Fantasy Dates and the Wildlife of South Africa
Tonight's epi started in New York with Brad packing his bags once again in preparation for making the journey to South Africa where he will have the fantasy dates with the three remaining women. In his PI he is talking of how he is feeling anxious, nervous and excited because at the end of this week, there will be two remaining women that will meet his family. He also goes on to explain that this time is going a whole lot better than last time and that also tends to make him feel apprehensive as he really doesn't want to shut down like last time and end up all alone again, considering his trust issues, he feels that he has gotten a lot farther in this journey with an open heart and mind......he wants to continue doing that.
As Brad boards the plane for South Africa(SA), he is talking about each of the women and the strong connections that he is having with each of the women.
Chantal: With Chantal, he is so comfortable and is himself.......with her, sparks flew very early on and kissing Chantal is close to perfect. He describes how looking back through their journey together, it has been a rollercoaster with Chantal and it is something that he has to think about.
Ashley: With Ashley, he is so comfortable, he is himself and it feels very much like magic. Brad says that there has always been speedbumps along the way with Ashley and there has always been questions from her as to the amount of feelings that they have for each other and Brad still questions the feelings that she has as sometimes she feels disconnected and with all of these questions, he begins to wonder where Ashley's heart is and it scares him a bit.
Emily: Emily is one in a million and he is acting like himself around Emily but a much better self and he has Emily to thank for that. Brad has always felt that he wanted to find a truely sweet woman to spend his life with and Emily is that woman. Now the questions start......her past intimidates him a bit as not only has she lost her fiance in a plane crash, but she is also a single mom. As Brad states, joining a family is a huge step for any man, it sets the bar high and he is nervous about it.
As the plane touches down in SA and Brad is escorted to his lodge, they arrive at the Lions Dance Private Game reserve, and makes his way through the River Lodge to his suite, we are seeing the wildlife of SA and the natural beauty that it has. When he thinks of the three remaining women, he sees a future with them and he really believes that one of the women will be his wife.
Up Next............Chantal's Saffari Date
Tonight's date with Chantal began with Chantal waiting for Brad to pull up on the jeep. Brad is out on the Sabi Sands of SA heading to pick up Chantal. Once Brad arrives, they had a kiss and embrace before boarding the Jeep in preparation for their Saffari date. While Chantal is waiting, we get a PI from her stating how she can't wait to spend the day with Brad as everytime they are together, she is falling deeper and deeper in love with him.
As they continue on their Saffari Tour, Brad states in a PI of how not ten minutes out of the gate, he finds himself with a dropdead gorgeous woman on his right and a pride of lions on his left....something that he always wanted to find in Africa and as it turned out, they had a great tour and saw most of the "incredible 5". On their tour, they saw zebra's, elephants, rhino's, wildebeasts, lions, giraffes and incredible scenery to boot. They pull up and take their picnic lunch down to the river complete with an armed escort as when they arrive on the river they find that they are not lunching alone as there is a hippo in the river right behind them. As Chantal says in a PI, there aren't many people in the world that she trusts to keep her safe, but sitting there with Brad, that is exactly what she feels......safe with both of the wildlife around and her heart as she knows she needs to put both of those things in his trust to get through this process. In a continuing PI, Chantal states how she really loves Brad and that it is more than just a feeling to her, of how she wants it to be an unselfish love, of how she wants to put him first.....
After their daytime excursions, they head back to get dressed for dinner which they find served to them in the middle of the SA plains. After they get settled for dinner, they begin to talk about family and of how Chantal hopes to get to meet his family.....how important family is to the both of them and of how Brad misses her family as he truely enjoyed his time with them. Brad then tells her of how fired up he gets when he talks of family as they are so very important to him and he finds Chantal the same way and he truely admires that about her. He then tells Chantal of how he feels the most comfortable around her and is the most like himself. Chantal then describes how she sees a different side of him when it is just the two of them versus when they are around other people and she likes that side and wants to share that side of him. Then the conversation comes up of the possible engagement at the end of this all.....she then goes on to describe of how when you accept an engagement from someone, you really mean it to the point of a promise to actually marry that person one day....if you can't see yourself doing that, then why accept that engagement in the first place....... By looking at Brad during this conversation, it is obvious that he is so pleased that she feels that way. Brad then says how much he likes that about her and of how he really needs the spontaneaty in his life. Brad states in a PI of how he likes the fact that Chantal wears her heart on her sleeve, is vulnerable and owns it, and of how he feels that she is really an incredible woman. After their dinner is done, Brad hands her the fantasy date card and Chantal opens it to find a key and a note from Chris Harrison. After reading the card, Brad asks her to join him, she says that she absolutely wants to go to the suite, so Brad and Chantal proceed to walk through the plains of SA till they come across a treefort which is doubling as their fantasy suite for the night. In a PI, Chantal says you know the saying "what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. So what happens in the Fantasy Suite, stays in the fantasy suite." When they get to the top of fantasy suite, they find a bed in the center with netting around it, a chaise lounge for them to sit on and as she states in the PI, It is a complete fantasy with a love story rolled into one.
