‘The Bachelor’ Season 28, Episode 3 Recap: ‘Golden Bachelor’ Gals, Maria And Sydney Beef, And KFC

If you’re ASKN, we’re TELLIN you that Episode 3 of The Bachelor Season 28 delivers laughter, drama, romance, and four special guests? Any guesses?!

After an exciting Season 28 premiere and an incredibly hopeful round of first dates in Week 2, Episode 3 of Joey Grazaidei’s Bachelor journey features another romantic one-on-one, two eventful group dates, and one downright confusing feud that unfortunately carries over into Episode 4.

From an impromptu pageant, a surf lesson, and a tennis tournament to a pool party, a running KFC bit, and more, The Bachelor Season 28, Episode 3 is jam-packed with entertainment.

Wondering who snagged Joey Graziadei’s second one-on-one date of the season? Who got the group date roses? Who’s starting drama in the mansion? And who went home during Week 3 of The Bachelor? Decider’s Season 28, Episode 3 recap has you covered.

The Bachelor Group Date 1 Recap: The Golden Bachelor Gals Steal The Spotlight

Edwina, Kelsey A., Lexi, Allison, Madina, Chrissa, Lea, Sydney, and Maria joined Joey on the first group date of the week: a Mrs. Right Pageant. Their stomachs dropped when Joey explained a few ladies would be joining them for the day, but when the ASKN gals walked on stage, any nerves were replaced with delight. The Golden Bachelor‘s April, Susan, Kathy, and Nancy reunited in the name of their favorite Bachelor (sorry, Gerry) to help him find his perfect person. They gave the contestants an hour to rehearse for the pageant’s three portions: a Lazy Sunday Fits fashion show, a Q+A, and a talent show. And after a live audience took their seats, the eight ladies walked on stage in robes and slippers to model their spin on Sunday Loungewear. Kelsey A. went the extra mile, adding images of a tennis racket and ball to the back of her shorts. And Maria whipped her sock off like a garter and tossed it to Joey, who smelled it?!

The Golden Bachelor icons ran the Q+A segment, with April asking Maria how she’d spice things up after 30 years of marriage if things stopped “working quite the same” for him and asking Sydney if she’s ever “had to fake it.” Kathy asked Kelsey A. what would happen if she and Joey were trapped in an elevator, then she asked Lexi to share Joey’s most attractive quality. As each woman stepped up to the mic and shares their response, April — who understood the assignment — was furiously taking notes. And Nancy? She was too busy wondering if Joey had “an uncle, brother, older brother, or cousin” for her to date.

For those who didn’t know, Sydney was in Miss Massachusetts Teen USA at 16, so she was “really confident going into this.” She spent the talent portion internally judging the girls, trash talking them to camera, and hyping up her performance only to deeply underwhelm with an awkward audience participation chant that didn’t require much talent?! Meanwhile, Edwina wrote a song and sang a capella, Madina showed her flexibility, Maria did some flips and a split, and Lexi invited Joey on stage to prove she’s “the world’s best kisser.” As you likely assumed, she won! But Joey says he awarded her Mr. Right because she surprised him the most and he could tell she stepped far outside her comfort zone.

The decision rubbed several women the wrong way, but it wasn’t the main cocktail hour drama. Instead, Joey checked in with Madina, who opened up about “feeling bullied” in the house. She didn’t name names, but she was talking about the ridiculous Maria feud, which Sydney sparked. Before Joey gave out the group rose he acknowledged the drama and urged people to come forward with more info. After he left, Maria and Sydney had it out, and Sydney left after “feeling attacked.”

Joey Graziadei And Jenn Tran’s One-On-One Date Recap: Surf’s Up

For Week 3’s special one-on-one date, Joey took the 25-year-old physician assistant student from Miami, Florida surfing to show her what a slice of his real-life might look like. After picking out wetsuits and surfboards, Joey gave Jenn a lesson on waves, then the two headed back to the beach for some quality kissing.

At dinner, Jenn told Joey she went through periods where she thought she was never going to be loved because of the way she grew up. “It was a really traumatic place to grow up in,” she said. “I never knew what a happy relationship was.” Jenn shared that her parents separated but her dad lived in the basement for six years. As time went on, their relationship “deteriorated to basically nothing.” After Joey learned Jenn’s dad isn’t a part of her life anymore, he comforted her and took her to stare at the sky where a light show of sorts (NOT fireworks!) asked if she’d accept his rose. She said yes!

The Bachelor Group Date 2 Recap: Playing Nice

If you know anything about Joey G. three weeks into The Bachelor, it’s that the man love tennis. At long last, we got ourselves a tennis date. Katelyn, Autumn, Rachel, Daisy, Evalin, Kelsey T, Starr, and Jess hit the court in hopes of becoming Joey’s doubles partner, where they got lessons from tennis legends James Blake (10 Career Titles, Highest Ranking: 4th Singles) and Pam Shriver (132 Career Titles, Highest Ranking: 1st Doubles). Jesse Palmer arrived to host The Bachelor Open alongside the ESPN commentators, but first he announced a twist: the ladies had to slip into giant costumes. Here were the teams:

• The Babies: Autumn and Daisy

• Hot Dog and Bun: Starr and Rachel
• The Beehive: Jess and Katelyn
• Lobster and Butter: Evalin and Kelsey T.

Match 1 went to Hot Dog and Bun. Match 2 went to Lobster and Butter. And the Championship Match went to Lobster and Butter again. In a twist, Evalin or Kelsey T. didn’t get the rose. After a night of meaningful conversation, Joey gave his stem to Katelyn, a 25-year-old radiochemist who joked about the pressure to break her family curse and shared that her mom and aunts are all single.

KFC With A Side Of Maria And Sydney: The Worst Pool Party Ever

In place of another cocktail party, Joey threw a pool party elaborately catered by KFC. (Yes, Kentucky Fried Chicken.) It’s unclear what KFC has on the Bachelor franchise to have landed such finger lickin’ good promo, but the contestants were wearing drumstick bucket hats and complimenting tasty sides all throughout the date. Jesse Palmer even lounged on a KFC pool float to chow down on chicken!

Amidst the KFC love was a whole lot of Maria and Sydney hate. Despite Maria trying to squash Agegate on numerous occasions, Sydney refused to let the feud go. She used her time with Joey to claim that Maria “verbally assaulted” her, which “scared the shit out of” Joey. He quickly pulled Maria aside and she shared her frustration with the situation along. She explained she’d been bullied before and would never want to treat someone that way. When she assured him the fight “stemmed from nothing,” Joey left feeling like her words were more genuine than Sydney’s. So who went home Week 3?

The Bachelor Rose Ceremony Recap: Who Went Home Season 28, Episode 3?

Joey said goodbye to the following three women during Episode 3:

• Chrisa, 26, marketing director from Abbotsford, British Columbia
• Evalin, 29, nanny from San Antonio, Texas
• Starr, 25, mental health counselor from Delray Beach, Florida

You may notice that both Sydney and Maria were safe — but not for long! The Bachelor Season 28, Episode 4 preview teased a stressful two-on-one date between the two and Joey, so we’ll see you here next week for what will likely be Season 28’s juiciest recap yet.

New episodes of The Bachelor air Mondays from 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. ET on ABC with next-day streaming on Hulu. And be sure to read our interview with Joey Graziadei for more exciting Bachelor insights.