The Bachelor Season 23 Episode 9 – Fantasy Suites, Fence Jumps & Colton Walks Off

This is the episode we’ve all been waiting for, folks. Fantasy Suites are here! Does Colton lose his virginity? If so, who does he lose it to? Why does he hop over the fence?! Let’s find out together.

This week’s episode starts with the end of last week’s episode, where Colton is talking to Chris Harrison. Colton, of course, brings up Fantasy Suites to him. Everyone remembers when Colton approached Chris during Becca’s season right before Fantasy Suites and asked what was expected of him. Unfortunately, Colton didn’t get to experience Fantasy Suites during Becca’s season, so this will be his first experience with it.

Chris asks Colton what he wants to happen, and Colton basically said he doesn’t know because he doesn’t want to plan things out since he wants it to feel natural. He says “I’ve been waiting for an opportunity to make love with someone who I love, who’s in love with me” Chris tells him to do what’s good for him and what makes him happy. Colton approaches the women again and tells them how excited he is to spend this week with them. He also announces that they’re going to be spending the next week in Algarve, Portugal.

Date 1 – Tayshia

Colton brings Tayshia to a helicopter, since apparently all of their dates have to be thrill-seeking. They take a helicopter ride to what is essentially a castle on the side of a mountain. After their helicopter ride, they land and lay out a blanket on the top of the mountain and just sit and talk. Colton says something interesting, which is that fantasy suites was also special because it gave him the opportunity to know the person, and aside from the intimacy that comes along with making love, there are no cameras in the fantasy suites room, so it’s one of the firsts times he’ll have genuine alone time with the other person.

During the dinner portion of the date, Colton talks to her about the journey that they’ve had together, and thanks her for it. Tayshia thanks Colton for everything they’ve been through together as well. She also tells him that her ex-husband is the first person she had sex with. She gives a long discussion about how honesty and intimacy is very important to her and tells a story about how her ex-husband went outside of their relationship and cheated on her. He is in awe that she turned into the person she did knowing all that he knows about her.

He hands her the envelope and after reading it, she agrees to make her way to the Fantasy Suites. She says to the camera “I don’t know if he’ll wake up a virgin tomorrow,” then they show the two of them eating chocolates and drinking champagne. Something I found humorous is that while on their way to the bed, they pass a big bathtub that is already prepped with a bubble bath. That just seems inconvenient because if they did decide to take a bath together, the water from the pre-prepped bubble bath would probably be too cold by the time they would be ready to get in. Anyway, they get to the bed and she lays on top of him, then Colton gets up and closes the door, and that’s all we see of their night events.

The next morning, they wake up next to each other. The camera pans over Colton’s face and Tayshia’s face and I got the immediate feeling that they didn’t go all the way. Tayshia tells the confessional that they didn’t get as physically intimate as she wished they could have. Tayshia is showing concern and saying she feels like she’s having an emotional breakdown because she’s not sure if Colton feels the same way about her.

During a confessional, after their date, Colton admits that he’s not in love with Tayshia yet.

Date 2 – Cassie

After all of the standard date stuff (eating at a café, shopping, making out), they show the two talking on a bridge. Colton says to the camera that he wishes that Cassie had said that she was falling in love with him. He said he could feel it, and after this date he had no doubt about it, but he wishes she said it. And he told the camera that he was in love with her.  

Meanwhile Cassie says “I wish I had more time” to the camera. They talk about his visit to her hometown last week and he said, “I can see myself fitting in with them”, referring to her family. Cassie asks him how the conversation with her dad went. Colton said it was hard, and she admits that the reason it was hard was because the commitment was happening so quickly, and that’s what worries her father. Colton tells her that he didn’t get her father’s approval when he asked for the blessing.

Cassie gets visibly upset because she was hoping that her parents trusted her to make that decision. She told him that she’s confused and didn’t know that he wasn’t going to give him his approval. And while watching Colton be very calm about the whole thing, she says to him “And you’re ok with that?”, to which his response is “That doesn’t discourage me about us. You mean a lot to me.” Meanwhile, she seems to really be taken aback that her father wouldn’t give his blessing. She wishes Colton told her about it when it happened.

They show a limo pull up to the place where Cassie is staying. I made the assumption it was Colton and was very confused when a pair of jeans and sneakers stepped out of the limo. It turned out to be Cassie’s father! He makes his way to Cassie’s room and she seems super excited about him being there. He admits that he doesn’t feel the engagement is the right direction for her and felt she isn’t into it as much as she should be to do something like that. Cassie tells him that she wishes she could have more time with him. She says proposals are huge but she’s not ready for it to be over with Colton. Her father says there shouldn’t be any hesitation in your mind when you’re going to get married.

He said that they didn’t get the vibe when she came over with him that she was convinced that he was the one for her. He also reminded her that his relationship with her mother there was no doubt in it. He said he wants that same feeling for her. “If you’re having that hesitation, you should tell him. Don’t hesitate to follow where your heart is, but you need to think long term. I like to think that if you knew, you would know.” Those were all saying that Cassie’s father threw into their conversation. She said that she wants what her dad and mom have, and she doesn’t have that right now. She said she’s conflicted. The father left but traveled such a far distance to deliver such an important message.

Cassie said she has to send herself home tonight. Colton says he very excited for tonight, and my heart dropped for him. They show confessionals of him saying how much he loves her, and how he can see her being the one. They toast to their relationship, and I felt that Cassie should not have toasted to that with the knowledge she has.

She tells him that her dad showed up at the hotel today, and tells him about the conversation she had with her father. “I don’t want to see you leaving with not what you came here for,” and she said she wants him to have what he wants to have and she isn’t in love with him. She feels like she’s having doubts about it and all of this is a lot to think about. He asks if she was planning on leaving tonight, and she said yes because she doesn’t know if she can get there with him. She abruptly gets up and walks away from him.

Colton gets up and walks over to her and wraps his arm around her. She said she wanted more than anything to be excited for tonight, but she’s only confused. She admits to him that she doesn’t know if she’s ever going to get there. She keeps saying she doesn’t know anything. He tells her that he doesn’t want to lose her and asks if they can sit back down.

He tells her that he’s not asking her to make a decision tonight, but he wants her to think about it. It’s not easy going on dates with other women when I think about you. The last thing I’m going to do is give up, and the last thing I’m going to do is end this relationship. He admits that since Thailand, he was the most excited to see her. He also admits that it doesn’t have to end with an engagement, because its ok to take their time. He says he doesn’t know where her doubts are coming from.

This whole conversation is painful and awkward because it almost feels like Colton is pressuring her to stay even though it is obvious that she isn’t into it. It’s also heartbreaking because I know why he’s saying the things he is, and it’s because he’s heartbroken. He admits that at the end of this, he wants to be with her, so I guess screw you Tayshia and Hannah? Because if everything he’s saying is true, he’s definitely stringing the two other women on. It also feels like a power dynamic where he is pressuring her to stay. And it’s not fair to her.

“I feel like staying here is making the wrong decision for me,” and with that, Colton gets up, hands her coat, grabs his coat, hugs her, and walks her out. He tells her that he wants what’s best for her. They hug and she heads into the limo. I have to imagine that this whole conversation must have actually taken hours.

In the limo, Cassie admits to feeling bad about how everything went down and how she acted.

Colton storms out. He ripped his mic off and threw it to the side. Colton is over the fence in the blink of an eye. They show Chris Harrison chasing after him and calling his name. They show the same thing for a bunch of producers as well. Can’t wait to see how this whole thing gets resolved in the next episode.

Virgin count: 6