Hello and welcome back readers! This week is HOMETOWN WEEK aka my favorite week of the entire franchise that is The Bachelor. I love hometowns and all I can say is Nick did not disappoint (thank goodness!). But first, we need to catch up on what went down in Bimini (again, I still don’t know where this is).
Nick left us hanging last week by sending Kristina home and then …. nothing. This week we pick up right where we left off. Nick gives each of the remaining four women, Raven, Vanessa, Rachel and Corinne, a rose and an invitation to bring him to their hometown. They all accept and we are off to awkward family dinners and so many “I love you”s. Let’s get rolling!
Nick takes us to visit Raven first (although if you want to fact check, he actually visits the women in a different order than what they show on television) in Hoxie, Arkansas. Raven has really stolen my heart, y’all. She greets Nick and takes him to a grain bin where they “get picked up” by the police. But actually, it’s Raven’s brother! He gives them a hard time and then Raven takes Nick four-wheeling. And honestly, only Nick could make rolling in mud this hot.
They are actually super cute together and I was loving all of the “down south” vibes. Raven takes Nick to meet her mom and dad where she got super emotional because her dad almost died of cancer a few years ago. Nick was really supportive and they all got emotional when Raven’s dad said he was cancer free! Yay for so much happiness on a show where people get heartbroken every week! I LOVE HOMETOWNS!
And Raven’s dad was honestly all of us at the beginning of this season regarding Nick:
Next up, we see Nick visit Rachel in Dallas, Texas. First up, Rachel takes Nick to CHURCH. Gosh, I am loving this season and all that is to come with Rachel as the Bachelorette. She ROCKS! At church, we get lots of awesomeness including this great church choir:
And Nick gets called out by the pastor from the pulpit! You go Rachel!
When Nick meets Rachel’s family, they are concerned of course about the challenges Rachel and Nick will face as an interracial couple in the spotlight. A lot of what they talked about resonated with me and I was actually proud that ABC was tackling such a sensitive topic on a Monday night show. I know that being a minority in this country can be difficult and I was glad that instead of shying away from the topic of race, Nick, Rachel and her family addressed it head on. Good job! Plus, we already know Nick and Rachel don’t end up together so to get a glimpse into Rachel’s life before she’s the Bachelorette is super fun! And her mom totally rocks!
After seeing Rachel, Nick goes to see Corinne in Miami, Florida where we get a look into the life of the almost heiress. Corinne takes Nick shopping.
She buys him lots of expensive clothes and finds some fun stuff for herself too.
She truly is the queen of shopping.
She also gives great shopping advice.
She also tells Nick this big shocker:
But seeing her with her family and Raquel was possibly the best part of Corinne’s story this far.
Basically, Corinne’s family just seemed like a lot of fun, especially with the amount of money they have. I’m sure they really do it up in style. But ultimately, I don’t see Nick fitting in there and he even admitted he’s a “bargain shopper” so I don’t see this lasting long term. Sorry, Corinne. It was fun while it lasted!
The final stop on the hometown tour is to see Vanessa in Montreal, Canada!
Vanessa is a special education teacher to adults in her town and she took Nick to meet some of her students. This entire montage was incredibly sweet and Nick even got emotional seeing Vanessa interact with her students who love her so much.
But Vanessa knew the hardest part of the day was still coming as Nick had to meet both sides of her family, which are really protective of her.
Nick visits her mom and her entire big Italian family first for lunch. During this time, Nick gets alone time with Vanessa’s mom and older sister. They both ask very reasonable questions regarding where Nick and Vanessa will live after this show and what Nick plans on doing after the show. But neither Vanessa or Nick have answers for them and say they still have to work through all of that stuff. RED FLAG. Basically, Vanessa’s mom and sister pointed out to both Nick and Vanessa that they haven’t talked about the future AT ALL which means there might not be one for them?? I don’t know what’s going to happen for these two but if I were Vanessa I’d be pretty worried at this point.
After all of these big realizations, Vanessa takes Nick to meet her dad and step mom. (I too eat my feelings when I’m feeling stressed, Vanessa)
Nick awkwardly asks Vanessa’s dad for his blessing to marry Vanessa, or at least propose to her, at the end of the show. However, Vanessa’s dad comes back with the ultimate question: have you asked other fathers this question on your trips so far? And Nick has to own up and say yes, he has asked other fathers for their blessing. UH-OH NICK. THIS DAY JUST KEEPS GETTING WORSE FOR YOU. V’s dad gives Nick his blessing, after some prodding and reasoning from Nick, but the dad ultimate gets the last word when he tells Vanessa that Nick has asked other people for their blessing. Vanessa finally realizes that she’s not the only one Nick could be falling for, and her whole world comes crashing down.
Things don’t end well with Vanessa in Montreal, and the next time we see Nick he is answering the door at his hotel room when someone comes a-knockin’. The great editors over at ABC made it look like it was Vanessa coming to confront Nick before the rose ceremony, but in reality it was ANDI. THE WOMAN WHO BROKE NICK’S HEART OVER TWO YEARS AGO. SHOCKER.
Once again we are left with a To Be Continued, and who knows what is going down in the fantasy suites next week. Will Andi be back to vye for Nick’s heart? (I doubt it). Will Vanessa choose to go home? (I doubt that too). Only time will tell! See you next week, Bachelor Nation! Happy studying!