The Bachelorette Desiree - Episode 7 - Recap

In The Bachelorette Season 9, Episode 7, Desiree and her five remaining guys are in Madeira, an island off the coast of Portugal. There are three one-on-one dates and a two-on-one, and the latter date is the only one in which a rose is given out. It's a big week for the guys, because the following week is Hometown Dates. Read my recap here.

Girl Talk

Des—or rather, the Bachelorette producers—invited Catherine, Lesley, and Jackie from her season of The Bachelor to give her some advice! Free trip to paradise! I really liked the girls that season, especially the eventual winner, Catherine. Des tells the girls about how she's not sure if Brooks is ready, and she's also prepared to answer their questions about the guys. Best body? Drew. Most athletic? Chris. Brooks has the best eyes, Drew is the best kisser, and the most adventurous is Zak. When Catherine asks The Golden Question—which I can only guess is who is the most well-endowed—Des answers with Chris. Haha.

Chris thinks Brooks is a threat; he can tell that they have a connection. It makes him "perturbed." Who ever uses that word while speaking? MY MAN CHRIS DOES!

Brooks' One-on-One Date

They drive to a mountain through the freaking clouds. That's absolutely gorgeous. Maybe one of the most beautiful destinations they've been on in this show. She explains her four steps of falling in love with someone; first you're skipping along happily, then gaining some more steam by jogging, then really revving it up when running. When you've fallen in love, you're at the finish line. I like that. She's on the road to falling in love with him. Brooks knows he's past "like" and is now trying to figure out if he's at the "love" stage yet.

"Picture the best dream you've ever had, times that by 10, and live in it," Des tells the camera. "This is the fairytale I signed up for." Wow, she loves him. You can tell, just by watching that clip.

"We're on Cloud Nine!" Des and Brooks scream.

Then she verbalizes it. "I'm falling in love with Brooks," she confesses to the camera. She calls it one of the best days she's ever had. When they talk about how far along they are in the four steps, Brooks thinks he's jogging while Des thinks they're running. That's awkward. And not good for Des. Then he admits it: "I'm a little behind in my emotional process." So yeah, it seems like she likes him more than he likes her, at this point. Which is rare at this point in the game. Then fireworks go off in the background. Boom.

Chris' One-on-One Date

YESS Chris gets a one-on-one! Thank you Bachelorette producers.

They take a boat to a private island, where they then write their own Message in a Bottle. They pen a poem together to send out to someone else who wants to find love. Classic Chris! Their poem is really cute and romantic.

Obligatory Chris pic. You know me.

"I have something else to share with her," he tells the camera. "I came into this whole situation as a skeptic… but I think she could be the one I want to sped the rest of my life with." That's what they all say! And Chris is finally feeling it. He then says that he's fallen in love with her. He's the first this season to admit it.

Chris is super nervous to tell Des that he loves her. He plans to that night, and at dinner, he's sweaty and jittery.

Like always, he expresses his feelings through poem. He must be really nervous! He finishes his poem with a "I truly mean... that I love you." She has tears in her eyes as they kiss. Gosh he's so romantic. "Chris telling me that he loves me, that just blew me threw the roof," she says. Matt White's "Love and Affection" plays in the background as they kiss goodbye. (Matt White was the one who played at their private concert earlier in the season. Aw, that's a nice touch.)

However, is the "I Love You" too soon to say? He hasn't introduced her to his family yet. When was the last time a contestant revealed his or her love to the lead before hometown dates? Plus, here, however, it seems like Chris likes Des more than Des likes Chris. Oyyyy Chris!

Michael's One-on-One Date

They fly down the streets of Madeira in a toboggan. Looks super fun. They also try tropical fruits from vendors and eat dinner in the middle of the street. Too bad I don't remember much else from their date, because it wasn't very interesting… whoops.

Tobogganing wheeee

Michael thought he wouldn't be able to love again, but he feels blessed that she came along and gave him hope. That's probably the most vulnerable he's been, since Mr. Bigshot Attorney has been Mr. Hardass throughout the season. They get a private concert by an opera singer. Anddd now he says he's falling in love with Des! Another instance where the guy likes Des more than the other way around.

Zak and Drew's Two-on-One Date

They're racing go-karts around a track! She taunts them with an offer: whoever wins the race gets a surprise. All three of them compare racing on the track to falling in love. Zak wins the race… but does he win the rose? And Des' heart on their curved pathway to find love?!?!?

Zak's "prize" is to get the first one-on-one time with Des later that date. He recaps their relationship through drawings in a huge sketch pad since they both like to draw, describing each photo with an anecdote. I love the first picture of his abs. Zak, too, wants to tell Des that he loves her. I definitely don't think Des has reached that point with Zak yet.

Drew tells Des that he's never had these feelings before. "I've fallen in love with you, and I've never had that before," he says to her. Not sure about this one; maybe they like each other the same amount. His sister is "severely mentally handicapped," as Drew says, and he wants Des to help pick her up from the airport. She said she'd be honored.

After their individual one-on-one times, Des gives the rose to the guy she's positive she wants to visit in his hometown. That guy is Drew. 

Pre-Rose Ceremony

In her talk with Chris Harrison, she admits that she's already at the finish line with Brooks! So basically, she's in love with Brooks! I'm surprised we're getting to see this so early in the season. Very surprised. Isn't that game over? Why are we still watching? I'm confused, since that pretty much takes the drama out of the season. The other four guys can leave now. But let's have Chris stay so we can watch him, right?

However, she's scared because he hasn't told her that he loved her yet. She's still keeping an open mind with the other guys… and then says that she's fallen in love with Chris. Okay. Is the drama in the fact that we don't know if Brooks will love her back?

Rose Ceremony

After Drew already received a rose earlier that day, she hands out roses to Brooks, Chris, and Zak. Michael is sent home. 

Michael tells her that she's heartbroken but that he still thinks the world of him.

Next week is hometown dates! We meet the families of each of the final guys. As always, there's a token Kooky Parent. Will it be Zak's family for singing a song that they wrote for her? Chris' dad for tucking her shirt into her pants for her? We'll see! I'm excited for the hometown dates; they're always fun to watch.

What did you all think? Is Brooks the clear frontrunner? But what about the dark horse, Chris? Or Drew? Let me know in comments!