After nine long weeks of The Bachelorette, the contestants are genuinely tired of vying for Hannah Brown’s love alongside season 15 villain Luke Parker. During the 2019 “Week 9” rose ceremony, fan-favorite Tyler Cameron says it would be “complete baloney” for Luke to win a rose over pal Jed Wyatt (little does everyone know Jed is also hiding some skeletons in his closet). Minutes later, Jed calls Luke a “scumbag” and is visibly hurt he almost lost to someone so “toxic.” In the trailer for next week’s Fantasy Suites dates, Jed confronts Hannah about her relationship with Luke.
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Everyone wants to know why Hannah is so determined to keep someone as infuriating as Luke around. Well, if you pay close attention to Hannah and Luke’s “Week 9” date, you’ll get the answer.
From the beginning of The Bachelorette season 15, Hannah has been very open about her intense physical and sexual attraction to Luke. There was that very horny massage interlude to prove it, and Hannah labeled Luke the best kisser of all her men during the clip show fiasco. However, Luke’s hometown date in Gainesville, GA confirms there are two major emotional levels to Hannah’s enduring interest in her most controversial suitor as well. The first level comes from the simple fact that Hannah desperately wants to figure Luke out.
“Through all the drama, I’ve always seen the good in Luke,” she says in voiceover at the beginning of the date. “Luke is definitely complex … I feel like Luke is a jigsaw puzzle for me. I’ve got the corners down, but don’t have really the middle figured out.”
She then spends the remainder of her time in Georgia asking Luke’s loved ones about the Luke they know. Everyone describes a kind and caring man without a hint of malice. This man is loved by all. These details leave the Bachelorette even more confused about her frontrunner, and therefore more intrigued than ever.
As Hannah has said repeatedly, she felt the strongest immediate connection to Luke. She seems convinced that if she can puzzle Luke out, she’ll be able to actually make a decision about him. Her greatest fear is that if she doesn’t put in the work of truly understanding the 24-year-old, she’ll be losing the love of her life. She suggested as much during “Week 5,” asking in a confessional, “What if I let go of Luke, but he’s who I’m supposed to be with?” So she will keep trying to crack the Luke code, no matter how long it takes or how man pain she feels.
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The one concrete emotional fact Hannah has figured out about Luke is the other quality that’s keeping him in the competition: a deep love for religion. During last week’s semi impromptu two-on-one date, Hannah chose Luke and his religious fervor over Garrett Powell and his “I love you.” At the time, Hannah explained, “I like that he is open about his faith and... I’m connected to him.” During hometowns, religion comes back in a big way when Luke takes Hannah to his pre-church Sunday School. During the visit, Luke retells the story of his shower time intervention from God.
“It’s cool to see that Luke really lives his faith,” Hannah says during a confessional. We can believe she truly thinks that since the Bachelorette beams at Luke during his entire testimony. Afterwards the couple looks more comfortable and connected than they have in weeks. And it truly is all because of faith.
However, it appears religion will also bring about the destruction of Hannah and Luke’s relationship. As we have seen for the past few weeks, Hannah and Luke are destined to come to emotional blows over the Bachelorette’s possible sexual encounters with other contestants. Luke, who became celibate after his much-hyped shower intervention, has made it clear that his religious beliefs are the reason he hopes Hannah is “keeping the marriage bed pure,” in his slut-shaming words. During the trailer teaser, he threatens to “remove himself” from the relationship if Hannah has slept with any of the other men. The Bachelorette is aghast at the accusations and seems to send Luke home immediately.
Hannah Brown may want her man to love God — but not like that.