SPOILER ALERT! This post contains details from Monday’s episode of ABC’s The Bachelorette.
Charity Lawson’s quest to fall in love has officially left the United States…for Fiji!
If all goes according to plan, Charity will be getting engaged in just a few short weeks. Last week, she met the families and narrowed down her final four to three. Xavier, Dotun and Joey are all still vying for the opportunity to propose to Charity. But first, fantasy suites.
Before she gets on with the dates, Charity breaks down her feelings with host Jesse Palmer. She says that her decision to send Aaron home is still weighing on her, but she’s hoping that spending some uninterrupted time with the remaining men will help her feel more confident in her final three contestants. She seems to feel most secure in her relationship with Dotun, and she still has a few questions for Joey and Xavier. Safe to say, she’s still falling in love with all three of them. So, she definitely has some decisions to make.
Xavier is up first for his overnight date. Charity meets him on a private island, where they’ll be spending the entire day (and hopefully the night) together. Charity still needs confirmation from him that he’s ready to call her “the one,” but she feels hopeful after meeting his parents and his sister last week.
Their reunification doesn’t last long, as they’re each whisked away to prepare for a traditional Fijian wedding ceremony. While the pair appear to be having fun with the rituals, it’s clear that being confronted with the idea of a future together in such a serious way begins to weigh on Xavier. He tells Charity how he’s feeling, but it only makes Charity worry about whether or not he should move on to a potential proposal.
Back in San Diego, Aaron is scheming. We rarely hear from contestants after they’re eliminated, but it looks like Aaron is putting himself back in the game. He’s preparing to fly to Fiji to fight for Charity’s love.
But first, Charity has some unfinished business with Xavier. The couple sits down for a candlelit dinner before they head to the fantasy suite and, in a confessional, Xavier hints that he’s nervous about divulging some sort of information to Charity. They start their conversation by talking about the date, and Xavier is honest about how the idea of “forever” has been “troubling” him. He is honest about feeling some doubt, and Charity is ready to write it off as something he’ll grow out of.
That is, until he lets her know that he was unfaithful in a past relationship. He says that he understands it was disrespectful, but he felt the need to tell Charity because infidelity is a very big red flag with her. Charity is clearly upset, and she walks away from the table to collect herself as she tries to understand why Xavier would wait until two weeks before the proposal to tell her something like this. She decides she owes it to both of them to hear him out, so she returns to the table to let him say his piece. She tells Xavier that infidelity is a sore subject, and he says that he doesn’t want to be unfaithful to her.
That’s not going to cut it for Charity though. She needs details. Xavier tells her that his infidelity happened multiple times over the span of five days on a “boys trip” about two years into his most recent previous relationship. As she tries to come to terms with the bombshell, she also asks what Xavier has done to guarantee that he wouldn’t be unfaithful to her, as he promises he wouldn’t. Xavier says he was “more introspective,” and now he knows he has the tools to prevent himself from cheating if he were ever “put in that position again.” Meaning, if he were ever on vacation on a boys trip without his partner there to keep him in check, that is. Charity tells Xavier that his love should be firm enough that he would never consider cheating on her. Xavier assures her that he’s in that place now, which appears to be enough for Charity.
Before she offers him the fantasy suite card, she wants to know if he is actually committed to her and if he will put in the work for their relationship to survive. Xavier tells her that in his heart, there is no doubt. But he still has doubts in his mind about whether this relationship is for him. He says he needs “to see more” from Charity tonight during fantasy suites in order to make a final decision, which is…concerning, to say the least.
Charity decides that’s not going to work for her, and she tells Xavier that he won’t be going to the fantasy suite with her. After a tearful goodbye, Charity sends Xavier home.
The next morning, Charity wakes up alone and ready to focus on the two men she has left. Her next overnight date is with Joey, which gives Charity something to look forward to but also comes with a bit of worry. At their hometown date, Joey’s uncle told Charity he didn’t know if she was getting to see the real Joey or if his nephew was just acting the way he thought Charity wanted him to. Joey assured her he’s been nothing but honest with her, but the comments are still on Charity’s mind.
She plans to dive into that again with him during their date, but first she has an adventure planned. She picks Joey up in an ATV so that the pair can explore the island. Their all-terrain adventure gets cut short when the ATV stalls in the middle of a field. But, they don’t let that ruin their day, completing the trek on foot to a small waterfall where they find a place to settle in for a deeper conversation.
Joey tells her that he’s been nervous since hometowns, because he could tell she was a bit uneasy when she left him. Charity tells Joey about the conversation with his uncle, and Joey admits he did feel a bit uncomfortable on the tennis courts. He says he felt pressure to make sure Charity was having a good time in his hometown, and having his uncle interrupt their date put him on edge, but he promises that he’s been honest and true to his character with Charity. She takes him at his word and they decide to make the best of the rest of their day, staring with a kiss by the waterfall.
Later that night, both are in high spirits as they share a romantic dinner. Charity asks Joey if he’s nervous moving forward, and he shares that he does worry that she might fall out of love with him once she gets to know him better, because they haven’t had the opportunity to spend much time together — especially in challenging moments where he isn’t at his best. Charity says she relates to a lot of Joey’s concerns, and she is ready to take on those less glamorous moments with Joey.
For the first time, Charity tells Joey that she’s not just falling — she’s already in love with him. With that, she invites him to the fantasy suite and the pair disappear for the night.
The next morning, they share some peaceful moments together (and finally get to say “I love you”) before Charity has to jet off for her next date. Last but certainly not least is Dotun, who Charity has already said she has an undeniable connection with.
Charity meets Dotun on the beach and they kick off their date by hopping on some jet skis. They make their way to a sandbar, where they pop open a bottle of champagne and get to talking. Dotun is really the only contestant who Charity hasn’t been feeling some doubts about, so their conversation is very loving. Charity says in confessional that there hasn’t been any red flags with Dotun, which ultimately makes her a bit nervous since she has been blindsided in the past.
At dinner, Dotun tells Charity that he doesn’t feel scared to propose to her, and he admits wholeheartedly that he’s in love with her. She says she feels the exact same way. Since they’re extremely on the same page, Charity doesn’t waste any time offering him the fantasy suite card. Of course, he says yes.
Neither of them are ready to say goodbye in the morning, but they know there’s only a few left before Dotun can get down on one knee.
It should be time for the final rose ceremony, but Aaron is finally making his surprise entrance in Fiji as a last ditch effort to get Charity to take him back. He finds her enjoying a drink at her hotel pool — likely taking a moment to relax before she makes her final decisions. She’s rightfully shocked, but she’s also not upset to see him.
She’s actually excited that he’s back — and there’s no doubt that she’s in love with him. That could indicate that Charity’s decision headed into the proposals just got a lot harder.
We’ll have to wait a few weeks to find out, since next week is the Men Tell All. The Bachelorette airs at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.
