After a dramatic cocktail party and rose ceremony in the Bahamas, Week 4 of The Bachelor Season 27 ended on a high note. But things took such an unexpectedly dark turn in the Episode 5 preview that fans are wondering what the hell happens on the show next week. Does Zach Shallcross get Covid??
Episode 4 ended with Shallcross telling his remaining contestants they were relocating to a place he always dreamed of visiting: London. The first half of The Bachelor‘s Episode 5 preview shows the women out and about seeing the sights. We get a glimpse at Shallcross’ one-on-one date with Gabi and some corgis. And we see him telling the camera, “Nothing’s gonna stop us from having such an amazing week.” Then, the tone shifts completely…
Jesse Palmer enters a hotel room and says, “Unfortunately I’ve got some really bad news.” One contestant asks, “Are you serious?” Another says, “I was not expecting that.” After a short montage of ladies crying and a voiceover that says, “We don’t really know where we go from here,” Shallcross finally appears, seated in what looks like a hotel room, recording himself via laptop or phone camera…or dare I say, video chat.
“This week was robbed,” Shallcross sobs into the camera while wearing a suit. “I don’t know why this happened,” Charity, also crying, says in another clip. We hear a contestant say, “It’s like love being lost.” And before the dramatic preview ends, Jesse Palmer is heard saying, “The million dollar question now is: What are we gonna do?” In the final shot of the terrifying teaser, Shallcross reappears via whatever unconventional camera he’s using to self-film and tearfully replies, “Yeah.”
What in Bachelor Nation is about to go down in Episode 5? Well, considering Shallcross looks like he’s straight-up video chatting with Jesse Palmer, my first thought was he tested positive for Covid while filming in London and had to isolate, which brought production to an unexpected halt. What really happens next week on The Bachelor? Did Zach Shallcross get Covid while filming Season 27? And were any other contestants or crew members impacted by the big Episode 5 twist? Here’s what we know.
What Happens Next Week On The Bachelor? Did Zach Shallcross Get Covid?
After watching the Week 5 preview, my mind went straight to Covid suspicions, then to Reality Steve. I figured if anyone would have public insight into Season 27, Week 5, it would be Bachelor Nation’s favorite spoiler source. But before we dive into Reality Steve’s latest predictions, it’s worth noting that the site’s spoilers for Shallcross’ season have been slowly trickling in and are still a bit fuzzy.
Read Related Also: Why Wednesday Star Emma Myers Thought She Bombed Her Audition With Jenna Ortega
On January 18, Reality Steve posted the following update: “There is something that happens in London that kinda changes the landscape of the show. Problem is, I don’t know any details behind it. If I did, I’d tell you. All I can pass on is what I was told. I was told this is something production had zero control over and they were scrambling to figure out what to do. It wasn’t bad, but it was unplanned and it had a significant impact on the production of the show.”
Reality Steve’s post also noted that Gabi got Week 5’s first one-on-one date, but “whatever this thing is that happened, basically ended all other dates in London. There was no group date, nor was there another one-on-one. So Gabi is the only one who has a date of the 11 women that go to London.”
Nearly three weeks after that update, Reality Steve shared more details. “I said a couple weeks ago that Gabi had the only one-on-one in London and that there were no other dates, but I didn’t know why,” Reality Steve posted on February 6. “Well now I do. Zach got COVID in London, hence the rest of the dates having to be canceled, and the rose ceremony in London was done over Zoom. Which is pretty funny when you think about it.”
As for when Shallcross tested positive or whether anyone else in the cast or crew had to isolate, Reality Steve had the following to say: “I don’t know if any of the other women got COVID. I assume he was making out with Gabi on their date the day before he tested positive, so, maybe she got it too. I’m not sure. Wasn’t told either way. I just know Zach did, production had to be shut down for the rest of the time there, and they did the rose ceremony over Zoom.”
It’s important to stress that Reality Steve’s spoilers aren’tt set in stone, so we’ll have to watch Episode 5 on Monday, February 20 to see how the cast and crew’s time in London really unfolds. But it sure does look like Shallcross is calling into a rose ceremony on Zoom, and unexpectedly having to press pause on several rapidly progressing love stories would be an understandable cause for tears.
New episodes of The Bachelor Season 27 premiere on Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC. Episodes are available for next-day streaming on Hulu.
(function(d, s, id) {
var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];
if (d.getElementById(id)) return;
js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id;
js.src = “//connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&appId=823934954307605&version=v2.8”;
fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);
}(document, ‘script’, ‘facebook-jssdk’));
