It’s that wonderful time of the year again … Bachelorette season! I was especially excited for this one to get started because Rachel Lindsay seemed down-to-Earth and relatable when she tried to win the heart of Nick Viall during his season of The Bachelor.
Even though I strongly disliked Nick and his season of The Bachelor, Rachel stood out as a fan favorite. She is from Dallas, a lawyer, and a total badass. Rachel describes herself as “sassy and classy.” She was way too good for Nick anyway.
On Monday, May 22 Rachel’s journey to find true love aired on ABC.
Before she meets with the guys, she had a reunion with some of the other women who were in Nick’s season … Corrine, Kristina, Raven, Jasmine, Whitney and Alexis. Corrine tells Rachel to follow her gut feelings when it comes to the guys. Alexis advises Rachel not to judge anyone who shows up in a crazy costume too harshly.
Whitney then warns Rachel about a man named DeMario because she heard that his intentions might not be pure. Raven wraps up the conversation with some sweet words about letting herself fall, and Raven cries.
FINALLY the 31 men arrive. These guys all tried to make a lasting impression with the hopes of receiving a red rose. You know how it goes, if the bachelorette doesn’t see a future with a guy, he doesn’t get a rose and he goes home.
Who got the first impression rose?
Bryan stepped out of the limo and instantly charmed Rachel when he started speaking in Spanish. He is Colombian, a chiropractor who is “good with his hands” and Rachel was intrigued when he said he was trouble. Later in the night, he kisses Rachel. She said she loved the kiss even though she told the cameras that she did not want to kiss anyone too early.
It is no surprise that she gives him the first impression rose. He kisses her again, and they go to the rose ceremony.
What else do you need to know?
There is a contestant this season named Jonathan and his bio calls him “a tickle monster.” Okay, ew. When he gets out of the limo, he tells Rachel he wants to make her laugh and asks her to hold out her hands and close her eyes. Then he grabs and tickles her.
After doing a bit of research, Jonathan is actually a doctor. When asked why they decided on that title, host Chris Harrison supposedly said, “That’s kind of what he does, that’s his thing.” Personally, I wouldn’t want anything to do with a tickle monster, but Rachel decides to give him a rose.
A guy named Matt showed up in a penguin suit, a guy named Blake appeared with an entire marching band, and a guy named Adam brought a creepy doll named AJ to the first impression cocktail party. She gave all three of these men roses.
Rachel was surprised when a man named Fred stepped out of the limo with an old yearbook. Turns out she was his camp counselor when he was in the third grade. Rachel makes a joke about how she can’t stop imagining him as the naughty camper that she has to punish … and not in the sexy way. She gave him a rose, too, but you can tell she wasn't very into him.
There is an awful “Whaboom” guy named Lucas who is over the top obnoxious. Every season has at least one villain/crazy character. What’s a Whaboom? No one knows. But this guy wears the word on his shirt and screams it about 7 times during the episode while his head spasms like he is experiencing a violent sneeze.
Of course the producers make Rachel give Whaboom a rose. Anyone who has ever watched these shows know they keep the crazy ones around for drama. Maybe she will send him home next week, but I doubt it.
At the end of the night, Rachel sent home eight men leaving 23 men for next week’s episode. It is unknown why she sent home Blake K, a U.S. Marine veteran from San Francisco. He was nice, cute, charming and seemed like a much better fit for her than some of the guys she decided to keep.
You can watch next week’s episode of The Bachelorette on Monday, May 29 on ABC at 7:00 p.m. central time.
