Aven Jones’ journey came to an end during the Sept. 13 episode of The Bachelorette. Aven was one of Rachel Recchia’s final two men, along with Tino Franco, but she broke up with him before even making it to the final rose ceremony. On her fantasy suite date with Aven, Rachel told him that she was “falling in love” with him. However, she actually said the words “I love you” to Tino, so, for the viewers, the writing was already on the wall.
Still, Aven got a rose from Rachel at the final three rose ceremony, and he got to meet her parents and friends during part one of the finale. During the family meeting, Aven admitted to Rachel’s friends that he wasn’t positive he’d be ready to get engaged in a few days’ time. He explained that he wanted to be with Rachel at the end of the journey, but wasn’t sure if he was quite ready to propose. This was a slight red flag for them, as they knew Rachel wanted a proposal.
When Rachel’s friends told her about Aven’s confession, she was caught off guard. “This is shocking because that is not what he told me,” Rachel said. “He told me he feels confident he’s 100 percent ready, he fels good. I never would have brought him in front of you if I didn’t think someone was ready 100 percent.”
Rachel insisted that she only wanted to come out of this journey with someone if she was engaged to them. “I didn’t think this was going to happen with Aven,” she admitted. “I’m shocked. “Me and Aven talked at length about being ready for an engagement and being ready for this next step and it happening in a couple of days. So why could you say one thing to.me and another to my friends and family? I appreciate your honest, but why’d you lie to me?”
Rachel pulled Aven aside and straight-up asked him what was going on. “It’s not about not being ready,” he insisted. “I want you to know that nothing has changed in terms of how I feel about you. I’m falling in love with you and I see a life with you after this and I want to get to that point so much. I just want to make sure that it’s 100 percent right for both of us at this moment in time.”
Rachel told Aven that she was “very confused” by what was happening. She was upset and embarrassed that she went to her family raving about a future with Aven, while he told them that he wasn’t even sure he was ready for an engagement. As the two went back and forth, Aven reiterated that he wanted nothing but to be with Rachel at the end, he just wasn’t sure that the timing was right for an engagement.
Things got tense during the conversation, but in the end, Rachel assured Aven that she knew he was there for her. Still, she was “confused and blindsided” by what happened and wasn’t sure where she and Aven would go from here. Although they parted on amicable terms, Rachel was emotional and unclear about the future. She didn’t like that she and Aven weren’t on the same page.
Things went well between Tino and Rachel’s family, so she knew she had to talk to Aven to get clarity about their relationship. They finally got a chance to talk on their final date the next night. Aven apologized to Rachel for making it seem like he was unsure, but he doubled down on his feelings that he didn’t know if they needed to get engaged in a few days in order to be together.
Rachel broke down in tears and reiterated how upset it made her that she and Aven were on different pages in front of her family. The conversation continued to go in circles — Aven insisted he wanted a life with Rachel after the show, but she was hurt that he went back on his word about being ready for an engagement. She felt that Aven wasn’t completely sure about her anymore, and she ended the relationship.