TV & Movies

Genevieve Had The Most Amicable Bachelor Exit

Both she and Clayton realized it wasn’t meant to be.

by Kadin Burnett
Genevieve Parisi meeting Clayton Echard on night one of 'The Bachelor'.
ABC/John Fleenor

On the Feb. 14 episode of The Bachelor, Genevieve Parisi did what Elizabeth Corrigan couldn’t: she ended the reign of season “villain” Shanae Ankney. But despite winning the rose on their dreaded two-on-one date, she didn’t stick around for long. In the following episode, Genevieve went home.

Things for Genevieve began to unravel once the contestants traveled to Austria, where next week’s hometowns were on everyone’s minds. At this point, Clayton giving someone a rose meant he was for sure going to meet their families, and the pressure of that began to weigh on Genevieve. She was the only remaining woman who hadn’t received a one-on-one date with Clayton — despite the fact that Sarah Hamrick had received two, only further highlighting how underdeveloped Genevieve and Clayton’s relationship was compared to the other contestants.

Making matters worse, Genevieve did not receive a one-on-one, but instead joined the other women for a group date where they all attended couples therapy with Clayton. A lot of the women seemed intimidated by the surprise psychoanalysis, explaining that they have trouble opening up when they’re uncomfortable. Genevieve, specifically, seemed to have the most difficulty opening up during her session with Clayton.

“I want to get through and I want to understand who you are. I think my fear is that I wonder if it’s possible,” Clayton told her as she struggled to share her feelings. “I didn’t want to put pressure on you because I know how challenging this environment can be. But hometowns are next week.”

After that, he asked to speak to Genevieve privately outside, explaining to the cameras that if Genevieve couldn’t let down her walls, they wouldn’t be able to move forward.

ABC/John Fleenor

Once they sat down, it seemed like Genevieve knew the writing was on the wall. “We’ve had so much fun and I’ve learned so much about you and enjoyed having you here throughout the entire journey. But with hometowns around the corner and having to meet families, it’s really hard for me to see meeting your family when I’m not able to see what’s inside the walls,” Clayton said.

Genevieve took it in stride. “I’ve taken a long time to let my walls down and I haven’t even done that completely. So I completely understand. You have very strong connections that I hope you can see meeting their families and I think we’re both not there yet.”

Ultimately, Clayton said that they simply ran out of time. And with that, he asked to walk her out.

Genevieve was upset, but seemed to have made peace with the situation. “I have some stuff to work on, that’s for sure. But I have no regrets because I did everything I could,” she said. “It just wasn’t meant to be.”