The Bachelor – Women Tell All

Abigail was more active on social media leading up to last night’s Women Tell All (WTA). She posted an Instagram story thanking everyone for their support, saying she’s been blown away. She encouraged people to get the Threads app that she was using because it auto captions, which helps people like her. THANK YOU, Abigail, for using your platform for good!

In her story, she said, “um” so often that she typed afterwards, “Take a shot for every time I say “um.”

It’s a good thing I’m not allowed alcohol (doctor’s orders)!

People Magazine published an article with a sneak peek at Abigail’s WTA appearance. The Bachelor tweeted a clip that was retweeted by Abigail and mentioned by Us Weekly.

https://twitter.com/AbigailHeringer/status/1366210984893947907

In an Instagram post, Abigail urged viewers to tune in. Based on the media blitz, I knew she’d be in the Hot Seat, which means more airtime!

Chris’ Hyperbole

Ok, I hear you telling me to get to the WTA already and I don’t even have my cochlear implant on yet!

Recorded on February 4 without a studio audience, the WTA is a “very special, very intimate episode.” Chris refers to the wild, unprecedented season of shocking surprises and explosive drama. “Everybody’s looking good,” he says, and gives our girl Abigail a shout out. A clip also airs of her saying about Matt, “He was just super easy to talk to, so he just blew my expectations out of the water right away.”

A review of the season thus far is shown. Thank goodness I have this on TiVo and started late. Fast forwarding is my superpower right now!

It appears the women are seated in two rows formed in a semi circle. Abigail is in the back row as usual. The front row would be easier as she could just turn around to lipread. The distance between her and Chris/the stage seems too far for lipreading.

First, Chris addresses the Jessenia and MJ feud. Next up are Ryan and Victoria, who is wearing a crown. But of course. Victoria makes up a word: “upset-ness.” I’ll use it in a sentence. Victoria’s upset-ness may have been overshadowed by her outfit, which was an open jacket with matching bra, as if she was proudly and ironically flaunting her bra-zen fashion sense (or lack thereof).

Many of the women are experiencing backlash for how they handled things, which Katie says is karma. Victoria actually apologizes. Then in a true demonstration of irony, they all gang up on Katie.

The Hot Seat

To Brittany in the Hot Seat, Chris says, “One of the craziest rumors I’ve heard in 20 years of doing this show enveloped you. I wanna hear all about it, but first, let’s take a look back and see what happened.” FF to the rescue again!

Being falsely accused of being a high end escort has clearly taken its toll. Brittany didn’t want to be around her family when she got back, and even texting her friends was difficult. She’s forever going to be associated with this. Anna — who started the rumor — apologized earlier but hasn’t reached out. Anna delivers a good apology. Brittany takes the high road and says she doesn’t want people to destroy Anna’s life also. Words can really affect you, she says. People make mistakes. She also addresses people in the sex working industry, saying no one’s life is worth more or less based on an occupation.

Dates We Didn’t See

To lighten things up, we get a peek at some of the “most outrageous moments we didn’t get to see,” including one date that didn’t make it to air, which is rare. It’s called “What’s in the Box?” Abigail knows right away what this means. She reads a card in the clip: “Ring shopping can be intimidating and a bit scary…and today will be BOTH! I DARE YOU to pick a ring out of one of these ring boxes.”

The first box has killer Amazon cockroaches. Abigail’s box has fire crickets. She reaches her arm in sight unseen to feel around for the ring. “How did you find yours so quick?” she asks. Abigail is shown watching this in the studio with her hands over her face. In the clip, she finally grabs the ring, and jumps up and down out of disgust and relief.

Another box has flesh eating worms. Seeing all these creepy, crawly critters is so gross. What were they thinking?? Obviously they realized it wasn’t worth airing, yet it aired anyway. Perfect Bachelor logic.

As part of the group date on the farm, they have to eat a whole plate of dense pancakes, and then drink a pint of beer. Abigail belches. She’s in the next clip too, of a group date playing Hide and Seek in the woods. Good lord, has it really come to this? Might as well throw in a game of Cat’s Cradle while they’re at it.

On the boxing date, the girls each drink a raw egg. I’m going to puke just watching. Kit is smart – she pretends to drink it but really throws it over her shoulder.

The Hot Seat

Chris calls Katie the gift that kept on giving. She was confident in her relationship with Matt, but didn’t pay attention to the other relationships in the house. Matt is the first person she was able to be 110% herself with. She says she just has to remain hopeful that her person’s still out there.

