Unpacking Fantasy Suites

Published Aug 8, 2023, 7:01 AM

Today on “Bachelor Happy Hour,” Joe and Serena explain why this week in the Fantasy Suites has them rethinking their certainty on how this season ends. Did Joey’s explanation of those awkward comments from his uncle provide Charity with the clarity she needed? Was Xavier right to answer questions about his thoughts on cheating the way he did? Was the physical chemistry between Dotun and Charity enough to lock in Charity’s final rose? Listen now and let us know your thoughts!  

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What's up, vacination? Welcome back to another episode of Happy Hour. I'm here with my lovely co host, Serena.

I'm here with my lovely co host, Joe. How's it going, Joe feeling I'm feeling pretty good. You know what's coming up? Our second wedding, Our second wedding. You picked up the wedding rings today.

I did. We picked up for our wedding bands.

We had a fun call with Walls the other day to go over our ceremony.

Start talking about our vows all coming together.

Yeah, I made a joke about eternity, like are we going to actually take this into eternity? If there is an eternity?

Yes, he did make a joke. Joe's trying to figure out where the line is of like marriage, Like, okay, so like we're married today, we're married tomorrow, We're married till the end of our lives.

But like if eternity exists, like are we married in eternity? And the answer is yes, we are?

Okay, Wow, I will say this, And I joke around about the wedding ring, yes, wedding, Like I don't want to wear a ring, but you know, I joke like I will say, I don't know if I put on the ring, and I don't know if I could wear a ring. I'm not a ring. I'm not a jewelry guy.

Look, most men, I would say a lot of men.

Maybe not most, but a lot of men don't wear jewelry until they get married. Like my dad has never put a piece of jewelry on his body except for his wedding ring. But like, you get used to it, and you like your ring. You were excited about it when we got it.

I like it.

I think it's a very pretty ring, and I think it looks good. I just it's like, oh no, now I got something.

Else on my body else opposed to what, like clothes, like clothes and now a ring.

No I'm pro nudist.

No no, no, no, no, just Joe is not pro nudist.

Okay, So something that has been requested. We used to do it on my old podcast, Clickbait was Veacheination Breakdown, And for all you guys listening, it's basically just, you know, a rundown of what's going on with past a lump. So we're gonna start bringing that back at the top of these episodes. And if you don't like it. Then dm us would be like, yeah, stop doing that, and then well, you know, if we'll get enough dm Son, we'll probably stop. First first headline, which is, in my opinion, the biggest one. Gabby Wendy. She was part of the Bacherette Gabby and Rachel. I'm sure you all know who she is. She just announced that she is in a new relationship with a woman.

She did she went on the view I believe it was, and did a sit down chat. I guess that there has been speculation for a while. She posted an Instagram story saying that people have been curious about her dating life and what's been happening, and yeah, she announced that she's dating Robbie Hoffman, who I believe is a comedian slash writer slash comedy writer.

And they're beautiful couple. We're super happy and supportive of Gabby.

Makes time she's with a comedian. Gabby's very Gabby is someone who's naturally funny.

Yes, she's incredibly witty. We actually were.

We went paintballing with her like a month ago, and she's just a very comedic person. Naturally terrible paintball So that's okay. That's a skill people can live without Gabby is not paint.

But you know what, I wasn't. None of us were a fun day. But yeah, good for Gabby. If she's happy, we're happy and we wish her the best on our new relationship. Yeah.

Absolutely, what else we got?

Amanda Stanton's pregnant.

Yes, Amanda Stanton.

Amanda Stantony. I knew that that one. I knew for sure. A man. She has two daughters already, she.

Has two daughters with.

Yes, she has two daughters, and now she is pregnant with her third baby with her new husband, and super exciting. They just had their wedding and now they've got a new baby on the way. I'm sure her daughters are excited to have another sibling.

And yeah, her daughters are really cute.

She makes beautiful, beautiful babies, so she should absolutely continueing.

She should continue to reproduce as much as possible.

Keep going, Amanda. Okay, and then we also have another AX bachelorette. Claire Crawley is having a baby girl.

