'The Bachelorette' Episode 3 Recap: Michelle Sends a Villain Packing

Michelle Young will not tolerate liars. Tuesday's episode of The Bachelorette featured a petty rivalry, a new connection, and the outing of a villain, all of which ET is breaking down in the recap below.

The episode kicked off with Michelle questioning who she could trust, after Jamie falsely sowed seeds of doubt in her mind last week. A group date started with friendly competition and ended in tears next, before Michelle let one man out of the friendzone for good.

The men got deep on the second group date of the night, before Jamie ruined the second cocktail party in a row when his previous actions were discovered.

Keep reading for a full recap of episode three of The Bachelorette.

Peter Takes Issue with Will

The first group date of the night took place at the Palm Springs Air Museum and featured Top Gun: Maverick stars Glen Powell and Jay Ellis. The actors challenged the men mentally and physically, with pushup and high knee challenges. At one point, Martin pulled Michelle aside to check on her, a gesture she greatly appreciated.

Next came the G4 simulator, which the men were challenged to do while opening up to Michelle about their feelings for her. When it was Peter's turn, he broke out the Italian, which impressed Michelle. Despite the challenge being Will's "worst nightmare" he concurred the ride while speaking to Michelle in Spanish, a move that angered the Italian-speaking Peter.

Peter's annoyance only increased when Will beat him at the head-to-head dogfight and won the overall competition, earning a bomber jacket and a ride in a vintage car with Michelle.

During the nighttime portion of the date, Clayton impressed Michelle, with her admitting in a confessional, "He makes me smile. He does make me laugh. That’s a big thing that I’m looking for."

Nayte, Joe and Martin had successful chats with Michelle too, while Peter and Will spent time arguing in front of the guys. Peter bragged about how much moment he makes, and Will yelled back, "That money doesn’t bring you character." Things escalated when Peter put on Will's jacket in front of the group and threw it in the pool, as he explained that "it’s a symbol of the disrespect I continue to get."

When Will found out about his jacket taking a swim, he was annoyed at "sore a** loser" Peter and "hurt beyond words," but didn't express as much to Michelle in an effort not to "ruin her night."

In the end, Martin earned the group date rose from Michelle, and the pair danced while live musicians played for them.

Rodney Exits the Friendzone

Rodney nabbed the one-on-one date this week, and was challenged to a game of truth or dare. The game started with Rodney feeding a blindfolded Michelle mystery food items, and then the pair handcuffed themselves to each other while they searched for the key.

Things escalated when Rodney was dared to strip and run through the lobby naked, which all the guys ended up witnessing. While Rodney joked that his mom was "gonna kill" him for the naked run, he and Michelle had a great time, so much so that he said, "I can envision Michelle as my future wife, my best friend, my partner in crime." 

During the truth potion of the date, Rodney confessed that his "biggest fear in life is passing away before I become a husband and a father," while Michelle shared that hers was being "complacent." After he assured her that "nothing about" her is average, the pair kissed and Rodney officially exited the friendzone.

Over dinner, Michelle praised her date for being "playful," a quality of her parents' relationship that she loves. Rodney went on to show his more serious side, opening up about being raised by a single mom. In turn, Michelle discussed how her last boyfriend made her feel as if she needed to "justify" her feelings after someone called her the n-word, which eventually led to their split.

"The way that you act, the way that you carry yourself is so exciting for me," Rodney told Michelle, before accepting the rose and admitting in a confessional, "I’m definitely developing feelings for Michelle, strong feelings... I truly feel like Michelle could be the love of my life."

Jamie Is Exposed

When the second group date rolled around, Jamie, who had a one-on-one date last week, was excited to finally have the opportunity to "compete with the guys." The competition he's faced, though, wasn't physical, but emotional, as spoken word poet Rudy Francisco challenged the men to share their feelings via a poem.

Michelle ended up "blown away by everyone" and their vulnerability, something Jamie didn't exhibit when he opted to tell a story instead of write a personal poem. Casey expressed that Jamie's time on stage had "cult leader" vibes.

Michelle participated herself, too, reading a poem to her future soulmate that touched on being Black, being a late bloomer, and wanting to be a role model for young girls that look like her.

As the nighttime portion of the date began, Jamie said in a confessional that he didn't "feel any competition with the other men." His confidence was for naught, though, as Brandon earned the group date rose after an emotional conversation with Michelle, that left him admitting, "I’m truly falling in love with this woman."

Jamie was flabbergasted to not nab the group date rose, and pulled a producer aside to discuss his displeasure.

"I’m like really competing with Brandon for a woman’s attention? You’re telling me that we’re in the same league and I’m like, 'We’re not even f**king close,'" Jamie said. "I’ve got to wait for six weeks to get to the end of this? I really felt like it’d be a stronger group of guys. It’s a nationwide search. Where they at?"

"I think the challenging part with Michelle right now is that she’s basically in f**king spring break mode. It’s a little bit of a turn off. If you genuinely thought your husband was in the room, do you go to spring break mode?" he continued. "I mean, I’m not gonna judge it. Doesn’t mean I can’t make fun of it." 

When the cocktail party kicked off, Michelle shared a sweet moment with Nayte, before Rick revealed to her that no one in the house was ever questioning her character. Michelle was surprised by Rick's statement as it directly went against what Jamie had told her the week before, a fact she expressed to Rick as she revealed Jamie was the one who made her doubt everything.

Rick was angered to find out that Jamie was the mystery man, and he confronted Jamie alongside Nayte and Casey. Jamie was unable to really defend himself, telling the men that he "wasn't really involved" in supposed conversations and didn't have "specific names," noting that it was the "open-ended questions" that he mentioned to Michelle.

Later, Michelle confronted Jamie in front of all the men, as he once again used the "open speculation" line. She wasn't swayed, though, telling him, "By you trying to be proactive for me, you brought this characteristic and this question into this entire world. It became a thing that it wasn’t, and that’s where I’m really struggling with you right now." 

Michelle eventually pulled Jamie aside and pointed out that their trust was "completely broken" when he shared inaccurate information that created drama tied to her character. With that, she sent him home.

As she was dealing with the "unsettling" emotions about Jamie's betrayal, she canceled the rest of the cocktail party and moved directly into the rose ceremony. She awarded roses to Joe, Rick, Leroy, Nayte, Casey, Chris G., Chris S., Clayton, Olu, Romeo, and Will, sending Peter and a few others home.

A New Villain Emerges

In a preview for next week's episode, Michelle and Martin grow their connection, as he confesses, "I just feel like the luckiest man ever." Brandon and Michelle get closer, too, as she tells him, "You have made me feel very special."

As other men delight in their relationships with Michelle, a new villain emerges in Chris S., who declares, "There are guys here that think they have it in the bag. I think that’s bulls**t."

His comment leads one man to call him "a snake," Clayton to ask, "Who are you to call me into question?" and a third man to comment, "This is a desperate ploy to sabotage everything."

It seems that Nayte will be the one to really confront Chris S., as he pulls the man in question aside and gets in his face. "Are you going to put your hands on me?" Chris S. asks.

As Michelle confesses that her "biggest fear is that I could commit to somebody who doesn’t see me," she tells her suitors, "Nobody has it in the bag."

The Bachelorette airs Tuesdays on ABC. ET has got you covered throughout the entirety of Michelle's season with all of our Bachelorette coverage.

RELATED CONTENT:

'The Bachelorette' Recap: Michelle Questions Who She Can Trust

Michelle, Kaitlyn and Tayshia Break Down the 'Bachelorette' Premiere

'The Bachelorette': Michelle's Journey for Love Begins

Related Gallery