Hometown dates!! This is probably one of the most highly anticipated episode of the series each year. The Bachelor, in this case Sean, gets to go to each of the final girls’ hometowns and meet the family. I believe you can only get a sense of person to a certain extent without meeting their family. Once you see the home they grew up in, their hometown, and most importantly their family, then that’s when you can fully see who the person is and the puzzle pieces that make them up then all fall into place. This is usually the episode where I can pick out who the Bachelor is going to pick as his wife.
The first stop is to AshLee’s family in Houston, TX. I am still surprised that AshLee has grown on me as much as she has. Something in the first episode made me think that I wasn’t going to like her. Since then I’ve only seen such a sweet, caring person that I’m surprised she’s still single. She’s probably the most serious/heavy out of the remaining girls, but still seem sweet. AshLee and Sean begin their date relaxing in a park and AshLee explains that her parents aren’t typical pastor types (didn’t realize her dad was a pastor until this point). Sean says that his dad is technically a reverend too. He’s not the head pastor of their church, but he does side services. This bond with religion will definitely make her a front runner. Even though The Bachelor is notorious for not talking too much about religion, this could definitely tip the scales in her favor.
They arrive at her parent’s house and her mom and dad look like a typical southern preacher family. They have a lunch out in the yard and AshLee explains her experience during the Polar Bear Plunge and their experiences in St Croix. She tells her parents there was romance in the sand. Why? Why would you tell your parents that, AshLee? No matter how old you are, they are still your parents! Sean and her mom have a private conversation about AshLee’s past and how she was in several foster homes before coming to them. Then he sits down with AshLee’s father and they discuss her previous marriage when she was 17 years old. Her dad said that even though he signed off on her marriage at that age, it was a very sad day for him and he would do it differently if he could do it over again. Her dad tells Sean that he would be welcomed in the family if he were to propose. They’re all back at the table again and her dad gets emotional talking about the first time he met AshLee and how they just had an instant connection and he just fell in love with her from the start. Sean leaves a bit later and AshLee is just on cloud nine. She said the day was just a dream.
Now Sean is at Seattle to meet Catherine’s family. They meet down at Pike’s Place Market where I just visited in December for the first time. It’s so cool that they’re standing in the exact spots that I stood in not that long ago. Those same guys were working at the fish throwing place that we were at. We bought fish from them!! Anyway… back to the Bachelor. So Sean and Catherine do the fish catching thing. They walk the market just smiling from ear to ear. They just have a lot of fun together.
They arrive at her mom’s house where her mom, grandmother, and sisters are there. Sean puts an apron on and helps her mom cook, talks to her grandmother privately, etc. He just fits right in! Catherine talks with her sisters and they’re pretty skeptical and protective of her. While Sean talks to her sisters, they kind of throw Catherine under the bus a little bit. They definitely didn’t act too supportive. Catherine’s mom is the cutest, sweetest thing ever though! Sean kind of asks her mother for her blessing though if he were to propose and she just told him he needs to mull it over and then we’ll see. The day kind of ended on a sour note because the family was fun and loving and yet very skeptical of both Sean’s and Catherine’s feelings for each other.
Lindsay’s hometown date takes place on base in Missouri where her parents currently are. They go walking around the town and spending time together. Sean is nervous meeting Lindsay’s parents, dad especially. He asks Lindsay if he’s supposed to call him General or Mister… Lindsay thinks it over and finally decides on Mister. I can tell Sean’s really interested in Lindsay just based on how nervous he seems to meet the family and yet how happy and goofy he’s being around her. Her father is head of the entire base he is on, and he’s a two star general. They arrive at their home. Her mom is bubbly and outgoing just like Lindsay is. Very sweet lady and she clearly approves of Sean and says even though Lindsay is only 24 years old, she’s ready to settle down. Now he has a talk with Lindsay’s dad. He explains to Sean that his biggest concern is Lindsay getting hurt. Sean asks for his blessing to propose to Lindsay if he should choose her. Her dad says he doesn’t know if he’s ever been asked a tougher question in all his life. After a round about answer, he tells him he has his blessing. Her dad is actually really awesome and totally accepts Sean. Then they sit down as a family and her dad gives him his own set of dog tags with the values of the military on the back of them. That is really cool. I definitely see Lindsay in the top two after this. There’s no way she’s going home.
Now finally the date we’ve been waiting for…. hometown visit with Desiree in Los Angeles, CA. They meet up and go for a hike. They arrive then to Des’s house and shows Sean all the artwork she’s done that’s hanging around the house. There’s a knock at the door and it’s not Des’s family…. it’s her ex (maybe??). He starts going off about how he’s been texting her, he loves her, etc. It seems so staged and fake to me that all I’m thinking is that she’s pulling a prank on him to get back for the gallery hidden camera incident. That HAS to be it, right? *cut to commercial* “There’s something I have to tell you” she says to Sean… “GOTCHA!!!” she says. I knew it!! He wasn’t even that good of an actor. haha. But it was cute. Her parents and brother for real show up now. Her parents are real geeky looking, but they’re cute. She sees that Des is very happy. Des sits down with her brother and he’s being really tough and he’s beyond skeptical. He says it’s never going to work out. The brother takes him outside to talk to him. Des’s brother says he sees his sister is into him but he doesn’t feel there’s reciprocation. He doesn’t think Sean really likes Des. He tells Sean he’s just a playboy going from girl to girl. Sean says it’s not him at all but he can tell he (the brother) isn’t buying it. He was really tough on Sean and made it really awkward and filled with tension for the rest of the date. You would almost think the brother, Nathan, is in love with Desiree. He acts very jealous and completely sabotages the date.
Sean says he’s very torn between letting either Catherine or Des go. I just don’t see him letting Catherine go home. I definitely think Des is on the chopping block. Des’s family and him just didn’t click. He says Des’s brother will probably always get under his skin. He’s worried that maybe Catherine doesn’t really want to settle down yet. She’s got big, lofty goals that maybe she wants to put first before settling down.
Rose ceremony time… Sean addresses the women and says he still really doesn’t know who he’s letting go and he’s really worried he’s going to wake up the next morning regretting his decision. First rose goes to…. Des interrupts and asks if she can talk to him for a minute. They go outside. She apologizes for last night and the way her brother acted and how rude he was. He says it’s okay, it wasn’t her, it was his doing. They walk back in…. First rose goes to AshLee… Second rose goes to Lindsay…. Final rose goes to……… he walks away. He has to still think about it. They’re really dragging this out. He said it comes down to who will he miss the most in the morning. He was going to send Des home, but after her final plea, he doesn’t know if he can send her home. He walks back out to hand out the final rose… Catherine. Looks like Des is going home. Poor thing. Her stupid brother messed it up for her.
Sean walks her out and she tells him she thinks he’s making a mistake. She says she feels 100%, not even 99.9% that he’s making a mistake. He tells her he’s going to miss her. Probably one of the more emotional goodbyes I’ve seen. I feel really bad for her. Her idiot brother really did mess everything up.
Tomorrow is going to great with “The Bachelor: Sean Tells All” where he really lets loose about his feelings for Tierra now that he’s seen everything that’s aired. Also, never before seen footage of drama between the girls. Should be great!!!
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