Montgomery County’s Joey Graziadei continued his journey as “The Bachelor” on Monday night, taking some of this season’s eligible bachelorettes on dates for the first time.
The second episode of Season 28 of the ABC dating show featured two large group dates, a one-on-one date and a drama-filled cocktail party. Graziadei, a 28-year-old tennis instructor from Collegeville, also parted ways with one of the contestants from Philadelphia.
The episode began with Graziadei giving a tennis lesson to host Jesse Palmer, who in turn gave Graziadei some advice on navigating the week ahead with the 22 remaining women.
“This is why you’re the Bachelor; being a good communicator,” Palmer told Graziadei. “Just be authentic and be yourself, and I know you’re gonna be that. If you navigate this as well as you teach tennis, you’re gonna find your person.”
Here are some highlights from this week’s episode:
(Spoilers ahead)
‘Here comes the brides…’
The first date of the season is a group date featuring nine of the contestants. The date card inviting the women reads, “Here comes the brides,” and the ladies chosen for the date are ushered into a dressing room where they pick out bridal dresses to wear for the day’s festivities.
It turns out Graziadei, who says he is “serious about finding my fiancé and future wife,” has invited the group to a faux-wedding reception where he is the groom and the nine women are his “brides.” The event features the usual wedding reception fare — like dancing, cake, champagne toasts and speeches — with each woman attempting to stand out to earn the coveted “first dance” with Graziadei.
A game of musical chairs — which would determined who got to sit next to Graziadei at the wedding’s “sweetheart table” — almost goes haywire when contestant Evalin Clark dives over the table to try to secure a seat, nearly knocking over Philadelphia’s Lauren Hollinger in the process.
John Fleenor/Disney
During a game of musical chairs on the group date, contestant Evalin Clark leaped over the table in hopes of scoring a seat next to ‘The Bachelor’ lead Joey Graziadei. She nearly knocked over fellow contestant, Philadelphia’s Lauren Hollinger (right).
Despite Clark’s feat of athleticism, Rachel Nance is the one chosen by Graziadei for the honor of the first dance. Special guest, Grammy-winning singer Michael Bolton, croons “When a Man Loves a Woman” as the pair dance and share a kiss.
Many of the contestants on the date take the goofy activities of the group date in stride, envisioning what it would actually be like to take Graziadei as their husband. But, one contestant isn’t feeling the celebratory vibes. Hollinger, a 28-year-old registered nurse who is on the show with her younger sister Allison, feels sorrowful emotions brought on by the date’s theme. That’s because the Hollinger sisters’ father passed away just months before “The Bachelor” began filming.
“That’s who walks you down the aisle,” Lauren Hollinger said of her father. “It’s like, what am I gonna do? Walk around alone? And then just being in a wedding dress and putting it on, and, like, him not being able to see me — I don’t know, it just brought up a lot of emotions and it just kind of put me in a weird vibe today.”
Later, once the ladies change out of their bridal wear, they have the chance to continue their conversations with Graziadei during an after-party. Some of the contestants who make impressions on Graziadei include Maria Georgas — who surprises Graziadei by changing into a risque, lacy black outfit — and Jess Edwards — who opens up about experiencing infidelity in a previous relationship and receives the group date rose from Graziadei.
One-on-one time with Daisy
For his first one-on-one date of the season, Graziadei chooses Daisy Kent, a 25-year-old nonprofit owner from Minnesota who captured his attention during night one. The pair take a scening helicopter ride to a musical festival, where they’re invited on-stage to dance (and smooch) along to the musician Bahamas’ set.
The day portion of the date is lighthearted for the pair, and Graziadei tells the cameras that there’s “something there that feels right” between them. But, Kent expresses apprehension about opening up to Graziadei about some more serious topics.
During the evening portion of the date, Kent tells Graziadei about some of her ongoing health struggles. She began having “stroke-like seizures” when she was about 11, and began losing her hearing when she was 17. She also felt sick all the time, she told Graziadei.
Kent was diagnosed with Lyme disease, and underwent a month-long treatment at a facility in Germany. She says she began feeling better, but her hearing continued to get worse. She then received a cochlear implant, which allows her to hear and communicate, and left her former job to focus on running a nonprofit that seeks to help people with hearing loss.
Graziadei gives Kent a rose at the end of the date, feeling more connected with her after learning more about her background.
“When Daisy started the conversation tonight, it took me by surprise initially,” Graziadei told the cameras. “But it takes a special type of person to be able to go through all these challenges in life and find a way to turn them into a positive. And she has done that in full force. … After this first date tonight, I could see Daisy being someone I end up with at the end of all of this.”
Protecting hearts
The final date of the episode is a group date hosted by former “Bachelor” contestants Jubilee Sharpe and Demi Burnett, during which the contestants are split up into teams for a paint battle. Specifically, they play a spin-off of “capture the flag,” in which they need to protect a giant heart from being stolen by members of the other team.
The pink team and blue teams are tied after the first two rounds, but the blue team pulls out the win in the final round. While the contestants initially think that the whole winning team will get the chance to have special time with Graziadei, he chooses only one member of the team, Edwina Dorbor, for a one-on-one hangout.
During their date, Dorbor, a 25-year-old entrepreneur from Atlanta, tells Graziadei about the pressures she felt growing up as the oldest girl in her Liberian immigrant family. Graziadei appreciates Dorbor getting vulnerable, and gives her a rose.
John Fleenor/Disney
On the second group date of the episode, the ladies have to protect their hearts, literally, during a unique game of ‘capture the flag’ involving paint.
Drama at the cocktail party
Leading up to the rose ceremony, the ladies don their finest dresses to make final impressions on Graziadei before the rose ceremony. During the party, drama brews between contestants after Sydney Gordon tells Madina Alam that Georgas was talking about her behind her back. The ladies squash the drama, for now, but teasers for next week reveal that the battle is far from over.
Along with the she-said-she-said drama, Lauren Hollinger is still feeling unsettled after her tough week. She says she’s planning a surprise (involving a cake) for Graziadei to make up for her bad mood during the wedding group date. But, as the cocktail party wears on and more time passes without getting a chance to talk to Graziadei, she reaches her wit’s end.
“So, I’m gonna go home,” she tells Graziadei when they finally get the chance to chat, becoming emotional as she cites her increasingly bad mood.
“I wish I could say or do something,” Graziadei replies. “But I can tell that you’ve gotten to a point where you’re over it, which is OK. And I’m sorry if I did anything … I’m sorry that a lot of this has been tough on you. That’s never my intention through this. But, yeah, maybe this setting wasn’t the best way for us to really get to know each other.”
The cake Hollinger ordered to share with Graziadei ironically arrives at that moment, adding to the awkwardness of the breakup. She tries a bite before lamenting that it’s not the red velvet flavor she wanted, and — in a move that has become increasingly common in the franchise — throws the cake onto the ground.
Lauren’s younger sister, Allison — who was on the second group date and connected with Graziadei during the cocktail party — expresses sadness at her sister’s exit. But, the 26-year-old realtor from Philly decides she wants to continue on the journey and focus on growing her relationship with Joey.
Who went home?
Along with Lauren’s self-elimination, three other women were sent home at the rose ceremony: Erika Cardenas, Marlena Haddad and Taylor Wiens. That leaves Graziadei with 18 eligible bachelorettes remaining heading into the third episode, with only one Philly contestant left standing.
“The Bachelor” airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on ABC. According to a teaser for next week’s episode, Delco’s Susan Noles may be making an appearance alongside some of her pals/fellow contestants from “The Golden Bachelor.” Check out a trailer for the rest of the season below:
Franki Rudnesky
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