s excited to see where their connection takes them.
All the men take their turn trying to make Joan smile, especially knowing she’s struggling with some family issues back home. Last week, she was informed that her mother is sick, and she’s been feeling guilty for staying in production rather than leave to take care of things back home. Some of them, speaking from their own experiences, also help her reconcile with the conflicted feelings she’s had about finding another love after John.
At the end of the night, Joan extends a rose to Chock, who she says in confessional is the first person she could picture a future with since John passed away.
The next morning, Chock is very emotional after receiving news that his mother had passed away. Of course, he’ll have to leave the show to make arrangements for his family, which makes things even more difficult for him. Chock intercepts Joan as she arrives at the mansion before her one-on-one date with Jordan. Joan is very understanding that Chock has to go, and their goodbye is quite emotional, especially given that Joan had to leave last season under similar circumstances.
While she’s still upset about Chock, Joan is determined to give Jordan the one-on-one date he deserves. After collecting herself, she steals him away from the mansion to escape to their own winter wonderland on an ice skating rink. The pair try their best to ice skate, before eventually settling into a cozy couch in the middle of the rink for a more relaxing experience.
Jordan opens up about his kids and his past relationship, which gives Joan more assurance that Jordan is the family man that she is looking for. Their sweet date is capped by a performance from REO Speedwagon and, during “Can’t Fight This Feeling,” Joan offers Jordan a rose.
Next is Guy’s date. He meets Joan at a lovely house in Malibu for a cooking date. Things don’t get off to the best start, as Guy struggles to zest a lemon. So, she puts him on onion cutting duty instead, where things go a little smoother. Once they get rolling, the conversation starts flowing, and they open up about their families.
Once the baked ziti and cupcakes are complete, Joan and Guy sit outside to enjoy their meal together. Guy speaks more about his previous marriage, admitting that he realized after he and his wife became empty nesters that he just wasn’t happy. He was worried about how his divorce would impact his relationship with his kids, and he wondered if he’d ever find love again. Luckily, his kids understood and have been supportive of his new journey to find love, and Joan is starting to make him feel like it’ll be possible for himself.
They end their date by dancing in the living room, and Joan offers Guy a rose.
Back at the mansion, the men are chilling in the pool and enjoying the sunshine. Mark is on the phone, raving to his daughter Kelsey (who is engaged to Season 28 Bachelor Joey Graziadei) about Joan. They seem so excited for him, and Mark seems hopeful that things with Joan could continue to progress.
But, the fun can only last for so long. Just like that, it’s time for another rose ceremony. Joan is very confused, because she still holds out hope that Chock will return after he’s made the necessary arrangements for his mother, and she wonders how she’ll navigate the next few weeks with that in mind.
At the cocktail party, Joan raises a glass to the men, who she realizes have put their lives on hold for her and this journey. She acknowledges that this journey has likely been difficult for all of them.
Joan tells Pascal that she’s been feeling as though he’s becoming indifferent toward her, but Pascal assures her that he doesn’t feel that way. He says he isn’t one to chase, and he wants to give her the space to figure out her relationships with everyone, but he would like to spend more in depth time with her. Maybe, Joan ponders, that err of indifference she senses is just due to the fact that he’s French.
Meanwhile, Keith is a little worried that he might’ve messed things up, because he gets quite nervous during their conversation. While Joan has spent the night asking the men about their typical day, Keith struggles to give her an answer…venting to Dan, he says he felt like he was in “meltdown mode.”
As Joan is heading back inside, Chock comes up the driveway with his group date rose pinned to his chest. While it’s been a long week for him, Chock says he wanted to get back to Joan as soon as possible.
Chock and Joan have a sweet conversation on the steps of the mansion, where Chock admits that he’s afraid of getting hurt, but he wants to dive deeper into his relationship with Joan, who says she feels much more comfortable with Chock back in the picture.
At the rose ceremony, Joan gives roses to Pascal, Jonathan, Mark and Keith. That means Gil, Gary, Charles and Dan are all headed home.
There are seven men remaining, as Joan continues her journey. New episodes of The Bachelorette air Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT.
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