This Tiny Clue Hints At Meatball's Fate On The Bachelorette
He asked Rachel to take him back — but will she?
At the end of the July 25 episode of The Bachelorette, audiences made it through what might have been one of the weirdest rose ceremonies of all time. The two Bachelorettes divided the men between them, and those who accepted a rose were also accepting that they would only pursue the woman who gave them the rose. Amid all the chaos, fan-favorite James “Meatball” Clarke was eliminated. However, at the very end of the episode, he returned and begged Rachel to take him back. The episode ended with a cliffhanger, leaving fans wondering if Meatball will come back on The Bachelorette — or if he will simply roll away with the other rejected dude.
After Bachelorettes Rachel Recchia and Gabby Windey got fed up with dating the same group of men, they decided to make a change by asking the men to choose to continue dating just one of them. It mostly worked out, except for a few of the guys who rejected Rachel’s rose in hopes that Gabby would offer them a rose... and then weren’t offered a rose by Gabby. That was the case with Meatball, who, in his words, made an “in the moment” decision to reject Rachel’s rose because he’d spent more time with Gabby. Gabby didn’t give him a rose, though, so he was sent home.
But don’t count him out just yet! Tthe final scene of the Week 3 episode showed Meatball asking Rachel for another chance to pursue her before ending on a cliffhanger. So, will she allow this after the turned her down so publicly?
Regardless of how fans feel about Meatball’s return, it looks like he could win his way back into Rachel’s good graces, at least for a little while. The Week 4 promo offers a few quick glimpses of Meatball, which could be a clue that he gets to return to The Bachelorette for at least another week.
In the sneak peek of the Week 4 episode, Gabby, Rachel, and their two groups of suitors all travel to Paris to soak in the romance. At the beginning of the clip, Rachel’s guys all run toward her, and Meatball can very clearly be seen in the middle of the pack.
Not only that, but it seems like he might get embroiled in some of the drama of the upcoming episode, too. Halfway through the promo, Rachel sits with a man who tells her someone else was talking about the Bachelorettes, saying, “He made a vulgar comparison. Something about, ‘I don’t trust these b*tches.’” It’s hard to make out the face of the man talking to Rachel, but he looks a lot like Meatball, so there’s a good chance Bachelor Nation will be seeing a lot more of him on The Bachelorette.
Season 19 of The Bachelorette airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
