There were first dates, first kisses and intentions questioned during last night's The Bachelorette fourth-season episode -- and when it was over, DeAnna Pappas sent three more bachelors packing in her journey to find true love via the ABC reality dating series.
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Chris, a 29-year-old medical sales rep from Dallas, TX; Eric, a 31-year-old senior analyst from Boston, MA; and Ryan, a 28-year-old professional football player from Lakeville, MN, all failed to receive a rose from the 26-year-old Neunan, GA real estate agent, bringing an end to their The Bachelorette experience.
"After tonight, I don't really know what she wants," said Chris after his ouster. "She has high expectations for her future husband. If that perfect person exists in there I'd love to meet him and maybe take notes. I'd say I'm more pissed that she doesn't have it all figured out like she maybe thinks she does. I'm pissed that these guys got a rose over me."
The Bachelorette's second fourth-season episode began with the 15 remaining suitors meeting host Chris Harrison, who explained that DeAnna would have a rose to present on each of the three upcoming dates -- two group dates and a one-on-one.
The suitors who received a rose would be safe from elimination at the upcoming Rose Ceremony, however if a bachelor failed to receive a rose on the one-on-one date, he would be immediately eliminated.
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In addition, Chris explained The Bachelorette's fourth-season twist to the suitors. Instead of living in a luxurious mansion like prior The Bachelor and The Bachelorette suitors, the bachelors competing for DeAnna's heart would live in a bunkhouse down the hill from her own mansion. She'd give three different trios of suitors the opportunity to live in the mansion with her at various times throughout the season.
The first three suitors who would live with DeAnna were Jeremy, a 30-year-old real estate attorney from Dallas, TX; Jesse, a 25-year-old professional snowboarder from Breckenridge, CO; and Richard, a 27-year-old science teacher from Binghamton, NY -- the three suitors who received firs-impression roses from her during the premiere.
The 12 bachelors living in the bunkhouse then moved into their new digs and learned they'd be sleeping on bunk beds in barrack-style living quarters and would also have to shower outdoors, sans stall.
Accompanying DeAnna on the first group date was Fred, a 30-year-old lawyer from Chicago, IL; Jason, a 31-year-old account executive from Kirkland, WA; Paul, a 23-year-old sales manager from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada; Richard; Ryan; Sean, a 33-year-old martial arts master from Crestwood, KY; and Twilley, a 33-year-old software programmer from Tulsa, OK.
DeAnna said she was "so excited" to go on her "first date" since wooing The Bachelor eleventh-season star Brad Womack -- and viewers saw how that turned out. The bachelors arrived at an exclusive magicians club, and for the first trick of the night, a magician made DeAnna and Jason disappear. The two used the opportunity to have some one-on-one time and asked each other getting-to-know-you type questions. However Jason failed to reveal he's a single father with a 3-year-old-son at home.
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"Part of the reason why that conversation didn't go as well as I planned it to be was because I didn't open up about my son," opined Jason. "She hasn't gotten to know the real me yet because I haven't been able to open up about him."
Jason then returned to the group and DeAnna spent some one-on-one time with Sean, who had attempted to impress her on the first night by kicking a lemon off of Jesse's head. Sean explained that his martial arts had put a "strain" on previous relationships he's had, and while he attempted to elaborate, a player piano kept interrupting the conversation. Sean described it as "frustrating."
The guys performed various magic tricks for DeAnna, but Twilley took a different route and instead told a fairy tail that was initially funny but dragged on way too long. Ryan questioned whether Twilley was there for the right reasons or just trying to be a "comedian."
Twilley only further pissed the other bachelors off when he said he was just "along for the ride," which caused Ryan to specifically single him out for not being there to "win" DeAnna's heart. While Twilley said he felt as if he was being genuine, Ryan countered that he thought Twilley was the "least genuine" of DeAnna's suitors.
DeAnna then took Richard for some alone time, and he said he was "completely shocked" to have received one of her first-impression roses. He made her a flower out of paper.
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Ryan received some one-on-one time and gushed about his piety as he's still a virgin. DeAnna said she was afraid she'd "corrupt" Ryan but thought there conversation was going well, as he explained the three most important things in his life are faith, family and football -- in that order.
"I'm very happy with how the one-on-one time went," said Ryan. "I'm absolutely confident that right now she knows me more than any other guy. I will get a rose tonight."
