The Bachelor Recap: Hometown Dates

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Sean Lowe visits the hometowns of his final four possible future wives – AshLee Frazier, Catherine Giudici, Lindsay Yenter, and Desiree Hartsock – this week on the Bachelor.

The hometown dates are usually either really boring, when the families are completely willing to accept the Bachelor into their lives after only two hours, or really awkward, when one or two family members remain skeptical and/or actively sabotage. Sean's hometown dates are no exception.

"Family is so big for me," Sean says. "This is a great week for me to really get a good sense of where these women come from." Based on the intro, it appears as if AshLee comes from Baggageville, Catherine's sisters are Cinderella levels of jealous, Lindsay comes from The Happy Locker, and Desiree's brother (Holla!) is a Menace II Reality TV Love.

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AshLee in Houston, Texas

Now that AshLee has "fallen into love" with Sean, she is very excited to bring him home to meet her family. In fact, she's been dreaming about introducing the man she has a one in four chance of marrying to her family since childhood. So romantic, right? 

Over lunch, AshLee weeps her way through telling about her Polar Bear Plunge triumph and gleefully talks about her and Sean rolling around in the sand (wink, wink) in St. Croix. So icky, right? Dad tells Sean that he felt an immediate connection with little girl AshLee, adding, "I fell in love the moment I saw her. Whatever man takes her for the rest of her life is going to have to fall in love with her like that." I'm pretty sure that "moment" has already passed. 

Mom asks Sean if he's going to break AshLee's heart, reminding him that she has abandonment issues, and he says, "Of course I am. It's certainly not my intention." Naturally, Dad gives Sean his blessing to propose to AshLee, because he's made a killer impression since two hours ago.

AshLee says, "I love this man so much. Sean makes me feel like I can conquer anything. Today has been magical. It's like there's pixie dust everywhere. This has been my dream come true." Clearly, AshLee is confusing the Bachelor with a Disney Princess movie, and she's going to need therapy if Prince Charming chooses a different leading lady. 

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Catherine in Seattle, Washington

Catherine brings Sean to the infamous Pike Place Market to catch nasty, slimy flying fish. This is not my idea of a fun date; however, Sean and Catherine make it look fun and later enjoy each other's company all over Seattle. Sean declares, "When I'm with Catherine, I can see my wife." Catherine says she loves Sean's smell (hopefully she means pre-fish market) and beefy arms (obvious attribute to look for in a husband).

Sean's visit with Catherine's family starts off well. Mom loves when Sean puts on a frilly, yellow apron to help her in the kitchen and Grandma has the hots for the Bachelor. Then, the sisters of doom ruin the day. When the sisters ask Catherine if she's seriously entertaining accepting this guy's proposal, she says, "I'm not stupid about this whole thing. I don't think in the clouds like AshLee. I think realistic, but I will say yes. I want to try this out." What every man wants to hear when he proposes: Sure, let's give it a try.

Not only does Sean fail to get Mom's blessing, sisters Anastasia and Drizella drag Catherine through the mud. According to the sisters, Catherine suffers from extreme mood swings and often bolts when her relationships are no longer fun. Drizella adds, "She's messy too. It's like clothes everywhere. All the time."

Following the date, Sean admits, "Today did not go as expected. Catherine's family is very skeptical, and her sisters brought up things about her that made me doubt our relationship." Catherine realizes her hometown date did not end well, adding, "It scares me. I want love with Sean. That's why I'm here, and I hope he sees that."

Lindsay in Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri

"I have never been so happy in my entire life," Lindsay says. "Family is my world. If this goes well, I'll be ready to tell Sean that I'm falling in love with him." 

Sean is very excited to see Army Brat Lindsay but not so much her two star General Dad. Luckily, they eat cupcakes and play Bachelor Boot Camp first. When the time comes, Sean breaks the ice nicely, revealing that Lindsay acted like a drunken fool in a wedding dress the first night.

Sean asks Mom if "younger" Lindsay is ready to settle down, to which she says, "Oh my goodness, yes. She wants to find the love of her life and build a life with that person." A nervous Sean asks Dad for his blessing to propose. Dad blabbers about helicopter drops, making Sean sweat it out for a while, but says it's ultimately up to Lindsay.

At the end of the night, Lindsay tells Sean she's falling madly in love with him. Sean admits that General Dad's approval makes him even crazier about Army Brat

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Desiree in Los Angeles, California

Desiree rocks the yoga pants and takes Sean hiking. "I love the fact that Des has brought me to this canyon for our date today," Sean says. "This is her in her natural element. I love this. I'm outdoorsy guy." Really, Sean? We had no idea!

While Sean and Desiree prepare dinner, an ex-boyfriend shows up to declare his love for Desiree. When ex-boyfriend gets a little pushy, Sean rips off his shirt, Incredible Hulk style, and flattens the guy. It's the most dramatic hometown date EVER! I wish. Instead, Desiree is like, GOTCHA! It's only a joke, payback for her Punk'd date.

Too bad the rest of the date isn't also a joke. While Mom and Dad seem sweet, Brother Nate thinks the Bachelor is "stupid" and "never going to work out" for Desiree. Over dinner, Nate says, "Hey, Sean, mind if I holla atcha real fast?" Nate is like, no reciprocation, I hate you, no reciprocation, I hate your show, no reciprocation. Sean assures Nate that he's crazy about Desiree. Nate quips, "You're crazy about a lot of girls, right?" Sean is fuming mad! I think Nate is jealous and wants to be the Bachelor.

Sean barely recovers before Nate calls him a playboy. Sean is like, you're totally wrong about me. (So true!) Nate is like, I'm not buying what you're selling. Mom and Dad are like, we have four distinct seasons where we live. (God bless them!) Des is like, why didn't I hire an actor to play my brother?

After Sean leaves, Nate says, "He's not the one, Des. He is not THE ONE." Nate looks awfully proud of himself. His behavior and words hit Desiree hard. 

Rose Ceremony in Mansion, Bachelor Nation

The roses are waiting… and Sean has NO IDEA who he's giving them to… seriously? Sean is two weeks away from the final rose ceremony at this point! Call me crazy, but I think if the Bachelor doesn't know who he's  feeling this late in the game, he has no business proposing to anyone in two weeks. 

Sean tells Chris Harrison that Lindsay and AshLee are sure things, but he's still undecided between Desiree and Catherine.  Unfortunately, Desiree and Nate are a package deal, and Sean admits Nate will probably always get under his skin. Sean wonders whether or not Catherine's "lofty career goals" will get in the way of her settling down.  

Sean offers roses to AshLee and Lindsay. Sean freezes. Leaving Catherine and Desiree feeling real good about themselves, I'm sure, Bachelor Sean exits the room. Chris Harrison earns his paycheck: "Sean, get this right." In the end, Catherine gets the third rose and Desiree gets a broken heart. 

Desiree tells Sean that he's making a huge mistake, adding, "Don't let me go. It's not right. It's not." Sean lets go. Desiree rides home wondering what she's going to do with her life now. May I suggest… kick your brother's A$$?  

TELL US – DID SEAN MAKE THE RIGHT CHOICE? YOUR PICK FOR THE NEXT BACHELORETTE? 

Photo credit: ABC

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