‘The Bachelorette’ recap: Jenn’s journey begins as she meets her suitors

Season 21 of ABC’s The Bachelorette kicked off Monday, July 8, with 26-year-old physician’s assistant student Jenn Tran ready to find her soulmate. The audience was first introduced to the star on Joey Graziadei‘s season of The Bachelor, where she finished third, but charmed Bachelor Nation with her bubbly personality.

Tran is of Vietnamese heritage and the first Asian American Bachelorette in franchise history.

“I want to make everyone proud of me, you know my heritage proud,” Tran said in a confessional at the top of the show. “I think what it really comes down to is I have to be myself and do the best I can do.”

As always, the men went to great lengths to make a memorable first impression on Jenn, including Brendan, who ate raw hot peppers as proof he could stand the heat of a relationship.

“Lovesick” Jonathon was wheeled to the entrance on a stretcher, his face wrapped in bandages and wearing nothing but a hospital gown — like literally nothing — as Jenn found out when she caught the rear view. The facial bandages, he said, were so that she could judge him from the inside out, rather than the other way.

Night one was mostly fun and drama-free, and even included a game of truth or dare, allowing the men to show off their wild sides.

The only tension occurred when Jeremy, who drove up in a fancy sports car, let Jenn feel what it felt like to sit in the driver’s seat. The moment — along with Jeremy’s car — was hijacked by Brian, who stole the keys while Jeremy wasn’t around and stole some alone time with Jenn in Jeremy’s car.

When it came to handing out the first impression rose, Jenn’s “gut” told her Sam M. was the guy.

Following the rose ceremony, Jenn announced she and the remaining men would be jetting off to Melbourne, Australia.

Here are the men remaining after the first rose ceremony:

Aaron, 29, an aerospace engineer from Tulsa, Oklahoma
Austin, 28, a sales executive from San Diego, California
Brian, 33, an aesthetics consultant from Boynton Beach, Florida
Devin, 28, a freight company owner from Houston, Texas
Dylan, 24, a medical student from Elk Grove, California
Grant, 30, a day trader from Houston, Texas
Hakeem, 29, a medical device salesman from Schaumburg, Illinois
Jahaan, 28, a startup founder from New York, New York
Jeremy, 29, a real estate investor from New York, New York
John, 25, a medical student from Delray Beach, Florida
Jonathon, 27, a creative director from Los Angeles, California
Marcus, 31, an Army Ranger veteran from Raleigh, North Carolina
Marvin, 28, a luxury event planner from Santa Monica, California
Sam M., 27, a contractor from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Sam N., 25, an entrepreneur from Carlsbad, California
Spencer, 30, a pet portrait entrepreneur from Dallas, Texas
Thomas N., 31, a retirement advisor from Tucker, Georgia
Tomas A., 27, a physiotherapist from Toronto, Ontario, Canada

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