Miss Maynard Meets Her Men

The Bachelorette premiered last night at 9:30 on ABC.  This year there is a new twist on the show, it is being filmed in  Charlotte, NC so Emily, our bachlorette can be with her little girl Ricki, during filming. The show opened with Emily and Ricki feeding geese and enjoying a "who can swing higher" contest at a local park.  Soon after, Emily is on the couch with Chris explaining her past relationships and awaiting the arrival of her 25 suitors.  For those of you who do not know, Emily was engaged before, twice actually.  The first was to Ricki, her daughters father.  Ricki Hendrick,

a professional race car driver, died in a plane crash and just days after Emily found out she was pregnant with Ricki.  Her second engagement was to last seasons Bachelor Brad Womack,

 who proceeded to break her heart, poor girl has been through the ringer.  She really does make you want to root for her, she is a young, successful, and absolutely beautiful young woman who, as she puts it, needs to "put on her big girl panties" and move on with life.

     Emily steps out in jaw-dropping shimmery gold dress to meet her bachelor's.  The men did there best to leave a lasting impression.  First, we have Travis

Travis and his egg

 who is a little nuts and reminds me of Kasey from season 7.  Travis brought Emily an Ostrich egg, "to symbolize Emily and her daughter, Ricki." He explained he would take care of the egg throughout the season.  Um ok Travis, you do that.  Doug,

First Impression Rose Winner Doug

a single father from the Northwest who played the parental card in his favor, won the first impression rose.  He made Emily swoon when he pulled out a letter written by his son, Austin explaining what a wonderful and lovable his father he is.  Score, Doug moves to first place.

     There were some grand entrances in the season opener.  One was by Jef, a CEO of a bottled water company from Salt Lake City Utah who came in on a skateboard.  Second was Kalon,

Helicopter man

a 27 yr old luxury brand consultant who flew in on a helicopter dubbing him " helicopter man" by the rest of the guys in the house.  Really clever nickname boys, not!  Third was Stevie, who came in breakin a beat to his boom box wearing a bright green shirt.

    Some of the other men include David the 33 year old singer-songwriter and professional soap opera extra from New York.  Randy,

Granny Randy

 who came in dressed like his grandma.  Jackson, the man in the pink tie.  Brent, the father of 6. Arie, the race car driver whom Emily assured was ok with his profession.  Ryan, the 31 year old Pro Sports Trainer.  Tony, the 31 year old Lumber Trader, and Chris, the man who makes custom bobble heads.  We also have Lerone,

Lerone the first black contestant

 a 31 year old real estate agent from LA.  He is the first black man to make it to the show and even though Emily gives him the boot in round one, now the show can say they are diversified.

  The men who made the cut and will be back for week 2 include Chris, Ryan, Kalon, Arie, Charlie, Jef, Nate, Sean, Joe, Kyle, Aaron, Alejandro, John, Alessandro, Michael, Stevie, Tony, and Travis.  The men Emily said adieu to last night include Granny Randy, Lerone, Brent, Jean-Paul, David, and Jackson. 

     At the end of the show Emily toasts the hopefuls and looks forward to the rest of the season.

Emily and her bachelors

I want to hear from you.  Did you enjoy the show? Who was your favorite, and why?

I will be back next week with a recap of week 2, so until then put your big girl panties on and have a great week Y'all.