The Bachelor Season 28, Episode 5 Recap

SPOILER ALERT! This post contains details from Tuesday’s episode of The Bachelor.

Two episodes of The Bachelor in one week? It must be a Valentine’s Day miracle.

Not only that, but Tuesday’s episode is bookended by two rose ceremonies. And if you thought the drama with Maria was going to be over after Sydney left, think again.

Tuesday’s episode picks up right where Monday’s left off, with Maria having a meltdown because Lea is leading a crusade against her. While the rest of the women seem to be avoiding that situation like the plague, Madina chooses to comfort her and let her know she won’t be unkind to her just because Lea says she should. Lea is telling Joey how much she hates Maria, though it’s unclear what the goal is here since Maria already has a rose.

At the rose ceremony, Joey gives roses to Kelsey A., Katelyn, Daisy, Rachel, Jenn, Autumn, Jess, Madina and Lea. Since Maria, Lexi and Kelsey T. already have roses, that means Allison and Edwina are sent packing.

Joey and his remaining women are off to Andalusia, Spain, for the next leg of their trip. When they arrive, Joey meets the women for a glass of sangria before stealing Kelsey A. away for a one-on-one date. After she leaves, Maria asks the group whether they would have taken Lea’s one-on-one stealing card if given the opportunity, and if they would have used it in that moment so they could jet off on a Vespa with Joey. Kelsey T. admits she probably would have taken the card, but she’s not sure if she would have used it.

The dates are fairly uneventful this week. Kelsey and Joey spend the day walking around Spain, tasting some local food and wine, playing soccer with some kids, and diving deeper into their relationship. Kelsey says she’s not quite sure she’s falling for Joey yet, but she’s on her way there. Meanwhile, Joey seems pretty smitten.

When dinnertime arrives, Kelsey tells Joey about her mom, who died from breast cancer about a decade ago. She says this process has been hard for her, because she’s had to imagine getting engaged and having a wedding without her mom there. Joey is very receptive and assures her that he’s there to support her as much as she needs. Kelsey gets a rose (and she admits that maybe she is falling for Joey).

The group date goes to Lexi, Daisy, Jenn, Autumn, Maria, Katelyn, Madina, Lea, Jess and Kelsey T. That means Rachel gets the second one-on-one.

When I say Lea spends the entirety of the group date complaining that Maria is there, I mean it. The group meets Joey at a villa where they’ll be tapping into their inner artists. They’re each tasked with finding a quote to summarize their feelings for Joey. Then, they have to paint a picture of said quote, and Joey has to try to guess what the quote is. The closer he is, the better. The winner gets extra time with Joey.

All of them are amateur painters, but Jess prevails. Her reward is that she and Joey strip down to their bathing suits and roll around in some paint together to create their “first piece of art as a couple.”

At the cocktail party that night, Maria gets yet another early rose after she opens up to Joey about her past. She tells Joey that she and her mom were in a car accident when she was a baby, and it was nearly fatal. Her mom was severely injured, and it prevented her from showing up during Maria’s childhood in a more meaningful way, which has fractured their relationship. Maria says this is also why she’s hesitant to take anything too seriously, because life can really turn upside down so fast.

Most of the women are pretty upset seeing Maria get another early rose.

During Rachel’s one-on-one, she and Joey go flamingo dancing during the day. Later that night at dinner, Joey says he’s hoping to get to know Rachel better, because she’s been slower to open up than some of the other women. Rachel admits she has a hard time opening up, mostly because she’s been burned in the past. She specifically wants to make sure Joey understands the demands of her job as a nurse, since she’s had issues in past relationships with partners not understanding her commitment to her job. She also says she’s starting to feel more comfortable with Joey and is working on convincing herself she deserves his attention. He gives her the rose.

All hell breaks loose at the pre-rose ceremony cocktail party once again. The group is dwindling, and stronger connections are forming, which means that jealousy and tension is only growing. Pretty early into the night, Maria steals Joey to talk alone, and it sets Jess off.

Jess says it’s disrespectful for Maria to be talking to Joey since she already has a rose, but Kelsey A. admits she would do the same thing, and she doesn’t think Maria did anything wrong. Lexi points out that she thinks Maria is an easy target, because some people are already mad at her, and her connection with Joey is clearly very strong.

When Maria returns from her conversation, Jess confronts her. Maria is not having it. The situation escalates until Jess storms off, calling Maria a “b*tch.” Some of the other women tell Maria she could have handled it better, but Maria insists Jess had no reason to confront her. The cocktail party ends, and Jess blames Maria for not having any time with Joey.

But, as it turns out, there was literally nothing to worry about because Jess gets a rose along with Jenn, Kelsey T., Daisy, Lea, Lexi, and Katelyn. Autumn and Madina are sent home.

Will this drama finally be behind us next week? Probably not! The Bachelor airs again on Monday at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.