This article contains spoilers for The Bachelor, season 21, episode one.
On Jan. 27, ABC’s The Bachelor returned with Grant Ellis. The 31-year-old day trader charmed everyone on The Bachelorette Season 21 when he quickly fell for Jenn Tran. Unfortunately, his dribbling skills weren’t enough for this former pro basketball player to win Jenn’s heart. Though he left heartbroken, he has returned to the mansion to begin his journey to finding love.
Before heading to the mansion, Grant stopped in Houston, Texas, to hear some encouraging words from his family and his protective older sister, Taylor. In a heartwarming moment, Grant gave his first impression rose to none other than his grandma, telling her, “This is the first rose that I’m ever gonna hand out. It signifies my love for you and how much I love you as my grandma. And you’ll always be my first impression rose.”
We also met Grant’s father, who, after struggling with addiction for 30 years, is in recovery and ready to be fully involved in Grant’s life. Grant is also ready for a new chapter in his life. After opening up about the struggles he faced growing up and his parent’s tumultuous divorce, Grant emphasized that “This whole journey is about putting that lone wolf mentality behind [him].”
First Impressions
After reuniting with host Jesse Palmer, Grant was finally ready to meet the 25 women vying for his heart. Rose was first out of the limo, and to no one’s surprise, she asked Grant if he’d “accept this rose?” The women got creative with their entrances.
One person who stuck out in Bachelor Nation was Linda. Except Linda isn’t an eligible woman; she’s a llama. Alexe Godin, a 29-year-old speech therapist from Canada, turned heads when she stepped out of the limo with Linda, the “no drama llama.” As an animal lover, Grant was pleasantly surprised to meet Linda and Alexe.
Everyone knows the way to someone’s heart is through their stomach, and the women put this theory to the test with Grant. Kyleigh spiced things up with chips and salsa. Alli Jo brought a heart-shaped pizza, complete with the cheesy pickup line, “Will you accept this pizza my heart?” Savannah, a wedding planner, skipped the appetizers and went straight for dessert with a wedding cake.
After going all out with their entrances, the women were ready to spend some alone time getting to know Grant inside the mansion. With the coveted first impression rose on the line, it was a battle of charm, wit, and strategic interruptions.
Parisa showed off her crystal collection before giving Grant a PowerPoint presentation of what their future could look like. She even included AI-generated images of their future children. Juliana took a different route and serenaded Grant on the piano while Natalie taught him a few breathing exercises that might come in handy later this season.
First Kiss
All the ladies were anxiously waiting to see who would get the first kiss. Despite Allyshia Gupta insisting that she doesn’t kiss on the first date, she and Grant shared quotes from The Notebook, and then they shared the first kiss of the evening.
The tone in the mansion changed when the other women saw the two exchanging a kiss, but Allyshia was not the only one to receive a kiss from Grant on the first night. He also locked lips with Juliana, Litia, Alexe, Vicky, Zoe, Natalie, and Rose.
First Rose
Although every season of Bachelor promises to have some unexpected twist, this season started with a pretty big one when Jesse announced that the woman who receives the first impression rose would also receive the first one-on-one date.
Though Alexe may not have gotten the first kiss, she did get the first rose. It turns out that bringing a llama to the first date made an impression on Grant, too. What really caught Grant’s eye, though, was her humor and sweet, quirky personality.
Not everyone can have a happy ending, though. At the end of the night, Grant said goodbye to seven lovely women. Among those leaving were Christina, J’Nae, Kelsey, Kyleigh, Neicey, Radhika, and Savannah. While it may be too early to have favorites, eliminations are never easy.
As always, the episode ended with a dramatic teaser of the season to come: “The problem is that I’m torn between two women. I have a ring, and I don’t know who I’m going to give it to.” Will this season have an ending as dramatic as the last? I’ll have my popcorn ready every Monday to find out.
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