I was rewatching Zach's season and as much as I LOVE Kelsey's hometown date in NOLA... I'm so obsessed with the fact that Kaity took Zach into her home!!! They did normal stuff and I couldn't stop cheesing. I think it's neck and neck with Jelsey's and Zaity's hometown tbh... I think hometowns are my fav episodes of the bachelor! Wbu guys?
What has been your favourite hometown date in all of bachelor history?
DISCUSSIONI was shocked when he sent her home after that
Victoria F.. and Pilot Pete never making it in the door 😂
Charity and Dotun's for it's wholesomeness. Rachel and Tino's for the utter mess with the dad.
Also, I know it wasn't his hometown, but honorable mention to when Blake met Katie's aunt.
I completely forgot about Tinos dad 😂
When the meep girl hired actors to mess with Matt Grant and pretend they were her family and the mom sat on his lap. Hahahahaha
Ali’s season going to Cape Cod to visit Chris. I loved everything about this visit and him talking about his mom who he’d lost recently.
Kendall making Arie stuff rats. He was so miserable and made no attempt to hide it
The taxidermy was … a lot
Jef and Emily’s hands down
Theirs was really sweet. She was so giddy. I also loved her HTD with Brad and Ricki.
It has to be Hannah B. and Jed’s not just for the “we know something you don’t know” drama and cringe fest of another Jed recording session…. But because we witnessed the greatest hair in the history of any BN franchise (well, until Kelsey) - Jed’s sister. I CRAVE her hair!
It wasn’t technically a hometown, but on Ben H’s season they traveled to his hometown and Emily (one of the twins) got a one on one date to go hang out with his parents. It went so poorly that Ben’s mom was crying at the idea of him picking her 😭😂
Oldie but goodie: Naomi on Jason’s season where they bury a dead bird.
Omg this was so crazy!
Tyler Cameron
Jason’s in Buffalo!
Dean and his turban dad
This was amazing. I really felt for him.
Does anyone remember Brad Womack’s season where he brought a mortician to hometowns and she made him lay on an embalming table? Absolutely a classic.
Shawntel!!!!
i really liked becca and chris soules hometown date. it’s one of the ones i remember a lot
and I also liked deans of course - it felt really authentic
I remember Becca’s hometown being rather uncomfortable. I feel like they talked so much about her virginity and how she had never seemed interested in a guy before (funny in hindsight 😅). How do you remember it? 🤔
When Bekka K went to Buffalo for Jason and did a wing eating contest. Dream date.
The Covid seasons where they had to make a fake town for each person 🤡
Ok but Ivan’s hometown was actually so lovely. Making Filipino food with his niece and then the surprise visit from his brother 🥰
Ok that was so cute!
Not the cardboard NYC when he lived in Jersey 😩😩
I don’t remember most hometowns they all kind of start merging together. Some of my favorites are the ones that really stand out and are different like the bird funeral on Jason season, Dean‘s hometown, Victoria‘s non-existent one, JoJo‘s mom drinking from directly from the wine bottle those are the ones I remember.
Corinne’s nanny
These is for the olden fans… Reid and Jillian’s and Tessa and Andy’s. Both just flowed so well, no drama and the way Jillian and Andy clicked with the families was seamless. I also really loved Tyler and Hannah’s. And for the mess Fictoria and Peter’s and Hannah and Jed’s.
I loved Reid so much
Same
Loved Reid’s because I loved Reid and I am also from Philadelphia
My forever fave
Dean. It was heavy and unlike other hometown convos I had seen
agreed. it really felt so authentic
Yes!
I also really liked Kaity’s hometown, especially when they were putting together IKEA furniture. I liked if because it’s something real you’d do with a partner
Its definitely something Id make my husband do while I sat and watched 😂
But I heard it was just an Airbnb and she didn’t even live there.
Since she is a traveling nurse, I don’t think she was technically living anywhere at that point (her next assignment planned for Austin though) so an Airbnb would make sense.
I listened to a podcast where she explained it was an Airbnb but not one she was as living in.
Yeah even if, the assembling furniture together was still cute
The place they met her family was definitely an AirBnB - I’m not sure about the place where they were setting up furniture.
Mine is a favorite in that I thought it was pretty much a train wreck that a lot of people nonetheless thought was good --- Zach and Ariel's hometown. The confrontational way Ariel's brother questioned Zach was good reality TV and I found it very interesting that Ariel has marketed herself as this strong, independent woman and yet she laughed and giggled at the way her brother treated her like property that he had to either vet Zach for her or "scare" off Zach so they'd not date further. It was a big city, reality TV version of a dad, or brother greeting a woman's date while holding a shotgun. People think it's so cute and funny when it's really controlling and possessive.
I LOVE hometowns, I agree with OP that they may be my favorite episode of the season.
One that really stood out to me was a crazy one on Jason Mesnick’s season when Naomi’s mom made them bury a dead dove during the date. It was so wacky and Naomi was so embarrassed (as you would be!). It seemed obvious that she was going home prior, but this really put her over the edge. And of course Jason was such a good sport and took it all in his stride.
Full disclosure : I had to google the contestants name. Remembered the dove storyline over her name. 😳
This is my favourite one too. Naomi was a 'who?' F4 member before hometowns as everyone expected that Stephanie would be in the final 4. But when she left earlier suddenly Naomi was there...and then this absolute gem of a hometown. Her step dad trying to convert Jason who is Jewish was also hilarious to me lol.
