Season 19 of The Bachelorette kicked off with the leads being Rachel Recchia and Gabby Windey. The number of contestants competing for their affections this season started with 32! Aven Jones is a 28-year-old Sales Executive from Massachusetts and one of the final three contestants of bachelorette Rachel Recchia alongside Zach Shallcross and Tino Franco, the eventual winner of Season 19. Zach Shallcross eliminated himself from the show after the fantasy suite experience, having felt that it “felt a little off” and that he felt like he had seen “The Bachelorette Rachel and not the real Rachel.” After Zach’s self-elimination, The Bachelorette was left with Tino Franco and Aven Jones as its finalists. If you have watched the season from the start, you’d know that Aven had the upper hand for quite some time. The chemistry between him and Rachel was unlike what it had been with the other contestants, and Rachel had, on many occasions, during the reality dating show. She even told her mother about how she was the most confident in their relationship and quoted him as “the most incredible partner.”
So Why Exactly Did He Leave?
We’re surprised at that turnout as much as the next person! After their exploding chemistry during the hometown date and fantasy suite arcs, you’d expect them to have made it to the end of the show. However, the finale’s start spelled their downward spiral in the worst way when Aven finally had to meet Rachel’s family and friends. It seemed to be going great at first, but when the questions became personal, so did the issues concerning Rachel and Aven’s relationship.
During the Fantasy Suite, Aven and Rachel’s conversations included talk of their future relationship, and both seemed to want the same things. However, when Rachel’s friends asked Aven whether he was ready to get engaged to Rachel by the end of Season 19, he held his reservations. Though he was confident in the strength of his feelings and his desire to be with Rachel, he did not feel the same way about proposing to her during the short period of a reality TV show. Unfortunately, Rachel, who had been incredibly confident about his intentions, felt “blindsided” by this.
“I think the one thing I wanted out of this was, when you sat down with my family, that we were on the same page,” Rachel told Aven tearfully during the moments that led to their emotional separation. “And I feel so blindsided by you.”
In response, Aven tries to assure Rachel that his feelings for her have not changed, and he wants to have a life with her after everything is said and done, but sadly, he can’t get through to her.
“I need someone who’s sure about me, and you’re not sure about me,” Rachel told him. “I feel like I can’t move forward. It’s over.”
https://youtu.be/zwJ8j1VCALU
After this sudden and unexpected conclusion to their journey, Rachel and Aven took a moment to process everything that had happened. Avin admits that he “just wants her to be happy in all of this.” When nothing more could be said on the matter, the two hugged it out and said their goodbyes to each other.
“I have no idea where I’m gonna be going from here because I didn’t think I was gonna be leaving here… without Rachel,” Aven said on camera, heartbroken. “And I will always think that if I did something different, things would’ve been different with us… Forever.”
Aven’s feelings got across to us clearly through this episode for sure, and fans were severely disappointed to see him go. The audience’s response to Rachel dumping Aven was not very sympathetic, and many felt she was being unreasonable. The unanimous response was that Rachel didn’t seem interested in a relationship with Aven and was more focused on being engaged by the show’s end.
“Rachel broke up with Aven because she just wanted a ring.” One fan tweeted irritably on Twitter.
After leaving The Bachelorette, Aven reflects on his journey with Rachel in a post on Instagram and ends it by wishing her nothing but “eternal happiness and love.”
