Bachelor Nation’s wishes have finally been Grant-ed.
When The Bachelor returned to ABC on January 27, we got a charming, handsome, wholesome new lead in Grant Ellis. We got an exciting season of romance, drama, and vulnerability ahead. And crucially, we got something to look forward to on Monday nights again!
The 31-year-old day trader from New Jersey first captured hearts on The Bachelorette Season 21 when he fell fast for Jenn Tran. Though he left the journey heartbroken, he returned to the mansion in hopes of finding lasting love with one of his 25 eligible bachelorettes.
Like the great Joey Graziadei before him, Grant is in touch with his emotions and isn’t afraid to be vulnerable, so the episode kicked off with him showing Bachelor Nation some of the things that made him the man he is today. He introduced us to his first love, basketball, which he played in middle school, high school, college, and professionally until he got injured. He shared that the game acted as an escape from family stress growing up and taught him about hard work and life’s ups and downs.
Then, we headed to Grant’s mom’s house in Houston, Texas, to meet his supportive family and protective older sister, Taylor, who played quite a role in the premiere. Grant made sure he took his beloved grandmother, Corine Frank Russell, aside for some quality one-on-one time, and in a twist, he gave her his real first impression rose, saying, “This is the first rose that I’m ever gonna hand out. It signifies my love for you and how much I love you as my grandma. And you’ll always be my first impression rose.” (I teared up during this scene, so when a touching tribute card flashed at the end of the episode honoring Corine, who passed away in November 2024, you better believe I cried.)
Before Grant’s RTM (Return To Mansion), he also visited his father, Robert, who’s recovering from a 30-year struggle with addiction and ready to fully be present for his son. Ahead of The Bachelor’s eventful premiere, Grant sat down with Decider to tease the emotional, transformative season ahead, and revealed, “This journey did so many things for me. It was like a therapy session for me in terms of me rekindling my relationship with my dad, and just finding myself.”
After opening up about his parents’ divorce and the struggles his family faced when he was growing up, Grant vowed to put his “lone wolf mentality” behind him and open his heart in hopes of finding his person. Whether he ends the season engaged or not, it sounds like the journey paid off.
“I’m really happy. I couldn’t imagine it being any other way now that I’m going through this process and learning about myself. Everything that’s been unfolding in my life, and the lessons that I’ve learned — I’m really grateful,” Ellis told Decider over Zoom. “It’s not often that you’re dating multiple people at once. That was a first for me. And the women were so great this season, that the choice was difficult…I really tried to take my time and make sure I made the right choice.”
Wondering how Grant Ellis’ Bachelor premiere played out? Who went home Night 1? Who got Grant’s first impression rose? And what surprises the premiere had in store? Without further ado, here’s Decider’s Bachelor Season 29, Episode 1 recap.
Meet Grant Ellis’ 25 Contestants (And Linda, The No Drama Llama)
After hopping out of the limo and reuniting with his man Jesse Palmer, Grant let his Night 1 jitters out with a smooth driveway dance and the limos started rolling. First up? A 27-year-old aptly named Rose, who asked if Grant would accept — wait for it — “this Rose.” First impression-wise, Zoe McGrady’s T-shirt cannon was a real standout for me. Couples merch? Iconic. An engaging activity right out of the gate? We love to see it. A limo exit that also incorporates your fellow contestants? Revolutionary. As the night went on, the Season 29 lead got everything from a bedazzled basketball and heart-shaped pizza to a worry stone, a cannoli, a wedding cake, a giant cardboard cutout of his head, chips and salsa, and of course, a visit from Linda, the No Drama Llama.
Someone always has to go big on Night 1 for fear of otherwise going home, and in The Bachelor‘s Season 29 premiere, that someone was Alexe, a friendly French Canadian who grew up on a farm and brought a llama named Linda as her wingwoman — not just to meet Grant, but to spend the night inside the mansion for selfies, neck pets, and confessional interviews.
Once the meet-and-greet portion of the evening concluded, Grant headed inside to toast his lovely group of ladies and make his intentions known. “I want to be a husband. I want a wife. I want to be a father. I want to have a family. And I’m here for love, first and foremost,” he said. And with that, the first happy hour of the season officially commenced.
Cocktail Hour And An Unexpected Guest
The conversation quickly started flowing as Grant bopped from contestant to contestant to perform the ceremonial second vibe checks. One woman brought him a wig to match her bob, while another created a full-on Powerpoint presentation of what their love story could look like (complete with AI wedding photos — yikes!). Juliana, a 28-year-old from Massachusetts, played a little piano for him, while Natalie, a 25-year-old Ph.D student, taught him to “smell the flowers and blow out the birthday candles” (a breathing exercise she teaches kids in the hospital). But in between Grant quoting The Notebook, making engagement rings out of clay, shooting some hoops, and sneaking in Night 1 smooches, an unexpected visitor in a black dress and heels hopped out of a limo and beelined through the mansion to steal him from a contestant.
Who was the mystery woman? Grant’s gorgeous sister Taylor, who everyone initially thought was an ex-girlfriend hoping to join the season. Grant’s contestants were swift to dub his sister Enemy #1 — one woman even claimed Taylor “walked out vagina first” like she was “on a mission.” But once Grant introduced her, everyone softened and welcomed their potential sister-in-law with open arms, saying, “We’re all so happy…we didn’t mean anything we were saying five mins ago.” LOL.
After sharing some of Grant’s precious baby photos, Taylor had one final “gotcha!” moment with the group, explaining, “In all seriousness, what brings Grant here tonight is his desire to find true love. But Grant has not been honest with you all. He’s not here to get engaged….He’s here for way more than that! He’s here to find his wife, his soulmate, his best friend, his everything, and no one else deserves to find love more than Grant.”
Taylor stuck around for the party, caught up with contestants, and spilled some additional tea on her baby brother, revealing that he had a long-term girlfriend for seven years, he loves hard, and he could be better with organization. One thing we didn’t see her involved with, however, was helping select Grant’s first impression rose recipient…
Who Got Grant Ellis’ First Impression Rose?
After Jesse Palmer brought out the coveted first impression rose, he announced the season’s first big twist: whichever woman received the first rose would also be getting the first one-on-one date with Grant. A game changer. So who was the lucky lady? Alexe Godin, a 27-year-old pediatric speech therapist from New Brunswick, Canada.
As far as first impressions go, Godin was a clear standout, since she’s the woman who arrived with Linda, the No Drama Llama. But while Linda was living her best Bachelor life, Alexe was giving Grant a charming French lesson that ended with a French kiss. During their one-on-one time together, Grant told Alexe that she stood out to him because she was so full of energy. When it came time to hand out his first stem of the night, Grant told the camera, “There’s one girl in particular that really stood out… she’s so funny, she’s so quirky, she’s so sweet, and she’s smart. We had the most connection and spark. Everything that she is embodies what I look for in a woman, and I can’t wait to get to know her.”
Grant walked past the other women in the house and pulled Alexe aside to say, ”I really enjoyed our time tonight. Aside from being beautiful, I think that you’re funny, you’re smart, you’re intelligent, and I had a great time. So Alexe, will you accept this rose?” Alexe said yes, and thought it was incredibly validating that Grant was seeing her for her — quirks, llama, and all.
In an interview with Decider, Grant explained, “Alexe and I had a lot of really good conversation and we both laughed a lot. And I think that’s what really drew me to her. The sense of humor that she had and just the friendship that I felt like our relationship had when meeting her for the first time. And then I’m an animal lover. So the No Drama Llama definitely didn’t hurt.”
Curious who else got roses and who went home Night 1? Keep on reading, the premiere’s almost over!
Who Went Home On The Bachelor Season 29 Premiere? Week 1 Rose Ceremony Recap
So who got the rest of Grant’s Night 1 roses? And which women went home early in the journey? Joey gave his first and final rose ceremony roses to Litia and Parisa respectively. So here are the women who go home during The Bachelor Season 29 premiere:
- Christina, 26, a marketing director from Fargo, N.D.
- J’Nae, 28, an account coordinator from Colorado Springs, Colo.
- Kelsey, 26, an interior designer from Brooklyn, N.Y.
- Kyleigh, 26, a retail manager from Wilmington, N.C.
- Neicey, 32, a pediatrician from Blythewood, S.C.
- Radhika, 28, an attorney from New York, N.Y.
- Savannah, 27, a wedding planner from Charlottesville, Va.
After the group toasted to the journey ahead, The Bachelor gave viewers a look into the highs and lows ahead on Ellis’ intense search for love.
New episodes of The Bachelor air Mondays from 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. ET on ABC with next-day streaming on Hulu. And be sure to read our interview with Joey Graziadei for more exciting Bachelor insights.
The post ‘The Bachelor’ Season 29 Premiere Recap: Who Went Home Episode 1? And Who Got Grant Ellis’ First Impression Rose? appeared first on Decider.
