This Week on the Bachelor: Steamy Winter Wonderland, Puppies, and a Drunken Debacle
by Lauren Frankfort
It's only week two, dear readers, and The Bachelor (or, El Bachelor as Juan Pablo likes to call himself) is already getting very heated.
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The episode began with Clare, the hairdresser from Sacramento who lost her father, receiving the first date card. Obviously, as the first bachelorette to have a one-on-one date, Clare was ecstatic. She also couldn't help but point out, multiple times, how sexy Juan Pablo oh-so-sexy is (Dare: Drink with your girlfriends any time one of the girls calls Juan Pablo sexy). As he picks her up in his Tesla and blindfolds her, the other girls swoon. "He's just so adorable, even with another girl," one of the girls says. As for Clare and her blindfolded car ride? "All I could do is sit there and smell him. He smells like heaven in a bottle." We'll take your word for it, Clare.
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When they get to the date location, Juan Pablo reveals a winter wonderland (in L.A., no less!). With a snowy landscape, sledding hill, and ice skating rink Juan Pablo did a good job of stacking the cards in his favor-if a winter wonderland doesn't ooze romance, we don't know what does! After playing around on the hill and the rink, they get into a hot tub. In the hot tub, Clare tearfully opens up about her father's passing and their special relationship. While there was a rose hidden next to the tub to seal the date's deal, Juan Pablo takes to other methods for showing Clare what a great time he was having-he kisses her! As steam rises from the hot tub, it's clear that there's some serious chemistry between he and Clare. A live performance by Josh Krajcik and a perfectly timed snowfall top off what will be a very tough date to beat.
Kat gets the second one-on-one date of the week, and hers was quite different from Clare's. A fan of surprises, El Bachelor drives Kat to a private plane where the pair jet off to an undisclosed location. Mid-air, Juan Pablo changes into a flashing tracksuit and hands Kat neon running clothes. The two land in Salt Lake City, Utah, just in time for the Electric Run-an LED-lit 5K race with house music blasting-of which they're at the starting line. You can feel the fun as Juan Pablo and Kat dance their way to the finish line. The cutest part? Juan Pablo holds onto Kat nearly the entire time to protect her from the crowd. At the end of the race, the two run up on stage and dance together. While Kat definitely emphasized how Juan Pablo's sexiness (she even says "it took a lot of self restraint not to grab him and plant one on him"), he too, recognized how attracted he is to her. While on stage, Juan Pablo presents Kat with a rose in front of a huge crowd. Talk about an adrenaline rush!
Finally, it was time for the group date. With the clue "Say cheese!" the girls figured out that they were headed to a photo shoot. Once they reach the industrial space, they are told that they will also have models helping them during the shoot-puppies! The group is also told that all the photos they take during the date are for an organization called Best Friends Animal Society, which will help the puppies they're working with for the day get adopted. Each girl is assigned an outfit based on her pooch. While the vibrant Chelsie gets a huge afro and outspoken Kelly gets painted in brown and white spots (which, later earns her a rose that night for being such a great sport), Elise and Andi are only handed cardboard signs. The two, naturally, look extremely confused. Despite protests from both, they are told that those are indeed their costumes and that they will have to pose in the nude. Elise quickly runs to Lucy, the "free spirit" who has a penchant for walking around the mansion topless, to switch. Lucy happily obliges (she also takes her dog for a walk outside completely naked). Andi, stuck with her sign, is really upset. Juan Pablo comes to comfort her and reassures her that he will be doing it with her. After their talk, Andi feels much more at ease with the sticky scenario.
The night ends at a swanky rooftop pool. While Juan Pablo gets one-on-one time with each of the girls, Victoria, the fiery Brazilian, guzzles down glasses of wine. So much so, that Nikki, the pediatric nurse, warns her she seems wasted. This sets off a series of explosive actions from Victoria, including belligerent screams from the pool that she wants to straddle Juan Pablo (as she did at the photo shoot, above), a walk where she interrupts Juan Pablo and his one-on-one time with Nikki, and subsequent crying in the bathroom and screams that she wants to go home. After Renee, the single mom from California, tries to soothe her, Victoria storms out of the bathroom and accosts a producer, screaming that she wants to leave. Even a talk from Juan Pablo, who sweetly understands how uncomfortable this group date could be, doesn't calm her down. She's shipped to a hotel away from the mansion, where, the next day, Juan Pablo goes to check on her. Even though she apologizes, Juan Pablo recognizes that immature behavior like Victoria's wouldn't be good for him or his daughter and sends her home.
Unfortunately, the tears didn't end there. At the rose ceremony, Cassandra, a former NBA dancer, starts crying because she misses her son. While she revealed to Juan Pablo the night before that she is a mother, and he was supportive and understanding of that, she begins to wonder whether this process is worth spending time away from her boy. Juan Pablo again comes to the rescue, comforting Cassandra (who, by the way, he seems to really like), and offers her the first rose of the night. Roses are exchanged to all but Chantel and Amy L.
Needless to say, last night was certainly one to remember. Here, our takeaways from this week's Bachelor:
1. Check yourself before you wreck yourself. There's a reason Patti Stanger of Millionaire Matchmaker has a two drink maximum for all of her dating mixers. Getting sloppy drunk is never attractive, and may cause you to act out of character. Dating can be nerve-wracking (especially when you're competing with a huge group of girls for the same man), but, as Victoria proved, liquid courage is not always the best choice.
2. Be honest with yourself and with your partner. Cassandra was scared to open up about her son, but it ended up working in her favor. Clare, too, decided to reveal her heartbreak over her father's loss. Both time's these girls shared their personal stories it made Juan Pablo like them even more.
3. If you're uncomfortable, say something. Andi, an assistant district attorney, was completely uncomfortable with posing in the nude. Once she told Juan Pablo, though, he comforted her and even offered to help her face her fear by doing the photo shoot together. If you're unhappy about something, it will show-it's best to get your fears off your chest so you and your partner can face them together!
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