Editor's Note: Season six Bachelorette and current host of NBC's 1st Look Ali Fedotowsky is blogging exclusively on E! Online about the current season of The Bachelorette, giving her reactions and spilling behind-the-scenes secrets.
Big night! I love the hometown dates. It always gives you a chance to see the guys (or girls) in their natural habitats. It's the most realistic look into their lives that we get all season.
Zak: Dallas
Zak's choice for the date seems more like a commercial for his family's business than an actual date. I mean, let's face it, he just got thousands of dollars of free publicity by choosing the family business as his date with Desiree. However, maybe he was just trying to show her that he's good with kids. Either way, I won't hold it against him; its a good way to get your family's business free publicity. I'd do it for my family. And I kinda love his family for giving him a hard time about the shirtless limo entrance at the beginning of the season. My family pokes fun at each other too, and that definitely deserved to be laughed about. I really like them! If I was giving out roses to families, they'd totally get one. Unfortunately, it was pretty obvious that she wasn't as into him as him was into her, and we all saw how the episode played out.
Drew: Scottsdale, Ariz.
I was pretty much in tears throughout Drew's hometown date. The way he interacts with his sister is so sweet. And his dad seriously had me choked up. How sweet was his talk with Desiree about Drew being an angel? And his mother was so darling talking to him about proposing to Desiree. This hometown date is the equivalent to the last 15 minutes of Titanic. Not a dry eye around. Now, as much as I like Drew, I just don't think he's the guy for Desiree. He got a rose tonight, but I think he'll be the next to go.
Chris: McMinnville, Ore.
The baseball date was so adorable. And the one thing that stood out to me (yet again!) is that Desiree found the time outside of the filming to do something some special for Chris. She wrote him the poem during her free time and now she drew something for him! That honestly speaks volumes on how she feels. I've explained in a past blog that you get little to no time to relax as the Bachelorette. The fact that Desiree spends that time doing nice things for Chris makes me feel pretty confident that she picks him in the end. I've said it before and I'm sticking to it. And with that, we arrive at Brooks...
Brooks: Salt Lake City
Having just mentioned my Chris theory, it's important to note that Desiree also wrote something sweet for Brooks. So right now, I'm fairly certain that Brooks and Chris will be the final two guys. And I know we keep hearing Desiree say that she loves Brooks. But the fact that the producers keep showing it makes me wonder if she actually picks him in the end. Why would the producers give it away this early? They never have in the past. I think that they want to keep us thinking it's him so that we'll be surprised when it's not! Honestly though, having spent so much time watching this show, that's just my theory. He's a cool dude, though, so if they do end up together, I'll be superhappy for them! I really appreciated his honesty when it came to his feelings about this whole process. A lot of you tweeted me saying that it's "s--ty" that he doesn't seem as into her as she's into him. I don't think that should matter cause at least he is being honest with himself! And maybe he's just taking a little longer to come around. We'll see.
Sending someone home after hometowns is definitely hard, so I feel for both Desiree and Zak. Lets hope this is the only/last ring Desiree will give back to any of these guys. Cause I don't know about you guys, but I'm hoping the next one is an engagement ring!
On to your Twitter questions!
Mrs. Latina (@MrsLatinaDR) asks @AliFedotowsky @eonline: Does the #bachelorette choose the order of hometown dates? Is the order important in any way?
The order isn't important. The hometowns are basically filmed in the order that they are most convenient to fly to. So since she was flying from Portugal (just like I did on my season), she most likely visited Dallas first and moved west. However, the order they are filmed isn't necessarily the order they are shown on the show. It's just coincidence that last night they aired in an order that could have been the order they were filmed in.
Marilee (@thatgradstudent) asks @AliFedotowsky: How long were hometowns? Did you feel like you truly got a good sense of the family?
You spend a full day doing hometown dates. In the morning and early afternoon, you spend time with the guy, and the evening is usually when you meet and have dinner with the family. You don't get a great sense of the family, but honestly it doesn't really matter, does it? Would you choose not to marry the love of your life just because you didn't mesh well with his family? I would never let that stop me from marrying the man of my dreams. It would totally suck if he didn't click with my family, but at the end of the day, he's marrying me and I am marrying him. That's all that truly matters, right? I'm saying all of this assuming everyone fully respects each other. If my guy respects my family they would love him no matter what cause I love him. OK, that was a long-winded way to say that I think the hometown dates are more about meeting and starting to get to know the families rather than seeing what one you fit into best.
Michelle (@LMichelleWilder) asks @AliFedotowsky @eonline: Why are the final four separated after hometowns?
I think it's because things get so real after hometowns. Emotions are high and it would really mess with a person if they had to spend time with the others. Can you imagine watching your buddy go on an overnight date with the girl you love and then going on an overnight date with her the next day? What would the two guys talk about the day after? So awkward!
Danielle (@daniellealexis) asks @AliFedotowsky @eonline: All of the houses for hometowns are always so nice. Do they rent houses?! Or are they for real?
They don't rent houses. Those are everyone's real homes. This season we just happen to have four guys whose families have beautiful homes.
Tina (@TinaMcCauley1) asks @AliFedotowsky @eonline: Does the Bachelorette/Bachelor know what the plans are for the hometowns?
Nope! The Bachelor/ette has no idea what they will do on the hometown dates! This was one of my favorite parts of my season. You get to sit back and let someone take you out on a date. I loved not being in charge.
Jackie (@jackiemags11) asks @AliFedotowsky @eonline: Do the producers pay for family members to come to the hometown dates if they live out of town?
Yes. When I was on The Bachelor, they paid for my dad to come to my hometown. He surprised me halfway through dinner but that didn't make the final cut of the show, so the viewers never saw it. But the short answer is yes, the will fly in family members for hometowns.
As always, I'll say how much I love answering your Twitter questions. Make sure to follow me on Twitter (@alifedotowsky) because I live tweet during the show each week and I might answer your questions in my blog! Also, next week is the Men Tell All special. Make sure to tune in because Ashley, Emily, and I will be making a quick appearance on the show to give Desiree some advice.
Until next week...
Ali