Yes, she announced that she was having a baby via surrogate a few weeks back, and now that we know that.

It's a little girl, we're so excited for her. I feel like, she'll be a good girl. Mom.

I think so too. Yeah, I think so too. Happy for claik and then we do have one hard launch. He was the host of another Bachelor podcast, talking it Out with Mike and Brian, and Mike came on Clickbait. I want to say it was probably like close to three months ago, and he had told us after the podcast. You might have said it on the podcast that he was in a relationship and was really like serious about it, and you can tell he was all giddy and everything. So I was really trying to press him on who it was, and he just posted her on Instagram.

Yes, but I don't believe correct me.

I'm rom I don't think he tagged her, showed her or showed her face or show her face.

Yes, Mike, and if you're listening to this, you got to give us more details because this is now our business and we would like to know.

It was such a tease. I was like, I want to stalk this girl.

Who is she?

I mean, she looks beautiful from the back. I'm sure she's equally stunning from the front.

But he's keeping it very private and low key, which I fad that is kind of his style.

Yeah, thing to do.

Yeah, but very very happy for Mike Johnson, for Gabby, for Amanda, for Claire. This was all such great news this week. Lots to be happy and excited about. Inmbachtriination. Yes, just remember veachination breakdown.

You can always get it here fairs, So hit that subscribe button whenever you feel like it. Okay, it's time. My favorite episode of season Fantasy Suites.

I love Fantasy Suitets.

Yeah, I feel like it just picks up so quick after Hometown's going into Fantasy Suite and you're just It's three episodes of NonStop juiciness, love, drama, all the good stuff.

And they're in Fiji. So we got a beautiful location.

How far is Fiji from New York?

It's not close.

It's not close because it looks really beautiful and I kind of want to go now.

Yeah, I mean I would. I don't know exactly. I could be wrong. I would say it's probably one of those things that'll take a day to get to. Oh gosh, yeah, I think it's kind of similar to like Bali. It may even be further.

I feel like you're not correct.

Really, do you want to bet? No?

I don't want to bet.

I just feel like you're throwing it, like you're throwing stuff at the wall right now, Like I don't think you really know.

That's that's most of my life is just throwing stuff out of But I will say, I bet you, I bet you. You cannot get there from New York in under twenty two hours.

Okay, how far is s Fiji from New York by plane? Oh, fifteen hours and thirty minutes.

Yeah, I guess that's far.

That's really far. But I mean, looks beautiful, looks worth it looks worth the trip. I was going to say, maybe we should change our honeymoon to Fiji for the seventeenth honeymoon switch.

But I have booked this honeymoon too. It is perfect. I have all dinner reservations ready booked. They got all the hotel's books, I got most of the transportation book. I couldn't have done a better joke.

Yet, we won't be changing. We won't be changing our honeymoon. It's locked in. It's all set. So Fiji will have to wait to another time.

Okay, So let's get into it. Xavier is up first. Yes, the date starts.

Off, you know, fine, Yeah, I mean they're on a beautiful beach in Fiji, They're doing some ceremonial traditions. It seems like that they're both enjoying and connecting on I.

Think the sexual attractions there. I think they have chemistry at this point. I don't see any reason why you would not make it to.

The fantasy absolutely. I mean I feel like, yeah, there's no red flags. I feel like we rarely see it where people go to a Fantasy Suite date and don't make it into the Fantasy suite. Like I think, if the lead is bringing you into Fantasy Seat week, there's a good chance they are like at least like ninety percent sure that they want to take you to the fantasy suite and the.

Day of date. Oh, you disagree with that.

I do disagree with that. I feel like, oh, I feel like there's been a decent amount of seasons where only the top two end up making that.

Yeah, I guess.

So. I'm trying to think back to the past season and Zach had all three women, which we know for certain, go to the fantasy suite. Clayton had all three women go to the Fantasy suite. Rachel and Gabby was an unconventional season, so they had like differing numbers.

I believe. All right, you know what, disregard that I said that, then let's just keep going.

Okay, anyway, let's give to the dinner portion.

