When it comes to these Bachelor Nation shows, it’s so important to find a way to stand out. One man did that in all the right ways, scoring new Bachelorette Jenn Tran’s First Impression Rose. Unfortunately, he wasn’t the only one who managed to stand out.
As always the premiere’s limo entrances offered up some of the night’s most memorable moments, but we’re not sure we remember it being quite so NSFW in the past. Still, Jenn was appreciative of the effort.
“I just wanted to see them put in the effort, whether that was the limo entrance or something they wanted to bring to me from home or being intentional with conversations,” she told TheWrap. “I just really wanted to be wowed with intention and effort.”
There’s the guy who made a rather “cheeky” entrance with, in fact, only his bare a– fully visible (the rest of him was in a hospital gown with bandages over his face. Jonathon explained he has a case of “lovesickness” to explain his gurney entrance.
Jenn loved his entrance, joking to Deadly ine that “Jonathon showed up with his butt cheeks out. That was great.” To TheWrap, she admitted, “That left an impression for sure — I would not have the balls to go pantsless on my first impression, but good for him.”
Another favorite was Hakeem, who showed up “with a bunch of balloons, and that really reminded me of the movie Up. So it was kind of a nostalgic feeling. I really loved that. It was just so creative.”
Then there’s the guy who managed to keep it in his pants, but that didn’t stop him from talking about it. Jeremy pulled up in a sports car and quipped, “I know what they say about people who have those types of cars — overcompensating, but I wanted to let you know that, in fact, I have a really big — I know — like, a really big penis.”
“Did you just say the p-word?” Jenn replied, looking shocked. That moment him Jenn’s “not-so-favorite” entrance, with her telling Us Weekly, “I was like, ‘Whoa, too much too soon, buddy.”
Sam M kept things simple, but got her attention by quoting her “shot o’clock” mantra, joking how nice it’d be to still be celebrating it in 50 years. He definitely wormed his way into her mind with that one, as he was one of the guys oft-mentioned.
On top of that, right from the jump it was made clear that Jenn wasn’t just going to be tossing kisses away on Night One. “It takes me a lot to get to that level to want to kiss somebody because kissing is one of the most intimate things you can do with somebody — I knew that it wasn’t going to be everybody off the bat for me, that’s just kind of how I take physicality,” she explained to TheWrap.
“I was conscious of it, but I didn’t go into it with a quota,” she added. “I really just followed my gut the whole night.”
“There might have been a couple where I was like, ‘Oh, I don’t know’ and kind of like swindled my way out of a situation at some point,” Jenn told USA Today. “As women sometimes we’re like, ‘Oh, if somebody leans in, I have to kiss them.’ And it’s like, no, you have a say over what you want to do, and it’s OK to just say no.”
While a lot of guys talked about it, and some made their moves, only one guy got through. Not only did Sam M score the only kiss of the night, but he also got her First Impression Rose.
Explaining her decision to Deadline, Jenn said, “The conversation was just so easy. That first night, there’s so much going on, so I was constantly just thinking back to someone who made me feel so comfortable, and someone who I felt like it was going to be really easy with.”
One of the more unique elements of this premiere night was a group game of Truth or Dare, including Jenn — talk about a way to loosen up! And boy did that happen as Austin was rather boldly dared to streak around the house — and even more remarkably, he did it!
Eagle-eyed fans (well, it was really more about just paying attention) will note that the show didn’t take place at the usual Bachelor Mansion. Instead, the meet-and-greets took place at Hummingbird Nest Ranch in Simi Valley, CA.
Never to fear, that doesn’t mean the mansion’s necessarily gone. It just means that Jenn’s schedule — which sees her and the boys heading to Australia immediately — didn’t work for setting up at that venue.
Perhaps the night’s most awkward encounter came after Jeremy (yes, thatJeremy) took Jenn out to sit in the car he arrived in. Things were going swimmingly, until Brian came up and tried to “steal her” from Jeremy … by swiping his keys, and wanting to sit in the driver’s seat next to the Bachelorette!
Jenn sat back to see how these grown men would handle the tension before Jeremy ultimately opted for the gentleman route and conceded his seat to his fellow contestant. Speaking with Us Weekly, she said the moment was way “more awkward” than what made the final edit.
“I was like, ‘What do I do here?’ But when things like that happen, I really was just like, ‘I’m going to sit back and just watch this awkward moment happen and see how these boys are going to handle it for themselves’” she said, “Because I’m not really here to train anybody on how to act in a situation or potty train anybody, so I am just sitting back and seeing what happens.”
She said that men getting wrapped up in drama — a Bachelor Nation tradition! — is a huge turn-off for her. “If two guys can’t resolve a situation quickly, if it’s going on for too long, I’m like, ‘Where are the problem solving skills here?’ We’re at a certain age where it is time to learn some problem solving skills,” the 26-year-old explained.
In the end, both Jeremy and Brian picked up roses and earned at least another week on the show. In fact, everyone above picked up roses. As always, the earliest eliminations are those who didn’t really make much of a first impression (or too much of the wrong one). This season it was Brendan, Brett, Dakota, Kevin, Matt, Moze, and Ricky.
Yeah, we don’t really remember them, either.
Ultimately, Jenn seems enthusiastic about how the show will go and is teasing it as hard as any former lead before her has. She also said she doesn’t have any regrets … well, mostly.
“I don’t have regrets in any decisions that I made because I trusted myself very much, and I still do,” she said on the Off the Vinepodcast with Kaitlyn Bristowe before the show’s premiere.
“I think everything happened the way it was supposed to. I think that I regret the steamy makeouts because my family will be watching,” she admitted, sharing that she wasn’t quite as aware of the cameras this time around, “so, like, in my head, I was like, this isn’t gonna be televised anywhere. Mom and Dad will have to watch this!”
