'The Bachelor Winter Games' cuts Eric Bigger, Jamey Kocan, Lauren Griffin, Laura Blair, and Zoe Tang

The Bachelor Winter Games featured several couples forming as well as the elimination of Eric Bigger, Jamey Kocan, Lauren Griffin, Laura Blair, and Zoe Tang during Tuesday night's premiere episode on ABC.


Eric, Jamey and Lauren represented the U.S.; Laura is from United Kingdom; and Zoe represented China in the games.

The five contestants were eliminated after the entire house had to individually cast votes for the person whom they'd like to see go home.

The twist on the typical Rose Ceremony was designed to weed out contestants who went on the show for the wrong reasons, such as self-promotion. People unable to establish a connection were also in jeopardy of getting eliminated.

"The women cast their votes and they didn't feel I was here for the right reasons... it was tough. I definitely want a connection and to find love with someone, but right now, I don't think the timing is right. It's been a long year," Eric said in his final words.


The Bachelor broadcast began with Ben Higgins talking about how his breakup with Lauren Bushnell "still hurts" and he could "still feel it." But he believed The Bachelor Winter Games could ignite a spark with a woman or at least a desire in himself to find love again.

Meanwhile, Dean Unglert exited Bachelor in Paradise with a bad reputation of being a player, but he insisted he's "a good guy with a good heart" who's just made "some questionable decisions."

Clare Crawley -- who previously said she had retired from The Bachelor franchise after numerous failed attempts to find love on spinoffs -- decided to come out of retirement for Winter Games, because when she thought she was done with the show, this new concept and format did not exist. She loved the idea of getting to know a man from a different country.

Josiah Graham then talked about how he came across like a cocky "jerk" on The Bachelorette, but he said he's ready to get engaged as long as he found the right person.

Lesley Murphy revealed she had surgery eight months ago and hadn't been with a man since. After getting her breasts done following a preventative double mastectomy, Lesley loved the look of her new body.


Ashley Iaconetti then discussed how she wanted to go into Winter Games as a different person -- not the dramatic, crying and heartbroken girl from previous seasons. A psychic had also informed Ashley that she would meet her husband on an "international journey," so she was hoping this was it.

The games kicked off with a parade in Manchester, Vermont, showcasing the 26 bachelors and bachelorettes from America as well as other countries including Sweden, Japan, Australia and New Zealand.

Hannah Storm served as co-host of the parade with The Bachelor host Chris Harrison, who then announced Ashley Brewer would be working as a sports reporter and interviewing contestants throughout the competitions.

A couple of standout international bachelors were Kevin Wendt from Canada, who said she spent four months after his breakup from The Bachelorette Canada star Jasmine Lorimer in the gym or in his bed at home, and Christian Rauch, who said he doesn't have a type and just loves beautiful women.

Chris Harrison predicted the ladies from Sweden -- Nastassia Yaramchuk and Rebecca Karlsson -- would be popular with the American guys and that the American girls would be attracted to the handsome Canadians, Kevin and Benoit Beausejour-Savard.


And he was right. Both Bibiana Julian and Ashley Iaconetti thought Kevin was handsome, and he in turn thought Bibiana was "super hot."

Ashley just hoped she had a chance at international love since she had been "friend zoned" by all the U.S. guys.

The cast then moved into their villa at The Hermitage Club in Vermont. Ben pointed out that every person was beautiful and things were "going to get crazy."

When Benoit gave a toast in French, Clare said it was "delicious" and "sexy."

Christian then spoke a few words, and Clare reacted by saying, "German isn't exactly the sexiest language, but whatever Christian says sounds sexy."


The cast then learned the male and female winner of each competition going forward would receive a Date Card, so they had to be earned. Chris Harrison also announced to the group that there would be official winners of The Bachelor Winter Games once it's all said and done with.

After a couple of hours, people started pairing off. Lesley was so attracted to Dean and his blue eyes, and Bibiana called Kevin "a looker."

As Bibiana and Kevin got to know each other, Ashley kept an eye on Kevin from a distance. And Josiah felt a spark with Ally Thompson from New Zealand because he loved her curves and personality. Josiah thought Ally was "fun and energetic," and they also had a great conversation.