The portion was good. It was and it gets exciting. Xavier now opens up, which is not easy because he made a mistake in the past and he had to come clean on that he had cheated on his ax. Yes, which we all know that Charity's biggest fair she was cheated on in the past. Also has been saying the entire season that Savior reminded her of her AX.

Yeah, the stars could not have aligned less in this situation, like for her to say all season, he reminds me of my axe. Have this fear of his readiness to commit to her, this uncertainty was Xavier Now, I feel like after Homecows they finally reached a point where she's like really kind of leaning into this relationship wholeheartedly. And then him to say, yeah, by the way, I cheat on I mean, she had a really like intense story of being with her ex on and off for six years and being cheated on.

I believe it was multiple times.

Like this is a serious topic for her and like not a great time to be bringing it up. Not that there's ever really a good time to bring this up on the show, but like, yes.

That's that's where I want to talk. That's where I want to talk what I want to talk about. Because as a viewer, you know, it's easy to say you should have brought this up earlier, and yeah, he should have brought it up earlier, but being in that position, he was probably deathly afraid of bringing up and her just automatically sending them home.

Absolutely, and you get so little time with the lead on this show that I can imagine he was like, I don't want this to be like the first thing she learns about me, Like I want her to get to know me for who I am and even see if there's like a mutual connection. Before I laid this out there, Yeah.

I mean he still could have. I mean I feel like he could have probably did it at the night portion of his one on one day.

I think that would have been appropriate because.

He was opening up then, so to drop it then. I don't necessarily know if Charity would have sent him.

Home from that. See, I don't know if she would have sent him home.

I think that this would have been an issue really no matter what the timing, because kind of the direction the conversation went, it just went down hell like. It just felt like a snowball rolling down a hell like picking up speed because she, I thought, was very calm about the whole thing, and I thought she hadled it really well.

Honestly, like regardless, if he would have told her earlier and she would have sent him home, like he could have got out of this. She was giving him out, yeah, and he kept digging himself deeper. He kept saying, what do he say if if I choose if you choose me and I choose you. It was like Xavier, like like just just chill up. But he couldn't. He could not say. He could not give her the reassurance that he wouldn't cheat.

No, he couldn't, and that's all she was looking for. She was like, Okay, you know you cheated in your past relationship. He told her he cheated on his ex girlfriend multiple times over the course of five days on a boy's trip, and she basically wanted to hear from him like I made a mistake. This is what I've done to like learn from that and make sure I don't do it again in the future, and I can sit here and tell you like I won't do it again. And I think that's really what she was looking to hear, and he could not give her that. But I don't think he believed that. I don't think he believes in himself to be able to not cheat it again. And that's not to say Xavier is going to go out and like cheat on everyone he dates. I just think he lacks confidence in himself right now. He kept saying, like, if I go on a boy's trip, like you know, there's temptation everywhere, Like that is not what I want to hear. And if that's the truth, that that's genuinely how he feels. Like he is worried about giving into temptation. He is not ready.

That's it. I was just gonna say. It's as simple as he's just not ready, Like he's just not. He may want to be, but he's clearly not. And that was the thing, like he said, like in his heart, I will in my heart, I will cheap it in my head. It's totally It was just like okay, like you just you clearly aren't ready. He's been struggling with this the whole season. What did he say? He said it a few times. Oh, it's scary to think think of just being with one woman.

Yes, yes, and it's okay to be scared.

But I think his fear goes past just like the you know, I'm ready for this, but the unknown is scary, and committing to someone for the rest of your life can be scary. I think all the signs are pointing to he's not ready or this, and that's okay, but he definitely needed to go home. The biggest line that he said that really stick out to me was he kept saying, I don't want to cheat on you. I was like Xavier, that you can't like you can't say that it's I won't cheat on you, and if it's I don't want to cheat on you, but it doesn't like that doesn't mean he won't do it, Like he couldn't give her any certainty.

He's just saving himself for the future for when he cheats and I cheat it. But I told you before I didn't want to.

Yeah, I didn't want to do it.

I didn't want to do it, but something made me do it, Like you know, but like we.

Do have to give him a little a little bit of grace here, because I mean he was honest.

