On The Bachelorette premiere (June 7) Katie Thurston sets off on her journey to find love with her take-no-nonsense attitude that fans fell in love with during her time on The Bachelor. With the help of former Bachelorettes and mentors Kaitlyn Bristowe and Tayshia Adams by her side, Katie is ready to meet her men; with 30 lucky potential suitors hoping to gain her attention before the first rose ceremony.
The action for this season takes place at the beautiful Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort & Spa in Santa Ana Pueblo New Mexico.
Let’s see if Bachelor Nation can get through a season without major controversy! DOUBTFUL.
Let’s meet Katie, the “down to earth no nonsense” Bachelorette who is “sex positive.” She is not a beauty queen. Instead, she presents as the non-threatening girl next girl. Except watch out, because she speaks her mind. And she’s not afraid of sex.
The ladies are in charge here
In keeping with the “girl” theme, instead of the beleaguered Chris Harrison helming the season, former Bachelorettes Tayshia and Kaitlyn “host,” adding a welcome “girlfriend” vibe to the proceedings. The duo “surprise” Katie as she’s waiting for the men, as if she had no idea they’d be there. Right.
“Being the Bachelorette means I can fall in love and start a family,” Katie says, as if there is absolutely no other way to find a mate. Katie grew up poor with a single mom. Her childhood experiences impacted how she chose her mates in the past. But now she insists, “I am not going to settle!”
Let’s meet the guys likely to stick around
Before it’s cocktail time, the show introduces the men who will likely catch Katie’s eye all season:
There is Connor B, a math teacher and musician who arrives to the cocktail party dressed as a cat. The Bachelors mock him. But as a self-described cat lady, KATIE LOVES IT.
Karl is a motivational speaker who lives by the beach. All his family members are married. When he meets her later, he creates a fairy tale that has Katie at the center.
Brendan is from Canada. EH. His dad wanted him to play college hockey, but his passion is to be a firefighter.
Andrew S plays football in Vienna Austria. He’s inexplicably dancing The Carlton. He thinks talking to Katie in a horrendously bad English accent is cool, or something.
Mike got drafted for baseball at 19. Oh noes. He’s a virgin. But his excuse is religion, as we see him leafing through a Bible. So, unlike Colton Underwood, who seemed to have NO EXCUSE WHATSOEVER for being a version (well…he did…but gay guys are usually not looking for wives on the Bachelor). He’s fine with Katie being sex positive, but he thinks it belongs in marriage. Hoo boy.
Justin is a talented artist. He created a special artwork for her—a painting of red roses shaped into a heart.
Tre is software engineer who loves music. He is also kind of a nerd. His parents are happily married. And he is a very sensitive guy! But he has a sense of fun—pulling up to the party in a truck, the bed transformed into a ball pit.
Greg lives in New York, the youngest of four. His siblings have a bunch of kids. He loves his nieces and nephews and wants kid of his own. Later at the cocktail party, he presents a macaroni necklace his three year old niece made. SPOILER ALERT: Greg is sweet, earnest, sincere and receives the first impression rose. Katie notes that he looks like an ex-boyfriend!
Some of the guys are kind of…boring
Kaitlyn and Tayshia are here to dish out advice like: “Don’t rule any of them out.” What a bon mot. Katie is looking for a guy who isn’t intimidated by her. And as soon as she can, she’s gonna start kissing some dudes. She likes a guy with a sense of humor, but at the same time she says that she needs “a grown a** man.”
The limos pull up, and many of the guys seem really…boring. There are the usual gimmicks, including guys laying on the sexual innuendo, SUPER THICK. Remember, Katie arrived on The Bachelor weilding a vibrator, which freaked some of the girls. But Bachelor Matt James really enjoyed it.
Sexual innuendos for EVERYONE
In fact, some of the suggestive talk would be super inappropriate if Katie had not started it first, so to speak.
For instance:
Cody brings a blow-up doll to the party. “This is Sandy. She’s been a huge part of my life,” introducing it as his quarantine girlfriend.
Justin makes a bunch of sexual puns about “stroking” his paintbrush.
Christian brings a magic lamp “I hope we can rub one out together.”
Quartney—yes that’s his name begins with Q alliterations, and then rattles off the innuendos: “I hope you come to the right conclusion..hard decisions to make…my tongue could go on for hours.” Katie’s so turned on, she does a thrusting motion behind his back (and for Tayshia and Kaitlyn who are watching through the windows).
