Bachelor Nation Will Never Recover From This BIP Elimination

This is it, folks: the actual most heartbreaking breakup in Bachelor Nation. After a rocky love triangle, Eliza Isichei decided she wanted to leave the beach to pursue Justin Glaze, leaving her other suitor, Rodney Mathews, in the dust. But while it makes sense for Eliza to pack up and go after her man, why did Rodney have to leave Paradise? Plenty of cast members have been dumped on the show and then were able to stay on and pursue other connections, so why wasn’t this the case for Season 8’s fan-favorite?

Rodney had a tough Paradise experience from the moment he arrived on the beach. He showed up with a date card and promptly asked Teddi Wright to chat... only for Teddi to almost immediately self-eliminate, a decision that still mystifies fans to this day. Then, Rodney formed an unlikely couple with Lace Morris... only for the men and women to get split up for a week. It was during this time that Rodney got close with Eliza, who was brought onto the beach with a whole new group of women for the men to get to know. Once Rodney knew he felt strongly for Eliza, he decided to have a tough conversation with Lace, and their breakup caused her to self-eliminate.

Finally, all seemed to be going well for Rodney... until Justin returned to the beach after being eliminated earlier in the season, with his sights solely set on Eliza.

Eliza’s indecision over which man to choose was the main theme of the Nov. 7 episode’s cocktail party and rose ceremony. Both Rodney and Justin professed their feelings for Eliza, and her choice was really a toss-up until the very last second, when she called Rodney’s name. Everyone in the cast rejoiced — except Eliza, who went off to tearfully console Justin. The next day, Eliza was even more sad than before, and when she pulled Rodney aside to chat, it was written all over her face that it was not going to be a good conversation.

She explained that she felt loyalty to Rodney because they had spent more time together than she and Justin had, and that she also felt some pressure to pick Rodney because he’s so well liked by everyone on the beach. However, her feelings for Justin were stronger, so she decided to leave the show to try to get him back. Rodney wished her well, but once he returned to his other co-stars, it was clear how shook he was by the whole thing.

“My heart’s broken, I’m embarrassed,” he told the crowd gathered around him. “I thought she was my future.”

The rest of the Paradise cast rallied around him, many of them crying and professing their love for their jilted friend.

“It’s astonishing how everyone here has fallen in love with Rodney except for the one person he wants,” Brandon Jones said through tears in a talking-head interview as Rodeny was shown getting in a car and leaving the beach.

But like... why did he leave the beach? It seems like he could have easily stayed, waited for more women to arrive, and then explored a relationship with one (or more) of them. I mean, that’s the whole point of the show, isn’t it?

Of course, it’s entirely possible that Rodney was simply too hurt to continue on the show. He said he saw Eliza as his future wife, which means he certainly felt strongly for her, so a breakup like that might require some time to heal. Perhaps Rodney knew better than to jump into anything new, so he bowed out like the emotionally intelligent king he is.

Or... maybe the Paradise producers were up to something with this. Rodney’s breakup and subsequent exit from the show had viewers all kinds of invested, which is great for ratings and increases the chances of fans tuning in for the Paradise finale reunion show to see how he’s doing now. Come to think of it, you know who usually gets emotional exits on Bachelor Nation shows? Future Bachelors. Sure, this may just be some wishful thinking right now, but it’s also critical thinking. If things work out that way, maybe fans will get to see Rodney find the love he deserves after all.

Bachelor In Paradise continues Monday, Nov. 14, at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.