‘The Bachelor’ Season 22, Episode 8 Recap: Tia Sent Home After Hometown Dates

The Bachelor‘s eighth episode of season 22 took us on a journey of hometown dates with our four remaining contestants – Kendall, Tia, Becca and Lauren.

THE BACHELOR RECAP

The first up is Kendall, who brings Arie to her hometown of Los Angeles. They greet each other outside of a warehouse that happens to be full of dead, taxidermied animals. “To me it’s just a way to really appreciate animals,” Kendall explains. “We are going to be mounting some taxidermy of our own!”

Arie looks a bit nervous, saying, “This is some Silence of the Lambs stuff,” but he joins in and the pair share a kiss. “In a way, taxidermy is like a perfect relationship because it’s something that’s going to last forever,” Kendall chimes in.

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That night, Arie meets Kendall’s parents, twin sister Kylie, and younger brother Colton. Kylie immediately notes that there’s some “space” between Kendall and the bachelor, and shares that she’s afraid that Kendall is just going with the show but isn’t ready to jump into a real relationship. Dad Bob takes Arie aside to essentially tell him that he wouldn’t give him permission to propose to his daughter, but by the end of the conversation, he changes his mind.

Date number two takes place in Weiner, Arkansas, where Tia is from. The pair head to a raceway to drive some fast cars –  something right up Arie’s alley. Arie smokes Tia and he loves every second of it. When he meets the dad, Kenny, he makes the easy joke about polishing his shotgun before he got there, but in fact, Arie received a warm welcome. It was Tia’s brother Jason who put the pressure on and asked Arie about his past and the women he used to date. Arie admits to sleeping around when he was younger, but adds, “I don’t feel like that’s me now. I am ready to settle down, I am ready to find a wife. And I’m falling for your sister.” That seems to appease Jason.

Arie then jets off to Minneapolis to meet up with Becca and her family. Her father died, so her Uncle Gary will be the real one to impress, she tells him. Turns out, however, that it’s Mom who is the most difficult to get on your side. She likes Arie alright, but isn’t so keen on her daughter getting engaged on The Bachelor. She doesn’t quite give her blessing, but basically says she won’t call the cops if she marries him, so that’s something.

Lastly, Arie meets up with Lauren in Virginia Beach. Her family is very cold to him, and don’t ease up on the questions. “Have you ever known anybody in a military family before? Do you play golf?” Arie has to answer no to both, which disappoints dad Dave. Later, though, Arie tells Dad about his experiences with war vets, and Dave seems impressed. “If Lauren likes you, I like you,” he concedes. Eventually mom Pamela comes to the same conclusion, though she is worried that Arie can’t possibly love her daughter because he’s dating four women at once.

Just before the rose ceremony, Arie pulls Kendall aside to ask if she is really ready to commit and possibly get engaged soon. Her response is that she, “can’t say at this very moment…that I’m ready to be engaged.” It seemed like that would be it for the couple, but Arie does the unexpected and tells Tia that she’s going home. “I did not expect this,” a crying Tia says. “What did I do wrong?”

“I don’t know, there’s just something missing,” is all Arie can muster up at first, before reminding her that their breakup is not about Tia’s worth, but “about the emotion between two people.”

With only three left, next week is getting down to the wire with overnight dates on Monday’s episode. Stay tuned.