A sticky situation. Zach Johnson, who was eliminated midway through the Tuesday, October 27, episode of The Bachelorette, took to Instagram following the complicated situation.
The Utah native shared multiple posts via his Instagram Story of fans writing “Justice for Zach J.” He also reposted many fans who said that they hope he will show up on Bachelor in Paradise after being eliminated by Chris Harrison — not by Bachelorette Clare Crawley.
In one video, he said that he was given a sneak peek of a scene he was part of — then shared a video of two toy trains colliding.
During Tuesday’s episode, Clare, 39, chose Zach, 37, for a one-on-one date. However, after spending the day together, she admitted to feeling “weird” since she had feelings for Dale Moss. However, she wanted to respect the process of the show and “give Zach a chance.”
As the date went on, things got messy. After swimming together, Clare went to get out of the pool and leaned in for a kiss — but he did not lean in. “Oh!” she said, before turning away embarrassed. He then grabbed her right below her neck, asking “No, why did you stop? I was right there, why did you stop? What happened?”
She very uncomfortably said, “Nothing, let’s get ready for dinner,” but he followed her out of the pool and tried to get close to her again. She told him again she was fine and went inside. Afterward, he said in an interview that he was confused about what happened.
“I was trying to kiss her. Just the look on her face, it was the instant — she was hurt,” he explained. “And that’s never my intention. It’s just the worst possible thing, and I don’t know what else I could have done.”
In her interview, the hairstylist detailed her discomfort, noting that she was “triggered” when he grabbed her, and it “scared” her.
“I didn’t want to be near him in that moment. If I want to walk away because I’m uncomfortable, let me walk away,” the Bachelor alum said. “I might be a little extra sensitive about it because I’ve done all the work these last few years on healing my traumas. But I don’t want to figure it out, I don’t want to talk about it. This is not something that needs to be discussed.”
The California native, who has been open about her past with domestic abuse, then had Harrison, 49, send Zach home.
“I mean, there was a misunderstanding there, and I don’t know how that possibly happened,” the business owner told the host. “She leaned in for a kiss, she thought I was pulling away and I absolutely was not. I had a great day with her, and then that one little hiccup. Yeah, I thought we were in a solid spot.”
With that, he was eliminated, without saying goodbye to Crawley.
The Bachelorette airs on ABC Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET.
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