Now it’s Abigail’s turn in the Hot Seat! First, they show a clip of her with Matt. She asks him how old he was when he had his first kiss. He was in 7th grade and bit the girl’s lip so hard, it was gushing blood. “Now I’m scared to kiss you again,” Abigail laughs.

“This next woman captured the First Impression Rose and America’s heart,” Chris says. “But, well, in the end, things did not work out for her and Matt. So what happened? Let’s find out. Abigail, come down and join me.”

The women snap fingers as she makes her way to the stage. “Wow, at least you got snaps, the new applause in 2021,” Chris says. Can Abigail even hear the snaps? Odd choice, but whatever.

“We have so much to talk about,” says Chris. “Let’s take a look.”

“That’s not fun to watch,” Abigail says afterwards, tears in her eyes.

“How surprised were you that night?” Chris asks. “He just always kind of wanted to be near you. It seemed like you had that chemistry.”

“Yeah, no, I definitely felt it, and he just gave me so much assurance every time I was with him, and we started off so strong. I kind of came in saying, you know, I don’t believe in love at first sight. Just having the first night go the way it did, I think that’s the closest I’ve ever come to that kind of feeling.”

“Were you ready to fall in love with this guy?”

“Um, I was on my way to falling in love. He had all the qualities I was looking for, and all the conversations we had, he responded really well to all of them. I told him, I said, you know, hopefully we would get more time, but I feel really confident bringing you around my family. You’re everything they would hope I would bring home. I just kind of have a big what-if. If we had that much attraction with how little time we had, you know, what if we had had a whole day together? Could I have been up there with kind of the frontrunners? Um…you know, it’s just, yeah, it’s just a lot of questions, for sure.”

“You had a very honest, vulnerable conversation with Matt about having children.”

“Mmm hmm. Yeah, um, so by that point, hometowns were coming around the corner. I wanted to be as [my notes say “farrow,” which makes no sense and is clearly an autocorrect that I can’t figure out, so just pick a word to go here] with him ’cause I think it wouldn’t be fair to him if I went through this entire journey and kind of held on to my insecurities, not giving him that whole transparency.”

“Well, I know there were a lot of challenges, but I love that you are here and were brave enough to do this. It’s had a massive impact on the deaf community.”

“It’s been incredible. I was really scared, kind of, when I decided to come on, just because I think people kind of view the hearing community and then the Deaf community, with a capital D, as kind of black and white. And I’m kind of that gray space in the middle that hasn’t had a lot of light shone on, because I don’t use sign language. I’m able to communicate vocally. I was born profoundly deaf so it means I have no hearing, so if I take my cochlear implant off, I can’t hear anything. So I had no idea how people were going to receive me. But no, the response has been incredible. I’ve had so many people reach out and say, you know, thank you for sharing your story. I have a very similar one. Yeah, I just–I’ve been blown away.”

[Note: it’s interesting – the clip ABC tweeted has parts that weren’t on WTA, so I kind of combined them in Abigail’s quotes on this post.]

“I wanna pull up some of these comments. I don’t know if you’ve seen all of these or not.”

Abigail laughs. Chris says there’s one more. It’s from @bdub1209: “Abigail, my daughter is 7 and bilaterally implanted. Seeing the representation and you not being afraid to be who you are makes my heart SO happy.”

“Oh my god,” Abigail says. “I just have gotten so many messages like this, of people saying, thank you so much for showing this in a romantic light, just because disability isn’t always romanticized. Um… yeah, it’s been incredible.”

“I know you were actually here looking for love and that’s what it’s all about. To that end, where are you now?”

[Sighs} “Yeah, so I know things didn’t work out with Matt and I, but that’s not to say that I didn’t leave, you know, with nothing. I think, you know, I met an incredible group of women. I learned a lot about myself. Yeah, I think it’s what Katie said, like I think I’m just a better version of myself that I’m really excited to be able to share with whoever wants to share that with me.”

More Hot Seat

Pieper’s next in the Hot Seat. She, too, was shocked by her exit because she wasn’t paying attention to the other women.

Back from commercial, Chris says, “All your favorite women are with me tonight.” The camera immediately goes to Abigail. Hmm… Is it me, or am I getting Bachelorette vibes?

In the Hot Seat, Serena has to visibly compose herself. Chris thought she was the one at one point in time, but instead she’s the one who had the guts to leave.

Matt comes out to “twangy rock music” in a big, bushy, UGLY beard. Chris calls it a bold choice. The women profess to like it, but as Twitter describes it, “Show you’re single without saying you’re single.”

