The much anticipated Women Tell All is finally here. After a cliffhanger episode last week — where Kelsey writes Joey a note that says, “We need to talk,” — we are left eagerly awaiting what that “talk” could be. 

But before we find out, the women from Joey’s season all gathered to hash out the drama — where there seemed to be more commercials than the actual women telling all. 

Despite that, joining Jesse on stage was: Loren, Allison, Edwina, Starr, Evalin, Taylor, Katelyn, Autumn, Kelsey T., Lea, Sydney, Jess, Madina, Lexi, Jenn and, fan favorite, Maria. Let’s jump right into it!

Lea’s card

The first of the drama that was talked about was Lea’s card she received on night one that allowed her to steal a one-on-one. Jesse asked the women if they would have kept the card, unlike Lea who threw it in the fire, and almost all of them raised their hand that they would have kept it. 

Lea said, “I knew it wasn’t right to use it. When I did that, no one had to worry or have anxiety about it.” But Maria and Starr quickly chimed in both saying, “Acting like you did it for us is where we had the problem. It was a great performance till it wasn’t.” The crowd erupted in applause, and I personally loved seeing Madina stepping in because Lea was the one that caused so many issues with her. 

Madina vs. Lea

This was one of the main topics from the season I was excited to hear talked about tonight. In the middle of the season, Lea pulled Madina aside and told her she basically has to be mean to Maria because Sydney got sent home. 

At the Women Tell All Madina said, “It was a waste of everyone’s time. Don’t say you’re a girl’s girl and then act like that. I can be friends with whoever I want and you owe me an apology.” Leaving Maria, and the rest of the audience, to stand up cheering. 

Lea responded with, “I never meant to make you feel that way. That wasn’t my place and I’m so sorry. But, you took that convo and went with it right to Maria.” Leaving Maria to chime in and say, “No one was happy for me when I walked back in after the two-on-one. It was the most silent room I had ever been in. But Madina looked at me and said, ‘You look beautiful.’” Which was the perfect way to prove that Madina was the bigger person. 

She said, she said

Finally we can get some clarity about if Maria supposedly told Sydney to “Shut the **** up,” which was a hot topic during their two-on-one. 

Lauren chimed right in and said, “Yeah she didn’t, because I was the one who said that to her.” Leaving the audience, and myself, laughing. Despite Lauren saying multiple times that she was the one who said it, Lea said, “I just don’t want to be gaslighted.” 

To which Maria stood out of her chair and said, “Oh, did you get that one from Sydney’s book?” This left Lea walking off stage crying as we headed into, yet another, commercial break. 

Coming back from the break, Lea walked back to her seat crying — to which Maria got up and gave her a quick hug.

Madina’s age comment

It was the comment that started it all. Madina just simply said, “I feel behind because I am the oldest here,” and those words caused all the drama of the season. 

Madina said she shared the age comment because she just simply wanted to share an insecurity she had. She also said, “It was disheartening to see how this was unveiled. Bullied was not the right word. Maria and Sydney were also both coming at me to not say anything.” Sydney quickly spoke up and said she felt compelled to say something — I’m not really sure where she felt compelled from, because literally nothing was going on. 

Edwina quickly spoke up and said, “Sydney never liked her. It was never about the age. Don’t try to stop me, I saw everything in the house.” Which, once again, everyone in the crowd erupted with applause. And left Maria to say to Sydney, “I speak the truth, and you make up lies.” 

Jess vs. Maria 

Another one of the unnecessary drama moments was, Jess stepping herself into the Maria drama just because her friends were involved.  

Jess started off by saying, “I was wondering ‘Why me,’ when she (Maria) would come at me. There would be tiffs and she would constantly interrupt me.” Which, at an unfortunate time, Maria interrupted her on stage and said, “No. We’re not gonna bring this up if it’s not true.” 

Jess continued on to say that Maria would constantly tell her to shut up, which Maria quickly slammed back and said those claims weren’t true. Lexi chimed in to say to Sydney, “Is it her delivery, or just someone having a different opinion than your friend group.” Leaving Jess to be silent. 

Lexi Hot Seat

During Lexi’s Hot Seat, she was brought up on stage to talk more about why she chose to leave. During Week 6, Lexi chose to remove herself because she felt, with her Endometriosis, Joey and her were on a different timeline for having children. 

Lexi said, “That decision was not easy. It was only fair to myself and him that I left. He handled it so well, and just listened to me — I didn’t feel judged. He told me wished he could have a toolkit to help me feel better whenever I had flare ups.” 

