Dallas Lawyer Drops Houston Law Student and Others on Season Opener of 'The Bachelorette'

The Bachelorette.
(Courtesy of ABC)

Rachel Lindsay, the Dallas trial lawyer who is looking for love on reality television by starring in “The Bachelorette,” showed a little about her taste in men as she met 31 suitors on the premier episode last night and winnowed down the pool of potential husbands by sending eight of them home without a symbolic red rose.

It was clear she enjoys men who make her laugh, but she suggested she needs time to figure out if some of the guys were sincerely looking for love and a relationship.

The disappointed suitors included Rob, a law student from Houston, and Blake K., a U.S. Marine Corps veteran with a nice smile who admitted it was hard having to go home on the first night. The rejected also included a tearful Milton, who afterward said his heart is broken and noted that he was probably the best-dressed guy in the room. At least Milton has the selfie he took with Lindsay when he greeted her at the beginning of the show.

Lindsay inexplicably kept Lucas, a self-described “Whaboom” who brought a megaphone, and several times during the show obnoxiously shook his head and yelled his trademark “Whaboom.” Once he yelled so vigorously that he rolled off the back of a foot stool. Instead of a dress shirt, Lucas wore a sleeveless T-shirt under his jacket with his catchphrase “Whaboom” on the front. Several of the other bachelors labeled him the crazy one, and Blake E. figuratively put up his dukes during the initial cocktail party and questioned Lucas about his motives. Blake E. vowed to not back down “if the girl chooses the bad guy.”

The two-hour episode of Season 13 of “The Bachelorette” began with video clips of several of the hopeful men, including Jack Stone, a 31-year-old associate at Winstead in Dallas, who talked about the sadness of losing his mother to cancer when he was in high school. He said he wants a big family.

Lindsay, a daughter of U.S. District Judge Sam Lindsay and an associate at Cooper & Scully, is the first African-American bachelorette. Her selection as the bachelorette was announced in February, while she was still appearing on the Nick Viall season of “The Bachelor.”

Standing outside a mansion in California that serves as the program’s set, the 31 contestants arrived in limousines and spoke individually with Lindsay, who wore a form-fitting white gown. Several arrived with gimmicks, such as a marching band (aspiring drummer Blake E.) and a penguin suit (Matt). Fred brought his grade school yearbook, which included a photo of him when he was in third grade and a photo of Rachel when she was in eighth. Lindsay noted afterward that she recognized Fred immediately when he walked up to her. “He was a very bad kid,” she said. She may be giving him another chance, however, since he ended the night in the competition.

With alcohol flowing, the men mingled for hours in the mansion , waiting for an opportunity to sit down for a one-on-one with the bachelorette. Tension rose during the night after host Chris Harrison carried a single red rose on a tray—the coveted “first impression” rose. Lindsay gave it to Bryan, a chiropractor from Miami who impressed her by speaking to her in Spanish. He told her he was participating in the show because he wants a relationship. He kissed her. Lindsay told the camera afterward she wasn’t planning to kiss anyone during the first night, but added, “I enjoyed it.”

A quick montage of highlights from the rest of the season foreshadows more kissing for Lindsay. Lots and lots of kissing with many guys. But there are also tears, as Lindsay admits to a lot of stress during her search for love. One bachelor, Lee, a country songwriter from Nashville who brought his guitar, appears to be an instigator of some of the drama, partly, as he says, because he’s the only “country boy” in the group. The montage hinted to some fisticuffs between bachelors and showed one of the bachelors with blood dripping down his face from a cut near his eye.

But as Lindsay happily shared with viewers last week during a promotion for the show, she’s in love and engaged!

At the end of the rose ceremony, holding a glass of what appeared to be champagne, Lindsay told the 23 bachelors, “I couldn’t be more happy with the men who are here right in front of me, so let’s let the journey begin.”