Fantasy Suite Week has arrived, and one thing The Bachelorette Season 20 lead Charity Lawson isn’t going to do is tell her three men that sex is completely off the table only to uphold that promise during the first overnight date, break it during the second date, and come clean about the totally unnecessary mess during the third date like her ex Zach Shallcross did.
With Xavier Bonner, Joey Graziadei, and Dotun Olubeko remaining, Charity admits she’s falling in love with all three men at once. With Hometown Dates behind her, she hopes off-camera time will allow for crucial conversations and give her the clarity she desperately needs ahead of a proposal. Though she has several successful sleepovers, one man is unexpectedly sent packing during dinner, while a previously eliminated contestant flies all the way to Fiji to win her back.
Looking for a recap of The Bachelorette Season 20, Week 7? Wondering who went home after Fantasy Suite Week? And who came back for a second shot at love with Charity? Decider’s Season 20, Episode 7 recap breaks down all the juicy details. Just be mindful that spoilers lie ahead.
For the first date of the week, Xavier met Charity on Nanuku — a private island in Fiji — to learn about traditional clothing, dances, culture, and marriage rituals from Fijian cultural leaders Joshua and Makareta. The two essentially had a wedding rehearsal, which was a bit overwhelming for Xavier, who was still questioning if he was ready to get down on one knee in a week.
After a meaningful day, the two met up for dinner, where Charity wanted one question answered: Is Xavier ready to commit to her forever? Xavier told Charity that while his heart was fully invested, his head still had doubts. And that’s not all! After seven weeks together, he revealed that he was unfaithful in a past relationship, which unleashed a flood of emotions in Charity.
“I know that is very triggering for you. It was disrespectful. It’s not the man that I am. And I know that for a marriage you cannot do that,” he said. “I felt the need to tell you because I thought you deserved to know.” Charity, who’s been consistently open about her fears of infidelity and past experience with it, said, “I am shocked. Infidelity…that is the fear. That’s the biggest fear.” She excused herself to process, and told cameras she experienced infidelity on and off for six years. “It literally breaks you. I think there’s nothing worse in this world than betrayal with the person you love,” she said.
When Charity composed herself and returned to Xavier, she questioned his cheating, the work he’s put in since, and his ability to stay faithful in the future. Xavier revealed that he cheated on his partner of two years “multiple times in the span of five days” and he has been “more introspective” since. Though he claimed he would never cheat in a marriage, he sounded deeply uncertain that he’d be able to turn down future temptations because he’s never been in a position where he’s had to be with just one person and had his freedom stripped. OK, sir.
With a proposal days away, Charity was baffled by the unexpected development. Her one-on-one date with Xavier — when she explicitly brought up her fear of infidelity to him — would have been a perfect time for him to bring this up. But there’s a good chance he wouldn’t have made it to the next week if he had, let alone made Top 3. Xavier told Charity he wouldn’t be able to get to the point he needed without spending the night together, but Charity wasn’t having that.
“Us in a bedroom is not going to determine whether you can see longevity in a relationship. No, fuck this. I’m so mad,” she told the cameras. “Who Charity Lawson is in 2023: Not willing to settle. Not willing to put up with whatever. Being selfish,” she said to Xavier. “I’m gonna be selfish in this moment. I wish I could open this, but it’s not happening.” After putting down the overnight invitation, Charity walked Xavier to the car and hugged him goodbye before breaking down in tears. “I’d be a fool to keep someone who I know is not ready,” she said. “I’m not here to fix anyone. I’m not here to build a man. This isn’t Build-A-Man Workshop.” Iconic. Queen. You go, girl.
Charity rallied after her heartbreaking night with Xavier by driving an ATV up to Joey for an adventurous, make-it-or-break-it day. When their ATV died in the middle of Fiji, the two improvised by exploring a forest on foot and spending an intimate day beside a picturesque waterfall.
Joey was quick to bring up his uncomfortable Hometown Date, which went well until the very end, when Charity’s conversation with Uncle Joe left her in tears. Charity questioned if Joey had been himself during this process, and he admitted he felt uncomfortable on their tennis date, was worried about giving her a fun day, and was unsure how to act when his uncle surprised them. Without pressing him too much, Charity said they were good, but Joey addressed his uncle’s comments even further at dinner.
“A lot of times in my life I’m not the best version of myself,” Joey said, admitting that he does his best to act confident but gets scared, anxious, and uncertain about the future just like everyone else. “If this was a relationship where we had more time together, you’d be able to see more moments like last week — more times where I get in a funk or have a sense of doubt…I know it can be taxing to be in a relationship with me.”
Charity, a self-admitted people pleaser, related to the immense pressure Joey puts on himself. She reminded him that emotional consistency is an unrealistic expectation and after they said “I love you” to each other, Charity offered him the Fantasy Suite invite, which he accepted. After a steamy make-out and the franchise’s signature “lights off” scene, the two woke up in bed together the following morning. “A love with Joey feels eternal,” Charity told cameras. “Waking up with Charity feels right, I could do that for the rest of my life for sure,” Joey added.
For her final date of the week, Charity met Dotun at Fiji’s Royal Davui Island Resort for a day of jet skiing, champagne, and deep conversation. Ahead of their reunion, Charity was a bit worried that Dotun was too good to be true. But tired of looking for problems, she embraced the date wholeheartedly. Charity shared her love for Dotun’s family — especially her mom — and Dotun confessed something that no one wants to hear a week ahead of their engagement, but he made it sound incredibly charming.
“I really don’t know much about the show, so I really didn’t understand what happened at the end of this — up until three or four weeks ago,” he said. “Maybe for a millisecond I was taken aback, and then I thought about you and was like, ‘I’m actually fine with that.’” The two agreed their relationship had been a problem-free “absolute fairytale” so far, and at dinner they told each other “I love you.” Charity offered Dotun the Fantasy Suite card, he accepted, and the two woke up with an even stronger connection. “I’m so over these goodbyes,” Dotun said. “I’m ready to move on and have a life with her.”
Unlike past episodes of The Bachelorette, Episode 7 didn’t end with a traditional cocktail party and rose ceremony. Typically, we would have seen all three men gather for one to be eliminated. But even though Xavier was sent home on his one-on-one date, Charity still ended the episode with three men. How? Aaron Bryant, the man Charity sent home after Hometown Dates in Week 6, flew all the way from San Diego to Fiji in hopes of winning her back.
Before Charity said goodbye to Aaron, she said she didn’t know if she was making the right decision. At the time, Aaron had little to say back, but after replaying that convo in his head for days, he wanted to make sure nothing was left unsaid. After the concierge hilariously refused to give him Charity’s room number, Aaron wandered the hotel grounds until he found her sitting by the pool. Charity’s jaw, so he gave her some time alone to process. “I have been thinking about it every single day — our relationship and what it meant,” Charity said when they reconvened. “That still stands. I don’t know if I made the right choice. Our relationship was so good and so powerful. I was falling in love, which is something I hadn’t verbalized to you.”
When we last saw Charity, she was crying to cameras, completely unsure of what to do next. “I did not want to say goodbye to this man, but I did send him home,” she said. “You can’t just shut that off. But there are other people involved.” With more on the line than ever before, Charity’s parting words were, “This is not a drill.”
Unfortunately, we’ll have to wait two weeks to see how Charity’s finale ends, but with Paradise rumors swirling, we doubt Aaron walks away from this experience engaged. Join us back here next Monday for a recap of the “Men Tell All” episode, featuring the return of Brayden Bowers (and a new pair of earrings).
New episodes of The Bachelorette Season 20 premiere on Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC. Episodes are available for next-day streaming on Hulu.