Matt addresses a couple of the women and reflects on his journey. Then Chris tells him there was a recurring issue America had with him – “you always had your eye on those ladies” – cue to a kissing-with-eyes-open montage. Matt didn’t know it was a no-no and admits after watching it back that it’s kind of weird. Chris asks if anyone is brave enough to talk about it. Pieper says she brought it up to Matt and expresses surprise that it went this long without anyone saying anything. The consensus: Eyes closed, please.

“Some of these ladies want to talk to you,” Chris tells Matt. The camera lands on Abigail. “Abigail, did you have anything you wanted to say to Matt?”

“No, I just want to say thank you for the entire experience. Um, I think we had a really good time together. But it just wasn’t in the cards for us. I just have nothing but good things to say about our experience, and hopefully you feel the same way about it.”

“Thank you, I appreciate that,” Matt responds, sticking to his standard line.

A couple other women speak. Then the best part: the bloopers. And a preview of the March 15 finale. “You have no idea what’s coming,” Chris says, a statement that has aged well.

An EW recap says, “Gah, after watching this highlight reel, I’m mad all over again that Matt sent Abigail home. Big mistake, buddy. Big. Huge. Abigail is an angel on earth…Damnit, producers, do NOT put this woman on Paradise. She is too pure.”

Abigail remains a fan favorite. A tweet calls her one of the least toxic women this season. Another says, “These women can learn so much from her.”

And ABC tweeted this. Hmmmmm.

https://twitter.com/BachelorABC/status/1366572202880098308

As Reality Steve says of the Bachelorette possibilities, “You might think Serena is still too young, or maybe you don’t want to see Abigail get screwed by production, but you won’t be mad and angry seeing [the prospects] in that role if they got it.”

The Bachelor – Week 6

[tense music]

Because there’s not much going on in the world right now, we’ve been anxious for the MJ and Jessenia showdown. It’s as expected: more drama and more lies, with another two-faced antagonist eliminated. Matt even fakes MJ out by holding up the rose and saying, “MJ…I can’t give you this rose.” Guess he learned something from being an athlete.

We first see Abigail at the start of the cocktail party, when the girls are talking as they wait for Matt. Chris shows up instead, informing them that Matt wants to skip the cocktail party as he knows what he wants to do. The girls freak out.

At the Rose Ceremony, Abigail is in the back row again. She already has a rose from last week, so we can relax.

During a commercial break, ABC airs an ad: “Now casting seniors looking for love. Go to abc.com/casting.” So many questions…

First 1:1

Now there’s 11 girls left. Five have had a one-on-one, six have not. Pieper gets the first 1:1. But first, more drama. Serena C. is fed up with Katie, so she seeks her out. This devolves into an argument. The other girls are in sleeping bags by the fireplace when they hear the arguing. The first sign of this is when Abigail looks up quizzically. Sure, it’s got to be loud because the deaf girl can hear it.

There’s an interlude when a girl drives up to the property in a white van. She introduces herself as Heather Martin and says she’s there for Chris. She was on Colton’s season and is good friends with Hannah Brown, who spent time with Matt in quarantine and says he’s the perfect match for her. She wants to meet him. Chris acts surprised, laying it on thick: “This is just bizarre. Just when you think you’ve seen it all.”

Pieper and Matt walk through a forest in the dark, holding lanterns. She flips a switch and sees their very own carnival, all lit up. Somehow they fit that in plus a dressed up dinner. Sadly, her family doesn’t communicate love. She tries to overcome this by telling Matt she’s falling in love with him.

I’ve lost track of how many women have now said this to him. It’s ridiculous, especially when you consider how little time they actually get with him. Ashley I. said on Instagram that the amount of solo time they typically get with the lead during group dates and cocktail parties is about 10 minutes. And each episode usually comprises four days!

Obviously, they’re in a constrained environment without other distractions. Naturally this will make Matt the focus of all their thoughts. But he’s looking like less and less of a prize. He was partying with Tyler C. (his best friend from Hannah’s season) in Tampa all weekend – maskless. He’s being called Covid Matt. Supposedly his mother is a big Trump supporter and he’s a Republican. [If you are too, you can find another blog to follow.]

Group Date

Abigail is again part of the group date. When the girls show up, Matt is wearing a bowling shirt and skinny jeans that look like leggings. Not a fan. Abigail tells the camera, “I can’t control whether I get a 1:1 date, but I can control, you know, what we spend our time talking about.” She adds, “Matt and I had a spark the first night and we had potential, but we need time.”

