The One Thing That Made Joe’s “Bachelorette” Departure So Shocking

- The Bachelor -
The One Thing That Made Joe’s “Bachelorette” Departure So Shocking

Let's be real, there are a lot of things that made Michelle kicking Joe off of The Bachelorette shocking. They have a Love & Basketball love. They're from the same city. They share a fondness for Lake Minnetonka that only a Minnesotan can understand. (The guy is "Minnesota Joe", for crying out loud!) He's attractive. He's timid, yet vulnerable. He has beautiful eyes. But before I get all "Oh my god. I love Joe," the point is that there is one major reason that made Michelle letting go of Joe so shocking. And it has nothing to do with his appearance or Minnesota or a sport where you put a ball in a hoop.

Ever since her time on Matt James' Bachelor season, Michelle has talked about how she wants to provide positive change in the world and how she wants to be in a relationship with someone who feels the same way. She bonded with Matt over the fact that they both work with children, and has brought up wanting to be impactful outside of her own life on her own season, as well. During this week's Fantasy Suite dates, she seemed to really find her match in this area with Joe.

Joe previously told Michelle about how an injury ended his basketball career in college. And because this is what he had devoted his life to, it was a devastating blow. He brings up the topic again during their Fantasy Suite date, noting that he got into real estate after basketball not to just set up himself for the future, but his family, too.

Image: ABC

"I want to be an inspiration to others," Joe says. "I think my story—as well as other athletes—is, you know, a lot of people kind of get lost after their sport, and so I want to be able to be an example for others to show that the tools and everything that we learned through our athletics is something that we can definitely bring into the real world, and to influence and ultimately change the world. And so thats kind of, like, my 'why.'”

Michelle responds, "That's what I want. I want a life that is impactful. Making a difference is incredibly important to me, and I think it’s incredible that that’s kind of how you think, as well. Like, having someone to ping ideas off of and having two people going at it instead of just one is ringing very close to home for me right now." Joe adds, "I feel like we would be a really powerful couple together."

This conversation made me think that Joe was for sure going to end up engaged to Michelle. Yet, she let him go at the rose ceremony.

Hey, Michelle's got to follow her heart. We all know that. But, the fact that we got to see their power couple conversation play out made Joe's departure even more shocking as a viewer at home. This show definitely knows how to edit a surprising breakup—some of us are still scarred from Rachel and Peter 2K17—but Michelle and Joe's convo about their similar outlook on the world definitely played into how sudden this split felt. If you're still rooting for some sort of twist that brings Michelle and Joe back together at After the Final Rose, just know you aren't alone.

Image: ABC

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