Last night (February 22, 2021) aired the 8th episode of "The Bachelor" as Matt James continues to search for his wife among the remaining four women. This week is special, however, because he will be meeting each of their families!
With a total of 4 one-on-one dates, here is a debrief of what went down on each:
Date 1: Michelle
Since the ladies plan the date activities this week, Michelle arranges for the two to go on bike rides together, and Matt gets to virtually meet Michelle’s elementary school class, even getting to talk to some of them (though we wonder how much the kids were prepped for being on national television).
Later that night, Matt meets Michelle’s parents, Lavonne and Ephraim, who are by far the sweetest people the "Bachelor" franchise has ever seen. Michelle tells her father how she admires Matt’s passion for making a change through his community work and cries to her mother about how intensely she feels for Matt. Meanwhile, Matt tells a concerned father that he is “falling for” Michelle and is even willing to relocate to her home state of Minnesota if need be.
To wrap up the night, Michelle confesses to Matt that she is falling in love with him, to which he just responds with a smile and a kiss.
Date 2: Rachael
Rachael picks Matt up and takes him blindfolded to an airstrip where they will be skydiving! The two get strapped up separately to professionals (probably a good idea for liability reasons) and have a great experience jumping off the plane, until… Rachael has a tough landing and lands on the ground flat on her face. After Matt heroically rushes over to make sure she’s okay, the two discuss how sad life without the other would be.
Matt and Rachael later head over to meet her parents, Kim and Darrell, and her sister, Trinity. To her mom, Rachael claims that she doesn’t see a single red flag in Matt. Her dad plays the realist when confronting Matt, explaining that he does not see how the two can get serious enough for marriage when Matt is also seeing other women. Rachael cools him down by essentially saying she’s “not like other girls” and is sure about her place in his heart. The night ends unexpectedly for Rachael, however, who is disappointed that Matt did not ask her dad for his blessing.
Date 3: Bri
To come full circle from their one-on-one date (throwback to Episode 2), this couple hits the roads again in a jeep as they go off-roading. A picnic awaits them at the end, where Bri expresses her concerns over not having a traditional family, having been raised by a single mother who recently got engaged and had a baby.
That night, the pair heads over to meet Bri’s mom, Lauren, and her best friend, also named Bri. We see a brief appearance from the baby sister, who Bri is meeting for the very first time. Matt and mom head outside to a toasty fireplace to talk business, where she grills him about his intentions with her daughter. Bri tells her mom that she has already felt the L-word but is scared to tell him, to which her mom responds with some supportive, motherly words.
At the end of the visit, Bri musters up the courage to confess her feelings to Matt and he thanks her for sharing that information with him.
Date 4: Serena P.
On the final date of the week, Serena P. gives Matt an overview of her homeland of Canada. They walk into an entire bar decorated to look like a Canadian gift shop where Serena introduces Matt to classic foods like pastries and poutine, quizzes him on Canadian slang, and takes him on the ice to play some hockey.
We, along with Matt, meet Serena’s family next. Representing the Pitt family are her parents and her sister, Talia. Once again, a mom grills Matt on what he sees in her daughter but is still concerned that, at only age 23, Serena isn’t ready for marriage. After some emotional release with her mother, Serena realizes that she is unable to trust her own feelings after a particularly rough heartbreak in her past. She ends the night by telling Matt “I just have a lot of thinking to do."
The Final Three
Matt heads over to Serena’s the next day to get some clarity where she admits that she doesn’t think he is her person. Matt is the most dumbfounded we’ve ever seen him and is clearly heartbroken. Nevertheless, he hands out the three roses of the week to Michelle, Rachael, and Bri.
Stay tuned next week for the much anticipated “Women Tell All” episode where we will see the return of some of our favorite drama queens of the season!