Ryan and DeAnna's alone time was then interrupted by Paul and Fred, and Paul took the opportunity to tell DeAnna that even though he's the youngest guy in the house at 23, he's still there for the right reasons. He also revealed he had previously been engaged. Despite the bombshell, Paul and DeAnna seemed to be on a similar path with their five-years plans of wanting to get married and have children.
DeAnna then presented the group date's rose to Paul.
"I was floored," said Paul. "Once you get that rose, a weight gets lifted off your shoulders a little bit. I think this is going to bring a whole new light upon who I am."
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The next day DeAnna went on a one-on-one date with Graham, a 29-year-old professional basketball player from Raleigh, NC. DeAnna said she thought the two "completely connected" on the first night and she was "intrigued" by him. She added she'd be "really disappointed" if it didn't work. Graham realized there was a "certain pressure" on him to impress DeAnna since if he didn't get a rose on the date he'd be going home, thus it was "sink or swim."
Graham's analogy was perfect as he spent a day at the beach with DeAnna, as the two flew a kite before settling in on the sand for some conversation. Graham said he had just gotten out of a serious relationship that he said was the first time he was ever in love. The comment concerned DeAnna, who said she didn't want to be "left crying at the end again" and wondered if Graham was really ready to settle down.
The two camped out on the beach and DeAnna expressed her worries to Graham and said while she had "definitely" planned on giving him the rose now she was a "little concerned" because he "wanted to just be in love, it didn't matter the person." However Graham put her at ease, and they cuddled and toasted marshmallows together. DeAnna then presented the date's rose to Graham, meaning he'd be safe at the upcoming Rose Ceremony.
"I was very relieved that I got the rose. I didn't think it was going to happen," said Graham. "I'm definitely going in with an open heart. If it works out, then I am a very, very lucky person."
Graham then received the first The Bachelorette fourth-season kiss from DeAnna.
"At the end of the night, I definitely felt like Graham was falling for me," said DeAnna. "I felt really good about giving Graham the rose. I felt really good about the way things ended."
DeAnna and Graham then returned to the mansion from their date, and she was immediately greeted by Twilley, who said he wanted to make sure she knew that there was another more serious side to him. She humored him, however Twilley failed to open up to the extent he wanted to.
"I feel like tonight I might not have been successful in saying, 'Hey, here's who I am,'" he said. "I can't sum-up who I am in five minutes."
With Graham considered the frontrunner since he got the first kiss, DeAnna went on her second group date the following day. She was accompanied by Brian W., a 31-year-old high school football coach from Weatherford, TX; Chris; Eric; Jeremy; Jesse; Robert, a 28-year-old chef from San Francisco, CA; and Ron, a 36-year-old barber shop owner from Kansas City, MO.
The group arrived at Dodger Stadium where they were met by the team's former manager Tommy Lasorda, who gave the guys an inspirational pep talk. Chris then murdered the national anthem before the seven suitors participated in a home run derby. Each bachelor would receive 10 pitches, and the one who hit the most homers over a drawn-in outfield fence would receive a one-on-one date with DeAnna.
Eric, Robert and Chris all came up empty, which was especially embarrassing for Chris since he played minor league baseball, although he was a pitcher. Jesse hit one home run while Ron and Brian each hit two. However Jeremy put on a show and hit six home runs, winning the alone time with DeAnna.
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He thanked her for the first-impression rose before explaining he's a "little shy" and a "little guarded" because there's "bits and pieces" of his past about his family that he doesn't like to talk about. Jeremy then revealed both of his parents had passed away and DeAnna thought the two were "very similar" since her mom died when she was 12. She appreciated that he opened up to her.
The group enjoyed a picnic in the park before Eric received some alone time. DeAnna said she and Eric always have the same conversation about their Greek culture and would like to see if there's more there. However this time wouldn't be any different as their talk always seemed to have a Greek element to it.
"I just had a great talk with DeAnna. I was able to talk about me being Greek," said Eric, apparently missing the point. "I can definitely see a huge Greek wedding in DeAnna and I's future."
Brian then met with DeAnna and expressed a desire to connect on a deeper level. He revealed that he had been engaged in the past and admitted to making relationship mistakes. However he said he was able to learn a lot about himself from it and she thought he was "very sincere" and had "goals in life."