Up Next.........Emily meets up with Tembo
We start their date with Brad waiting for Emily to show up......and in his PI, he states how everytime he see's Em, he lights up and he really can't wait to spend the day with her. As Emily arrives, he runs up to meet her. After their hug and kiss, Brad tells Em that he forgot something so he asks her to wait for him.......meanwhile Em states in a PI that he has had all dang day to get ready for the date....what in the world could he of forgotten that is that important......and she carries on to say how a lion could come out of the bush any moment.....her waiting is soon over when Brad arrives on an elephant to pick up Emily.
As Tembo ducks down to pick up Emily, she boards behind the guide and in front of Brad. Brad states in a PI of how cool it is to ride on the elephant, but what is more important to him is the time he is spending with Emily.....Meanwhile, you can obviously tell that Emily is flabbergasted that he would go back and get the elephant to pick her up on....As the two of them head off down the trail, they begin talking of her hometown date. In a PI, Emily states of how she introduced Brad to her daughter last week and she never would of done that unless she was very serious about being with him and she really see's a future with him. As they get to their picnic site, Brad asks Emily if her daughter really understands that he might be a part of her life. He also asks Em if she is really ready for a long term committment between them and if that would work with her daughter......Em then asks Brad if he is ready for a five year old. He does hesitate for a minute, but goes on to state how he would make every effort possible to involved little Ricki in their everyday life and that Ricki would be right there with them in everything they do. Brad and Emily then share a tender kiss to a chourus of elephants trumpeting in the background.
We then see Brad standing waiting for Em to arrive for dinner. In a PI, Em states how Brad expressed that day that he is really ready to be a father figure in her daughter's life and she is really ready for that to happen, and of how important that is to her. In a further PI, Em states that she is really hoping that she has the gutts to tell Brad how she feels about him. In the first part of their dinner, it is really obvious that Brad is nervous...... At dinner, Em tells Brad that she is really waiting for this to be over, that no matter the outcome, she has to deal with it.......although she is really hoping that they end up together and has been waiting forever for that to happen. Close to the end of dinner, Brad states in a PI of how nervous he is as he does have a fantasy date card with him but doesn't know how it will be received by Em. As Brad hands Emily the card and she reads it out, it seemed obvious to Brad by the expression on his face of how he felt that Emily would reject the suite when she said that with being a mom and wanting to set an example....then when she said that she would love to go to the suite to talk and get to know more.......his face lit up. As the two of them head back to the suite, they find their dessert waiting for them and in a PI from Emily, she says of how she has only told one other person in her whole life that she loved him, since she didn't have the guts to tell Brad at dinner how she felt about him, she was hoping that she could do so in the suite. Emily tells Brad that she knows that she is really bad at expressing her feelings for him but that is only in self defense and she also knows that in a week or so, they could be engaged if he chooses her.......She then tells him that absolutely 100%, she is in love with him. Brad then expresses his feelings to Em and tells her that he is falling in love with her too, and that he isn't going to sit there and not say anything back when she tells him that she loves him.....he also tells her that he means it with everything he is. Emily states in a PI of how she feels that Ricky, her fiance, was with her to teach her how love feels like and now that Brad is in her life, she knows they are meant to be together and that he will be her husband.
