Katie Thurston dealt with two very different men on this week’s episode of The Bachelorette:
A liar and her alleged true love.
On the former front, there was Thomas… who confessed during last week’s installment that he had focused on becoming the next Bachelor when he first arrived on the show.
“I have been a politician,” Thomas said to Quartney at one point. “I have been just trying to say the right things to everybody.”
On the latter front, there was Blake Moynes… who made a stunning debut and who The Bachelorette spoilers swear will propose to Thurston on this summer’s season finale.
First up, though, was a group date.
On this outing, the men were asked to play a game of Truth or Dare, which ended up involving a lot of Twinkies; the chance to whisper sweet nothings into Katie’s ear; and the challenge of waxing one another.
OUCH!
There was also the Dare of eating a spicy pepper and then getting down on one knee to ask for Thurston’s hand in marriage.
Once everyone’s mouths cooled off, they headed to an afterparty.
Andrew S. used his time there at this shindog Katie that he had “never had a woman understand me.”
“I value every moment with you,” he said before the pair kissed. “They’re so brief, but they’re so impactful.”
One of the more polarizing suitors, Greg Grippo, also made his move.
“You’re all I think about,” he said to the leading lady. “I just love the connection I feel with you.”
“I think obviously I have to see this out ’til the very end, and if it’s something you and I can get through together, that says a lot,” Katie replied to the contestant some critics think is an actor only on the show for fame.
“It says that … I’m starting to fall for you.”
For his part, Tre was all about exposing Thomas.
“I think that there are some things that have been happening in the house that I feel like, if I care about you at all, which I do, I feel like you need all of the info that’s available, especially when you’re pleading with us to give it to you,” he began.
Tre then called Thomas “someone we feel like maybe is not here for you” and asserted that the real estate broker had displayed “a pattern of manipulative behavior.”
Katie said she was “blindsided” by this claim, but thanked Tre for “sharing” his “truth.”
Before Thurston could decide about how she should handle the Thomas situation, however, BLAKE MOYNES SHOWED UP.
“I guess I want to apologize first, because I know what kind of wrench this throws into your whole situation,” said the man who had previously courted Clare Crawley and Taysia Adams on TV.
“I also at the same time knew this was the only way,” he added, as if his arrival wasn’t totally scripted, planned and known ahead of time to Katie.
In an on-camera interview, Katie admitted that she and Blake had spoken before via Instagram DMs.
“Blake reached out to commend me for my bold personality and, I mean, he’s a very handsome guy,” she said.
Still, Moynes confessed last year to having fallen for two previous series leads.
“It is concerning that you’ve dated, at this point, two Bachelorettes,” Katie said to Blake.
“If you stay, I will be now your third Bachelorette, and I’ll be honest, in the house, there’s been a lot of drama regarding who’s here for the right reasons and who’s not.
“So that’s still kind of fresh on my heart, and obviously it is a little concerning that here you are for now your third time.”
Moynes vowed he came on the program with only pure intentions.
“I promise you that if it came down to the end and we connected the way I think that we might, we would be engaged at the end of this,” he said to Katie.
Prior to the Rose Ceremony, meanwhile, Thomas visited Katie and tried to quell her concerns.
“I would sign something right now that says anything that you need,” he said. “The only thing that gets me through being here is an opportunity to be with you, and I mean that.”
Did Katie buy what this seemingly shady guy was selling?
To conclude the episode, she handed out roses to Hunter, Greg, Justin, Brendan, Andrew S., Aaron, Mike P., James, Josh, Quartney and Andrew M.
Then, she called Thomas’ name, and all the men couldn’t hide their shock.
However, when Thomas approached to accept his rose, Katie WENT OFF ON HIM.
“You told me things I wanted to hear. What I learned about you tonight is you’re selfish, unkind and a liar,” she said to Thomas in front of all the other men.
“Your Bachelor audition ends tonight, so get out.”
WHAM! BAM! THANK YOU, SIR!
So, Thomas is out. And you know who is in, right?
“If you want to stay, I’d like you to join and see if this becomes something,” Katie said to Blake after knocking on his door later that evening. “If that interests you.”
Darn right it does!
Like we noted above, Blake is about to interest Katie, too.