Peter's Mom Was So Extra Last Night On 'The Bachelor'

Barbara Weber came for Madison and did not hold back on The Bachelor

All throughout this long, long season of The Bachelor, we’ve been teased with previews that featured an emotional scene: Peter’s mom, Barbara Weber, in full-on tears, begging Peter, “Don’t let her go. Bring her home to us.” In the previews it was never revealed to us who Barbara was so in love with. Was it one of Peter’s final two women, Hannah Ann or Madi? Was it another contestant altogether? A Bachelor producer? Hannah Brown?

Well, finally, the first half of the two-part Bachelor finale aired, and we got the dramatic scene we’ve been waiting all season for. And, um, suffice it to say it wasn’t what we expected to see. But first, here’s everything that led up to the most dramatic moment of this season so far.

Very early in the episode, as Peter chatted with his family and prepared them to meet his final two women, Barbara was expressing some, ahem, concerns. Remember that Peter’s family met Madi way back at the beginning of this Bachelor season, when her one-on-one date was the opportunity to be Peter’s plus-one at his parents’ vow renewal. They seemed super impressed by her then, and we thought they’d be stoked to see her again in Australia. But right off the bat, Barbara asked an important question: “Has she said she loves you yet?” Upon hearing that not only had Madi not said those words, but that she threatened to leave the show over all that Fantasy Suite drama last week, Barbara was, to put it lightly, concerned.

Fast forward to this week’s two meet-the-family dates. Hannah Ann went first, and right off the bat, Barbara melted in her presence. “I see you and me in them. I do!” she said. “I see your dad and myself 30 years ago.”

Things seemed to go even better during Hannah Ann’s private talks with Barbara and Peter Sr.

“Out of anything that goes on today, I want you to know how much I do love your son,” Hannah Ann said, holding back tears. “This could be our last week together, but I’d rather be all in, say how I feel, be completely present, than hold back.”

Peter’s parents both seemed absolutely taken with Hannah Ann, and all her emotions. “Remarkable” is how Peter Sr. described her after they talked. Having seen a lot of seasons of this show, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a pair of parents fall for a contestant harder than the actual Bachelor, but that’s pretty much what played out during Hannah Ann’s date.

Of course, that was all happening as Peter talked about his strong feelings for Madi, and how conflicted he still was. It was easy to see how this was setting the scene for some serious drama later in the episode.

And so off Peter and Madi went for their turn to meet with his family. And right off the bat, Madi called Peter out, right there in front of Barbara and Pete Sr., for sleeping with the other women. Obviously, after last season, the Webers know what Peter gets up to in a Fantasy Suite, but still, that was a bold move.

Maybe it was just editing, or maybe it was because of their concerns, but it really did seem like the Webers asked Madi some tougher questions than they asked Hannah Ann — tougher questions than most contestants on this show get asked, TBH. Madi did her best to answer them, but her hesitation was pretty evident, and that clearly rubbed the Webers the wrong way. Then there was the private conversation between Madi and Barbara, who straight up told Madi that Peter isn’t on her level faith-wise, that he parties too much for her, and that the Fantasy Suite ultimatum was out of line and “controlling.” It truly was one of the most awkward conversations ever to happen on The Bachelor. Peter’s family’s dislike for Madi grew more evident with every word out of their mouths.

Peter’s younger brother summed their feelings up well: “I’m seeing a girl on one side who is perfect and has no issues whatsoever, and then there’s Madison who’s raising a bunch of red flags,” he said. Oof, bro.

And so, despite Madi seeming like a pretty obvious front-runner up until this point, we now have a new wrench thrown into the mix: Barbara. That’s right. Her sobbing meltdown that’s been teased in exactly 47 Bachelor trailers by now, was about Hannah Ann. That’s the woman she wanted Peter to “go and get.” That’s the woman she wanted him to “bring home to us.”

“She’s not there for you,” Barbara told Peter about Madi. “I have to tell you something. I said a prayer last night. I said, ‘Lord, please guide Peter today and guide Madison to see where they are at in this relationship because you have a gem waiting for you who is madly, head over heels in love with you… I think God has answered my prayers and put the right person in your path.”

And then, in her confessional, Barbara added, “Madison’s a sweet girl. Lovely girl. But Hannah Ann is an angel on Earth, and I want him to make the right choice.”

In the immortal words of Chris Harrison, this was the most brutal parental takedown of a contestant in Bachelor history. It actually, truly was.

In a meeting with the rest of his family, they basically all agreed that Hannah Ann should be Peter’s choice. As Barbara had that much-teased meltdown, begging Peter through sobs to choose Hannah Ann, Peter watched her in shock, and then told her, “You have to stop. You can’t do this.” The first time he stood up to a woman manipulating him in his entire Bachelor career, and it was Barbara. We did not see that coming.

Peter’s family was ready to propose to Hannah Ann themselves. But Peter was still obviously conflicted. In fact, his family’s disapproval made him seem to want Madi more.

Immediately after all of that went down, Peter had his final date with Madi, and it was pretty clear that he was leaning more toward choosing her than ever. Madi, on the other hand, told the camera she thought it was “time to surrender” instead of continuing to fight for a relationship with someone so different from her. Peter’s family clearly got to her, but she’s also not wrong about them being wildly different people — all their drama the last few episodes proves that.

And so Madi dumped Peter, and headed home alone. In a conversation with Chris Harrison, Peter admitted that he didn’t know whether he wanted to continue with The Bachelor after losing Madi. But he did end up going on his final date with Hannah Ann, where he seemed pretty at ease about everything, and sure that Hannah Ann was, in fact, the girl for him. Naturally, he didn’t mention that Madi had left, so Hannah Ann was, by default, the only remaining choice. Those of us watching at home basically had emotional whiplash by this point.

The episode ended on a cliffhanger, of course, because we still have two more hours of this coming up tomorrow. In the final scenes, we saw Peter visiting Hannah Ann at her hotel room, where he confessed to her how unsure he was — without mentioning that Madi was no longer in the mix. Hannah Ann is the only girl left at this point, but we still don’t know if Peter will go with what his family wants and propose to her. As Chris Harrison put it, we haven’t seen the end of Madison or Barbara just yet. Guess we’ll find out tomorrow.