Zach eliminated himself from the 19th season of The Bachelorette after his night in the fantasy suite with Rachel because he felt disconnected from her.
The Bachelorette is still one of the most popular shows on television and fans still keep tuning in, 19 seasons later, to see the new drama unfold.
The nineteenth season of The Bachelorette certainly had no shortage of drama. Fan-favourite contestant, Zach, even eliminated himself after he felt disconnected from and blindsided by Rachel during their night in the fantasy suite.
Why do people still watch The Bachelorette?
The very first season of the popular The Bachelor spin-off show, The Bachelorette, first premiered in 2003. At this time, an average of 16.8 million viewers tuned in to watch the show over the course of the first season.
Now, two decades later in 2023, the show has just concluded its nineteenth season and about 2.7 million viewers tuned in to watch Rachel Recchia and Gabby Windey as they returned to the franchise in the hope of finding love on the show this time around.
As always, fans also tune in to watch as the salacious drama, which has become synonymous with the show throughout the years, unfolds.
The Bachelorette: Why did Zach self-eliminate?
Although it might seem like a highly format-driven show, like The Bachelorette would become predictable and boring by the time that its nineteenth season aired, this was not the case at all.
Aside from the fact that the nineteenth season of The Bachelorette was the first ever season in the show’s history to spotlight two bachelorettes, there were a few other noteworthy shocking moments throughout the season as well.
As always, the “Fantasy Suite” episode of this season managed to shake up everything and even resulted in one of the fan-favourite contestants of the season, Zach Shallcross, eliminating himself from the competition during the rose ceremony.
Before this episode aired, it almost seemed like a sure thing that Zach and Rachel would end the season as a happy couple.
However, as soon as their night together in the fantasy Suite ended, it was clear that something between them had changed.
Later in his speech at the rose ceremony, Zach announced that he just felt like Rachel was being disingenuous and that their conversation the previous night had left him feeling so disconnected from her and “blindsided” that he felt like he had to leave the show.
Although Rachel and Zach did make up at the season’s reunion episode, and Zach has moved on with his very own The Bachelor season, he did clarify why he decided to leave the show on an episode of the Almost Famous Podcast.
During this interview he explained that he felt like Rachel was acting like she did not know him at all that night and that he felt like he was being subjected to an interview, which is why he decided to leave the show in the end.
How did Rachel and Zach make up after he self-eliminated?
While Zach’s departure from the show caused quite the uproar from audiences at the time, the reunion episode, “After the Final Rose,” confirmed that what really happened was not nearly as dramatic.
During this episode, Zach apologised for attacking Rachel’s character and, in turn, Rachel reaffirmed that their relationship on the show was real and that she wished only happiness for him moving forward.
How did season 19 of The Bachelorette end after Zach left?
After Zach got a rose from Rachel twice during their dates in this season, many fans had already decided that he would most likely end up being her top choice for her last rose as well.
However, after he left the show and was out of the running for the remaining few episodes of the season, Rachel ended up choosing Tino Franco instead.
About Zach’s The Bachelor season
Since Zach seemed like such an obvious winner in season 19 of The Bachelorette, not many people were surprised when he was announced as the next bachelor.
Season 27 of The Bachelor, where Zach would finally get his chance to find true love with someone who did not blindside him, started airing on 23 January 2023.
It seems like Zach generally likes to shake things up when it comes to the formulaic nature of these reality television dating shows, as he already sent 10 of the 30 contestants home in the very first episode of the show.
This marks the first time in over a decade that so many girls have been sent home simultaneously in the first episode. Furthermore, it certainly indicates that Zach knows exactly what he is looking for.
