ABC’s ‘The Bachelorette’ seen filming on Wildwood boardwalk

The Bachelorette wore a trench coat on the Wildwood boardwalk, but, in fairness, the day never got out of the 50s. Her suitor bought her funnel cake and showed her around Morey’s Piers.

A major spoiler alert for ABC’s The Bachelorette played out Monday on the Wildwood boardwalk, as co-bachelorette Rachel Recchia, 26, went on a hometown date with contestant Tyler Norris, 25, of Rio Grande, Cape May County.

The Wildwood boardwalk was awakened from its off-season slumber for an episode that will air this summer, beginning July 11, said Ben Rose, director of marketing for the Greater Wildwoods Convention and Visitors Bureau. He said rides and stores opened just for filming, with the idea to make it seem like it was mid-season, never mind the weather and the stars’ outerwear.

Rose offered some exclusive details: “She gave him a big kiss after they got their funnel cake,” he said in a phone interview. “She turned and gave him a big kiss on the lips.”

They were supposed to end up at Mack’s Pizza (good taste, Tyler), he said.

Recchia is a pilot who had her heart memorably broken by last season’s controversial bachelor, Clayton Echard. She and another runner-up, Gabby Windey, were both chosen as co-bachelorettes for the coming season. Windey was reported to also be filming in New Jersey, in Bedminster.

“She actually goes to his hometown to meet his parents,” Rose said. “They spend the day in his hometown doing the things he loves to do. It’s supposed to be in season, while everything is open. Of course nothing is open. We accommodated them. The pier opened up just for them. Stores opened up just for them. We made it seem like it was in season. It was a little chilly today. Wearing a trench coat in season in not exactly apropos.”

But much more realistic than the last Jersey contestant’s hometown date, a season limited by COVID-19 concerns, in which Haddonfield’s Zac Clark took eventual fiancee Tayshia Adams on a pretend trip to New York City, despite his professed love of everything Philadelphia. (Clark and Adams have broken off their engagement.)

On Monday, the Wildwoods beach cam captured Recchia running up to greet Norris at the Wildwoods beach ball sign on the boardwalk. They then went to Morey’s Piers, where they bopped around Mariner’s Landing and played bumper cars. She was filmed huddled at a boardwalk tram stop.

She was also filmed standing on the counter in a mini-ball game to sink a shot, and seeming to win a large stuffed animal in a squirt game, where Norris had somehow changed from shoes into black Converse high-tops.

News of the hometown dates routinely leaks, but they are major spoilers as typically, only four contestants get a hometown date. The blogger known as “Reality Steve” revealed the Wildwood location Sunday night, and was busy posting videos on Monday.

Norris is a graduate of Wildwood Catholic and Cabrini University and the owner of Spirit Ball, a store on the Wildwood boardwalk, according to LinkedIn.