He's not the "toxic ex" 'Bachelorette' Jenn Tran talked about, but rather someone she dated three years ago and recently reconnected with as friends ... "or so I thought as friends."

As if it isn't complicated enough trying to find love with cameras in your face at all hours of the day and night, and among dozens of men, Jenn Tran got a blast from the past on the latest episode of The Bachelorette -- and it derailed the whole show.

"For him to come here is just a big shock," Jenn said while traveling with her entourage of suitors in New Zealand. Apparently her ex-boyfriend, Matt Rossi, had missed her in Colombia while he was there for two weddings, so he hopped a flight to follow the production to New Zealand.

Ex in the Mix?

According to Jenn, Matt is not the "toxic ex" she has talked about on and off the show. "He's not the one who messed me up a little bit," she said during Monday's episode.

Instead, he's a guy she dated three years ago, and then "recently reconnected in the past few months as friends -- or so I thought as friends."

And this wasn't just puppy love following her around the world, as Matt dropped the "l-bomb" on Jenn. "I really do love you," he told her, after she challenged him that he could have said all these things before she left.

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"I did say it," he insisted, "but I didn't' say it as grandly as this, I guess."

With 12 guys remaining, Matt asked if he could join the show, making it a baker's dozen, and continue on this journey with her ... because that would go over so well with the remaining guys who've been fighting for her attention all this time.

Matt is no stranger to fans of Jenn's journey to find love, even if he is new to the Bachelor Nation television screens. As noted by Us Weekly , months before she started this journey, Jenn talked about dating a man on her TikTok , whom she referred to as "weiner boy" because of his dog.

In the video, dated December 2023, Jenn shares a bit of their story, and how Matt left her. "Weiner boy and I start going out and I’m completely head over heels in love with him. I wanna marry weiner boy, I wanna be Mrs. Weiner at this point," she told her followers.

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"Which really sucks, because three months later weiner boy dumps me and I’m completely in shambles," she continued. "I don't know what I’m going to do. This is the first real relationship that I've ever had out of college."

The heartbreak proved beneficial for Jenn, though, as she went to Miami on an impromptu trip after the breakup, and it was there she found the PA (physician's assistant) school she would ultimately attend.

"If weiner boy wasn’t born and didn’t break my heart, I would not be fulfilling my dreams right now," she said in the video.

Two months later, in a TikTok of his own, Matt acknowledged that he was the "weiner boy" in question, and detailed his side of the story. "Things started getting pretty serious and Jenn was ready to settle down but my dad just wasn't there yet," the video (from his dog's point of view) said. He closed by asking her to "give me another shot."

In his video, Matt called himself a "f--k boy" when he and Jenn met, and admitted he was "using her for clout," as that was when she was on her way to becoming one of Joey Graziadei's final women on The Bachelor .

So what is he doing now?

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The Rest of the Guys

Outside of Matt bogarting the episode, and trying to barge into the show, the actual cast of suitors got to enjoy some quality time with Jenn in Auckland, New Zealand. She had a dozen guys when they arrived, with two of them landing one-on-one dates.

Sam M got the first of those, which turned out to be harder for Jenn than him. What she thought was a drink atop the Auckland Sky Tower was actually a drop. Bungee jumping off the structure was not her idea of a good time!

Her guy was all for it, and trying to push her outside her comfort zone, but she just saw it as him being pushy. She was clearly on the edge of her emotional breaking point, so his urging was definitely not winning him any points.

What she said, per a confessional, was she wanted her fear validated and to feel supported by Sam. When he finally turned around and gave her that, telling her they didn't have to jump ... she then wanted to do it, and so they did. In the end, he got that rose.

Devin lands the second one-on-one, which takes the pair to meet a group of Māori people. Their cultural share was impactful on the couple as both have their own backgrounds they don't feel strongly connected with, and wish they had more.

Opening up about their family dynamics and connections to their cultural roots carried through the evening portion, as well, landing Devin a rose of his own.

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At the group date, everyone else suits up for a game of rugby -- which might have had a little too much testosterone injected into it. Sam N, in particular, was definitely playing for keeps, all the way to his "Jenn's Husband" jersey.

After his team wins the game, he carries his arrogance into the evening portion and won't hear it when the other guys tell him to bring it down a notch. They asked him to respect the other guys there ... so he grabbed Jenn first and gave her a "Sam's Wife" jersey.

When he asks if he can kiss her, the guys perhaps got even more than they were wishing for. Jenn told him she wasn't feeling it, or him for that matter, and Sam N was invited to take his jerseys and head on home. That rose went to Marcus.

Alas, after Matt took over the episode, we ended on that cliffhanger question of whether or not she'd welcome him to the show (this tactic has definitely not worked in the intruder's favor in recent years, out of respect for the other suitors).

Nevertheless, The Bachelorette is going to make us wait until next week to find out whether or not Matt gets to join the show ... and who Jenn boots at the next Rose Ceremony.

The Bachelorette airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

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