The Bachelor featured Clayton Echard sending Elizabeth Corrigan home over her feud with Shanae Ankney, Clayton smitten with Rachel Recchia, Shanae crashing a group-date afterparty that she wasn’t invited to, and two more bachelorettes going home during the Season 26 broadcast Monday night on ABC.
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At the third Rose Ceremony of the season, Clayton denied roses to Elizabeth, a 32-year-old real estate advisor from Highlands Ranch, CO, as well as Melina Nasab, a 27-year-old personal trainer from West Hollywood, CA, and Kira Mengistu, a 32-year-old physician from Philadelphia, PA.
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The Bachelor broadcast began with Gabby Windey, a 30-year-old ICU nurse from Denver, CO, saying the consensus in the house was that Shanae, a 29-year-old recruiter from Sycamore, OH, had been “irrationally acting out and targeting Elizabeth.”
Going into the third Rose Ceremony, Gabby said Shanae’s antics were really taking away from Clayton’s time and energy, and Elizabeth was nervous about Clayton addressing her feud with Shanae that evening at the cocktail party.
“I would be very hurt and very upset and frankly afraid if Shanae stays in the house. She is completely unpredictable,” Elizabeth said.
Clayton then confronted all of his bachelorettes at the cocktail party and asked to speak with Elizabeth and Shanae in private. Serene said she felt bad for Elizabeth because she could see Elizabeth taking the high road.
Clayton told the ladies that he felt a connection with both of them but couldn’t build on either relationship with this conflict looming over their heads. Clayton asked the women to have accountability.
Elizabeth recalled asking Shanae to have a conversation with her, only for Shanae to tell her to “f-ck off.” Shanae explained how she was mad and angry because Elizabeth was “toxic” and “fake” to her.
“You have all these women turning against me because of you! The lying, the bullying, everything you can think of!” Shanae said.
“Can you think of one instance of bullying?” Elizabeth asked.
Shanae told Clayton how Elizabeth had made shrimp for the house and everyone ate it, and then when Shanae cooked up more shrimp and she offered it to everyone, no one turned around to look at her or acknowledge her except for Mara.
Shanae claimed no one paid any attention to her when Elizabeth was around, but Elizabeth said she was in the house when Shanae had offered shrimp to the women outside by the pool.
“You realize we’re talking about shrimp, right?” Elizabeth asked.
Elizabeth said it wasn’t her responsibility when other women apparently ignored Shanae, who fired back that Elizabeth was a liar and she didn’t like how all of the girls were treating her.
“I have been nothing but kind and respectful to you in the house, and as soon as Clayton comes around, all of a sudden you have an issue,” Elizabeth snapped.
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Clayton walked away from the argument and took a moment to think. He said he was frustrated the women were talking about shrimp and whether or not Elizabeth was in the hot tub rather than truly resolving the conflict.
Elizabeth told Shanae to talk to Clayton about something other than her, and she added, “I don’t appreciate you being so aggressive towards me… If I go home, what are you going to have to talk about when I’m gone?”
“Clayton and Shanae!” Shanae bragged.
“You are so disrespectful, and I going to respectfully again remove myself from this conversation — because I’m a lady,” Elizabeth said.
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“A fake one!” Shanae shouted.
However, Elizabeth seemed to hear Shanae say “big,” and so Elizabeth told her friends how Shanae had just insinuated that she’s fat.
Shanae went on to tell the cameras how her shrimp tasted better than Elizabeth’s “poison” shrimp and Elizabeth looked like Cruella de Vil that night.
Shanae insisted that she was the honest one and Elizabeth “ran her mouth” to the other girls after their talk with Clayton.
Shanae then munched on shrimp sushi — and #ShrimpGate was born.
Jill Chin, a 26-year-old architectural historian from Scituate, RI — who was robbed of time with Clayton at the cocktail party — called Shanae “ridiculous,” and Gabby joked how she was never going to be able to order shrimp by its name again.
“Hey Shanae, the Gulf of Mexico called and they’d like their shrimp back please!” Elizabeth joked in a confessional.
Genevieve Parisi, a 26-year-old bartender from Los Angeles, CA, then started to yell at Shanae, telling her that she was wrong and had talked about Elizabeth’s ADHD disorder when it has nothing to do with her.
Shanae called Elizabeth a liar for saying she wasn’t in the hot tub when Shanae had offered shrimp to everyone, and Genevieve and Jill flipped out because Shanae was still talking about meaningless shrimp — a topic which had clearly ruined everyone’s night.
