Chris Soules, a.k.a. "Prince Farming," made his debut as the official rose hander-outer on Monday's The Bachelor season-19 premiere. Over the course of the three-hour (!) episode, Soules kissed one contestant, was pulled aside after the rose ceremony by a jilted gal and even learned what a "cat lady" is. Quite the eventful three hours.
The episode began with Bachelor voice-of-reason Chris Harrison catching up with familiar faces from seasons past. Bachelor in Paradise couple Marcus Grodd and Lucy Faddoul are still together and planning a summer wedding, while Sean Lowe and Catherine Giudice are talking babies. As for last season's winner Nikki Ferrell, she subtly squeezed in a few digs at ex Juan Pablo Galavis' expense. "There's a difference between being a second priority and a seventh priority," she said of how important she felt to him.
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After we saw Chris Soules riding his motorcycle through the mean streets of L.A., along with the requisite shot of him showering, it was time for the hunky farmer from Iowa to meet his ladies. After emerging from the limos, Jillian made him feel her bicep, Amanda refused to let him open his eyes in her presence and Reegan gave him a fake organ in a cooler. Ah, nothing like making a quality first impression.
The group is then led to believe that only 15 women will be competing this year. Let's just say that, when the arrival of more women is supposed to be seen as a big shocker, it's clear the show might be trying a bit too hard to manufacture drama. Indeed, two more limos of ladies pull up, bringing one woman in a pig nose and another who really loves karaoke.
Chris then set out to meet the women, which involved learning from schoolteacher Tracy what a "cat lady" is (is it not self-explanatory, Chris?) and hearing Ashley S. go on and on about onions. Britt got the first-impression rose and is the clear frontrunner, with the two sharing the episode's only kiss.
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At the rose ceremony, Tara — whose profession is "sport fishing enthusiast" — has imbibed a bit too much and is wobbly. Chris had earlier been impressed by her cowboy boots but actually called a timeout during the ceremony to decide whether to cut her. She managed to get a rose, as did these lucky ladies: Kaitlyn, Jade, Samantha, Ashley I., Tandra, Nikki, Kelsey, Megan, Alissa, Amber, Juelia, Becca, Trina, Mackenzie, teacher Tracy, Tara, Jordan, bicep-flaunting Jillian, Whitney, karaoke-singing Carly and yes, even onion-obsessed Ashley S.
That meant curtains for secret-admirer Amanda, Bo, Brittany, Kara, Kimberly, Michelle, Nicole and fake organ-toting Reegan. However, Kimberly decided she didn't care for Chris' decision to cut her, so we see her head back into the mansion to let him know. We'll find out next week what exactly she said to him and whether he changed his mind about eliminating her (safe guess: he didn't).
The show also aired an intriguing promo for the rest of the season, including footage of Chris needing to apologize profusely for something he did.
Who are your early favorites? What do you think Kimberly will say to Chris? Are you confused as to why a pomegranate was just lying on the ground outside the mansion? Let us know in the comments!
