The Bachelor viewers are split — did Rose Sombke really tell Carolina Sofia “a lie” as Grant Ellis has claimed, or did Grant gaslight Rose?
During The Bachelor’s latest episode on ABC, Carolina was on a high after a romantic one-on-one date with Grant in Las Vegas, but Rose apparently pulled the bachelorette back down to reality.
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“Off-camera, I had a conversation with Rose and she told me something strange,” Carolina shared in a confessional.
“She said that last week, on our [R&B performance show] group date, when me and Grant danced together, he told Rose that when he was dancing with me, he was thinking of her. I feel cringey at this point.”
Carolina — who had won a solo dance with Grant onstage after each bachelorette competed to perform the best original song for The Bachelor star — confronted Grant about what she had heard, and Grant firmly denied ever saying that to anyone.
Reality TV World therefore went back and reviewed the broadcast footage to set the record straight on what really went down.
During the R&B group-date afterparty that aired during Episode 2 of The Bachelor on February 3, Rose had voiced to Grant how she was “struggling” with the process.
“Well, I’m not going to sit here and lie — you are somebody that I do think about, and I just want to make sure that you know that,” Grant told Rose.
“Because I’m very interested in you. Even today, right, the whole dancing thing onstage and everything, I was thinking about you. I don’t want you to feel like I’m not paying attention, because I am.”
Rose said she felt “heard” and “reassured” by Grant in that moment.
While Grant didn’t identify Carolina by name or flat out say he was thinking of Rose while he was dancing with Carolina during the group date, his vague “whole dancing thing onstage” compliment could have been taken to mean that, which would explain why Rose thought she was telling Carolina the truth during their private chat.
But instead of acknowledging that he may have spoken confusingly or that Rose may have misunderstood him, Grant became very defensive and accused Rose of telling “a lie” that slammed his character.
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On The Bachelor’s third episode that aired on February 10, Grant appeared totally shocked when Carolina admitted it hurt her to hear that he was thinking about another woman while they danced.
“Wait, err, time out! Who told you that? It’s like I’m trying to spit game. I’m not here to do that. I’m here to find a wife, and I try to approach things with honesty and I try to be respectful,” Grant told Carolina.
“So I wouldn’t sit here and tell somebody that and disrespect you like that. You know, if I was thinking about somebody else while I was dancing with you onstage, I would’ve been dancing with them.”
Grant added, “Something in there doesn’t make sense, and it seems kind of personal because that’s a lie — and it’s a judge on my character.”
Carolina — who was admittedly “spiraling” and having a really “rough” day — refused to identify Rose by name, but through the process of elimination, Grant was able to figure out that Rose was the person whom he needed to confront.
Grant therefore decided to “get to the bottom” of things by pulling Rose aside for a conversation and asking her about Carolina’s allegation.
“I thought that was something that I heard you say,” Rose explained to Grant.
“Why would I say that?” Grant asked.
“Okay, yeah,” Rose conceded.
“That’s disrespectful, and that looks bad on my character,” Grant insisted.
“Right,” Rose agreed.
“I wouldn’t do that, you know?” Grant said.
Grant then continued to talk, seemingly getting even more defensive and suddenly also denying he was a “player” or “running game” even though Rose never appeared to make any such accusations.
“For me to belittle somebody else that I have a connection with, that’s some player sh-t, and I’m not a player,” he said. “I’m not. I’m not running game… and it makes it look like I’m not really here to find a wife.”
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Rose admitted she was “comparing notes” with Carolina when she had said that and she was kind of “spiraling” at the time.
“That wasn’t a good moment for me, when we were talking about it,” Rose explained to Grant.
“And honestly, I think we’re both in the position where we both care about you and we both like you. I could’ve easily made that mistake where I really thought you said something like that and I was just wrong.”
Rose ultimately owned her words and apologized for her mistake, and she added, “I’m sorry it hurt your character. That was not what my intention was.”
But Rose subsequently admitted in a confessional that she truly thought Grant had said what she initially thought she had heard.
The he-said, she-said drama sparked a debate on social media in which fans began arguing about whom was really at fault and if Rose had really lied to Carolina.
Many fans took Rose’s side, saying that Grant was guilty and her memory of their exchange was accurate. Those fans therefore accused Grant of gaslighting Rose and not taking any accountability for his words.
But other Instagram users pointed out how Grant had made a general statement about how Rose was on his mind during the dancing portion of the group date in attempt to comfort and reassure her. This camp believes Rose took Grant’s words the wrong way or intentionally tried to deceive Carolina.
The Bachelor’s third episode ended with Grant accepting Rose’s apology, saying that everyone makes mistakes and he just wanted to move forward.
Carolina already had a rose from her one-on-one date with Grant, and The Bachelor star ended up giving Rose a rose as well because he said they definitely had “a connection.”
Grant ultimately eliminated Alli Jo Hinkes, Bailey Brown, and Chloie Costello. Beverly Ortega also had to leave The Bachelor due to illness.
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Click here to read spoilers that reveal what happens on Grant’s The Bachelor season, including his winner and runner-up.
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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.