ABC/Craig SjodinThree...two...Juan!
It's time for a new season of The Bachelor; the 18th season, to be exact, and dare we say Juan Pablo Galavis may be the ABC hit franchise's hottest leading man ever?
The single father (to an adorable four-year-old girl named Camila) kicked off his journey to happily ever after on Monday, Juan-uary (as ABC is affectionately calling it) 6 with 27 ladies vying for his affection.
Of course, this is The Bachelor, which means there as many tears as there are roses and the special two-hour premiere proved to be no exception. But is Juan Pablo already on the road to heartbreak? And which ladies failed to make it past the first night in the competition? Sit back, relax and break out the vino as we run down the night's shocking moments, early frontrunners and craziest contestants...
Most Shocking Moment: The other object of all 27 women's affection aside from the hunky single father? The first impression rose, which is given to the contestant that makes the, you guessed it, best first impression on Juan Pablo. The lucky lady of season 18 happened to be Sharleen, the 29-year-old opera singer, whom Juan Pablo called "elegant." However, there was a slight problem: Sharleen wasn't feeling that strong of a connection with the Bach. Say whaaa, said women across the country. But Sharleen wasn't ready to write off any chance of a happily ever after just yet, so she accepted the rose, awkwardly calling Juan Pablo "sir" twice in the process.
Crazy Contestant Alert: This season's wackiest lady was easily Amy J., the massage therapist who decided to give Juan Pablo what he called an "awkward" massage during the cocktail meet-and-greet. Coming in second was Lucy, the self-proclaimed "free spirit" who stepped out of the limo barefoot with a flower crown atop her head. She later put her bare feet on Juan Pab's lap. (Ew.) In a desperate attempt to stand out, Clare stepped out of the limo with a pillow stuffed under her dress, pretending to be pregnant. Snooze.
Early Frontrunners: We were actually surprised that Andi, the 26-year-old assistant district attorney, didn't score the first impression rose given Juan Pablo's cartoon-worthy eye pop when she stepped out of the limo ("You are gorgeous," he gushed) and their easy banter during their first sitdown conversation. Another standout for us was the pediatric nurse Nikki, who had quite the positive energy and blushed just saying the word "sexy."
We also liked Chelsie, the 24-year-old science instructor, though we found her chemistry experiment introduction to be a bit too cutesy. Single mother Renee also seemed to have a quick connection with the Bach.
The First Cut: The ladies who failed to stay longer than a night in the Bach mansion were Alexis, Christine, Valerie (we must confess we were a bit surprised as she was our tentative pick for this season's Tierra, the troublemaker from Sean Lowe's season), Ashley, Amy J. (Duh), Lacy, Kylie, Lauren H. (a major crier) and Maggie.
What did you think of The Bachelor season premiere? Any early favorites? Were you surprised by Charleen's admission that she wasn't feeling a connection with Juan Pablo? Sound off in the comments! And check back with us later for former Bachelorette Ali Fedotowsky's thoughts on the season opener!