And, after playing in the truck bed ball pit with Tre, Katie observes: “”I never thought on my first night as the Bachelorette, I’d be lying in a truck full of balls.”
WHO’S IN THE BOX
The night’s big gimmick is a dude hiding in a gift box. He’s wheeled up to the front of the house. James introduces himself but refuses to come out. He’s wheeled into the house and still refuses to emerge until the cocktail party is nearly over. When he finally pops out declaring “I wanted to make sure I was present for you,” it is anticlimactic.
Box guy does serve as a pretext to make the guys jealous. They immediately begin to worry that Katie will hand him the first impression rose. However, she does think he’s “super-hot” and admits she has a “crush” on him. When the box first shows up, one Bachelor yells “WHAT’S IN THE BOX.” Har har.
Who will get the first impression rose?
Ball guy Tre, cat guy Connor and Michael who shows off a photo of his dog Tommy (Katie’s cat has the same name) appear to be candidates. Michael also has a four-year-old son, whom he face times with every day. Katie says an odd thing—that she’d be OK with a guy who already has kids, or one who didn’t want kids at all. That’s how she answered Michael’s question about wanting kids or not.
When Katie first meets the men, she’s all “this one’s hot, that one’s hot.” But in the end, Katie is drawn to the suitors who present with the biggest hearts and most sincerity.
Because, in the end, Katie gives big-hearted Greg the first impression rose. They make out a ton. Of course, the other guys are disappointed. Poor cat dude.
Time for the rose ceremony! Katie thanks the guys for being vulnerable and sharing their stories. She stresses that it’s no reflection on the guys who aren’t picked. They just did not make a good match.
Who is staying? Who is going?
Moving on to next week: Greg (First impression rose) Tre, Michael A, Thomas, Garrett, Connor B., Andrew S., James (Box guy), Justin, Quartney, Karl, Mike P., John, Kyle, Andrew, Josh, Connor C., Brendan, David, Aaron, Christian, Hunter, Cody.
Eliminated: Austin (weird hair and odd accent), Brandon (what’s up with that hair), Landon (another dude with weird hair), Marcus (who?) Marty (weird hair AND jewelry). Gabriel (gave Katie a long, creepy hug when he met her), Jeff (drove up in his RV, invited her in without bothering to clean it up).
The guys Katie rejected came off kind of futsy. Except, she seemed really put off by Jeff’s messy RV.
Cody is shaping up to be the villain. But we shall see!
The 30 men who vie for Katie’s heart are:
• ??????, ??, in a box from ?????? (James, 30, Software Salesman. La Jolla CA)
• Aaron, 26, an insurance agent from San Diego, Calif.
• Andrew M., 31, a deputy district attorney from Newport Beach, Calif.
• Andrew S., 26, a pro football player from Vienna, Austria
• Austin, 25, a real estate investor from Mission Viejo, Calif.
• Brandon, 26, an auto parts manager from Queens, N.Y.
• Brendan, 26, a firefighter trainee from Toronto, Ontario, Canada
• Christian, 26, a real estate agent from Boston, Mass.
• Cody, 27, a zipper sales manager from San Diego, Calif.
• Connor B., 29, a math teacher from Nashville, Tenn.
• Conor C., 28, a former baseball player from Costa Mesa, Calif.
• David, 27, a technical product specialist from Nashville, Tenn.
• Gabriel, 35, an entrepreneur from Charlotte, N.C.
• Garrett, 29, a software marketing manager from Salinas, Calif.
• Greg, 27, a marketing sales rep from Edison, N.J.
• Hunter, 34, a software strategist from Houston, Texas
• Jeff, 31, a surgical skin salesman from Jersey City, N.J.
• John, 27, a bartender from Pacific Beach, Calif.
• Josh, 25, an IT consultant from Miami, Fla.
• Justin, 26, an investment sales consultant from Baltimore, Md.
• Karl, 34, a motivational speaker from Miami, Fla.
• Kyle, 26, a technical recruiter from Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
• Landon, 25, a basketball coach from Dallas, Texas
• Marcus, 30, a real estate broker from Portland, Ore.
• Marty, 25, a dancer from Reno, Nev.
• Michael, 36, a business owner from Akron, Ohio
• Mike, 31, a gym owner from San Diego, Calif.
• Quartney, 26, a nutrition entrepreneur from Dallas, Texas
• Thomas, 28, a real estate broker from Poway, Calif.
• Tre, 26, a software engineer from Covington, Ga.
The Bachelorette 2021 Summer Cast (Photo Gallery)
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