Things went from bad to worse on Week 6 of The Bachelor when contestant Jess Girod was sent home after an awkward conversation.
While Jess has been one of Zach Shallcross’ frontrunners all season, she said her final goodbye after showing concern over being the last contestant to receive a one-on-one date.
Zach attempted to explain to Jess that it “wasn’t about the one-on-one,” and ultimately, he decided that he was no longer “confident” in their relationship after being unable to resolve the situation.
Zach seemed to have flipped a switch in the middle of the conversation before choosing to send Jess home, which she recently said completely “blindsided” her.
“Throughout our journey, he always reassured me and validated me,” Jess told Us Weekly. “He always told me everything’s gonna be OK and to just kind of hold out, hold on. So as time went on and I wasn’t getting that special quality time with him, I was definitely in my head of like, ‘What am I missing here? There’s nothing being communicated that’s wrong.'”
“So in a way, I saw it coming because it just wasn’t adding it up, but yeah, I definitely was blindsided still,” the 23-year-old admitted.
Jess Girod opens up about being ‘blindsided’ on The Bachelor
Jess explained that the breakup was frustrating “on both ends” and left her wondering whether or not there was more she could’ve done to save their relationship and stay another week. Ultimately, she admitted that the back-and-forth conversation was “100 percent” just a complete misunderstanding between them.
However, Jess said during her and Zach’s conversation that she’s always wanted someone who was willing to fight for her, and she felt like Zach was doing the exact opposite at that moment.
Jess said that she and Zach left off in a “weird place,” which was clear to see after their awkward hug goodbye and Zach’s cry of confusion after sending her home.
Despite where the two ended things, though, Jess still believes Zach is a good guy.
“I think he’s an amazing guy. I think he was doing the best he could in the moment. I was doing the best that I could in the moment,” she explained, also wishing that they could have simply understood each other better.
Later on in the episode, Zach chose to send contestant Aly home during the rose ceremony, leaving only six women left.
Nick Viall slams Zach Shallcross’ behavior after his breakup with Jess
While Bachelor Nation watched the uncomfortable conversation go down during last Monday’s airing, one former franchise member did not hold back his thoughts on Zach’s actions.
Season 21 Bachelor Nick Viall took to Twitter with some harsh words for the current Bachelor, saying he has been a “total d**k” for the past two weeks on the show.
On the breakup with Jess, Nick expressed, “It’s literally all about the one on one. Zach knows that. He made Jess feel like she messed up for expressing a valid concern.”
Nick also did a weekly recap on his Viall Files podcast, where he further deep-dived into Zach’s decisions and whether or not he believes them to be justified.
With the breakup clearly leaving a mark on both Zach and Jess, the situation is sure to be discussed during this season’s After the Final Rose segment later this spring.
The Bachelor airs on Mondays at 8/7c on ABC.