Five suitors remain, but it already feels like the finale of "The Bachelorette" Season 11 as the fight over Kaitlyn Bristowe becomes a showdown between Shawn Booth and Nick Viall.
In Episode 9 of ABC's reality show which will air July 6, the rivalry between the two men escalates as Kaitlyn comes clean, revealing to Shawn that she slept with Nick. E! Online reports that the personal trainer from Connecticut becomes so "distraught" over the admission that he interrupts the rose ceremony.
Shawn has been the frontrunner of the show ever since the first episode, when Kaitlyn gave him the first impression rose. The arrival of Nick, however, marred the otherwise smooth-sailing relationship. The chemistry between the two was so palpable, and it eventually led to a hookup weeks ahead of the fantasy suites.
"Shawn just couldn't get over it. He was obsessed. He was more upset that it was Nick than anything else. He asked Kaitlyn, 'Why him?' He didn't understand why, out of all the guys, it was Nick she had to sleep with," a source told the website.
As for Nick, the insider says the antagonism is reciprocated. "Nick felt he had tried to get to know him and was rebuffed at every turn. He didn't have any respect for the way Shawn was handling himself. Shawn never gave him a chance."
With the rivalry about to reach breaking point, it looks like the two men are unlikely to bury the hatchet anytime soon. "Nick and Shawn never end up making peace on the show. It's one of the most bitter rivalries the franchise has ever seen," the source revealed.
Bristowe earlier wrote a blog, published in People, explaining how impossible it was to date different men and not hurt anyone.
"I wonder how many times I can try and explain how hard this journey is to go through and for people to understand, but it's hard! It is difficult having these many relationships at once and even more challenging when you have to watch people you care for struggling through the journey."
"The Bachelorette" airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on ABC.
