Bachelor Clayton Echard Bids Farewell to 2 Women During Group Date

This post contains spoilers from Monday's episode of The Bachelor.

As Sarah wrapped her one-on-one with Clayton Echard, who gave her a rose, Mara continued to tell the other women how she felt Sarah couldn't possibly be ready for marriage at age 23.

Sarah called Mara, 32, bringing that concern to Clayton, 28, a "bitch ass move."

"It was an attack on my name and my character," Sarah said in an on-camera interview.

When Sarah returned from the date, she confronted the women.

Mara Sarah The Bachelor — ABC/Ricky Middlesworth (2)

"It's no one's place to tell Clayton what they think I'm ready for," she said. "And I hope that you can tell me who brought this to him."

Mara told Sarah she "talked to him about how I felt about my situation," referring to not having received a one-on-one date while the wealth management consultant received her second.

ROSE CEREMONY

Clayton felt excited about the future with his remaining suitors as he headed into the cocktail party before the rose ceremony. "I want to make a toast to a wonderful night where we can continue to build these relationships," Clayton said to the group.

The former NFL player pulled Serene first to follow up on their conversation in which she opened up about her cousin who died recently. Clayton presented her with jars filled with twinkle lights to represent fireflies Serene and her cousin saw during a childhood outing.

"I wanted to bring these jars, here are our fireflies here in Croatia," Clayton said to Serene, 26. "And it's really just an honor for her that she's here with us as we go on this journey and build these memories."

The gesture left Serene speechless. "It means so much," she told Clayton. "It just shows that you were really listening to me and that's one thing that I really like about you."

To the cameras, Serene admitted, "I think I'm falling in love with Clayton."

Mara used her time at the cocktail party to speak with Sarah. "You're acting as if Clayton's like a trophy to be won it seems like, and this is his journey," Mara said.

Sarah said she had "no idea I was going to get a second one-on-one."

Still, Mara warned Sarah to tone it down. "It'd be best if you kind of went back to just a cute quiet confidence," the entrepreneur said, claiming that Sarah seemed "overconfident."

Mara continued, "It would behoove you to take a little step back in your comments to let the other women explore their relationship without getting in their heads about not being good enough."

Sarah didn't feel like she had a strained relationship with the other women. "I don't have a problem with any of the other girls," she responded.

Host Jesse Palmer signaled the cocktail party's end and Clayton started the rose ceremony. He gave roses to Susie, Serene, Gabby and Genevieve, meaning Mara and Eliza headed home.

FIRST ONE-ON-ONE

Clayton and the remaining women continued their journey in Vienna, where Susie received the first one-on-one date. She and Clayton hopped in a vintage car to downtown Vienna where they did some shopping.

"I just want to make her smile and make her happy and that's what today's all about," Clayton said in an on-camera interview.

They started out at Fisher's and then visited Austrian designer Eva Poleschinski's private showroom.

"I saw so many sides of Susie, the funny side to her, she has a serious side, a romantic side," Clayton told the cameras. "I love what I see out of her and She really just enjoys every moment that we have together and so do I. I do believe that with every conversation we have, I do get a little closer to falling in love."

After they shopped, Susie, 28, and Clayton sipped champagne and chatted. "Just being here and seeing how happy you are, this is what makes me happy," Clayton told Susie.

The wedding videographer called the date "the most incredible experience of my life."

When Susie, with two hands filled with shopping bags, returned to the hotel to change for the evening portion of the date, she received one more surprise. Clayton messengered over a red gown for her to wear that night.

"I'm ready to continue this fairytale," Clayton said to Susie when they arrived at the Schönbrunn Palace.

Once they sat down inside, Susie admitted she doesn't usually splurge for herself and said she grew up in a very humble home, with her dad as her biggest supporter.

"You're very deserving of all the things that come your way," Clayton assured Susie. "That's what today was. I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable but again I know this is foreign for you, this is all foreign for me obviously too — rolling up here in fancy cars, this fancy dress — but I know that if you took all that away, you'd still make me smile."

Then Clayton offered Susie a rose. "I am so very ready to meet your family and get to know the people that you care about and love so much," he said, referring to the upcoming hometown dates.

Susie accepted, and they ended the night dancing to a private Chris de Burgh performance.

RELATED VIDEO: Jesse Palmer Chats About Contestants 'Being There for the Right Reasons' and How to Navigate as a Lead

GROUP DATE

Sarah, Teddi, Genevieve, Rachel and Gabby embarked on this week's group, which consisted of couples therapy sessions with Clayton in honor of being in Sigmund Freud's hometown.

Gabby's session with Clayton came first, and she admitted to the psychotherapist that she felt "a little anxious," but still wanted to open up to a potential partner.

"I just feel so deep. Like there's been many times in my life where I haven't been able to feel this much," Gabby, 30, said. "Growing up, I had a misunderstanding of what love is and the conditionality of it."

Gabby proceeded to tell the therapist about her struggles with her mom growing up. The therapist asked Gabby about her relationship with her dad and the ICU nurse described it as "really good." "He's kind of always appreciated me for who I was," Gabby continued.

The therapist said Gabby needed a secure relationship and asked Clayton if he could provide it, to which the Missouri native assured he "absolutely" could.

In Clayton's session with Teddi, she revealed, "I do feel feelings for you stronger than I have in the past and especially this early," to which Clayton affirmed he felt "very good about where we're currently at."

