The Bachelorette's Chris Harrison: Ryan's Date Was a Big Reality Check for the Men
The Bachelorette's Emily Maynard is already hitting it off with some of the guys (ahem, Ryan), but viewers will have to wait just a little longer to witness her first kiss on the show.
"You're not going to see the early, wild, hot tub make-out on Date 1," host Chris Harrison tells us. "The fact that she's a mom ... they didn't want to be that guy that takes it too far and makes her feel uncomfortable."
Read our recap of this week's episode
In this week's chat with Harrison, he tells us that Ryan's date was a huge reality check for him and the guys, why Emily gets angry next episode and how her tears are only just getting started.
Emily's first one-on-one date was baking cookies. Do you think Ryan was disappointed in the lack of adventure or glam?
Chris Harrison: Sure. There's no way that he would've thought the first date was going to be baking cookies and taking them to Ricki's soccer practice. That was the biggest reality check ever and sets the tone for the season. But he enjoyed the date and loved spending time with her and then there was the nighttime part. That's the whole thing with Emily, she can be a mom and then she puts on a red dress and you're like, "Holy cow."
I think this is the first season where neither first one-on-one date ended with a kiss!
Harrison: That's another theme throughout the season. When do you make that move and do you make that move? The fact that she's in a mom plays a huge part in that — you're not going to see the early wild hot tub make-out on Date 1. Everyone puts her on this pedestal, but she's a normal 26-year-old woman who wants to be wined and dined and wants to be kissed and the guys are very wary of that. They didn't want to be that guy that takes it too far and makes her feel uncomfortable. There are times throughout the season when she'll get back from a date and she'll tell me in deliberation, "I could not have thrown out more signals and clues for him to kiss me, hug me, touch me."
The Bachelorette's Chris Harrison: One Guy Crosses Emily and Enrages Her
How excited were you and the guys for the Muppets group date?
Harrison: All of a sudden we were 8-years-old again. We were doing Statler and Waldorf and I joined in as was one of the grumpy guys, which was like a dream come true. Those are my favorite characters and to actually get to be one and act alongside them, I was grinning ear to ear!
Emily was adorable during her skit with Kermie.
Harrison: With Emily I thought no way does she have the chops, but I think because Ricki was there she really wanted to show her she was having fun with the Muppets. She really got into it and was being coy and flirty with Kermit, it was really funny.
Were you surprised she axed Joe on her first week of one-on-ones?
Harrison: It definitely sent an early message to the guys because no one thought he was going home on the first date — that just doesn't happen. So that sent ripple effects throughout the house like, "Wow, she's really serious about it!" and now they're like, "I might just settle for the group date."
The Bachelorette's Chris Harrison: Emily's Season Is Drastically Different
Emily cried while dumping him. If she's crying already, she's in trouble.
Harrison: I know we had this talk and I told her, "You realize if you cry now, we are in for a long road. It's not going to get any easier, and you're not even feeling anything yet." All of the Bachelors and Bachelorettes hate the goodbyes and breakups, but it's so hard [for viewers] to understand how tough it is.
In the promo for next week, it looks like Emily's sassiness starts to come out.
Harrison: If she doesn't see a potential father figure or love, etc. she sends people home. She knows how hard the rose ceremonies are so in lieu of waiting for the rose ceremony, she just lets people go, which made it a little difficult for us because we're like, "OK we need enough guys to have a rose ceremony." But she did what she wanted, and we went along with it.
Watch our interview with Emily:
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