With the 28th season of The Bachelor starting up, it is obvious to fans that this season will have no shortage of drama (or tears). The bachelor himself, Joey Graziadei, is a (veryyy handsome) 28 year old professional tennis player who Bachelor Nation fans will recognize as being the runner up from season 20 of The Bachelorette. From just the first night we can see Joey is very open to finding love, making this (probably previously assumed fact) obvious to viewers by kissing not one, not five, but seven (!!!) of the contestants. Aside from how quickly he seems to be diving into all this, Joey seems to be a very sweet man who would be any girl’s dream husband.
Speaking of familiar faces, Lea, who first met Joey during last August’s “After The Final Rose”, makes her return with the special envelope in hand. Lea opens the envelope when she is able to step off to the side by herself, without the pressure of the other girls, or Joey, peering over her shoulder. The envelope reveals that she is able to steal a one-on-one from one of the other girls as long as it is before the hometown dates. Many girls in Lea’s position would be thrilled with this advantage but Lea is left in tears, sharing that she feels bad having to take the opportunity of a one-on-one from another girl and emphasizes that if she and Joey end up together she wants it to be because of a real connection, not because she was able to manipulate the outcome. After a lot of tears, and a heartfelt conversation with Joey, Lea tosses the envelope into the fireplace and decides to not take advantage of the offer.
Lea left a lasting impression on viewers, Joey, and the other women by showing her caring character and willingness to play fair. Another girl in the house, however, did the complete opposite. Contestant Jess, who made a strong first impression by pulling up to the mansion on a boat, bragged to the other women about the kiss she and Joey shared after speaking one on one. In her mind, the kiss was special and for a while she was convinced she was the only one he was going to kiss that night. Not only was she bragging about her “special connection” with Joey but she was practically pushing the other women out of the way to get to him. She interrupted his very personal and heartfelt conversation with Taylor to make her go back inside so she and Joey could have some more alone time. She might as well have put a target on her back. Taylor, the other contestants, and viewers at home were immediately turned off by her behavior. Personally, I can’t wait to witness more of this Taylor vs Jess rivalry.
Speaking of rivalry, two of the contestants, Lauren and Allison, revealed to the house that they are sisters, just two years apart. The women, and Joey, were confused by this and many found it weird that two sisters would want to date the same guy. The sisters seem to be very competitive and the older one, Lauren, openly expresses her discontent that Joey kissed Allison first and gave Allison the first rose. This was done through (loudly) whispering “You did not get the first rose. Go f*** yourself”. Don’t worry though, Lauren was also able to grab a rose so this interesting sister bonding time will continue!
Lea was not the only one who shed a tear the first night, Evalin spent most of the rose ceremony in complete hysterics. She didn’t get any one on one time with Joey and assumed that would prevent her from receiving a rose. The thought of going home the first night was just too upsetting for her to be able to contain her tears. Luckily for her though, Joey handed her the rose that promised Evalin her time on The Bachelor was not yet over.
Overall this first episode sets up a very promising season that will no doubt be filled with not only lots of drama and lots of tears but hopefully lots of love.