Lexi added that she has received so much love from people in the same situation as her and she feels so grateful. And Golden Bachelor contestant Susan added in that she admires Lexi and has so much strength and love for her. 

When asked what the future looks like for her, Lexi said she is ready to meet her person, and that Joey has set a high bar for her. 

Jenn Hot Seat

Jenn was sent home right before Hometowns, and when asked about her time with Joey she said, “For the first time I was able to open up with Joey. It was tough to wonder what happened because our values, and everything, were so aligned.” 

As Jesse asked how this experience has impacted her family Jenn said, “My mom has seen me grow into my own, and it’s been monumental to our relationship.” She added that she is on track to find love, and is more ready than ever. 

Maria Hot Seat

As the fan favorite, Maria, took the stage, the crowd erupted in screams and applause. During and after her time on the show, Bachelor Nation has grown to love Maria — with people even saying she should be “The Bachelorette.”

When on stage, Maria said, “Our connection was undeniably strong. But everything happens for a reason. It’s beautiful to rewatch and for my family to see how happy I was. It was easy.” 

Then Jesse asked the pressing question of why she thought Sydney didn’t like her. Sydney responded with, “I pride myself on being honest. But, I was annoying and it was so cringey to watch. I don’t blame you for any of it.” Maria then said, “I will always stand up for my character. But Sydney, the hate you have been getting has crossed the line and I don’t condone it. Same with you Lea. I want us to be good.” 

Lea then responded back saying, “I never got to know you for you, and I’m so sorry. I watch the T.V. and I go, ‘I love her and I don’t know her,’ and I wish I did.” Maria then got up and gave Sydney and Lea a hug, leaving even more of Bachelor Nation saying she should be “The Bachelorette.” 

Back to the note and the final three

Finally we are able to see what this note fiasco is about. As we jump right back into where we left off, Kelsey goes into Joey’s room, as Joey holds a note that reads “We need to talk.”

Joey is literally freaking out because he thinks someone isn’t choosing him, and I think this proves he has the strongest connection with Kelsey because he said, “I don’t want her to leave. I want her to want to be here.”

As they sat down Kelsey said, “We made a promise to be honest and communicate, and I know how important that is. I want you to know how I feel. I want you to know that it’s hard not seeing you, and the days are so hard and wondering with my thoughts. It’s because I care about you. I just want to tell you how much I miss you when you’re not there.” 

This had to be one of the most underwhelming moments in Bachelor history, and clearly showed the producers wanted her to do this, because it was so unnecessary.  

Joey responded with, “It’s gonna take time for me to come back. I’m not gonna snap back out of these emotions. Sometimes I hold back my emotions, and I don’t want to feel heartbroken. So it sucks I had to feel this.” Meanwhile Kelsey is just sitting there probably wondering why they made her do this.

Rose ceremony 

After the “dramatic” note, there are two final roses to hand out. Joey handed out his first rose to Daisy and his second to Kelsey, leaving Rachel to be sent home.  

As he walked Rachel out, Joey said, “The worst thing I could do is keep you here if I can’t feel love for you. I just wasn’t able to get there.” 

Rachel & Joey at the Women Tell All

As Rachel joined Jesse on stage she said, “As sad as I was, it was still a beautiful moment because you could see the love. I have no regrets about it.”  

Joey joined Rachel on stage and the two talked about their experience. Joey told Rachel, “ When you were giving so much and I realized I couldn’t give it, the best thing I could do was move on.” Rachel said back, “Our friendship was solid and we got out of it what we wanted. Whoever I end up dating has some big shoes to fill. You pushed me to see my worth.” 

Following that moment, Rachel opened up about the hate she had been receiving. Rachel said, “The past couple days since Hometowns aired, I’ve been getting a lot of hateful messages — especially racist comments. I don’t understand why. I’m sad because my parents enjoyed the Hometown episode, and now people are attacking my culture.”

Joey, and the women on stage, showed their love and support for Rachel sharing that she is spreading light on an issue that impacts them all. Jesse added a message to fans to be more kind with their words, because they have impact. 

Closing

As Joey catches up with the women on stage, Kesley T. shared that she is now very close with her dad, and he apologized for a lot of things. 

Sydney shared that when she was getting a lot of hate, Joey reached out to her personally to see how she was doing. 

Following that, and some bloopers of course, we said goodbye to Joey as he left the stage. Jesse said that normally “The Bachelor” stays to watch the previews for the finale, but this was just so hard he didn’t want Joey to relive it — hopefully it is as dramatic as they say. 

So stay tuned for the three hour finale next week, as we see how Joey’s journey concludes! 

This story was written by Sophie Goldstein. She can be reached at [email protected].