If you can’t figure out the date from Matt’s attire, find another blog to follow. The date is bowling, with pizza, nachos, and wings. Abigail looks around and smiles. This is a much better group date than outdoor obstacle courses. But this does involve a competition, as Chris shows up to tell them the winning team will get a romantic evening with Matt. The losing team will walk home in the rain.

Abigail is on the blue team, aka the Blue Bombshells. The opposing team in pink shirts is the Pink Petals. “I have been on the losing team,” Abigail says. “I’ve had to walk home, so we are not losing this. We’re gonna win. There’s no way I’m gonna lose twice.” She goes first on her team, and shows spunk as she walks to the lane. Unfortunately, she only knocks down one pin.

The Blue Bombshells are down by a lot, but they battle back and it literally comes down to the last few frames. Abigail is the last to bowl for her team. Serena P. — on the other team — says, “Abigail, I love you, but gutter.” Did Abigail hear this? Was this taking advantage of her hearing loss?

Abigail gets a gutter ball. “My team is going home, and with the pressure of hometowns being in a few weeks, it’s frustrating when you have that potential and then you can’t explore it, like, you just have to wait and wait,” Abigail says. “I-I-I don’t know, I’m just, I’m not getting any time. It’s not even a little time. I’m just not getting any time.” She gives Matt a good hug good bye.

Back at the house, she says, “I’m not even upset yet, like, I’m just angry.” She tells the other girls, “It sucks getting that First Impression rose, seeing that potential, and then week after week, you know, just…waiting. It’s just like… how am I supposed to take this seriously when I can’t even get time?”

But then Chris delivers a personal date card. Matt feels terrible and needs time with them, and invites them to join the party. The girls erupt in shrieks and cheers. Abigail bounces up and down on the couch.

During Matt’s speed make-out sessions, Serena P. says she’s falling for him. The girls say so many of the same things; it must be hard for him to differentiate. Then again, this is a guy with a thigh fetish. Michelle gets the date rose.

Katie’s 1:1

Before Matt’s date with Katie, he gets some bro time with Tyler C. as they play pool. Katie does the patented run and jump when she sees Matt. They meet at a spa, but they won’t be partaking of any services. Instead, they’ll be pranking Tyler, whose masseuse is actually an actress who will be following their commands. Tyler checks himself out in the mirror before he gets on the massage table, confirming my impression of him.

At their dinner date, Matt holds the rose while he tells Katie he’s letting her go. What a tease. Now she’s the favorite to be the next Bachelorette. Either way, she’s better off.

Cocktail Party

In a fancy dress, Heather drives up to the chateau because she’s quarantined and has been allowed to join the show. At the chateau, Abigail is the first one Matt grabs. “Can I steal you, Abigail?” he asks. She laughs and apologizes, I’m guessing because she didn’t realize at first that he was talking to her.

“Look at you!” Matt says. She’s in a gorgeous green dress with a plunging neck.

“I just really enjoy time with you and I just want to reiterate that to you every time that we’re together that I look forward to seeing you every night,” he tells her. They kiss and hold hands in the precious <10 minutes they have.

https://twitter.com/stephdizzle11/status/1358972730188713985

Heather struts into the chateau, smiles at the girls, and takes a hard left to find Matt. Poor Pieper, whose conversation with Matt is rudely interrupted when Hannah walks in. Matt busts out in laughter because he can’t believe his good fortune. The women, they just keep coming!

The previews show Heather crying and complaining about how mean everyone is. In the end clip, I see what looks like a bald spot on the back of perfect widdle Matt’s head.

Abigail is now officially in the top 10. I’m rooting for her to get more screen time while also hoping she doesn’t “win” this pathetic contest.

The Bachelor – Week 3

This episode has no shortage of drama. You might as well call this episode The Sarah Show. It picks up where the last left off, with Sarah fainting during the Rose Ceremony.

As the women talk among themselves, I wonder how the producers determine their placement. Why would they place Abigail in the second row with a more potentially obstructed view?

When Chris comes in to announce the final rose, I remember another reason why I stopped watching this show. We all know it’s the final rose, Chris!

This week there’s three dates: two group dates and one “unbelievable romantic 1:1 date.” The Bachelor is known for nothing if not its hyperbole. I do feel for these women, who are stuck at a Pennsylvania resort because of COVID. Dates in past seasons are much more exciting and over the top, and eventually they travel to exotic locales. Then again, these women are still on national television and getting an escape from their every day lives.

