Hometown dates on The Bachelorette are often full of drama, but tonight’s edition ended on a more somber note. At the conclusion of the episode the producers aired a tribute card to Erich Schwer’s father Allan, who passed away earlier this summer.

These episodes were filmed in the spring, so that meant that Gabby Windey had an opportunity to meet Allan and the rest of Erich’s family prior to the end of his life. In a post on Instagram this July, here is some of what the reality star had to say about his father, who passed after a battle with cancer:

Thankful for everything you’ve done for me. We are gonna miss the hell out of you Big AL. I love you so much dad.

If Gabby does choose Erich at the end of this season, we have to imagine that it was especially meaningful to the both of them that she had an opportunity to meet his father. We know that it can be really easy sometimes to be cynical about a lot of things pertaining to this show, but once you get to this point, feelings are real. Erich wanted his family to love Gabby so that they could all picture a future around each other. The feelings he has for her seem very much real.

This was a really important gesture for ABC and the show’s producers to make. These cards are incredibly meaningful and live on in all subsequent airings. Erich’s entire family will be able to look back at this down the road and have a greater attachment to it. (Just like with the show itself, we know that sometimes it can be easy to feel cynical towards production.)

Our thoughts go out to not only Erich, but everyone close to him during this difficult time. We know that watching this episode back has to have a different meaning for all of them, no matter if Eric ends up being Gabby’s final rose or not.

This article was written by Jessica BunBun. Be sure to follow her on Twitter.