Debatably a bigger deal than the NCAA College Basketball Tournament, we officially have the Bachelorette final four. (Although it was almost final five.) Despite the heart-wrenching breakup with Andrew (who I believe will thrive on Paradise), I'd say we have a pretty solid crew made up of Greg, Michael, Blake, and Justin, all of whom have said they love Katie at some point on The Bachelorette this season.
With hometowns next week, there's a lot of pressure on these guys to tell Katie that they are in love with her, if they haven't already. Plus, Katie, like most Bachelorettes, is a words of affirmation kind of girl. In response to the men professing their feelings so far this season, she has said something along the lines of "I needed to hear that."
But not all uses of the word "love" are created equal. So we decided to go through this season's romantic expressions to see who has said what and when before heading into hometowns. First up...
Greg
Episode 3
Greg: "I'm crying cus I love you so much..."
Date: Group date, pepper challenge
Reception: I'm not sure this one counts, but Katie was super giddy and even said in an interview said that she is telling herself it counts.
Episode 6
Greg: "I'm falling for you at this point..."
Date: Group date cocktail party
Reception: Katie didn't hold back and told Greg that she, too, was falling for him.
Episode 7
Greg: "...the girl I'm falling in love with."
Date: Second 1-on-1 date
Reception: Katie truly looked overjoyed, like she could cry. In her interview, she said she was falling in love with him as well.
Michael
Episode 7
Michael: "I can assure you, that, like, no one can love you like I can..."
Date: Group date cocktail party
Reception: Katie told Michael that she dreams about life with him. Her face looked really pleased and then their kiss was very tender and passionate.
Blake
Episode 7
Blake: ...I'm so in for you, it's crazy. Like, I'm not in love right now, but the way that we're going, it's ******* inevitable..."
Date: Group date cocktail party
Reception: Katie looked a bit disappointed by Blake openly saying he wasn't in love with her (YET!). In her interview, she says she doesn't know if they're as far along as the other guys, but I am going to call BS on this. She has seemed so into Blake since he got there, I'm thinking she is just hurt that he didn't say "I'm falling for you" like the other men have.
Justin
Episode 7
Justin: ...That's what I love about you...it always feels natural with you...that's what I love about us..."
Date: Group date cocktail party
Reception: She just started hardcore making out with him, so the jury is still out but I think she loved it.
To sum it up, Greg is clearly a words of affirmation guy and technically the only one whose said "I'm falling in love with you" (... and "I love you" if we count the pepper challenge like Katie... which we don't). Both Michael and Justin said it, kind of, without saying it. And Blake may have pulled a first for The Bachelor franchise and told her that he wasn't in love with her yet. You have to respect the honesty.
Image: ABC