Genevieve struggled during her session. "I don't like being emotional in front of people," she said.

The therapist asked how a relationship between Genevieve and Clayton would work if the bartender, 26, couldn't open up. "I want to get through, I want to understand who you are," Clayton told Genevieve. "I think my fear is, I wonder if it's possible."

Clayton asked the therapist to give him and Genevieve a chance to talk privately, telling the cameras, "If she can't tear these walls down, we can't move forward."

"With hometowns around the corner and having to meet families, it's really hard for me to see meeting your family when I'm not able to see what's inside the walls," Clayton told Genevieve.

Genevieve felt "we're both not there yet" and decided to leave.

"We ran out of time," Clayton concurred.

Clayton informed the other women about Genevieve's exit, but added that he wanted to continue the other sessions.

Rachel called time in the house "really difficult" and told the therapist she experienced "a lot of insecurity" recently. "I trust that he's going to make the best decision, I just … it's scary because I know how I feel and the possibility of losing it is really, really difficult for me," Rachel, 25, continued.

Clayton didn't want the flight instructor to have doubts. "When we're together, everything's so easy-going because we just can be ourselves and I don't have reservations," he said.

Sarah looked forward to her session because she loved therapy. The therapist asked Sarah if she felt judged by Clayton or the other women and Sarah said "yes," recapping through tears the situation with Mara and being accused of not being ready for marriage.

"These accusations just aren't true whatsoever," Sarah said. "It's really, really hurtful."

Clayton admitted the situation had "been trying for our relationship," adding, "But my intuition was telling me that there wasn't much validity to that statement and like the second you started reassuring me I was like, okay, I don't have anything to worry about, so we pushed through it. We realized trust was established on a whole other level. I feel really good about where we're at."

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free weekly newsletter to get the biggest news of the week delivered to your inbox every Friday.

After each woman and Clayton met with the therapist, she told the group she appreciated everyone's honesty. But she warned that "some of them weren't honest, and they were, let's call it performative."

Clayton made it his mission at the afterparty to weed out the dishonest ones. "To think that somebody is putting on an act is very scary at this point in the journey," Clayton said to the women, inviting them to tell him about anything he might not be seeing.

First, he pulled Rachel. "I know that person's not you," Clayton told her.

He asked why Rachel had been starting to have doubts, and she assured Clayton it had nothing to do with him. Rather, Rachel said she faltered after Sarah came home from her second one-on-one, and told her and Teddi about her strong connection with Clayton, claiming they both cried on the date.

"I don't see why that's being said because there's no truth to it," Clayton said.

Rachel said Sarah continued to volunteer information about her relationship with Clayton that no one asked for. "It seems like at this point she's manipulating us to get us to pull away and I think like it's scary to think that I could've given up on this process," Rachel added.

Gabby confirmed to Clayton that the issue with Sarah had been "going on for weeks" and Teddi, 24, told him she considered leaving over it. So Clayton confronted Sarah.

"I have not said any of those things," she claimed. "I just felt like so thrown under the bus after the second one-on-one and I don't know why. I don't know why anything changed."

Through tears, Sarah alleged that she'd always been there for the other girls. But "when it comes to me I'm not allowed to feel anything," she said.

Clayton didn't buy it, telling Sarah he felt she tried to "force the tears out."

"It sounds like you were trying to manipulate these women into thinking there was more there to the point where they felt that they should just give up," he said.

Ultimately, he didn't want to keep Sarah around. "I'm sorry, but I just don't believe you and I think we're done," Clayton told Sarah.

Clayton walked Sarah out and reiterated to her, "If I can't trust you then we can't continue."

The Bachelor filled in the other women about sending Sarah home. "I have to feel so certain and with everything that's happened, I just can't give this rose out tonight because I want to make sure that I'm taking the time to make the right decision," Clayton said, declining to give out the date rose.

SECOND ONE-ON-ONE DATE

Clayton rounded out his time in Vienna with a date with Serene. They took a horse-drawn carriage ride around the city, ate chestnuts and danced to accordion music.

"Today feels very natural and normal with Clayton," Serene told the cameras.

At the evening portion of their date, she confessed to Clayton that she actually hadn't dated much in recent years. Still, she told Clayton, "I can see you meeting my family."

When Clayton asked about the last time Serene brought someone home, she admitted it'd been since high school that her family met a romantic partner of hers and that the elementary school teacher closed herself off after that relationship didn't work out. Clayton shared that he had a similar experience and had his walls up for a while, too.

"I am falling in love with you," Serene told Clayton.

"Wow," he replied. "I cannot tell you how happy that makes me, to hear that because I know what that means."

Serene's unexpected reveal earned her a rose. "Serene, I am so ready to meet your family," Clayton said while presenting it to her.

To the cameras, Serene said Clayton "could be the one."

ROSE CEREMONY

With Serene and Susie entering the last rose ceremony before hometowns with roses, that meant Clayton would eliminate either Rachel, Gabby or Teddi.

"I am just following my heart and allowing my feelings to take over and guide me in the direction I need to go," he told the women before the rose ceremony.

Clayton extended roses to Rachel and Gabby, sending surgical unit nurse Teddi packing before hometowns.

"I was not expecting that tonight," Teddi wondered to the cameras. "I don't know what changed like within a week because it sounded like it was me from our last conversation."

The Bachelor airs Mondays (8 p.m. ET) on ABC.