Adrian Hassan and Brayden Bowers went at it on the July 3 episode of The Bachelorette. The drama started on the group date, which had Brayden and Adrian on opposing dodgeball teams at the beach. Brayden’s team won, but Adrian earned the title of MVP from Charity Lawson, so he got to join the winners on the nighttime portion of the date. Brayden didn’t hide the fact that he didn’t think Adrian deserved the MVP title, which is how tension began brewing between them.
“Brayden is totally acting like a child,” Adrian said. “I don’t think he’s ready for a relationship with Charity. It seems like he’s here for spring break. You can kind of tell those people that are really serious and the people who are not. I know I’m here for the right reasons.” Adrian also pointed out that he made a big sacrifice to come on the show because he has a daughter at home. He brought his concerns to Charity during their one-on-one time.
Although he didn’t specify who he was worried about, Adrian’s concerns were enough to worry Charity. “Adrian alludes to people being here and treating this experience and journey of finding love like it’s spring break,” she said in a confessional. “Truly was not what I was expecting to hear. That could mean people aren’t here for the right reasons.” Charity addressed the group to discuss the situation, and Brayden was certain that he was not the person who she was referencing in the speech.
Things intensified after the second group date, even though Brayden and Adrian weren’t even on it. When the guys got home from the date, they shared that it included Charity and Joey Graziadei breaking the record for longest kiss in Bachelor Nation. Brayden was not happy to hear about it. “To have to sit there and watch somebody? That’s not cool, man,” he complained.
When one of the guys on the date, Josh, admitted that it was still a “great date,” Brayden expressed his disagreement. Adrian called Brayden out for invalidating Josh’s feelings, and they went back and forth about it. In a confessional, Brayden ranted about the situation. “I was angry for him. I’m angry for me,” he said. “I feel like they were disrespected. I’m not gonna put up with someone disrespecting another human being in any regard. I’m going to go pack my bags. To be honest, I don’t know if this is someone I can have a relationship with.”
Brayden wanted to talk to Charity about the situation and said that if he didn’t “hear what [he] wanted to hear,” he was going to “get up and go home.” Instead of having a cocktail party, Charity hosted a pool party for the guys, and Brayden pulled her aside to chat. “I was definitely thrown for a loop yesterday,” he admitted. “I do want to say, I had a lot of doubt in your character to some degree. When I heard what happened, I felt so bad for those guys. I felt like I was lied to in that moment when I heard what happened. I’m going to be honest, I was ready to run away.”
Charity thanked Brayden for being honest about his concerns and assured him that the kissing date wasn’t meant to be “malicious.” Brayden was happy that she was willing to discuss it with him, and they ended their conversation on a positive note. “He was being very vulnerable and opening up,” Charity gushed. “I appreciated his honesty and him being vulnerable. I think he doesn’t hold back, which is nice.”
However, she had a different viewpoint after speaking to Adrian. “Brayden was kind of invalidating Josh’s feelings,” he said. “Brayden was just a little immature. [He said], ‘That’s classless, that’s disrespectful to the guys.’ I’m like, ‘I don’t feel like Charity has been disrespectful.'” Charity was shocked to hear that Brayden allegedly called her “classless,” as that was not what he had previously told her.
“My conversation with Brayden did not reflect what Adrian was saying. It wasn’t the same verbiage,” she pointed out. “Brayden was open with me about feeling sick about the date, but the word classless wasn’t used. So I’m not sure if there was a misinterpretation about what was heard. I’m upset because he is a strong connection.”
Afterward, Adrian confirmed to Brayden that he had shared his feelings with Charity, which led to more tension between the guys. In the end, though, Charity gave them both roses at the rose ceremony, so they will both continue their journeys to finding love with her. We’ll have to see if the drama extends into next week, though!