Bachelor Nation Is DISTRAUGHT Over Ben's 'Bachelorette' Elimination

At this point in every season of The Bachelorette, it's usually tough to say goodbye to any of the guys getting sent home. Once the Bachelorette has narrowed her pool of contestants down to her final four and gone on hometown dates with them, things are pretty serious and viewers are often very attached. That's the definitely the case this time around, with each of Tayshia Adams' final four guys rocking a pretty vocal fanbase. But, unfortunately, someone had to go home this week, and that unlucky guy was Ben Smith. If you're wondering why Tayshia would possibly eliminate Ben on The Bachelorette, you've come to the right place.

Ben has been a major fan-favorite this season of The Bachelorette, so it's no surprise Bachelor Nation is taking to Twitter to voice their outrage over his elimination. His easygoing nature combined with his vulnerability in sharing details of his past with Tayshia have made Ben a lovable frontrunner. But going into the hometown dates, Tayshia still felt like Ben had some walls up and wasn't showing her his full self.

"I definitely am falling for Ben, but until Ben says it that's when it's really gonna mean something," Tayshia said. Unfortunately, Ben didn't make his feelings clear enough to Tayshia, because she decided to send him packing at the end of the Dec. 15 episode.

During Ben's hometown date, he and Tayshia both got the chance to talk to his sister Madalyn and his close friend Antonia. Tayshia told Madalyn that Ben had been somewhat closed off to her, so she found herself looking for something wrong with him. But Madalyn reassured her that he's not hiding anything. Meanwhile, Ben told Antonia that he has the strongest feelings he's ever had for a person toward Tayshia, and Antonia helped him come to the realization that he's in love with the Bachelorette. Ben left the conversation feeling ready to profess his love for Tayshia, but when he got the chance to talk to her privately, he froze. Instead, they ended their date on a somewhat tense note, with Tayshia seemingly upset he hadn't opened up more.

"I'm in love with her," Ben said after the date. "I should have told her. I'm terrified I won't get to tell her how I feel."

It turns out, he never did get the chance, because Tayshia didn't give him a rose.

Tayshia walked Ben out and gave him the opportunity to share some of his feelings, but once again Ben froze up. It wasn't until he had the camera on him on the limo ride away that he talked about how he saw himself marrying Tayshia and having children with her. He couldn't say any of that to Tayshia, and that ended up costing him a rose.

Tayshia was disappointed in Ben's quiet goodbye. "I'm not asking for this grand gesture, but the fact that he couldn't give me one ounce of emotion was disappointing," she said. "It felt empty. Please make me feel like the past few weeks meant anything to you."

Even though the past few weeks did mean something to Ben, he wasn't able to express that to Tayshia. At least pretty much all of Bachelor Nation is ready to love him with open arms.

Season 16 of The Bachelorette continues on Monday, Dec. 21, at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.