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Zach Shallcross just hit an unexpected snag on his journey for love. On Monday’s episode of “The Bachelor”, the tech executive contracted COVID-19, forcing him to cancel two of his three dates, hold a virtual cocktail party and send two women home via a virtual rose ceremony.
The week in London started off on a positive note, as Zach treated Gabi to a royal-themed date. The duo visited a perfumier, tried on hats and tiaras, played with corgis and drank tea. When Gabi returned to the other women laden with shopping bags and gifted with a stunning gown for her to wear that evening, Greer stormed out crying.
“Every girl that’s been on a one-on-one date with him told me specifically that he said to them, ‘I curated this specifically for you. I chose this date because of you,’” Greer complained. “That was like my personality to a T. That was torture.”
Gabi was unbothered, and set off for the nighttime portion of her date. During that, she opened up about her struggle with body image and confidence, and thanked Zach for making her feel good throughout the day. He responded by giving her the rose.
That was the end of the positivity for the week, though. When the morning came around, the women on the group date learned that Zach was sick and unable to join them for a day of tourist activities in London. They made the best of the situation, and held up hope that they’d see Zach at that evening’s cocktail party.
Despite dressing to the nines in anticipation of Zach’s arrival, the women were disappointed when they were once again stood up. While many of them were left in tears because of the situation, Brooklyn said she was “too p**sed off to cry” and Greer fumed, “I gave grace today, I don’t have grace to give tonight.”
The disappointment followed the next day, when host Jesse Palmer revealed that Zach had tested positive for COVID-19 and would be unable to go on the planned one-on-one date with Charity. Kaity still managed to get some time in with Zach, though, delivering him a gift basket of British-themed goodies and sharing a sweet moment with him through his hotel room door.
Still, Zach lamented to Jesse via video chat that the situation was “pretty frustrating” and “devastating.” Instead of throwing the week away totally, though, Zach opted to hold a virtual cocktail party and rose ceremony.
During one-on-one video chats with the women, Zach gifted Charity a Big Ben figure to make up for their lost time that week, before having an incredibly uncomfortable conversation with Greer.
“I work in sales,” Greer told Zach. “Last time I had COVID was at the end of the quarter, end of the year, and so I kind of know what it’s like to have a goal you’re trying to reach and you’re stuck.”
“I think it’s completely different, at least from my perspective, me being frustrated finding my future wife versus end of sales, close of quarter. I put a lot of weight on this week and it is frustrating,” Zach replied. “… It’s not the same. In a few short weeks I could be standing in front of my person, that means a lot more to me than the end of a sales quarter.”
Greer left the conversation in tears, certain she’d be going home. She needn’t have worried, though, as Zach opted to keep her around for another week and say goodbye to Mercedes and Kylee instead.
At the end of the episode, fans were treated to an extended look at the rest of the season, which promised lots of love and drama to come.
“I came here to find love and right now my heart is pounding because it’s here and it’s real,” Zach tells the cameras. “… I can confidently say I know my wife is here, but someone’s gonna get hurt regardless.”
With that, many of the women are shown crying and drama is teased to be brewing with Kat and Jess.
“What the f**k just happened?” Zach questions at one point. “I wasn’t expecting that.”
Then, Brooklyn tells Zach that she’s “ready to take that next step” with him, which he classifies as “an act of love, not lust.” Kaity and Greer apparently don’t view it the same way, though, as they’re seen in tears.
“I let myself down and I feel like I let the women down,” Zach says. “It’s been a heartbreaking journey, but I found my love. I’ve caused pain and I’ve made mistakes. My mind and my heart have been pulled in separate directions. But standing here with the ring, I just hope that it’s all worth it.”
“The Bachelor” airs Mondays on ABC.
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