‘The Bachelorette’ Hometowns: Rachel and Aven Actually Had the First Date
ABC’s The Bachelorette Season 19 hometowns are almost complete, and fans met the families of Rachel Recchia and Gabby Windey’s men. Some of the families were incredibly welcoming to the women — and others, not so much. With that said, fans have yet to see Rachel’s date with Aven Jones, though the two had the first hometown date.
[Spoiler alert: The Bachelorette Season 19 spoilers ahead regarding hometowns and Aven Jones.]
‘The Bachelorette’ Season 19 hometowns showed 6 out of 7 dates in 1 episode
The Bachelorette Season 19 hometowns gave fans a glimpse into the lives of Rachel and Gabby’s remaining seven men. The first hometown shown on TV was Gabby and Jason Alabaster. Gabby and Jason had a strong connection early on, but he seemed to doubt his ability to propose at the end of the journey.
The second hometown showed Rachel meeting up with Zach Shallcross, which went exceptionally well, as Zach admitted he was falling for Rachel. Gabby had the third hometown date with Johnny DePhillipo, though he didn’t receive nearly as much screentime as the other dates. Even with the little amount of time he did have, he also seemed to express potential doubts about how deep his feelings for Rachel could become.
The fourth hometown date ended in disaster. Rachel sent Tyler Norris packing after he told her he was falling in love with her. Extra footage showed him returning to his parents without Rachel with him — an extra gut punch many fans could do without. The fifth hometown date showed Gabby meeting Erich Schwer’s family, which really solidified their bond. Finally, Rachel had the last hometown date with Tino Franco — and she was grilled by his family.
Rachel Recchia had her first date with Aven Jones on ‘The Bachelorette’
The Bachelorette Season 19 hometowns appeared to start with Gabby and Jason’s date, but the order presented on the screen wasn’t the order they were filmed. Rachel’s date with Aven Jones won’t air until the following week, but Reality Steve notes they actually had the first date. The crew went to Salem, Massachusetts, first for their date.
This adds more context to Rachel’s date with Tyler. After Rachel’s date with Aven, she headed to Wildwood, New Jersey, to meet up with Tyler. During the hometown episode, she stated the hometown before Tyler’s had a “different feel” — in a good way. Judging from the episode, fans assumed she was talking about her date with Zach, but she was actually talking about her date with Aven.
“The viewing audience heard that and thought she was talking about Zach’s since she’d only been on his hometown before Tyler’s. But in reality, she was talking about Aven’s, since the order was Aven’s hometown, THEN Tyler,” Reality Steve verified.
Does Rachel’s date with Aven go well? Trouble’s likely on the horizon
Rachel Recchia has had multiple breakdowns so far on The Bachelorette Season 19, excluding anything to do with hometowns. So, how does Rachel’s date with Aven Jones go? Judging from what she said before her date with Tyler, it seems she has a fantastic date with Aven. But fans think her relationship with Aven goes south.
A previous trailer shows Rachel upset with Aven, likely during Fantasy Suites week. “I’m just so conflicted right now. I just don’t understand,” she appears to tell Aven. “I feel so blindsided by you.” Another part of the trailer shows Rachel speaking to Tino — but fans think careful editing is involved, as she’s likely speaking to Aven. “How do you move forward?” she says, again, likely talking to Aven. “You can’t. Like, you can’t do that.” Another scene shows Rachel sobbing in a hallway, and Aven enters a hotel room behind her.
We’ll have to wait and see what really goes down between Aven and Rachel.
The Bachelorette Season 19 airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
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