UP next...........Flying over South Africa to God's Window
Brad is waiting outside of the lodge for Ashley to show up. In a PI, Ashley states that her feelings towards Brad definately have changed since her hometown date and she can't wait to spend the day with him, meanwhile, Brad states in a PI of how he can see himself in her life but after the hometown date and his conversations with her parents, he finds himself questioning whether her career will be the focus and he needs those questions answered...once they have a hug and kiss, Brad takes her down the path towards the start of their date.....as Ashley rounds the corner and finds the Heli waiting for them, she immediately gets apprehensive and runs away from the heli to Brad. She then tells Brad of how scared she is flying in a heli and after a short conversation, Brad convinces her to join him and they take off. As they are flying over the plains, they reach a cliff area and fly over that as well........the locals call that area, God's Window, and then they set down overlooking the valley below. As they set up their picnic area, it is clear that they need to have some serious conversations. They begin their chat with her hometown date and how comfortable he felt there, and through their conversations it was quite evident that he found out where their relationship is going. He is finding out how career oriented Ashley really is and he doesn't know if their lives will necessarily mesh because of that. As Brad carries on to state that in all their conversations, never once have they tried to mesh their daily lives together and now he is wondering if they actually can do that. You can see that it is tearing him apart because he feels so much for her, but as the date progresses, it is obvious that there is tension building there.
As Brad is waiting for Ashley to show up for their dinner, Ashley arrives and they sit down at the table for a typical South African Feast. They begin the conversation again where they finished off this afternoon with regards to where Ashley's career is going and if it will leave enough time for the two of them to begin their lives. It is also pretty evident to Brad through the conversation that Ashley hasn't really even thought of moving to Austin and that she seems to be really concerned with remaining where she knows things best.....in south Maine. The main result of their date is that Brad feels that they keep spending so much time trying to reassuring themselves of their feelings instead of going with them and he really begins to wonder if what they have is enough.....he also feels that since she seems more career oriented, will that really fit into his life?? Brad still gives her the Fantasy Suite card to carry on their conversations in private. When they get to the suite, they find a bottle of wine waiting for them. They pop it and carry on with their conversations that they started at dinner. The longer the date went on, the more Brad realized that they are reaching a stalemate, as if the crickets in the background weren't enough of a give away. As their date ends, it is obviously that there is quite a gap between them and there are no resolutions regarding Brad's questions of the day.
Up next..........Rose Ceremony
As Brad is getting ready for the rose ceremony, we get a PI from him stating how he never thought this week would be so telling for him.....he has had some great conversations and some not so great ones, some turning points in some relationships and in general, he is realizing that he is going into his ninth ceremony and really needs to take things seriously as of now. Brad heads to the rose ceremony area to meet up with Chris in the deliberation patio area, they have a chance to sit down and reminice through the dates that they had this week. As Brad and Chris sit down in the "Deliberation Patio", we see the three women's pics there and the two of them are having their usual chat. Through their conversation, Chris asks Brad how things are going this time around in comparrison to last time and that Brad states it is completely different.....he carries on to say that he knows he is falling in love and he knows he will have a fiance at the end of this. Brad confesses to Chris that he has so many feelings towards both Chantal and Emily and after both of their hometown dates and Fantasy Suite dates, he is more sure of their connnections than ever before. As far as Ashley goes, he really didn't want to push her like that but needed to find out where they stood. As the two of them finish their conversations and Chris heads out to meet with the women, Brad is left in the room to finish his thoughts.
After joining the women at the Rose Ceremony, Brad is obviously very uncomfortable and apprehensive. He asks to speak privately to Ashley and leads her to a private area to continue their conversation from the previous day when he was trying to find out from her how much her career will play into their relationship and if they can mesh both worlds together.......again, there are a lot of uncomfortable pauses in their conversation and it is obvious that this is the end for them. As Brad tells her that he has to let her go, and then leads her to the vehicle for their final goodbye......you can tell that it is really hard for him to do this and he is completely uncomfortable with the way things are ending between them, although he states that 100%, he knows he is doing the right thing for both of them.
When Brad returns after his goodbye to Ashley, he tells us that it is really important to him now more than ever before that he gets his final affirmation from both of the ladies that they want to be there with him so he will proceed with the rose ceremony.
The roses are handed out to:
Chantal O: 28, Executive Assistant, Mercer Island, WA
Emily: 24, Events planner, Morganstown, WV
Well, that's all for this week folks, I will be back next week for a Women Tell All roundup......hope you all have a great week!