Like, no, I respect him for being honest, for being honest, because.

He could have just you know, he could have lied.

He could have said, like, I'll never cheat on you again. I would never do it again. He could have not told her in the first place. Like he definitely fully opened up and was completely honest with her, and every question she asked, I believe he was giving her on answer, and I do respect that. I just think when it comes down to it, he wasn't ready. Charity and him, we're not going to work out after that conversation, and there was really no other option than for him to go home.

Yeah, so Xavier goes home, which I think is for the best, definitely for the best for both.

Of them, because yeah, it doesn't seem like he was ready. And that's it. So Xavier is gone. Let's go to the next fantasy suite, Joey. Joey's here, He's ready. Now, we see Joey kind of at the beginning before he needs Charity express that he's a little worried because last time he saw Charity, she was getting in a car and she was upset and he doesn't think that she gave him the real reason she was upset.

Yeah, when she got in the car, she was saying, you know, I'm just really upset. I'm going to really miss you, which I'm sure was part of it. She really cares about him, You coul tell they have a strong connection. But we saw that she had a really unsettling conversation with Joey's uncle, and I think that the conversation between Charity and Joey about that was the one that we've all been waiting for.

During the date.

Yeah, and so we see Charity opens up, you know, we see in the interviews she's extremely excited to see Joey.

Oh yeah, Yeah, she's bouncing up and down.

Yeah, which I wasn't. I don't know, I was not expecting that.

I just think that you and I have had such like hard eyes for Dotton and her connection this whole season, and now it's coming out to me that like Dotton and Joey are neck and neck at this point. Like her connection with Joey has always been strong, but I think this episode, I'm like, whoa, it is actually way stronger than I think I realized. You really really saw it, so evidently in this episode how much they like each other.

So the front end of their date, he or Charity pulls up in an ATV kind of let joe you know who's gonna be the boss in the bedroom comes in strong. Unfortunately, the ATV was a bust at ATV because it kept breaking and then they had to walk through the forest, which was, you know, nice.

Maybe this franchise loves an ATV date. I think there's always a four wheeler date on every single season, including Paradise.

Yeah, honestly, you know, when you think about it, like how many data, I mean, how many date options really are there?

You know, I like it. I think it's fun. I think it would be a fun date to be on.

Yeah, but yeah, there's always one. But I've never seen it break down before, So, yeah, breaks.

Down, but they have. They do end up having that serious conversation by like a waterfall. They talk about Joey's uncle, and Joey basically opens up like it's not that I'm a fake person, but you know, I come across very positive and I love that part of me, but there is another part of me that sometimes turns it off, and I'm not always you know, this happy, go lucky guy, which I think we could all, you know, understand, like I feel like I'm I feel like I'm that.

Way, yeah, and I can relate to that as well as someone like I like to be a positive, nice, upbeat person. I would say that's who I am majority of the time, and I like that about myself, but then sometimes it makes it harder to be like, oh, let me just turn that side off and be a bummer today kind of thing. But I do think that Joey's uncle's concerned because Joey openly said on the tennis court, you know me now having to lead the date for the first time, my uncle's showing up out of nowhere, Like I felt uncomfortable, Like I didn't feel good, I felt thrown off. I felt a little out of my element. And that is probably what my uncle was picking up on. And it makes sense that maybe his uncle was attributing him being a little awkward to like, oh, if this is how he's been the whole season, this is not the real Joey. But in reality, it was just that one moment he caught him kind of out of his element. I think Joey's been himself. He seems like a really authentic guy. I don't have a lot of worries about that as a viewer.

Yeah, I think he was just like, yeah, I'm not perfect, and it's like, yeah, no shit. I mean they're probably be one perfect Joe in this franchise and you got him. But yeah, so they go. But anyways, you can see Charity's happy if that felt like a real genuine conversation and they go to the night portion the dinner, Joey tells her he loves her and Charity says it bad.

Okay. I wish I had filmed our reaction to that. Obviously I didn't because I didn't know what was coming. But you and I like your face was just as shocked as my face.

Yeah, because we I don't know if we've just been pushing this narrative amongst each other of like no one says I loved you till the very end to the last person.