The Bachelor host Jesse Palmer walked out mid-argument between Shanae and Genevieve and announced how Clayton had decided to cancel the cocktail party and move straight into the Rose Ceremony.
Genevieve concluded Shanae was “the problem” and Elizabeth had done nothing wrong and was more than willing to apologize.
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Elizabeth started to cry before the Rose Ceremony, saying how she felt sick to her stomach and didn’t want to lose any of her real friends. She also feared she may not receive a rose and Shanae — “who wants to destroy everyone and anyone in the room” — would win.
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When Clayton stood in front of the women at the Rose Ceremony, he apologized for wasting a night. Clayton expressed how he had been frustrated and wasn’t in the right mindset to have good conversations.
Clayton then handed out roses to Marlena Wesh, a 30-year-old former Olympian from Virginia Beach, VA; Teddi Wright, a 24-year-old surgical unit nurse from Highland, CA; Rachel, a 25-year-old flight instructor from Clermont, FL; Mara Agreat, a 32-year-old entrepreneur from Collingswood, NJ; and Sierra Jackson, a 26-year-old yoga instructor from Dallas, TX.
Clayton also gave Susie Evans, a 28-year-old wedding videographer from Virginia Beach, VA, a rose as well as Jill; Serene Russell, a 26-year-old elementary school teacher from Oklahoma City, OH; Genevieve; Hunter Haag, a 28-year-old human resources specialist from Charlotte, NC; Lyndsey Windham, a 28-year-old industrial sales representative from Houston, TX; and Shanae.
Gabby; Sarah Hamrick, a 23-year-old wealth management advisor from New York, NY; and Eliza Isichei, a 25-year-old marketing manager from Berlin, Germany; already had roses from group or one-on-one dates earlier in the week.
Elizabeth’s jaw dropped when Shanae accepted her rose, and Genevieve took a deep breath.
“I took her down! Clayton believed me!” Shanae bragged in a confessional, before doing a little dance and proudly waving the rose around.
“It better be a wake-up call to them. Don’t get in my way because I’m here; I’m here to win. This is what happens. You’ll get sent home. You’ll be walking down that driveway in your heels, crying. Don’t f-ck with me!”
The next day, Jesse informed the bachelorettes they’d be traveling to Houston, TX, for another week of dates with Clayton. Clayton hoped this would be the “reset” everyone needed.
Suddenly, Clayton received a surprise visit from one of his best friends, Clarence, a husband, father and former football player who lives in Houston.
Clayton shared how he was developing strong connections quickly with multiple women and could definitely envision himself getting down on one knee at the end of the process.
Clarence advised Clayton to pick a woman who would be a “rock” and provide “a strong foundation” for him in the future, and he gave The Bachelor star some things to think about.
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Meanwhile, a Date Card arrived for Rachel, who would be accompanying Clayton on a one-on-one date.
For their date, Clayton and Rachel — whom Clayton called “charismatic, intelligent, beautiful and humble” — went horseback riding and then trotted their way into a big barbecue in a park.
Clayton tested Rachel to see if she could fit in and get along with new people. Rachel gushed to one of the women at the gathering how she felt “seen” by Clayton and could see a future with him, having kids and all.
“I think I want four [kids],” Rachel revealed.
Clayton and Rachel dove into some ribs, grilled vegetables, sausages and more, and Clayton said the pilot seemed to be in her element and it was a “phenomenal day.” He could picture enjoying an ordinary Saturday afternoon with Rachel and loved ones around.
Clayton told Rachel after the feast that they had such a strong connection, and they kissed passionately on a quiet dock. Clayton said he wished he could pause time and just spend more time with Rachel.
“I have very strong feelings for Clayton and it scares me because it is happening really fast,” Rachel explained.
“Being able to spend this date with him just made my feelings grow even more. It was just everything I ever wanted it to be… It just skyrocketed from that point and just hasn’t stopped.”
Meanwhile, a Date Card arrived for the following women: Sarah, Eliza, Teddi, Marlena, Jill, Susie, Mara, Sierra, Hunter, Lyndsey, Genevieve, Gabby and Shanae.
That evening, Rachel and Clayton enjoyed a romantic dinner inside of a candlelit barn, and Clayton asked how such a beautiful and kind woman with a badass job was single and on his season of the show.
