Joey Boots One Woman Falling for Him, Another Bails

“When I think about letting multiple women in, knowing it might not work out, it holds me back,” he admitted.

We’re still a bit away from that, but with Hometowns just a couple of weeks away, it is time to start getting more serious. That meant a tonal shift for the season, too, with literally no time spent on the drama that’s dominated these past two weeks.

Yes, Maria is still there. And Jess and Lea, who didn’t hesitate to dump all over her to Joey and everyone else, are also still there. Did they ladies really leave all the drama in France, or was it just time to pivot toward the endgame and focus back on Joey’s journey?

Or maybe it’s just that the ladies were in their feelings as much as Joey was in his, so there wasn’t much room for petty cattiness and nonsense. Certainly, much of this week was more somber than usual. Thankfully, Maria was there to liven things up.

We have to say, if Maria doesn’t win this, she may be the contestant who’s getting the most Bachelorette edit of anyone yet. It reminds us of how Katie Thurston came off on Matt James’ Bachelor season. We could also see possibilities for Kelsey A, Kelsey T and Daisy, with Jenn making a late-season surge.

Not only did she make a ridiculous poutine dessert monstrosity, but when asked if they knew any French, she said in a confessional, “When I was studying abroad, I learned how to say, ‘I’m not wearing any underwear,’ but I don’t know that one anymore.” We have no further questions, your honor!

Jenn definitely started putting herself out there more this week, showing a playful and flirty personality that was really infectious. If producers want to go for a more emotional choice, there’s Kelsey A, who struggled this week after last week’s One-on-One experience.

Kelsey wasn’t the only one, though. The episode opened with Joey sharing his anxieties that he might find his feelings not reciprocated at the end of this journey. On the date, the women were all feeling some kind of way about seeing his growing connections with others.

By the time the evening portion came, they couldn’t even bring themselves to feign happiness when Joey came in. Little did they know, this probably did a number on his own anxieties. Only Kelsey T and Maria were spared the uncomfortable moment, as they were prepping for their own One-on-One dates later in the week.

But the awkwardness wasn’t going to end there, as Joey was about to sit through two uncomfortable conversations with very different, but ultimately the same, results.

First, after sweating it out all day watching him with other woman and once again getting overwhelmed by her own emotions, Jess finally decided to put it all out there for Joey during the evening portion.

She went so far as to tell him that she was falling for him, which is when it all fell apart for her. Joey was honest and direct in telling her that he just wasn’t there with her. She went from falling for him to him calling for a car as her journey came to an unexpected end.

“To hear you say that you’re falling for me, it makes me feel so good,” said Joey. “The problem I’m having is that when you feel that, you should be able to picture it and I don’t know why, I just haven’t been able to get there.”

Watching her go, though, after professing her feelings left Joey feeling even more anxious. “No one should give as much as she was trying to give and it not be reciprocated,” he said. “This is my fear. What happened to Jess is something that I’m afraid is going to happen to me, something that has happened to me in the past.”

Then, there was his sit-down with Lexi, who felt she really needed to have a conversation about the future. She’d previously opened up about her struggles with endometriosis and how it might impact her ability to have kids. So she asked Joey his timeline about how things go from here.

“In my head, it’s like a two to three year engagement,” he told her. “I did always imagine a couple of years of marriage before I thought of settling down with kids because I also wanted to enjoy the marriage before we bring someone else into it and really try to make that foundation.”

“Of course,” she said, sounding very understanding and supportive, but she was in turmoil inside. At 30 years old with fertility issues already, Lexi didn’t feel she had that kind of time. So, later in the week, she dropped by his room for a follow-up conversation where she basically told him she was out.

“I was willing to talk it out … to see if I could get there,” Joey said after she’d left. To her, he’d said that his hope was they could continue their conversation next week to see if they could land on the same page. She didn’t offer that chance during the initial conversation and her mind seemed made up here, and so she self-eliminated, leaving him with eight women.

Thankfully, Joey made the call to start the week with that Group Date because it wound up way heavier than anyone was expecting. Things perked up considerably when he and Kelsey T went on their One-on-One and learned how the Cirque du Soleil performers do it.

We felt bad for Joey, who clearly isn’t built to withstand all that spinning, as the day spiraled quickly downhill for him. Luckily, he and KT were having a lot of fun together, sharing a sweet chemistry. KT could be a potential Bachelorette, but she’s been so reserved and quiet. She’s sweet, but we really didn’t feel like we knew her.

A lot of that came into clarity at dinner, though, when she opened up about her relationship with her father, hinting at a strict religious upbringing. In fact, after being extremely close while she was young, she and he became estranged when she chose to go to college.

According to KT, in her father’s house, you were either in the religion or you were out. And so she was out, ultimately going to live with her mother while she pursued higher education. She did not elaborate on the religion or any of its teachings, but seeing her father dismiss her from his life so abruptly left her with trust issues, and especially when it comes to men.

The next One-on-One date was much more light-hearted, as Joey and Maria always managed to have a gay old time together. As a Canadian native, Maria speaks enough French to get Joey into trouble, joking that he should say he wants to sleep with her. She did later get him to say, “I love you.” It’s all so very sweet.

Joey loves how unpredictable she is, and that’s part of what makes her such entertaining television. She even managed to get the perfect “That’s what she said” joke in there.

“Have you learned any French?” she asked him, to which he replied, “I tried, but it’s very hard.” How can you just tee it up like that and not expect it?

Joey and Maria went dress shopping, for a helicopter ride and finally to dinner where things just continued to be smooth sailing for the Bachelor and the woman who was Public Enemy Number One for a few of the women in the house.

By the end of the week, Jenn had scored the Group Date Rose for coming so far out of her shell, and both Kelsey T and Maria had Roses from their One-on-One dates. That left only three roses for five women.

And with Joey’s selections, we can only hope the last of the petty drama nonsense walked out the door. With Jess’ elimination earlier in the week and Lea going at the Rose Ceremony, there should be no one left with irrational Maria hatred. Katelyn was the other to go, leaving Joey with his Top 6.

Next week, he’ll choose his Final 4 ahead of Hometowns as we move toward that dramatic finale that certainly looks like Joey’s worst fears have come true. How does it end? We’re getting closer!

The Bachelor continues Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.