The Bachelorette 8: Emily Has A Crush

They walked over to their Martha Stewart rooftop dinner table.  It was perfect, minus the fact that the palm trees looked ready to fall over due to the wind.  The dinner conversation started off with talking about how they would be too nervous to make the first move if they saw each other out and about. 

Emily began with her list of “getting to know you/Are you mature enough to be with me?” questions, and found out that Chris is 25.  Despite that Emily is also 25, this was a red flag for her and she expressed concerns that he won’t be ready to be a father to Ricki. 

Chris’ rebuttal to her concern was, “I’m a man!”  Well, now that we’ve established that, Chris also told Emily that he was ready and willing to be with Emily.  Emily was won over and liked that Chris seemed older than her despite the fact that they were the same age. 

For the second time this season, Emily romanced her suitor with a country music concert (this time it was Luke Bryan).  What do you guys think of these concert dates?  I’ve always felt they were a little awkward to watch, especially since they are usually the only ones watching the performance.  It did seem like sparks were flying between Emily and Chris as they slow danced AND they had their first kiss.  Chris got a rose without question, and I sense that he will stick around for a while. 

The Group Date

The premise for this date was that Emily’s friends from Charlotte were quizzing the guys to find her best match.  This.  Awesome.  The guys thought the date would involve a casual football date and boy, were they wrong.  Initially, when Emily left to get her friends, all of the guys freaked out: “Where is she going?!”  “What if I don’t get one-on-one time with her??” 

When she returned, she led the guys over to her group of friends.  When they saw them, one of the guys literally said, “Are we getting manicures?”  You wish, buddy.  Once they figured out what was really going on, they started sweating. 

Most of the questions that the women asked were mainly about if the guys were ready to be a father figure.  But by far, one of the best questions from the beginning of the grill session was, “So what’s with the guy with the egg?”  My thoughts exactly.

Apparently the egg’s name is Shelly.  Her friends found the egg pretty weird/disgusting.  Epic Fail.  And then John was up and he hesitated when they asked him if he’d ever cheated before. 

Stevie the Party MC was up next.  Of course, he managed to pop lock and drop it for Emily’s friends.  They seemed to find him amusing, but didn’t take him too seriously.

Sean came in, good looks and all, talking about faith and family.  Emily’s friends were swooning and asked him to take his shirt off.  The women of America collectively sighed.  I think Sean got 1^st place with Emily’s friends easily.

As if this date wasn’t intimidating enough, ABC decided to bring in a pack of kids reminiscent of The Kindergarteners from the cartoon show, Recess.  Most of the guys did pretty well with the kids.  Emily seemed most impressed by Jef, Doug, and Tony. 

And then Ryan shot himself in the foot by telling Emily (in front of her friends) that he would love her if she got fat, but he wouldn’t love ON her.  He is a personal trainer, so fitness is probably important.  Face palm.  Not impressed.

Emily asked her friends to pick their favorite guy.  Sean, Doug, and surprisingly Ryan were named.  Afterwards, they went to a bar for one-on-one time.  Emily was anxious to talk to Sean because he made a good impression with her friends.  Emily grilled him on the fact that Sean is “picky/selective” with whom he dates.  Sean told her that he’s looking for a love like the kind his parents have.  Emily seemed impressed.

When Emily talked to Doug, she was ready to learn more about him beyond the fact that he has a son.  Doug shared with Emily that he was orphaned and grew up partially in foster homes after his mom left the family and his father died.  Emily got emotional and shared her respect for his upbeat attitude despite his difficult upbringing. 

Then, Emily spent some time with Tony who was clearly upset and missing his son.  He didn’t seem very focused on Emily, and he broke down.  Doug tried to talk him down from leaving.  Then, Tony made it harder by calling his son and Tony realized that he wished he was with him.  Emily came over to talk him about her experience with missing Ricki.  She said that she couldn’t keep him from his son any longer if she wasn’t feeling sure that they would be together till the end.  So, Tony went back to be with his little guy.  I think this was best for both parties.  Tony’s heart just wasn’t in it and it would’ve only been harder down the line!

The rose went to Sean.  So far the record is 1-0 for guys who have taken their shirts off for love.

Second Date: Arie

Arie and Emily flew, by private jet of course, to Tennessee.  Emily surprised Arie with going to Dollywood, or in her words, “the happiest place on Earth.”  However, Emily didn’t look so happy when she was getting strapped into a roller coaster. They were sitting on a stage (for some reason?) and Dolly Parton, the country music icon, surprised Emily on the stage.  Emily freaked out and Dolly performed an original song for Emily as she danced with Arie. yes”>  I thought it was cute that Emily was visibly nervous around her icon.  Wouldn’t we all be?!  Dolly gave Emily a pep talk and then performed a song that she had written for her husband of 47 years.  I think this was a really neat experience for Emily, but she was way more into Dolly Parton than Arie at that point.  Her eyes were mainly on Dolly performing, not on Arie. 

At dinner, Arie talked about his previous relationship with a woman who had 2 kids.  Everything Arie says seems to be perfect, but I’m worried that he’s a little too smooth.  He hit pretty hard on the children thing, which is a soft spot for Emily. yes”>  They talked about what it would be like with Arie traveling for races.  Emily said she would be okay with it as long as she was on his mind.  Then, they made out on a merry-go-round and Emily shared that she’s super into Arie and doesn’t want to screw it up. The Cocktail Party

I want ALL of Emily’s dresses. 

Emily started off the party talking to Kalon saying that he was such a genuine guy?  Kalon talked about how difficult it was to share Emily and he repeatedly cut her off when she was trying to talk.  Luckily, Emily seemed to notice this. And then Kalon shot himself in the foot by talking about how he had always envisioned his first child being one of his own.  Emily then tried to talk again and he cut her off AGAIN by saying “I love it when you talk but I wish you’d let me finish.”  Emily mastered the amused/angry face pretty well.  How could she possibly keep him after this?  Gag.

Then, Emily talked to the Egg Man (whose real name is Travis).  Back to back crazy.  Thankfully, he took a cue from her friends and let Emily smash the egg on the ground. Alessandro was up next.  He said that Emily would have to teach him to be a father.  He then said that being a father would be a compromise for him instead of an honor.  Alessandro was brutally honest about the fact that he wouldn’t see Ricki as a bonus, but a hinderance.  Goodbye, Alessandro.  Man, my preview prediction was totally off!  Have fun “living like a gypsy king with all the freedom you’ve ever wanted,” Alessandro!  Gag.  She sent him home right away.

Arie went to comfort Emily as she swilled down her (probably) alcoholic drink.  His kiss to comfort her was pretty cute, I have to admit! yes”>  Emily’s good mood was back on track. 

The Rose Ceremony

Arie, Sean, and Chris already had one.

Got one:

Jef

Charlie

Doug

Michael with the long hair.

Travis (Egg Man)

Alejandro

Ryan

John…the spelling has been confirmed.  There’s an “h”. 

Kalon.  ARE YOU SERIOUS?!?!  The producers must be bribing her.

Nate

And thus, the party ended abruptly for Stevie.  He needed to go, but it was really Kalon’s turn this week.  I was kind of expecting him to moon walk out of the mansion though…