Which isn't true at all, Like there's been multiple seasons where that happens. I just don't think I expected Charity to do it, because she took so long to express that she's falling in love with these people, and I feel like she just kind of got there, and now she's dropping the I love us. And I also just think that when you say I love you to multiple people on this show, it gets messy. It always does. It always makes it messier no matter what. So I don't know. I think I just didn't expect her to do that.

Yeah, I wasn't expecting it either, but it was entertaining and I enjoyed it, and they both are now in love.

They're in love like she was whipping out the I Love us left, right and center in the morning after their date.

After their date, they do the fantasy suites I love yous happen, and then when he leaves, she cries. So now I'm watching it, I'm like, Joey, she Joey's winning, Like you're not winning with Joey. Joey's ending up with her like this said.

Oh yeah, Like I've been like I've been like it's Dotton for the past like five episodes, and now I'm like, I have literally no clue.

I think it might be Joey.

It and now we get to Dotton state where it's kind of like, oh, but okay, but then you know, and it's because that date follows the Joey date I feel like the beginning as a viewer felt a little more awkward than it actually was. But I think it was pretty smooth the whole time, and you could see Charities really into Dotton and he's really into her. I wrote down he is too emotionally intelligent for me. Half the time he's talking, I'm like, at this point.

He's incredibly well spoken and he's incredible at articulating how he's feeling.

I didn't find it awkward necessarily.

I just think that with Joey's Day ten date, like they were doing an activity. They were walking, there was the waterfall, they had something like very specific to be talking about in regards to like his hometown. With Charity and Dott, it just felt more of like a chill date where they were just like swimming. They were on this beautiful sandbar talking about their feelings. Like it was a little more low key. But I couldn't believe it when Dowton said, oh, I had no idea how this show ends, so I just and if you haven't listened to our Dotton interview, should go back and listen to it because it kind of explains he got on the show in kind of an interesting fast turnaround way, so he doesn't really know what he was signing up for. And he asked one of the guys like, oh, how does this end? Like what happens at the end, and they were like, you get engaged, and he was like, oh, I'm down for that, Like.

I'm in love with her.

She's the person I watched by my life with, Like I'm down to engaged and like that to me is so cool because you know, you know for a fact, like this guy didn't come on the show to like fake an engagement. He's not going to fake an engagement. He's not gonna do it just because she wants to do it or he feels pressure to it, Like he genuinely is stoked about get engaged to this girl after like two months. Like that just goes to show how much he loves her.

I agree, he's I think he I think he is very much in love with her, And I think she loves him too.

You think you know, we know she does because she.

Does say it later on, we'll get to that. And he kept saying, this is you know, this is a fairy tale, and yeah, So they leave the island and then they go to the date portion and if you watched and saw them walking to dinner in the hallway, he kind of like pulls her to the side and like mix out with her and more of like a like a like a sexy, aggressive, like let's get it on type of way, and you like I was like, oh, she's into him.

This is wow.

I didn't realize that part was such a standout to you. Joe's like, oh, yeah, it was a great makeout because.

It was just like you could just tell like all the like I don't know, like sometimes the day you're like, is there, like there's chemistry, but are they Is there sexual chemistry? Yeah? And we see it in that hallway where like these two people are really into each other and you need that at the beginning of a relationship.

Absolutely. No, they definitely have really good sexual chemistry.

Yeah, so they have they have dinner, and yeah, it's kind of it's kind of the same, like you know, like really into you. I'm really into you. And Donton drops that he loves her, And now I'm sitting back on my wall. Is she gonna say it again? She loves two people? She does.

She says it, She's in love with two people.

And I could genuinely, like, I honestly, at this point, I'm like, Okay, two guys left. She loves them both, She's very happy with both of them, and they both love her.

Oh, I keep think you situation a throuble situation. Hmm, interesting, that would be a first.

Yeah. No, I just I'm like, I have no idea how this is going to go.

