A group date is always grounds for some drama on The Bachelor, and that was no different during the Feb. 13 episode. This week, it was Anastasia Keramidas and Kylee Russell who had some tension as they embarked on a group date with Zach Shallcross and 10 other women in the Bahamas. The group date was fun, low-key and relaxing, but Anastasia began to rub some of the other women the wrong way when she pulled Zach aside before anyone was expecting one-on-one conversations to begin.
“Anastasia is pushing herself to the front. I wish she would calm it down a bit so we could all have that same amount of time and attention,” Kylee complained. “She stole him right out of the gate. I feel annoyed. Now is not the time. This is a big group setting. Everyone deserves their time. You have to find ways to be appropriate and that was completely inappropriate.”
Kylee was worried that she wasn’t being “seen” by Zach, and she didn’t want him to think she was “disinterested.” After giving Zach and Anastasia some time together, Kylee approached them and asked if she could have some time with Zach. Anastasia asked for another minute, and Kylee was visibly uncomfortable. “I’m sorry, I’m awkward at this,” she said. “Don’t make me do this. Please, just let me have him. I don’t like to fight.” Anastasia relented, replying, “I’m definitely not going to fight you.”
Although the situation was settled in that moment, the women had different stories about what went down. Anastasia started telling some of the other girls on the group date that Kylee threatened to physically fight her. “The fight comment was a little bit much for me, personally,” Anastasia explained. “I’m going to put my best foot forward and go for what I want, but I’m not going to, like, put up my dukes.” However, Kylee explained that by “fight” she just meant she didn’t want to “bicker back and forth” with Anastasia.
“I’m annoyed by all of this,” Kylee said afterward. “I finally had a good moment today and the fact that there’s the potential that my name is being brought up into any kind of drama scares me. I just hope Zach will see that I have nothing but pure intentions and I do feel like the pressure’s on. I feel like I need to say something, but if I say something, it’s just going to open up a can of worms. I feel so conflicted.”
The drama continued during the nighttime portion of the date. Anastasia and Kylee were talking in circles about their miscommunication, and Kylee decided to bring up her issues to Zach. She explained the situation to him, and then added some more information that she thought he should know. “This is all just very hearsay, but I did have a conversation with Charity [Lawson] and she was expressing to me that Anastasia’s head is in so many different directions,” Kylee shared. “She’s constantly talking about how many Instagram followers she’s going to get while being here.”
Zach was appalled, and Kylee reiterated that she never heard Anastasia make these comments directly. Zach approached Charity about it, and she confirmed that she did “overhear” Anastasia making a comment about Instagram followers. “I think, with Anastasia, things were picking up between us, and now, hearing this information, it brings back the fears of, ‘Is this all fake and for an ulterior motive?'” Zach admitted. “That is my nightmare in all of this. I don’t want that.”
Without wanting to make any assumptions, Zach pulled Anastasia aside to confront her about the accusations. She insisted that she was on the show to try and form a connection with him and find her person. “I’ve talked with the girls about brands I work with and told them I’d connect them,” Anastasia said, in regards to the Instagram situation. “They all asked me about it so I told them I’d share my contacts. I’m proud of what I’ve done in my life and career, so it’s upsetting that it was twisted in a negative way.”
Zach said he needed some time to think about it. When Anastasia joined the rest of the girls, Kylee admitted that she was the one who brought Anastasia up to Zach. “I told him that I didn’t hear it come directly out of your mouth, so I don’t know if it’s facts, but I’ve been told that you said something in regards to, ‘Well, the 14 of us who are still her will at least get 50,000 Instagram followers,'” Kylee explained. Anastasia insisted that the comment was “taken out of context”. “When I was talking about that, I was very transparent,” she said. “People were asking questions and I was answering them. I don’t know how that got twisted.” The group date ended with Anastasia in tears.
At the cocktail party, Zach kicked things off by pulling Anastasia aside and asking her how she was feeling about everything. “It’s been a really hard two days,” Anastasia admitted. “It’s not easy for me to have inaccurate information spread about me. My character is everything to me, and my integrity. I’m honest. It was really upsetting that you had any doubt in that or any doubt in me. I truly don’t know how or why that information was passed. I know I need to keep reiterating this: I did not come here for anything other than to see if there is a connection here and to see if you could be a partner for me.”
Zach was appreciative that Anastasia opened up to him, but still felt like the comment about Instagram followers didn’t just “come out of thin air.” He decided to send her home ahead of the rose ceremony. Of course, she was upset, and insisted in her car confessional that she was “manipulated” in the situation. Meanwhile, Kylee was worried that she would be “collateral damage” and that Zach would send HER home for instigating the drama. However, she received a rose at the rose ceremony. Now, 11 women are left and heading to London with Zach!
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