Group Date

Apparently Matt needs to be pushed a little bit. He has trouble feeling uncomfortable, so the point of the group date is to be uncomfortable. When the group (sans Abigail) walks into the room, Ashley I. (past contestant) is reading an erotic scene from Chris’ book, The Perfect Letter. Turns out the women have to write their own sexy love story with Matt, sharing with the rest of the group and a live studio audience.

The live studio audience sounds scary but it ends up being the other women in the house. They’re seated in the back of the room. Abigail is shown at the beginning of this scene, and then we don’t see her until she’s at the house. A deaf friend and I independently wonder how Abigail is able to follow the women reading their stories on stage. I always sit in the front or near the front at things like this whenever possible. Maybe she can hear well with her CI, but then why would she talk about lipreading so much? Is the show not accommodating her like they should? Or is she not advocating for herself?

Katie tells the camera that she loves watching and hearing Matt talk, with his juicy lips. Ironic that it’s not Abigail saying this!

Back at the House

During the conversation at the house, when the camera pans over Abigail, she’s looking down as usual. Does it help her listen better? Or do they always just happen to catch her that way?

When there’s a knock at the door, Abigail tells the camera, “My heart just sinks every time I hear that knock [so I guess she does hear it?]. I really want that date card. I just feel like other girls are getting that time with him, exploring relationships with him. I just need more time at this point. I think the connection is there. It’s super easy to talk with him when I see him, but you can only do so much with so little time.”

Alas, the next date is a 1:1 for Serena P.

The Sarah Show

Sarah is having a difficult time on the show because she’s developed feelings for Matt, who’s dating 32 women. She can’t deal. She interrupts him on the group date, which pisses off the women because now they’re denied their time. Some don’t get to talk to him at all, because the producers must have told him he had to leave to ensure this drama.

Sarah hides back at the house, so Matt checks on her when he shows up for his date with Serena. Their date involves horseback riding, a picnic with donkeys, a dinner, and then making out in a hot tub. You know, the usual. Meanwhile, everyone at the house is bashing Sarah, who continues to hide in her room.

When the third date card shows up, Sarah finally makes an appearance. She apologizes to the women, explaining that she was thinking of leaving and had to talk to Matt, yada yada yada. The women push back. Abigail speaks up as a voice of reason: “So if you don’t want to be here, why are you taking someone else’s rose that really does wanna be here and trusts that process?”

The episode continues with the women bashing Sarah. When Katie checks on Sarah, we discover that while we knew her dad has ALS, he only has weeks to live. Yes, it’s time to go home, Sarah dear! [ETA: A friend read Reality Steve’s recap and reported that Sarah had a boyfriend right before she went on the show. She doesn’t live with her parents and isn’t her dad’s caretaker. Oh, and her dad is still alive, which is great. But this kind of misrepresentation shouldn’t be required for reality TV!]

When no one has seen Sarah for the third day in a row, Abigail says, “If she doesn’t show on the group date, I feel like that’s a big red flag for Matt.” The others agree. Then they find out Sarah has decided to leave. There’s a dramatic goodbye with Matt, and the episode ends before even showing Abigail’s group date. So now I’m pissed at Sarah too. Next week, five new girls show up.

But for now, Abigail is still there, looking rosy!

‘The Bachelor’ – Week 2

I stopped watching The Bachelor a long time ago, but got drawn in again because of the first deaf contestant, Abigail Heringer. I wrote about the first episode of Season 25 for HearingLikeMe.com.

As long as Abigail is on the show, I’ll blog about her here. Future posts will go up on Tuesdays.

Abigail doesn’t get as much air time in week 2, but she stands out in her scenes.

Shout Out From Chris

The second episode opens with Matt James’ [running footsteps] and [tranquil music] as he gets some necessary exercise. After all, he has to keep his stamina up if he’s dating multiple women. But first, he must indulge the viewers in a gratuitous (outdoor) shower scene. It’s so natural that he even wraps a towel around his waist and goes back in the house without drying himself off.

In their house, which they jokingly refer to as the Matt-eau, the girls are all sitting around when host Chris Harrison walks in. “Where’s my girl Abigail?” he asks. “I’m over here!” she says. “Oh, you’re tucked in the corner,” Chris says. “You got the First Impression Rose! Congrats!” One of the women adds, “And she got the first kiss!” “Congrats on both of them!” says Chris.

Hmm. And here I thought Chris was looking for Abigail to make sure she’d be able to lipread him. But no, he’s here to announce that there will be three dates this week: one group date, and two one-on-one dates.

