Fans first met the Bachelor Nation star on Colton Underwood's season of the show.
Zach Shallcross has yet another woman who's after his heart. On Monday's episode of The Bachelor, Tahzjuan Hawkins turned her scheduled appearance into something totally unexpected.
The Bachelor Nation star, who first vied for Colton Underwood's heart and later appeared on Bachelor in Paradise, was welcomed on the show during a group date as one of three franchise alums who display "bad b**ch" energy. Afterwards, though, Tahzjuan, unimpressed with Zach's women, decided to pursue the tech executive herself.
That wasn't all the went down Monday night, though. Christina went deep during her one-on-one date with Zach, the Bachelor himself got emotional with another one of his potential wives, and two women provided the first real conflict of the season.
Keep reading for a full recap of episode 2 of The Bachelor.
Tahzjuan Inserts Herself into the Season
Brianna, Brooklyn, Katherine, Mercedes, Bailey, Davia, Cat, Genevie and Kylee landed the first group date of the season, and were taken via party bus to a "bad b**ch energy" clinic hosted by Latto.
Next, Tahzjuan, along with Victoria Fuller and Courtney Robertson, arrived to judge the women on what they'd learned about being a "bad b**ch." The women had to prove their stuff by strutting down a catwalk and publicly recalling a time they were "a real bad b**ch." Zach was left impressed, telling the cameras, "All the women blew me away."
While Zach's ladies thought that marked the end of the women's visit, Tahzjuan wasn't ready to go home just yet. "Zach is very cute, very easy on the eyes. If Zach said, 'Come join my season,' I'd be like, 'Buckle up. Everyone get ready,'" she said in a confessional.
During the after-party, Katherine and Zach pushed past the friendship stage of their relationship into romantic interest with a kiss that left the nurse "flustered." Brianna also moved her relationship forward, after Zach assured her she was there "for a reason" and gave her a kiss.
Just when the women were celebrating the lack of drama from their group, Tahzjuan arrived to shake things up.
"A bad b**ch is about to enter the building," she told the cameras. "Watch out, ladies. Zach is an amazing guy. He's a very sweet, kind person, so I'm here to see if there's anything there with Zach... I am here to shake things up a little bit. Zach is the full package. He's also very real and nervous too, which is so endearing. I think Zach checks all the boxes. I think if Zach's willing to give me the opportunity, then I would love to join this journey with him."
With that, Tahzjuan confessed to Zach that she'd "love to add myself to the mix" of his season, which the tech executive called "new and interesting." While Zach left to think things through, the women confronted Tahzjuan about her unexpected appearance, and they didn't take too kindly to her explanation.
"Today, some of you guys missed your opportunity to really connect with Zach," she told them. "It was just like, 'Who is his wife in the group?' I saw you guys on the stage and it was just very painful to watch. If you guys were in my position and you see something, you'd go after it... If my conversation makes you uncomfortable, then that speaks for itself."
When one woman noted that Tahzjuan's approach rubbed her the wrong way, the real estate agent replied by stating, "Unless you guys want a participation trophy, someone has to come up on top."
In the end, though, Tahzjuan didn't get her wish. Zach told the women about his decision after letting Tahzjuan down privately.
"Tahz wanted to join the group and I couldn't say yes to that," he explained. "I'm establishing actual feelings with all of you... and I just wanted to let you know that she's no longer here."
In confessionals, Zach revealed that "it wasn't the right time" to welcome a new girl, while Tahzjuan sobbed over her lack of luck in love. Katherine ended the night on a positive note, though, earning the group date rose from Zach.
Christina Tells Zach She's a Mom
Christina gushed over the "validating" feeling of earning the first one-on-one date of the season, but she still felt nerves over telling Zach that she's a single mom. The content creator let that reveal lie during the daytime portion of her date, enjoying a PDA-filled helicopter ride, before heading to a barbecue with Zach's parents and other family members.
