After her triumphant victory over her own anxieties, Caila finally managed to show Ben some vulnerability and say "I love you", following much needling from The Bachelor himself. Riding high on her giddy feelings during Monday's episode, Caila dropped in on Ben as a "surprise" right after their fantasy suite date (as well as Ben's overnight dates with two other women). Unfortunately, this happened to be the exact moment he was contemplating how to dump her, because he claimed he was in love with JoJo and Lauren B., but couldn't seem to "get there" with Caila. Instead of dragging it out till the rose ceremony, Ben dumped Caila on the spot.
Said Ben,
I am in love with two women here, and I just couldn't say it back to you. And I don't know why and I don't know how, because as I think through things all day, every day, you are literally what I describe as my perfect wife. I knew this was going to get hard at the end, because I knew I was going to have to say goodbye to somebody at some point that I was falling for, and it's really hard to imagine saying goodbye to you.
"That sounds like a line," Caila interrupted. Ben tried to tell Caila that he'd miss her, but she cut him off again, saying, "You don't have to say that," later softening to add that she "really did love" him.
Ben helped her back into her car, but just before it drove off, she stopped the driver so she could get out and get an explanation from Ben. She wanted to know if he knew he was going to break up with her earlier in the week. Here's how Ben awkwardly explained it:
Up until this week, nobody has shared feelings like you've shared with me. I came into this week after hometowns very conflicted, almost to the point of saying, I don't know if this is even going to work because I'm so conflicted on everything happening. And this week, all three women shared the same feelings you did. And I think as each one of them did, my feelings came out as well, and I found myself not being able to hold back. No, I wouldn't have gone through this week if I knew what was going to happen at all. It wouldn't have made sense and it wouldn't have been helpful for either of us.
"That's all I needed to know," Caila replied, before tearfully embracing him. "The last thing I would want for you to feel like is that our relationship wasn't important to me too," Ben assured her. "I will miss so many things about you."
The whole car ride back to her room, Caila cried about how she "was ready" to get engaged and be a wife — and she was ready to do it with Ben — which absolutely seemed to break the internet's heart. "Just let Caila go," wrote one despondent fan. "I am crying for her on the inside...."
The rose ceremony continued on, even though Lauren B. and JoJo were both shoo-ins, but they didn't find out Caila had been dumped until they got their roses. This leaves us with Ben and his much-teased in-love-with-two-women predicament for the season finale, which airs in two weeks. Will Ben be able to make a decision or will we see the first Bachelor in history continue an open relationship with two girlfriends? Just kidding! He'd definitely get dumped by both women before that happened. (And after the way he strung Caila along, not everyone would feel bad.)
