After the controversy surrounding Juan Pablo's seemingly homophobic comments over the weekend, our views on this season's Bachelor changed slightly, and we couldn't help but keep an extra keen eye out for the Bachelorettes. Do any of them seem to share his views or would some be put off by his thoughts on having a same sex couple on The Bachelor? Granted, his comments were made well after the show was finished, but we can't help but wonder if the lady he chose felt the same way, or if he really just mixed up his words and was caught off guard? Whatever the case, while The Bachelor may be our Monday night guilty pleasure, once the cattiness and kissing starts, the show hardly instills core family values, despite the fact that Juan Pablo is looking for a stepmother for his daughter Camila.
The episode kicked off with JP and Cassandra going on their first one-on-one date. This is no surprise to us since JP made it known he wouldn't string single moms Cassandra and Renee along longer than he should, since they both have kids waiting for them back home. Cassandra was really shy with JP at first, but true to form, he made her feel comfortable and relaxed, especially when he took for her a drive in a Jeep that also doubled as a boat. After some swimming, he brought her back to his own home where he cooked for her and taught her how to dance. If that doesn't help you unwind, we're not sure what would. After a bit of kissing, Juan Pablo decided he didn't want to let Cassandra go just yet, in spite of the fact that she was unsure the last episode. After lots of talk about being single parents, JP gave Cassandra the first rose of the night, hoping it might give him a chance to continue to get to know her better. Giddily, the 21-year-old former NBA dancer accepted.
Back at the mansion, tensions were running a bit high for Elise. After the group date card left Elise and Chelsie being the only two girls who haven't had dates yet, Elise started to feel insecure (though she would play it off as being overly confident) that Chelsie was a baby and not quite the wife/stepmom material that Juan Pablo is looking for. When Chelsie received the second one-on-one date card, Elise shook it off as though Juan Pablo just needed to be sure that Chelsie wasn't the one and was pretty sure she was going to get sent packing.
At the group date, JP brought the girls to where the L.A. Galaxy's soccer team played and showed them the "other half" of his heart, besides his daughter. Being totally in his element playing futbol, he taught the girls some drills and then refereed a five-on-five game between the girls. The game started to get pretty competitive and unfortunately at the expense of Sharleen who took a hit to the face. Since Juan Pablo is all about seeing the girls out of their comfort zone and how they can adapt and go with the flow, he was really impressed when Sharleen shook it off and kept playing. Later in the date, Nikki had some time to chat with JP, though didn't get the chance to kiss him. Not too concern with the fact that she missed her shot, she wasn't that upset until she and the other girls spotted JP and Sharleen smooching right in the middle of the soccer field (though if they all saw it up close, they would have realized how awkward it was and we're truthfully unsure if Sharleen is just being a tease at this point). Andi, who had her steamy kiss with JP in the kitchen a few minutes prior, was feeling a little concern that she didn't have the special evening she thought she'd had. To everyone's surprise, Nikki, the one who didn't get the kiss (but should have) got the rose, leaving both Andi and Sharleen slightly jilted. Sorry ladies, shoulda held out a bit longer.
On Chelsie's one-on-one date she was feeling really anxious, so naturally that meant that JP had to put on some of his Spanish music and get Chelsie to dance in the car (the girl has no moves, FYI). After he warmed her up a bit, it was time to drop the bomb on her: They were going bungee jumping on their date. Chelsie, terrified of heights had a mini freakout where Juan Pablo had to try and calm her down. Being super sweet about not having to do the bungee jump, after some deep breathing and coercing from JP, Chelsie finally decided to take the leap, which worked out in her favour because the two of them had the cutest upside down kiss ever. JP was naturally so happy that she trusted him enough to take the jump and after dinner gave her the third rose and finished off the date with another live concert, some dancing and a bit more smooching.
The next morning Juan Pablo showed up at the mansion while all the girls were still sleeping and began making breakfast for all of them (awwww). When Kelly came downstairs to walk her pup Molly, she immediately panicked when she realized she was sans makeup and barely acknowledged him as she ran back upstairs to tell the other girls. Sadly, she missed the entire point of JP there. If we've understood anything about him, is he wants to see the girls out of their element and how they react to certain situations. When the rest of the girls came down confidently without their makeup and still in their jammies, he was really impressed to see who owned it and was almost breathless when Clare showed up.
After breakfast, JP decided to ditch the cocktail party for that night, and kick it with the girls for a daytime pool party. Lots of splashing, sunning and Kat fawning over JP happened, while some of the other girls stood by with daggers in their eyes. When Kat took JP off for a moment alone, Kelly got upset and called her a whore, which will no doubt spawn the catfights we've been waiting with bated breath to see. After a couple of negative comments from Sharleen as well, she also took JP off alone and took her chance to steal another kiss with a few of the girls in plain sight, making us think she might just be a bit of a hypocrite. Clare, who had one of the first dates of the season and no alone time since, got a little upset and went to her room for a moment alone. Naturally, maternal figure Renee was right behind her trying to calm her down. Shortly after Clare got her chance alone with JP and let him in on some of her insecurities. He told her that he really liked her and didn't want her to go anywhere just yet, and she relaxed quite a bit, especially when she received a rose and was safe for another week.
Sending "Free Spirit" Lucy and Christy home (really no surprise there–neither of them really tried to make a connection with Juan Pablo throughout the last three episodes), the night finished off with some tears and then some cheers, but no doubt some insecurities for the girls who knew they barely made it this episode.
Coming up roses: Cassandra, Nikki, Chelsie, Andi, Renee, Kelly, Sharleen, Elise, Kat, Alli, Clare, Lauren and Danielle
Bachelorettes to watch: Renee, Cassandra, Nikki, Elise, Sharleen
Cry count: Episode- 5 (Chelsie, Sharleen, Clare, Christy, Lucy); Season Total – 13
Kiss count: Episode- 4 (Cassandra, Andi, Sharleen, Chelsie); Season Total – 5
Catfight count: 0 (for now)
