On Tuesday's episode of "The Bachelorette," the men had all the right words for Tayshia, but could they stand up to a lie detector test?
First, however, Tayshia had to put a stop to the "teenage boy" drama between Bennett and Noah, which she settled with an impromptu two-on-one date.
After speaking to both suitors, together and individually, Tayshia decided to send Bennett packing. Noah wasn't completely off the hook though and had to wait for the rose ceremony to learn his fate.
While Ed, Demar and Spencer were sent home during the rose ceremony, Noah was given one more chance to make things right.
Afterwards, JoJo Fletcher, subbing for host Chris Harrison, upped the ante by telling the remaining suitors that the rose ceremony would be their ticket to next week's hometown dates and a chance to introduce Tayshia to their families.
The first opportunity to earn a rose was Ben, who was invited on a fun one-on-one date that began with a scavenger hunt. However, Tayshia was more interested in getting her date to open up about himself.
That led to a deeply emotional discussion in which the Army veteran, who previously revealed a years-long battle with bulimia, shared an even darker part of his past that he hadn't revealed to anyone else.
After realizing military service wasn't working out for him, Ben suffered a broken back when he was 26 that left him barely able to walk. Ben said he attempted suicide twice. But, after undergoing "aggressive therapy," he proudly declared, "The person that you see before you today isn't that person." Afterwards, they were treated to a private performance by country singer Adam Hambrick, who serenaded the couple with his new song, “Between Me and the End of the World.”
Honesty was at the top of Tayshia’s list for a soul mate, and she put Zac, Brendan, Ivan, Noah and Riley to the test by inviting them on a lie detector date and some of the results were surprising.
Out of fairness, Tayshia went first and revealed that she is "truly falling in love" with "more than one person." However, her emphatic "no" response to whether she regretted sending anyone home touched off a yellow light, indicating that she wasn't really sure. The men suspected she was having second thoughts about Bennett.
Things became even more interesting when the men took their turns. Zac admitted he once cheated on a girl, which raised a red flag with Tayshia, who is of the opinion "once a cheater always a cheater." It turns out Zac's indiscretion happened when he was in sixth grade, where he kissed another girl while supposedly dating someone else.
Riley, on the other hand, didn't make it past the first question: "What is your name?" He confessed that his real name is Dwayne Henderson Jr. and that he was named after his father. Riley went onto reveal that, late in life, he became estranged from his mother and learned the years-long tension between them was orchestrated by his dad. Upon learning that his father meddled with their relationship in order to shut his mom out of his and his siblings' lives, Riley legally changed his name.
Tayshia was impressed by all the conversations she had with each of her suitors, but with hometown dates just a week away and "so many guys" with whom she's "falling in love" with, Tayshia said she needed more time to decide who would win the date rose.
That decision was about to get even tougher when Bennett unexpectedly showed up at her door. After once again apologizing for appearing to question her integrity and decision-making ability, Bennett asked Tayshia for another chance and confessed that he was in love with her.
It turned out that Tayshia, as the others had suspected, still had unresolved feelings for Bennett. The episode ended with Tayshia telling Bennett that she would have a decision for him the following day, and if the coming attractions were any indication, the guys are in for an unpleasant surprise.
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, get help 24/7 by contacting the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or online at SuicidePreventionLifeline.org.