It then became time for the first event -- a biathlon, which combined cross-country skiing with marksmanship. The contestants had to ski laps and shoot paint guns at a target. The men were told they must compete against the other men, and the women also had to compete against each other.

There were two heats for each sex, and the Top 3 finishers in each heat would move on to the finals.


Before the competition commenced, Kevin gave Bibiana some pointers on how to ski, and she thought it was really sweet he was helping her. Meanwhile, Ashley worried she looked terrible on the mountain because her skin was dry and dehydrated.

Ally unfortunately fell on her "bum" and thought she had bruised her "bum bone," so she sat out of the competition. She hoped Josiah would pull through and win a Date Card for them, but he also proved to be terrible at skiing. Eric also took forever to finish the course.

In the Men's Final, the competitors were Benoit, Ben, Kevin, Christian, Dean and Luke.

A battle broke out between Kevin and Dean, and Kevin ended up winning first place.

The Women's Final featured Bibiana, Lesley, Rebecca, Jenny, Lily McManus from New Zealand and Stassi.

Rebecca glided past her competition and couldn't help but brag about her easy victory a little bit.


Although Ashley was crushing on Kevin hard and thought he was at least a little bit interested in her, the bachelor asked Bibiana out on his first date. Ashley cried hysterically over Kevin's decision -- while simultaneously laughing, of course -- and she vented about how guys never picked her.

Rebecca then asked Luke out, and the pair watched fireworks outside. Both dates ended with a kiss.

Meanwhile, Lesley was shown talking to Dean about her breasts. She didn't know how Dean would react to her stories of surgery, but he seemed to really like her -- and he admitted that her chest looked great.

Christian and Benoit were both attracted to Clare, but Benoit made the first move. While the couple was cooking together, they kissed in the kitchen, and they later followed that up with a makeout session in front of the fireplace.

Benoit thought he had great chemistry with Clare, and he called their connection and conversation "super easy and super fun." Clare finally felt "wanted" on a Bachelor show, and the romance caught her off-guard.

At this point, Josiah and Ally had also paired off, as well as Dean and Lesley, and Courtney Dober from Australia and Lily.


Clare, however, was caught in a little love triangle, as she liked Benoit but found Christian very attractive. Christian, in turn, thought Clare was interesting, and he told the bachelorette that he viewed her as the most beautiful woman in the house.

Christian didn't want to get to know or kiss anyone else, and Clare was totally flattered.

At the cocktail party preceding the season's first Rose Ceremony, Yuki Kimura from Japan asked Dean to give her a rose, but everyone just laughed and smiled sweetly since Yuki can barely speak English.

Chris then revealed five people would be going home based on a vote: Three women and two men. The men had to vote for one woman to leave, and the women had to vote out one guy. The people to receive the most votes would be kicked out of The Bachelor Winter Games.

Chris asked the cast to think about the people who did not seem serious and did not seem like they were really on the show to find love.

Lesley didn't think Jamey was really "present" on the show, and Bibiana questioned if Ben was really "emotionally available" following his split from Lauren.


Ben did find himself taking a step back at times, and he knew there was a possibility he could be going home.

Laura wanted to write Josiah's name down because he didn't talk to her at all and she thought he was "rude" and "childish." It was hard, however, for Ally to hear Josiah may not be genuine, because she really liked him and he seemed attentive and focused on her.

Clare just so happened to agree with Laura in that Josiah didn't seem like he was on the show for love. Once Josiah got wind he may be in trouble, he felt the need to campaign. Josiah didn't know how people viewed his intentions, but he really wanted to see things through with Ally.

Ashley also feared elimination because she spent time getting to know Kevin and talking to her Bachelor Nation friends, but she didn't do a good job of reaching out to the newbies and making new friends.   

It then became time for the Rose Ceremony. When Chris Harrison called a name out, that person was safe. If someone's name was not called at the end, he or she would be ousted.

Chris called out names and handed out roses in the following order: Rebecca, Kevin, Jenny, Luke, Lesley, Dean, Stassi, Ben, Lily, Courtney, Yuki, Christian, Benoit, Clare, Bibiana, Ally, Michael Garofola from the U.S., Tiffany Scanlon from Australia, Ashley, and Josiah.






About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski