Missing in action! Bachelor Nation was seemingly more focused on finalist Rachel Recchia’s messed up manicure than the “rose ceremony from hell” on the Monday, March 14, episode of The Bachelor.
While part one of the season finale had no shortage of drama (cough cough, the multiple “I love you” exchanges), fans found themselves hyper-focused on that fact that Rachel’s press-on nail seemed to have popped off at some point throughout the evening. Because while she had perfect, pastel pink polish on every finger, her right middle finger seemingly got snagged.
The extremely devout group of watchers wasted no time sharing their thoughts on social media. In fact, Twitter was in an all-out tizzy.
“Am I the only one distracted by Rachel’s missing nail? I would be crying too!!” one user questioned, while another said, “All of Rachel’s eyelashes have fallen out and she got a nail missing. This poor girl is in a CRISIS.” Someone else added, “No one told Rachel she was missing a nail? She’s going through it, huh?”
The pilot certainly had an emotional rollercoaster of an evening, as Clayton Echard told her, as well as finalist Gabby Windey, that he was in love with — and intimate with — both of them.
“I want to apologize for putting you both through this tonight,” the athlete told them. “I do appreciate you all giving me the time to talk with you both, and I do understand that as I hand these roses out tonight, that you can choose what you want to do and you can choose not to accept the rose if you do not feel that you are able to. I just want you to know that I hope that I’ve said enough, but I thank you for at least giving us the time to talk through it.”
The dramatic ceremony left fans of the show unhappy, with many sharing their thoughts on social media. “These two are entitled to a cash settlement from Clayton and ABC for emotional damages,” a user captioned a photo of Rachel and Gabby. “DID CLAYTON KNOW THESE GIRLS WOULD WATCH THIS SHOW BACK?!?! AND SEE HIM SAYING THE SAME DAMN THING TO EVERYONE???” someone else added.
In a December 2021 interview with Us Weekly, which was conducted following the wrap of the season’s filming, Clayton reflected on the conversation he had with Rachel and Gabby, which was teased in the show’s promo.
“It was upsetting for the women to hear and rightfully so,” he said. “I understand that. My big this is I’m someone who’s very transparent and I know that there’s questions of, you know, ‘Why did he say this?’ … Just understand that once the show airs, that whole scene will play out and there will be an explanation and people will then understand — or at least they’ll be able to see the full picture of what actually happened.”
