Greg Grippo has seemingly been the front-runner for Katie Thurston’s heart on season 17 of The Bachelorette … but will their journey end in heartbreak? Bachelor season 23 alum Elyse Dehlbom recapped the Monday, June 28, episode of The Bachelorette on Us Weekly’s “Here for the Right Reasons” podcast.
“I feel really protective of Katie. Whenever I see her and Greg together, I feel like a big sister and I just want to be like, ‘Oh, just don’t put too much weight into what he’s saying,’” Elyse, 33, explained on the Tuesday, June 29, episode of the podcast. “Not because I think he’s a terrible person, but I think she’s already fallen in love with the idea of Greg so much that she might not see where maybe their compatibility might falter.”
After receiving the first impression rose and the first one-on-one date of the season, the 28-year-old New Jersey native has quickly stolen Katie’s heart, with the 30-year-old lead telling him that she was “falling” for him on Monday’s episode. Greg, meanwhile, said “I love you so much” during a fake proposal as part of the episode’s group date.
“Katie said, ‘He said, I love you and I’m going to accept that!’ She wants to hear that stuff from Greg,” Elyse, who appeared on Colton Underwood’s season in 2019, told Us. “It’s clear, like, that’s her front-runner. But I don’t think they should put too much weight in what a fake proposal says.”
While some Bachelor Nation fans have expressed concerns about Greg’s past at William Esper Acting School — and Katie even “liked” and “unliked” a shady meme about his true intentions earlier this month — Elyse isn’t too concerned about his career aspirations.
“I don’t care that he went to acting school. But I think that a lot of what I’m concerned with is [Katie] is no longer in a lead position when it comes to him,” the makeup artist explained. “You see Katie being this really strong woman, right? She’s making clear-cut decisions. And then with him, it’s like she’s chasing and pursuing him. And yes, there’s a little bit of that in every relationship — at different times, you’re kind of chasing each other. But it seems like she’s constantly chasing him. And we’ve all done that. The guy that seems just out of reach, she gives you a little and you’re like, ‘He loves me!’ When he’s like, ‘No, I just called you back.’”
While Katie’s journey is still unfolding, season 16 alum Blake Moynes joining the cast during Monday’s episode is set to add more drama and competition for the men.
“It looks like [Andrew Spencer] is getting the one-on-one date next week, so we’ll see [about him] — that boy is solid in my book. … I think he’s great, [but] Greg is just clearly the front-runner. It’s just so, so obvious at this point, that the only person that I think could shake that up is Blake. … It’s a comfortable position when you think you’re, you know, in the top, they’re interested. I’m sure Greg knows that he is clearly the front-runner, and probably suspects that a couple other guys she’s interested in, but he knows — I mean, it’s all over that boy’s face. So, it will be interesting to see if he starts chasing Katie because he likes her or because his ego is knocked down a peg or two [with the addition of Blake].”
For Elyse and Us Weekly’s Sarah Hearon’s complete recap, listen to “Here for the Right Reasons.” The Bachelorette airs on ABC Mondays at 8 p.m. ET.