So what I keep thinking is that the breakup with Zavi was obviously hard, but it was very evident that they weren't going to be able to end up together, and probably a little bit easier to shut that door after the way the conversation went. Yeah, However, her breakup with Aaron b at the Rose ceremony after Hometowns, she took it really hard. She definitely is going to have a hard time with these breakups, understandably, So what she's doing is an easy She's in love with two people, her having to send one of them home in the finale is going to wreck her. Yeah, like it is going to squash her heart. I know, I know, I feel so my heart hurts for her just knowing what she's gonna have to do.

Yeah, it's gonna I think that's gonna be rough. But I think if there is an engagement at the end, like the joy that comes from that will pull her out of it. And then the the the unlucky fella that gets his heartbroken, he's just gonna be heartbroken. Okay, but we see Dotton. Uh, she also cries with dott Ley. So at this point, now we're watching her like Joey and Dotton, Like you said, like how is she gonna do this?

Like how is she going to choose?

And then that's it. We think the episodes over, but no, Aaron B's back. Now we were joking before like it's probably just gonna be the a Maya. It was probably I think.

For sure it was gonna be the a Maya.

Actually no, I didn't.

Who did you think it was? I thought it was I didn't. Oh, okay, well, originally we thought it was going to.

Be her act. Yeah, that's what I thought.

That was gonna be her.

And then we were like, m I think it's going to be me and I because she seems kind of happy to see this person, which I wouldn't have been mad about Nami. But Aaron B Coming back is definitely a bigger twist than I expected.

So Aaron b comes back. He goes up and tries to get her room number, and the hotel receptionist is like, not, we don't do that here.

Which honestly thank god, like you got to follow protocol, you got to protect people's privacy. Imagine she was just like, oh, yeah, Charity's room eight oh one down the hall. Yeah, no, one's staying at that hotel again.

Yeah, yeah, agreed. So he goes and ends up seeing Charity. Now I think I think people are probably initially are like, Aaron, why did you come back? Why did you do this? But they can't really have that opinion now because Charity's happy to see him.

Oh yeah, she's way happier than I thought she was going to be.

I didn't think she was going to be upset, but I thought it would be a lot of like shock and anxiety, and she was like giddy.

Yeah.

I feel like like when the lead let's go with a fourth and fifth person, you see them, you visibly see them upset.

But I'm always like that they were pretty sure on their decision, and I can she was clearly very unsure.

I think one of the worst things you can say in a breakup, and I'm not in any way, like condemning Charity for saying this, Like I think a lot of people say it, and I think this was true when she said it, but I think it's hard to say I don't know if I'm making the right decision when you're breaking up with someone, Because I totally.

Understand door open for them to come back.

It leaves the door open for them to come back.

It leaves the door open for them to be like, well, if they're not sure, maybe they'll change their mind, or maybe they'll realize that they didn't make the right decision and it should be me. And I feel like that actually might be happening in this case because he flew all the way to Fiji and she seems to be thinking like, hmmm, is this my second chance?

Did I make the right decision? Like she's still unsure.

Yeah, I liked when he dropped I like your fit.

Said, what an opening line from Aaron B. Good to see you. I like your fit.

She's like, I need to take some time. He's like, take as much time as you want. I like your fit.

By the way, no, he was it was actually very cute, like you could I'm sure he.

You can see how tired he was, Yeah, I'm.

Sure he's exhausted, he's nervous.

And when she's giving him like such a good response to showing up, He's like, take as much time you need, like I'll be done at the beach, like you could just tell. He's like, oh my god, like this might have been worth it. Like I don't know. I actually don't know what's going to happen here. I don't know if she's going to take him or not.

But I don't know. We don't know what's going to happen.

Do you think.

Aaron B's connection could surpass Dawnton and Joey's at this point though, because I think that's what it comes down to.

I don't know. I don't know, simply because Charity doesn't know. So if Charity doesn't know, how the fun could any of us know? You know? You know? So I don't know what's going to happen. We're left on a cliffhanger, which is great. I cannot wait. But we'll see and that that that reps that wraps, That wraps the recap. Make sure to subscribe if you're not already. We are dropping our interview with none other than Trista Sutter later this week.

Thank you so much for listening, and we'll talk to you soon.

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