"It is a pretty special feeling knowing my family really does like her," Zach told the cameras, as his mom showed off his baby pictures to Christina.
"When his mom pulled out the baby album, it reminded me I do miss my baby and I've got some conversations to be had tonight," Christina said. "I don't want it to seem like I'm hiding anything because I'm really not. I wanted him to see the side of me he was able to see today before telling him that I'm a mom. I'm proud of my circumstances, but I understand that it's a lot... If it is too much, that's his decision."
At their dinner, Christina finally told Zach about her 5-year-old daughter, Blakely.
"She just started kindergarten. I had to send her off for her first day of school by myself. I want to have those experiences with somebody, life partner, best friend, someone to do life with, but love," she said. "I actually know what love is now."
Zach admitted that the news was "a lot to take in," but told Christina, "What I am looking for in the future is a family to build upon. The fact that you already have someone in this world like that is incredible... I don't want you to feel stressed about that. It's scary, don't get me wrong... It's something I do need to think about because it scares me s**tless."
Christina seemed thrilled with Zach's response to her, but in a confessional, he questioned if he was ready to become a dad.
"What this does is it kind of introduces a timeline real quick. That's my fear. I don't know if I'm ready for it. I don't know if anyone's ready for something like this," he said. "I don't know how to react to this. I'm not perfect. I'm scared of it. I think sometimes you have to be selfish."
Zach reiterated some of his fears to Christina, but ultimately told her, "I really, really appreciated my time with you and I do want to offer you this rose because I think the world of you. I want to take the time with you because I think you're worth it and you are showing me sides of someone I really want to spend a long time with. Obviously, I can tell you're a kickass mother and I want to get to know more about Blakely, but I also want to figure this out for myself too and find out if I'm ready for this."
Christina happily accepted the rose, telling Zach, "The fact that you're really, really thinking about it, I'm just so thankful."
Zach Opens Up to Jess
On the second group date of the week, Ariel confessed her feelings to Zach and was rewarded with a kiss from the Bachelor. Greer also got a kiss from Zach, while he told Kaity, "I really enjoy hanging out with you."
It was Jess who earned the group date rose, after admitting to Zach that she's "crushing" on him and asking for him to share something personal with her. He did just that by telling her about nearly dying when he was little.
"For him to open up something about him, that just meant the world to me," Jess confessed. "I just felt like time stopped."
Not feeling the love was Gabi, whose nerves about finally getting some time alone with Zach took over and caused her to start "word vomiting" during their time together.
Brianna Butts Head With Christina
At the start of the cocktail party, Zach spilled the beans about introducing Christina to his family, before he finally came to an understanding with Gabi. After Gabi expressed her fears to him, Zach revealed he gets "giddy and butterflies" around her, leading her to feel "very happy."
Meanwhile, Brooklyn taught Zach how to rodeo, as Brianna worried about her uncertain relationship with Zach. America's first impression rose winner channeled her emotions by going after Christina, fuming over how the latter woman jokingly said she hated her on night one. As for why this was just coming up now, Brianna said that she "didn't realize how much it hurt me" until Christina's successful one-on-one date.
When Brianna confronted Christina about how she made her question "if this would be a safe environment," the content creator thanked her for sharing and apologized. While Brianna told Christina that she was choosing to believe there was "no malicious intent," Brianna still told Zach about not getting along with someone in the house. Zach, though, hoping to stay out of the drama, advised Brianna against telling him who made her feel this way, and asked the entrepreneur why things felt "strict and serious" between them. She didn't have an answer to that, and entered the rose ceremony feeling uncertain.
In the end, Brianna did earn a rose along with Brooklyn, Genevie, Greer, Aly, Charity, Kaity, Gabi, Ariel, Anastasia, Kylee, Davia, Mercedes and Bailey. Cat, Kimberly and Victoria J. weren't so lucky, and were sent packing.
The Bachelor airs Mondays on ABC. Stay up to date on all the drama with ET's coverage of Zach Shallcross' journey for love.
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