Why Did Michael A. Go Home On ‘The Bachelorette’? Katie’s Contestant Self-Eliminated

The July 26th episode of The Bachelorette started out with a bang. Front-runner Michael Allio, someone fans saw as a clear front-runner for Katie Thurston’s heart, decided to leave the competition at the beginning of this week’s episode. The 36-year-old widow and single father won fans over with his honesty and candidness with Thruston, although he had admittedly been having a hard time being away from his family, FaceTiming his son whenever he got a chance. Ahead of the Hometown dates, Allio admitted he felt “at war” with himself and expressed concerns over needing to be in two places at once.

The moment that finally sent him over the edge was his son asking, “Why don’t you want to see me anymore?” during one of their calls. He was visibly upset afterward and went to Thurston’s room to talk to her about his feelings in person. He explained why he felt he needed to leave, sharing, “With hometowns coming up I feel like it’s wrong to give you half of what we could be” and adding, “I’m not leaving because of us, I’m leaving because of my son, he needs his dad.”

Ultimately, the fan-favorite headed home and it’s safe to say fans are devastated.

Most fans felt like it was sad to see someone with such pure intentions going home.

And some fans took to Twitter to call out the franchise, sharing that “he is too pure for this.”

Other fans couldn’t take seeing Michael cry, causing them to also cry and wish they could give him a hug.

Most members of Bachelor nation agreed, watching him go home so close to hometowns was hard to watch and a lot to process.