Group Date

While Bri is on the first 1:1 date, there’s a knock at the door back at the Matt-eau (yes, it’s as painful to write as it is to say). This is always a signal for the next date card. I, of course, wondered how Abigail was clued in. Ileana reads off the names of the girls going on the group date. And the names keep coming. There’s a total of 18 women going on this date, the largest group date in Bachelor history. <sarcasm> Naturally, Abigail is one of them, because it’s an ideal environment for a deaf person. </sarcasm>

What’s that sound? Fireworks popping outside. Again, who tells Abigail (or can she figure it out for herself?)? The women go outside to watch and muse that Bri and Matt are probably making out. How’d they guess?

One women thinks the group date will be a s%*t show. She’s right. Because all the dates have to be outside for some reason, they carry umbrellas as it’s raining. Good thing the show has enough, because cochlear implants shouldn’t get wet. Some are water resistant, but I don’t know what brand Abigail has.

Matt tells them that he’s confident he sees his potential wife in the group. Since he’s a visual person, he thought it would be fun to have a little photo shoot and visualize what that special day might look like with one of them. Right. He thought this, not the producers. Anyway, the women have 10 minutes to put on one of the wedding dresses and accessories inside. Maybe half of the group gets a photo taken with the groom, and some even get kisses in while the others watch. The whole thing is every bit as cringe-worthy as you can imagine.

Capture the Heart

Then Chris shows up. This always means a twist. He says to stay happily married takes a lot of hard work. Matt is looking for a woman who will truly fight for him. So even though half of the girls didn’t get a photo shoot, they all have to walk through a forest to meet up with Matt again. Is Abigail able to follow when Chris explains the game was Capture the Heart?

The women are split into two teams. There’s paint and other “weapons” like purses, and no rules. As the women discuss strategy, I wonder if Abigail is keeping up. How does she feel during the competition? She probably can’t tell as well as the others if someone is approaching. Is she worried about her CI coming off? When water is sprayed, what does she do? When the camera pans to her in a group shot, she isn’t looking at the person speaking. Was she relying on her hearing, or did she figure it doesn’t matter?

Alas, Abigail’s on the losing team. The wedding dresses get trashed. The winning team spends a “romantic, incredible night” with Matt, while the losers go home and “wonder who’s making out with Matt.”

Back at the house, the losing team tells the women there what happened. Abigail and her paint-splattered face starts it off, “Well, the red team won…” Later on in the conversation, as one person is talking, the camera pans to Abigail, who’s looking down. Is she following the conversation? Does she care?

Rose Ceremony

Abigail tells the camera that going into the rose ceremony, she’s really really nervous. She’s excited to see Matt because she didn’t get to talk to him much this week after getting the First Impression Rose. “That’s why I just really want to talk to him and just kind of let him know that I’m here and hopefully keep that connection going,” she says.

She gets the first conversation with Matt (at least, that’s how the editing portrays it). They tell each other they’ve missed each other and how it feels like they haven’t seen each other in forever. She says they had such a good first night and then there was the group date, which is hard when you’re trying to date the same guy.

Then Abigail does something clever. She tells Matt she should give him a little signal – like she can fix her earring or pull her ear, and it’ll be like her blowing him a kiss or something. He can do it right back, she says. “Or I’ll stare at you the whole night and wait for you to catch my eye,” she adds. They work out their signal and it’s very cute.

https://twitter.com/marishakishviIi/status/1348820121150771202

Matt tells the camera that Abigail is one of the sweetest people he’s ever met. He doesn’t have to try hard to have a good time. The conversation flows and she makes him laugh. He helps her off the couch when their conversation is done. “You saw me struggling?” she laughs. No kiss – at least not one that’s shown.

Drama

Marylynn – a contestant involved in drama with the season’s villain, “Queen Victoria,” — tells Abigail that she can’t do this anymore. Abigail asks, “You want a hug? Come here,” and hugs her. Aw.

When Matt calls Abigail’s name in the rose ceremony, she pulls on her ear as she steps down. She used their secret signal! Alas, the camera doesn’t show us his reaction. Did he notice? Did he respond in kind?

The episode ends with a woman (Sarah) almost fainting and the medics being called. And those dreaded three words on the screen: “To be continued…”

As MSN.com says in its episode recap, “Abigail, who melted Matt’s heart in the premiere, has managed to stay clear of the toxicity so far. Viewers saw much less of her on-screen Monday night because she didn’t score an individual date.”

At least we know Abigail is safe for another week!