Back at the bunkhouse Jason revealed to the other guys he has a son, and Ryan commented that it could be a "deal breaker" with DeAnna.
At the ballpark, DeAnna decided to present the group date's rose to Jeremy, and he would once again be safe at the impending Rose Ceremony. DeAnna presenting the rose to Jeremy was broadcast over Dodger Stadium's jumbotron, much to the other guys' chagrin.
"If there's one frontrunner in this competition right now, it's Jeremy," said Robert. "As demoralizing as that is to say, it's still Jeremy."
DeAnna and the 15 remaining bachelors then gathered one last time before the Rose Ceremony, and she said Jeremy, Jesse and Richard had a "huge advantage" since they got to live with her in the mansion. Jeremy then made the mistake of welcoming the other bachelors to his home, which the other guys thought was a condescending comment.
Ron was especially agitated by the comment and asked DeAnna why she didn't spread the love around and give one of her roses to someone other than Jeremy, who would now get to continue to live in the mansion since he received the group date's rose.
"I won't go into detail about our one-on-one time because that's something between he and I," said DeAnna. "But he opened up and told me some things. The fact that he went that distance and showed me so much of himself, that's what I'm looking for."
Twilley then stole DeAnna away and once again attempted to show her that he has a "serious side," and DeAnna was honest and said it was "strange" the way he was waiting for her after the date with Graham. As Twilley had a hard time expressing he was there for love, he was interrupted by Jeremy -- who took DeAnna away for some alone time.
The other guys found the move odd, and rightfully so since Jeremy had already secured a rose. Richard said there was "definitely jealousy and animosity" between Jeremy and the other guys. Jeremy gushed about DeAnna and the two shared their first kiss.
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"I came into this with my focus on DeAnna the whole time. I don't really care what the other guys think of me. People's feelings are going to get hurt," said Jeremy. "That's just not my problem at this point."
Jeremy returned to the group and the other guys were talking about him. Ryan and Ron vocally expressed their frustration with Jeremy, with Ryan calling Jeremy's actions "disrespectful" instead of "competitive."
DeAnna then arrived and took Ron for some alone time. While he said he was getting a "sense" that his divorce bothered her she said that wasn't the case. Ron added he was "deeply looking forward" to marrying again and was "super excited" to have kids. DeAnna said there was something about Ron she was "intrigued" by.
Testosterone began to flow as Jeremy challenged Ryan to a pushup competition, and all the bachelors decided to participate. Despite being one of the last guys in the competition, Jeremy decided to "take a dive" and lose since he felt he was already distancing himself from the other guys.
The challenge was won by Jesse, who got some one-on-one time with DeAnna, who said she was concerned Jesse wouldn't want to leave Colorado since he's a professional snowboarder. However Jesse immediately put her at ease and said he welcomes the opportunity to move and start a family. DeAnna said it was "nice" to see Jesse was there for the right reasons.
The Bachelorette's second fourth-season Rose Ceremony then commenced.
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"Tonight was harder than I expected," DeAnna told her suitors. "I had questions that I wanted answered, and I got to know some of you that I didn't know before a lot better."
In addition to Paul, Graham and Jeremy, the nine bachelors who received roses and remained in the running for DeAnna's heart were Ron, Jesse, Robert, Brian, Jason, Fred, Sean, Richard and Twilley.
"It's hard. It hurts mentally, emotionally, psychologically," said Eric after his ouster. "I've never been in a situation like this where I had to fight for a girl's attention. I think I've done a lot in this world -- I bring a lot to the table -- I don't necessarily need to dish it and feed it to you. If you can't appreciate what's on the table then that's it."
"It's never fun when a girl tells you no," added Ryan. "I didn't get a rose and that's frustrating because I feel like I have a lot to offer a woman. I'm waiting until marriage to have sex. I'm one of the most honest and genuine people she's ever going to meet. I feel as though I'm a nice guy -- I was voted friendliest person in eighth grade. She obviously thought differently. She'd rather be with Jeremy, she'd rather be with Twilley -- those are the guys that she's going for, what can I do? You can't fit a square in a circle... You can't!"
"There are few women in the world that truly intrigue me. DeAnna was one of those people. In an ideal world, this would end with a happy ending and me and DeAnna getting married. It didn't happen."
The Bachelorette's next fourth-season episode will air in its regular Mondays at 8PM ET/PT time slot on June 2.
About The Author: Christopher Rocchio