Rachel said she always knew she wanted to be a pilot and she never had any doubt in herself. She explained that as a woman, she constantly had to prove herself, and she apparently came out of a pre-The Bachelor relationship where her partner wasn’t supportive.
Rachel explained how her ex had assumed she would travel all the time and cheat on him and so he gave her little to no support. Rachel didn’t want to feel “conditional” love from a man again.
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Clayton complimented Rachel’s passion and said it was so attractive to him, and he assured the bachelorette that he had no concerns about her job and would never hold her back from doing something that she loves, even if they eventually started a family together.
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“I could never imagine that he would step it up and set the bar as high as he did. It’s a whole new level of our relationship,” Rachel gushed. “Spending time with Clayton feels so natural and normal.”
The pair was then treated to a private concert by Restless Road, and Clayton called Rachel “special” after a “perfect” day, which ended with Clayton giving the pilot a rose and dancing the night away with her.
“I see us having a family. I can see myself growing old with Rachel,” Clayton told the cameras.
As Clayton kissed Rachel, he whispered, ” I will never dim your light,” and Rachel said she could absolutely see herself falling in love with him.
The next day, Shanae listened to a group of women question her “toxic” character behind her back. The girls planned to rally together and tell Clayton how Shanae is not the type of women whom he wants to marry.
The women on the group date then met with Clayton for a tailgate outside of a football stadium, where they drank beers, grilled and played cornhole.
Houston Texans players Jonathan Greenard and Kamu Grugier-Hill then hosted the next part of the date, which required the bachelorettes to split up into two teams and play real-life tackle football to the ground.
The winning team would enjoy an afterparty with Clayton, while the losing team would be forced to return to their hotel suite.
Marlena was excited to show off her Olympian skills and athleticism, and the teams were Shrimp Stampede vs. Purple Punishers.
Shrimp Stampede was comprised of Shanae, Hunter, Gabby, Lyndsey, Jill, Eliza, and Susie.
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Purple Punishers was comprised of Marlena, Mara, Sarah, Sierra, Genevieve, Sarah and Teddi.
The game quickly became personal between Shanae and Sierra, who constantly tackled each other. Genevieve and Shanae also took some shots at each other on the field.
Jesse and Hannah Storm provided commentary for “The Bachelor Bowl,” and the Purple Punishers ended up winning the game with a score of 21-0.
“I’m not going to have some mean girls send me home. It’s not going to happen,” Shanae noted.
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At the afterparty, that Shanae wasn’t invited too, Teddi — a lead tackler from earlier in the day — shared with Clayton how her father was gone for a lot of her childhood and she always tried to be perfect for him in order to gain love from him.
Teddi, with a big cut on her knee, said she didn’t want her past to affect the presence, and Clayton asked the bachelorette to continue being herself because he really liked who she is. Teddi felt comfortable and “in tune” with the Bachelor.
Shanae then suddenly showed up on a mission to the afterparty. She didn’t want Genevieve, Gabby or Sierra throwing her under the bus to Clayton.
“You don’t have to kiss my ass, but don’t be fake and talk about me,” Shanae lamented.
Sierra then told Clayton how the women were shocked by his decision to keep Shanae around. Sierra said if he knew the full story, he wouldn’t want someone like that to be his wife.
Clayton was “shocked” Shanae had come up in conversation again, but Genevieve followed suit in saying no one trusted Shanae’s intentions and Shanae refused to apologize for any of her behavior. Clayton found the situation “draining and frustrating.”
Shanae approached Clayton while he was speaking with Sarah and said she also “deserved” to be on the date.
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Sierra was hoping Clayton would see Shanae’s true colors and character that night, and Clayton expressed confusion to Shanae about why drama was still in the air.
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Shanae explained how Gabby, Sierra and Genevieve had talked about her and allegedly plotted behind her back.
“They said, ‘We need to get the 14 girls together to gang up on Shanae so [Clayton] will send her home,'” Shanae claimed.
Shanae accused Sierra of being nice to her face and then “tattling” on her, and she claimed she had acted like a team player earlier in the day and had done nothing wrong. Shanae bragged about her sexy dress and then her chat with Clayton turned into a steamy makeout session.
Shanae sat on a bar and straddled Clayton as he kissed her, and she noted to the cameras how she wasn’t going to go down without a fight.
Shanae then stormed into the party and yelled at Sierra and Genevieve to keep her name out of their “f-cking mouths.”
Shanae proceeded to throw the winning team’s gold trophy into a pile of plants, and all of the women were totally shocked.
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About The Author:
Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade.