‘Ben & Lauren: Happily Ever After?’ Recap: Camp Counseling

This week on Ben & Lauren: Happily Ever After?, the couple goes on a camping trip with former Bachelor contestants Chris Soules, Grant, Lace, the twins (Haley and Emily), and the infamous Chad. (Because that is a totally normal thing Ben and Lauren would do if they had no cameras following them. Just go with it.) Upon arriving at the campsite, the twins seem unimpressed by nature, because if they wanted to look at trees they “can go Google it on Instagram.” (Side note: The twins have had a fairly prominent role on Ben & Lauren; with luck, this is a sign that the two most entertaining characters on the show might get their own spinoffs.)

Ben and Lauren’s first order of business is to go for a romantic walk. [Cue the music.] The two bond as Ben teaches Lauren how to fish. Things get pretty mushy as Ben thanks Lauren for being a part of his world. They also decide that they should wait to tell Grant and Lace that they’ve invited Chad to join them because things have started out on such a fun and carefree note.

Meanwhile at the campsite, Lace and the twins are working on setting up the tent. One exclaims, “It’s like a stripper pole!” Finally the guys take over, and the girls work on starting a fire for the group. They attempt to do so by rubbing sticks together but realize they’re using a small handmade bow and arrow. Never mind: It’s time for Lace to show the twins how to go to the bathroom outside, using “wide-leg squats.”

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Ben finally tells Lace that he and Lauren ran into Chad recently and invited him to join their camping trip. Ben and Lauren feel there is more to Chad than is seen on the surface, and they had originally thought that Grant and Lace wouldn’t be able to make the trip because of a conflict. Lauren explains that they felt “a weird calling to reach out to Chad.” I think that call might have been from the show’s producers, but let’s not quibble. “Chad is just lost, he’s sad, he needs people that can relate to him,” explains Ben. People like Grant’s and Robby’s ex-girlfriends, whom Chad apparently went out of his way to hook up with after The Bachelorette.

The group is then distracted as a large bear approaches on a nearby hill.

The men all try to assert their dominance and start yelling at the animal to scare it away. I always thought that the appropriate reaction to a bear was to be quiet and back away slowly, but yelling seemed to work. The men then push their luck further and attempt to run after the bear, which upsets Lauren. Ben asks why she’s angry and tries to defend himself by saying, “I’m a boy, I do crazy stuff! I’m 100 percent testosterone.” [Pause for laughter.] Lauren explains that she’s allowed to worry, as they’re now a married unit, and the two quickly reconcile.

After a short clip of Grant teaching the men how to put out a fire while shirtless, we cut to the group whitewater rafting. Everyone has a great time, but as one twin says, “It was fun, but I’ll never do it again.” Chris Soules replies that he said the same thing about The Bachelor. For his part, Ben loves rafting because “you don’t have to worry about wedding planning; you don’t have to worry about what’s going on at home.” Clearly Ben is still feeling pressured about that whole televised-wedding thing.

The group is just starting to unwind at the campfire when we hear the dreaded sound of whistling — Chad’s here! Naturally, Lace is crying before he even arrives, so things escalate quickly. Ben tries to act as a mediator and pushes Chad to make a formal apology to everyone. Chad explains that he was just trying to make people laugh when he “blasted” people on Twitter. When the group asks Chad why he went after Robby’s and Grant’s ex-girlfriends, he mumbles, “Sometimes we do things, and then those things become things.” He has such a way with words.

Things get out of hand when Grant asks Chad if his mother, who passed away last year, would be proud if she saw his Bachelor-related antics. Ben insists that the cameramen put down their equipment so they can finish the conversation. In the end, Chad simply leaves so the group can enjoy themselves without him. Ben is disappointed that Chad chose to exit the situation rather than apologize, but it does seem like Chad has matured a teeny bit since we saw him last — after all, he didn’t threaten to murder anyone.

Ben and Lauren return to their home in Denver and are relieved to be sleeping in their own bed again. Of course, when Lauren proceeds to check her phone she has 17 messages from their wedding planner. Back to reality.

Ben & Lauren: Happily Ever After? airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on Freeform.