This season of The Bachelorette needs to be commended. Before you spit out your morning coffee, hear us out: the show has been tackling some very serious topics this season that normally would be left on the cutting room floor. Black Lives Matter. Racism in America. Misogyny and sexism. Drug addiction. Rehab. Eating disorders. Mental health challenges. For a show that is normally about romance, fantasy and removing all every-day realities in favour of a dream-like experience, broaching these topics is huge. And last night, the show upped the ante by talking about one of the biggest taboos in society that is rarely voiced on a dating show: suicide.

Fan favourite Ben finally got a one-on-one date with Tayshia, and even though their daytime adventures had them zipping around the La Quinta resort on motorized scooters and smashing open piñatas on a scavenger hunt, Tayshia was still unsure whether or not he deserved a rose because he was so guarded.

Then after dinner, he let the floodgates open. After suffering several blows to his life in a row – leaving the army, breaking his back, and being unable to afford the cost of living – he revealed that he tried to take his own life. Twice.

“I had two failed suicide attempts in 2018 and 2019,” he said quietly to a very understanding and patient Tayshia. “And I don't mean to, like, throw that on you. It's, like, a weird thing to do here. My sister, she doesn't know, and I guess she'll know now. And when I get worried and I get nervous, I smile, and so I'm, like, smiling.”

“But I didn't wanna be here anymore,” he continued. “And for the same reason that I don't like to share. 'Cause I didn't wanna burden anybody with my problems, and I thought that the easiest way was to just not be around.”

“Luckily, it didn't work,” he said. “And the only thing that got me through that was her, and she has no idea. She saved my life, and so I owe her everything.”

Adding that he’s purposefully been “very intentional and aggressive with my therapy,” he made sure Tayshia knew that “the person that you see before you today isn't that person.”

Tayshia then said in voice-over, after giving him a rose, that she was falling in love with him. Um, join the club, lady!

Bachelor Nation was also heaping praise on the producers and ABC for tackling this very real issue that affects men in unique ways (in Canada alone, statistics show that men are three times more likely to commit suicide than women). During the broadcast, Ben posted the phone numbers for the U.S. national suicide hotline (Canadian hotline here) and reminded followers, "The world is better with you in it."

Zac, tho

Ben wasn’t the only one in this episode to pull on the heartstrings of Bachelor Nation. Zac (who was basically invisible when Clare was there but has somehow pulled up to be a serious contender now), got viewers going with his reaction to the possibility of a hometown date with Tayshia. After Tayshia mentioned that any men who make it through to next week will get to bring her home to their parents, Zac teared up while sitting with the other guys, praising his parents as heroes for all that they’ve done for him (we stan a man who's vulnerable and open around other men). According to him, bringing Tayshia home to them is a huge deal and just the thought overwhelmed him.

Bachelor Nation, of course, rose to protect him.

Riley, tho

The theme of the ep really seemed to be tough topics, with Riley also opening up about darkness in his past. During a lie detector test, the polygraph indicated that he was lying when he said "Riley Christian" was his name. Later, he revealed the reason for that to Tayshia, explaining that he was named after his father but when he found out at the age of 22 that his father had been dishonest about his young life and how he treated Riley's mother, he changed it to start anew. He added that it was the start of his journey to become a better man than his father and he works toward that every day. Man, can Tayshia marry all of them??

Bennett... no.

Naturally, the show wasn’t all tears and heavy topics. The show began (and ended) with the showdown between Noah and Bennett coming to a conclusion... or so we were led to believe! Tayshia, believing that Bennett was questioning her integrity and condescending to the other men, decided to send him home off the top of the show. In previous weeks, Bennett had been a fan favourite, with stans calling him a gentleman and a real man. But his removal caused some mixed reactions.

As the episode was wrapping up, suddenly Bennett reappeared, asking for a second chance. He apologized and then, much to everyone’s surprise (most of all Tayshia’s) he dropped the L-bomb. And now he might stay (we have to wait until next week to find out, dangit).

Bachelor Nation is uuuuuuuuuupset.

Feeling confused and overwhelmed, Tayshia told Bennett she needed time to think about what he said. So next week is going to be wild because not only will the remaining men be flabbergasted by a possible Bennett-return, there will be two back-to-back shows on Monday and Tuesday where we will be treated to a volatile “The Men Tell All” special. Looks like Yosef is back to face the music. Ahhhh, we cannot stand the suspense!

BEFORE YOU GO: Revolutionary new way to serve and eat cake has our hosts amaze

[video_embed id='2091516']Before you go: Revolutionary new way to serve and eat cake has our hosts amazed[/video_embed]