The Bachelor

Ah, Kacie Boguskie. We already miss her sweet smile, soft twang, and cute humidity frizz. Not so much her obsession with Courtney Robertson or extreme emotional reactions. Still, she was a good egg, but one that Ben Flajnik was scared he would break. So he let her go after the hometown dates. Now we’re left with only memories. Let’s look back on the baton twirler’s top five moments on The Bachelor Season 16:

It was love at first sight — at least for us. Kacie B. introduced herself as a 24-year-old living in Knoxville, TN. We watched her watching TV as Ben got rejected on The Bachelorette Season 7 finale. She said her heart broke for him but she was glad for herself ‘cause he’s someone that she’d like to date. "We're both goofy and he's hot." That was the moment when she first told us she wanted a love like her grandparents had. "I want this me to be a we," she added, doing one of those heart-in-the-sky things with her hands. Kacie also had the best limo exit, simply saying "Hi Benjamin" in her beautiful sparkling dress. Great first impression. Shame she didn’t bring a horse.

Kacie got the very first individual date of the season and it took place in Ben’s hometown of Sonoma. It was very low-key. He walked her around town and taught her some piano tunes. In a candy shop, Kacie somehow found a baton and taught him some moves. They had dinner downtown and Ben talked about his late father. Ben gave Kacie a rose and said meeting her reaffirmed for him that doing The Bachelor was a good decision. After that they went to a downtown theater and they were surprised with a private screening of their home movies. It had been five years since Ben heard his father’s voice and it brought tears to his eyes. It was a very personal and intimate thing to share with someone so early on, Ben said, and it turned into a bonding moment. Kacie fell hard fast, saying, “I think that I have found what could be a lifetime of love with Ben.” 

In Episode 3, Ben had the ladies of his group date go skiing in bikinis down one of San Francisco’s notoriously steep streets. During the ski session, Kacie fell more than any other girl, but she just went for it, staying positive along the way and Ben liked that about her. He also liked her backward butt skiing, which was accidental but very cute and memorable. Later on the date, Kacie pulled Ben aside and they held hands as they walked down the street together. “There’s something about Kacie B,” Ben said. “She sparkles. Her personality, her everything. She’s really sweet and she gets me and I get her. That one’s going to be trouble for me — good trouble. I like her.” Aww!

Kacie was the first girl to get a second individual date — even before some girls got a first date. In Episode 6 in Panama, a helicopter whisked Ben and Kacie to a deserted island where they got all Survivor and ate fish and coconuts. That night they had a deep conversation. Kacie said she doesn’t always relate to people her own age; she feels a bit older. Part of this has to do with how, in high school, she had an eating disorder. Through that, she learned a lot — that she doesn’t have to be perfect. She feels like it helped her grow up faster and made her a stronger person. Kacie’s open admission made Ben like her more. But, sadly at this point it really seemed like their relationship had veered into the friend zone and was more about like than love.

Kacie got a little extreme in her departure in Episode 8. She kept her emotions together around Ben, just saying she didn’t want him to be broken-hearted. They had an awkward hug goodbye but when she got into the limo, she really let loose. She said she didn’t see this coming, which was a little bit of a surprise considering she knew her father was not in favor of an engagement and her mother was not in favor of Kacie moving in with Ben. Those were things that Ben — a free spirited winemaker who doesn’t get mind getting naked on television — was totally fine with. In the limo, Kacie sobbed while saying she thought she knew what Ben was looking for but she was wrong. “It’s not me. I thought it was me. I was stupid. … Why am I not good enough? Like, I don’t get it? This is why I don’t love. This is why! I loved him and I don’t know what to do now. What the f--k happened?” Lots of tears. It was a sad exit, but you can’t say Kacie didn’t truly believe she was in love. Is she still in love? We’ll find out on the Women Tell All special… or possibly (POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT!) even sooner?

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