The 30 men attempting to woo Jillian Harris got their first chance during The Bachelorette's fifth-season premiere -- and when it was over, the 29-year-old restaurant designer from Vancouver, Canada sent 10 packing in her journey to find true love via the ABC reality dating series.
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"I don't think I've ever an instance in which I was just so shocked and disappointed in the outcome," John P. said after he failed to receive a rose. "She seemed like my soul mate, she seemed like the girl version of me and it just crushed me. Hopefully there's another Jillian out there for me."
The Bachelorette's fifth-season premiere began with a recap of Jillian's journey as a The Bachelor twelfth-season suitor, which ended with her being rejected by Jason Mesnick.
"I have absolutely no regrets from going on The Bachelor the first time, if anything I am so happy that I did it," Jillian during the video montage. "I know it's possible to find love this way because I found it before. I know things could go wrong along the way, but I know what I want, I'm willing to take the risk, and I'm willing to put my heart out there."
"This is a fabulous opportunity for me to possibly meet the one I'm supposed to be with [and] there's obviously no way in the world I could ever turn that down, I'm not a princess, I don't think I'm drop-dead gorgeous. I'm cute, I think I've got a huge heart and there's somebody really special out there for me."
"I am 100% ready to find love again, and I think I'm going to find Mr. Right -- but I think I'm going to make the right decision the first time," Jillian joked in a reference to Jason's The Bachelor experience.
Jillian also dismissed the "you can a lot about a guy by what he puts on his hot dog" theory she had advocated while on The Bachelor.
"I really don't get a f--k what he puts on his hot dog as long as he knows how to have a good time, he has a good sense of humor, and he loves me," she said.
The Bachelorette host Chris Harrison then welcomed Jillian back and she explained that appearing on The Bachelor had caused her to reexamine her priorities.
"My whole life I'd been all about 'career, career, career.' Be independent, show everybody how strong you are, and maybe you'll attract somebody," Jillian said. "When I came on the show last season with Jason I realized I need to let my guard down in order for him to see how much I cared about it [and] it was scary [because] I'd never really down that before. [But] when I'm 90 years old and on my deathbed, my job isn't going to be standing there holding my hand and saying 'I had a great life with you.'"
Afterward, the first 25 suitors -- which Jillian expected to be all of her suitors -- began to arrive at her Malibu, CA "bachelorette pad" for a cocktail party.
Some of the highlights included Bryan, a 28-year-old high school coach from Lawton, OK, picking Jillian up and sweeping her off her feet; John P. telling her he was going to make her prove her self-professed hickness; Brian, a 32-year-old IT consultant from Atlanta, GA, calling Jillian "Hot-tub Harris" for her The Bachelor hot tub scene with Jason; Jake, a 31-year-old commercial pilot from Dallas, TX, giving her an airline wing pin; and David, a 27-year-old trucking contractor from Dayton, OH, getting nervous and losing his words when introducing himself.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOWBefore Jillian entered the cocktail party to spend some one-on-one time with each bachelor, Chris explained that she would also get to present a first-impression rose boutonniere, which would make the recipient safe from elimination that night, prior to The Bachelorette's first fifth-season Rose Ceremony.
Jillian then entered the party and began talking with the men, who quickly began doing whatever they could to get her attention. Two of the highlights included Wes, a 32-year-old musician from Austin, TX, pulling out his guitar and singing Jillian a song and Michael, a 25-year-old break dance instructor from Astoria, NY, giving her on a break dancing lesson that evolved into a dance off between Michael and Greg.
However it wasn't long before Chris interrupted the reception to announce that he had five more bachelors to introduce
"For the first time in The Bachelor history, it won't just be the 25 of you, there will be 30 bachelors," Chris announced.
After introducing themselves to Jillian, the party resumed and it didn't take long for one of the five additional bachelors -- Tanner P., a 30-year-old financial analyst from Dallas, TX -- to convince Jillian to remove her shoes and dip her toes in the pool so that he could get a look at his secret obsession: women's feet.
"I'm a big foot guy, I love feet," Tanner explained during an interview. "I can tell everything about a girl by her feet. I think I could find a girl that I could marry within ten seconds just by looking at her feet."
After mingling with the men some more, Jillian decided to present her first-impression rose to David.
"I am giving it to you sort of as a second shot at a first impression," Jillian told David. "Honestly it's not because you froze up outside, it's because you really blew me away the second time I really got to sit down and chat with you... I think we're going to have a lot of fun together."
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"The guys here are far exceeding my expectations I'm feeling really confident," Jillian told Chris.
After completing her deliberations in private, Jillian and the bachelors then gathered for The Bachelorette's first fifth-season Rose Ceremony.
"I always really hated it when the person had this little heart-to-heart at this point in time, but I understand it now why," Jillian told the men. "You guys were incredible tonight. It was hard enough thinking how I was going to make this decision with 25 and now with an extra five it's going to be even harder. All of you guys are wonderful, wonderful people. You all helped me relax tonight and just be myself, thank you."
In addition to David, the 19 bachelors who received roses and remained in the running for Jillian's heart were Brad, a 27-year-old financial advisor from Chicago, IL; Brian; Ed, a 29-year-old technology consultant from Chicago, IL; Jake; Jesse, a 27-year-old wine maker from Carmel Valley, CA; Juan, a 35-year-old general contractor from Santa Monica, CA; Julien, a 34-year-old restaurateur from San Diego, CA; Kiptyn, a 31-year-old business developer from Encinitas, CA; Mathue, a 26-year-old personal trainer from Wichita, KS; Mark, a 26-year-old pizza entrepreneur from Denver, CO; Michael; Mike, a 28-year-old baseball camp owner from New York, NY; Reid, a 30-year-old realtor from Philadelphia, PA; Robby, a 25-year-old bartender from Spring, TX; Sasha, a 27-year-old oil and gas consultant from Tiki Island, TX; Simon, a 26-year-old soccer coach from Bradford, England; Tanner F., a 28-year-old sales representative from Derby, KS; Tanner P.; and Wes.
"I did not see it coming, I just to be honest," Stephen said afterwards. "Did not see it coming. I think that maybe she's a little more country and I'm a little city. Maybe she's looking for a country guy. Maybe she needs someone who can, you know, get out of the Jeep and hay the bush? I don't even know what they do in the country. Maybe that was it. Maybe she doesn't like awesome guys."
"I fell like I should be in there, you know?" John H. said. "I mean I thought we connected pretty good for a first night. I told her who I was and I don't usually throw myself out there like this so I'm not used to this kind of a feeling. It just doesn't make a lot of sense yet. You always wonder what did I do wrong. She's missing out on getting to know a guy that's super genuine and authentic and her family seems just like my family and so it would be just a good time. I think I'm a little but still in shock, I'm hiding behind the smile."
The Bachelorette's next fifth-season episode will air Monday, May 25 at 8PM ET/PT on ABC
About The Author: Steven Rogers
