ABC Tyler Norris on the ropes.
Rachel Recchia stunned Bachelor Nation fans on Monday when she pulled the rug out from under contestant, Tyler Norris, right before meeting his family. The two spent the day portion of their hometown date at the Wildwood boardwalk playing games, eating fair food and meeting Norris’ friends.
According to The Philly Voice, “Norris, 25, is the owner of the Spirit Ball shop on the Wildwood boardwalk and a graduate of both Wildwood Catholic and Cabrini University in Radnor Township.”
Norris appeared to be having an amazing time, but it was evident to viewers that Recchia was not enjoying herself. She could even be heard in the bathroom saying, “I feel like I am going to throw up.”
WATCH the Awkward Breakup
Seeing Norris go on and on about how much he loved and adored Recchia while she was trying to get the words out to end things was, to say the least, awkward.
On August 24, Norris admitted to People, “Watching, obviously, my journey back wasn’t easy. It brought up a lot of like different emotions, but it made me realize that there’s nothing I would have done differently.”
Norris added, “I had a chance to show somebody my hometown, and I love my hometown. I love the Jersey Shore. So getting a chance to show that [to] somebody else, I was like super excited. It seemed like everything was going so great. But then seeing how she felt making the decision that she did, I understood it.”
That is more that can be said for the way fans feel about the production crew following Norris to his family’s home after getting dumped, and filming their reactions when he told them Recchia was going to be a no-show.
In an August 23 interview with Extra, Norris was asked how his parents felt about the situation. He admitted that they “were definitely upset. I walked in by myself, they were just like ‘where is she?’ and I was just like ‘she’s not coming. She’s not gonna be able to make it'”
Norris continued, “For them, it was just tough to see how I felt in the moment. Being a parent, you want the best for your son. They’ve seen me through other breakups, too. But the biggest thing is…I would not trade my family for anybody. They always know how to make me happy, how to bring me up.”
Fan Reactions to the ‘Double Gut Punch’
Many fans were outraged by the fact that the cameras actually filmed Norris having to break the embarrassing news to his family. Reality Steve, a staple blogger in Bachelor Nation, posted on Twitter on August 22, “Man, double gut punch. Did they really need to shoot this family scene? Brutal.”
Many viewers agreed. One posted, “Such a terribly embarrassing production decision with Tyler’s family on.” Another replied, “Exactly 💯💯💯 producers is this a contest how low can you go.” One fan commented, “It was such poor taste,” and another confessed, “I had to turn it off.”
“That was hard to watch,” Another viewer tweeted. Someone else commented, “Agreed. I’ve thought they’ve gone low before, but airing this family’s pain and impending loss was absolutely unnecessary and invasive.”
Ultimately, Norris thinks Recchia handled the situation the best she could. “I respect how she went about it,” he told People. “I mean, she did it with the most class and did it the way that you’re supposed to, and didn’t string me along.”