For a different reason other than the lovey dovey dates: Dean’s on Rachel’s season because it was the first time I felt the real in reality TV. It was sad, but also unbelievably relatable. I felt like I was watching my family in some way. It wasn’t sugarcoated, and he was vulnerable (ahem “genuine and real”) with Rachel more than anyone else I’ve seen on this show.
Same here. Because I’d I went on the Bachelor that is how mine would go. In fact I would do hometown with friends because it would be so awkward
My favorites are the hometowns that never were: Fictoria and Tyler N
Kirk with the taxidermy. It was so bizarre and I loved him so much. Iconic.
Kendall too
“Excuse you what?” left no crumbs
Legend has it, her family is still sitting in that Airbnb living room waiting to meet Pilot Pete
Unbeatable
and he never meets her family, liiiike 🤭
I live in Austin and saw them once at Homegoods and was like the date continues lol
best comment🤣
Charity and Dotun! I never wanted a couple to work out as badly as I did after that date.
This!!!
Becca and Jason at the brewery with his friends. Forever my favorite.
Jojo’s mom chugging the champagne bottle on the hometown with Ben H.
My favorite part with her mom is how she didn’t realize there were still three other girls in the “competition”. Jojo was crying and she was reassuring her saying “Jojo you’re beautiful it will work out!” And then Jojo said “Mom, there’s still three other girls involved.” And she just said “Oh.” 🤣
Iconique.
Hannah B and Jed’s date. It’s has the most uncomfortable, but hilarious energy because his poor family wants Hannah to break up with Jed. Hannah has no idea what’s going on.
I love rewatching it, it’s so funny.
They didn’t know the most problematic hometown is often F1!
Kaity is Canadian, living in the US, so they didn’t do much for her hometown. That being said, Gerry and Faith until…well…we all know. I sobbed.
Catherine and Sean because of how sweet his dad was to her
Their little daytime date in Seattle was so sweet!
For drama and entertainment purposes, Tino’s hometown on R&G’s season. I also really loved Kaity’s hometown
Wait, who is R&G
Rachel & Gabby
TINO! No but on a semi serious note, that season was nuts
My dog is named Tino. He hit it first.
My second favorite is VF asking Peter “excuse you what?”
When Ben and Caila built the play house!
I was looking for this one. Always remember it as it was very unique.
I'll be real, Colton's season had the most entertaining HTs I loved Cassie's hometown, her dad was an ICON!! Tayshia's as well!
Tayshia’s dad dropping that “You can’t microwave a connection” quote is something that does not talked about often here when it comes to overall good Bach moments.
I can't find it right now but the fake book cover of "You Can't Microwave Relationships" by "Dr. Tayshia's Dad" with, I think, glasses photoshopped on his face was amazing
I loved Zach's hometown date with Ariel because we rarely get to see hometown dates in big cities like New York and the activities they did were so fun. The day portion felt more like a fun travel segment than the Bachelor.
Dotun's ❤️
Did you see Dean's hometown on Rachel's season? It was pretty weird and awkward, as I recall.
Yeah this is the one I think of when I think of "Hometowns". I think Rachel handled it very well.
I remember thinking the opposite, I remember her being pretty dismissive and just kind of reciting super generic platitudes and telling Dean to make up with his dad even though there seemed to be way too much baggage to be wrapped up within 1 hour of TV.
Last time I saw that episode though I was a high schooler with a ton of family baggage and friends who did not get it, so I may have just been projecting haha
I agree, I didn’t like anything about how it was handled and my heart hurt for Dean. You could tell he did not want to do this, he did not want his trauma to play out on tv this way, and Rachel really pushed him to meet his dad—I think I remember it seeming like she would need that move forward, so Dean acquiesced, but he was never gonna be the one so it felt really manipulative to get some good tv at the expense of Dean’s boundaries.
At this point, I've listened to far more podcast reactions to it than times I've actually watched the episode, so I can see where I could be misreading it. It was a very unique experience either way!
Although I wouldn’t call it a “favorite” it was one of the most memorable and intimate parts of the series that I can remember. It veered into “should I really have access to this?” territory. Such a fascinating insight into Dean and his complicated family dynamic.
I have such mixed feelings on the ethics of filming that situation but as someone with a complicated relationship with my dad (who has had similarly frustrating conversations to the one Dean tried to have with his father), it was definitely emotional and impactful to see a familial dynamic represented on the show that wasn't just "my parents have been married for 900 years and I want a love like theirs."
I also appreciated the stories from some of the women on Joey's season about the struggles they've had with their fathers. It's really nice for the show to reinforce that you can be whole and ready for love even if your relationships with your parents aren't fairy tale perfect.
All hometowns have blurred for me at this point, but that one was definitely memorable.
That one hurt my heart on his behalf.
So happy for him now.
I actually loved Zac Clark’s pretend NYC date on Tayshia’s season - “Taxi!!”
I remember really liking those hometowns and how they made a challenging situation with quarantine at the La Quinta super cute.
Same ! I’m from Philly and even though Zac is technically from Jersey, I liked that he was so east coast and I have fond memories of NYC.
JP’s hometown on Ashley’s season. Rollerskating, his lovely family, and his epic bar mitzvah photo. Perfection.
Constantine's hometown was so much fun!! His family was dancing and throwing money around with their shoes off!
Also Ames pre-date before he brought her into the house was gorgeous. They were sitting under a beautiful pink tree and he was reciting Italian and being all poetic and romantic.
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I LOVED Rachel and Nick’s in NOLA!