This week, viewers watched Gabby Windey and Rachel Recchia’s messy premiere.

Season 19 of The Bachelorette is already giving us a lot to discuss, but one awkward moment sticks out like a sore thumb.

Gabby shared a first kiss with one of the suitors, Mario Vassall.

The Bachelor Nation is cringing and wishing to purge it from their memories. To “help,” we made a lot of GIFs.

Gabby Windey and Rachel Recchia could have spent this season at each other’s throats.

They are, after all, dating the same 32 men. Instead, they dated as a team.

That didn’t stop Gabby from getting some alone time with suitors … including Mario Vassall.

In a scene that lasted just over two minutes, she sat with Mario.

They spoke. Then they kissed. They spoke some more. Then they kissed some more.

Kissing on camera can be extremely awkward … but rarely like this.

Obviously, it could be worse.

No one was making upsetting barnyard noises or licking each other’s faces.

If you’ve seen (or experienced) a worse kiss than this, you know what we mean. But still … viewers weren’t loving it.

In addition to six different GIFs (sorry not sorry) and the clip itself, we have included a sampling of reactions.

The Bachelorette and the rest of the franchise remain a big hit among livetweeters.

But that meant that viewers knew that they were not alone in cringing at the scene.

Part of the issue with the kiss may have been the angle of the kiss.

The degree to which Gabby pushed out her lips may have been a contributing factor.

Mostly, the uncertainty — when to start kissing, and when to stop — seemed uncomfortable and almost juvenile.

Obviously, the livetweets contained elements of hyperbole.

You seldom get laughs without memes and exaggerations.

But … nobody had a good time watching this first kiss.

If we take a look at the scene itself, you can see that they did make an earnest connection.

Sparks were flying, and Gabby was clearly still giddy as she spoke about him later to the camera.

But it’s just so unfortunate that their mood contrasted so strongly with how viewers responded. Whoops!

Given how blunt some of the night’s rejections went, Gabby could have distanced herself from Mario.

Instead, she handed the hunk her first impression rose.

Fans and viewers were, frankly, a little bewildered.

“I was really excited to talk to Mario,” Gabby gushed to the camera.

She appraised: “He’s a great kisser.”

Gabby then raved: “He’s kind of giving me butterflies.”

Still, she wasn’t ready to skip the rest of the season and marry Mario then and there.

“These first few guys are really amazing,” she observed.

“It’s truly surreal to know that they’re here for me,” Gabby expressed.

“I’m enjoying the hell out of it,” Gabby said.

“But I want to know who Rachel is kissing,” she admitted, “if they’re good, if they’re bad.”

Gabby then explained: “I feel like it’s not weird. I mean, she’s my friend.”

It’s not weird, really.

A lot of friends compare notes on the people they’re dating. Some even date the same people.

But a spectacle like this, where two friends date the same 32 men (well, fewer now) on television is much rarer.

Hopefully, as the season continues, the kisses will be less … like this.

Maybe Gabby and Mario will be less uncertain next time.

And perhaps Gabby will have better first kisses as the season goes on.

For now, we are left with the memory of this.

We’ll say this much for these two: kissing isn’t everything.

Spectacular relationships have blossomed between terrible kissers. And they’re not that terrible, we promise.

The Bachelorette Viewers Cringe Gabby Windey and Mario Vassall’s Awkward First Kiss was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip .