JoJo Fletcher is a 25-year-old bachelorette looking for her true love. As the center of attention for Season 12 of “The Bachelorette,” she will have 26 handsome bachelors to choose from beginning May 23, 2016. “The Bachelorette” premiere will air from 9:00 to 11:00 p.m. EDT, on ABC.

Fletcher is a real estate developer who had her heart broken in Season 11 of “The Bachelor” when Ben Higgins professed his love to both her and Lauren Bushnell. Although he promised not to blindside her, she stated she definitely felt she had been blindsided when he told her he found love with both her and Bushnell. In the end, it was Bushnell he chose. Now it is Fletcher’s turn to find her soulmate on ABC’s romance reality show, “The Bachelorette.”

In “Episode 1,” three former bachelorettes; Kaitlyn Bristowe, Ali Fedotowsky and Desiree Hartsock Siegfried, return to lend their support and advice to Fletcher. They advise her on how to handle being nervous, dealing with drama and possible emotional pitfalls that she will have to deal with during her journey to find true love. They also make sure to inform her that there is a difference between hot steamy lust between two people and actual, true love.

The four women share their honesty with Fletcher in their heart-to-heart conversation. They tell her they are excited for her and scared for her at the same time. She says she is ready to get engaged, so bring on the men!

Then, when Fletcher meets her available and charming suitors, on “The Bachelorette,” she is amazed at the lengths some of these gentlemen will go to make their first meeting a memorable one. A southern suitor plays a song on his guitar that he wrote just for her. Then, a DJ brings in All-4-One to sing to her. A shy Scottish gentleman dons his kilt – and legs to impress her. Then, he tells her that he is half Scottish and half Chinese, and he proudly announces that he is half Scottish below the waist. However, the one who really stands out is the one who arrives on the back of a unicorn, relating back to Fletcher’s entrance on “The Bachelor,” when she made her entrance wearing a unicorn head.

Here is a sample of the men she will meet:

•  Grant, a firefighter, who is 28 years old. He likes to help people and is content with the accomplishments he has made in life, so far.
• Jordan is 27, and he wanted to be in the NFL. He is the little brother of the quarterback for the Green Bay Packers, Aaron Rogers. He was too small and had to work hard to make his own way into the NFL. He has played for the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Miami Dolphins and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Now, love will take priority, over football, in his life.
• Alex is 25 and felt he had no life direction when he was in college. He was lost, and his family relationships were a mess, so he enlisted in the Marines. The Marines taught him how to get his priorities straight. Now, he is ready to move forward in life and take a wife.
• James is 27, and is secretly addicted to “The Bachelor” and “The Bachelorette.” He hosts watch parties at his home and is excited to be on the reality show.
• Evan is 33 years old and used to be a pastor. He loved ministering, but now he is the director of medical clinics that treat men with erectile dysfunction and low testosterone. He says it is exhausting but rewarding at the same time.

In the premiere of “The Bachelorette,” desperation and alcohol prove not to mix when one of the bachelors starts to take off his clothes. Then, in the middle of the excitement and partying, bachelor number 27 arrives. What could possibly happen next?

By Jeanette Smith

Sources:

ABC: Screening of the premiere of “The Bachelorette”

Images Courtesy of ABC/Disney – Used With Permission