Hometown Dates

This week's episode was hometown dates! Personally, this is my favorite episode of the whole season. It gives us a chance to see the girls in their element at home with their families. Ben headed back to the States this week to meet the girls' families!

Ben's first stop was Ocala, FL to meet Lindzi's mom and dad. Naturally, Lindzi greeted Ben by riding up on a horse. (This week the tables were turned because the girls were the ones planning the dates!) Lindzi starts their date by taking Ben on a carriage ride around her family's property Then they settle down for a picnic lunch and talk. Lindzi tells Ben that after her last train wreck of a relationship, she has put walls up. She tells Ben that she wants to be open with him and is going to let her guard down for him.

After their lunch, they take a carriage ride through the woods to meet Lindzi's parents and their two dogs. After chatting with Lindzi's parents, Ben learns they were married in San Francisco City Hall, which coincidentally is where Ben and Lindzi's first date was (wedding bells near?). Then Lindzi's parents challenge Ben and Lindzi to a carriage race. Showing age is not a factor, Lindzi's parents win the race. As punishment for the losing team, Ben and Lindzi have to pull Lindzi's parents back to the house in the carriage. Lindzi tells her mom in a private conversation that she's falling in love with Ben. Ben asks for Lindzi's dad for permission to propose. Her dad gives a wishy-washy answer, but ultimately he says he just wants her to be happy. They end the day by roasting marshmallows together around a big fire. In interviews, Ben says that his feelings for Lindzi have grown a lot in one day. He thinks her heart is really in it because she is finally opening up to him.

The next stop for Ben was Clarksville, TN to meet Kacie's family. Ben arrives at the high school football field to find Kacie twirling her baton with the marching band. Kacie greets Ben with a classic Bachelor move: the run and jump hug. Kacie and Ben take a seat in the bleachers. Kacie shares with Ben that the football field was named after her grandfather. She talks about her grandparents and how much she admired their love for each other. Ben asks Kacie if there is anything he needs to know before meeting her family. She informs him that her dad is a very conservative man and does not drink any alcohol (bad news for a winemaker, eh?). This seems to worry Ben a little because he may be too different from Kacie's family.

The couple arrives at Kacie's house where Ben meets Kacie's mom, dad, and sister. With confidence, Kacie calls Ben her "husband" in a conversation with her sister because she is positive he's the one for her. Kacie's parents seem to be very skeptical of the whole Bachelor process. Ben sits down with Kacie's very southern dad to discuss his feelings for Kacie. Ben tells him that he has liked her from the beginning and thinks they have great communication. He asks Kacie's dad how he feels about the situation. Her dad strongly urges Ben not to rush into anything and take it very slow. Then Ben has a conversation with Kacie's mom. She tells him she is concerned about Kacie moving in with him if he picks her. Its obvious that Kacie's parents are protective over her and have very traditional values. Kacie's dad tells her that if Ben asked for permission to marry her right now he would tell him no because he thinks they need to take it slower. Kacie seems to be very uneasy at the end of the day and its obvious this was a very rocky hometown date.

Making his way through the south, Ben's next hometown date was in Fort Worth, Texas with Nicki. Ben arrives downtown to meet Nicki and they walk around together. Their first stop is a cowboy boot store. After doing some shopping, the two emerge from the store dressed in complete cowboy attire. They make their way to a park to have a picnic. Nicki talks to Ben about how her parents dealt with her failed marriage. He is concerned about what Nicki's parents will think, but she assures them they will be very welcoming.

Ben meets Nicki's mom, dad, and brother. Nicki's parents have been divorced since she was little but they seem to have a good relationship. Nicki's mom tells her that she sees a connection with Ben that is different than with her first husband. A very giddy Nicki confesses to her mother that she is in love with him. She has a very emotional conversation with her dad about how she wasn't ready for a long time but now she's ready to be with someone else. Nicki's family seems to really like Ben and they tell him they want to see them together in the long run. At the end of the day, Nicki tells Ben that she's in love with him and he seems to be very pleased after hearing this.

The last hometown date for Ben is in Scottsdale, Arizona to meet Courtney's family. Ben arrives at Courtney's house and meets her dad, mom, and sister. They all have lunch together while getting to know each other. Courtney tells her sister that she's very happy. She thinks she's been with the wrong people before and that Ben is different. Courtney's dad has a private conversation with Ben and asks if he is ready to make the commitment, to which Ben answers yes. Courtney talks to her mom and tells her she is really falling for Ben (we also learn that Courtney gets her lack of personality and weird mouth quirk from her mother).

After visiting with Courtney's family, the couple have a picnic in a local park. Ben makes sure that Courtney knows he wants to be married because Courtney's previous boyfriends have not wanted that. Courtney mentions that the park they are in is a place she would love to be married in. Magically, there is a wedding set up nearby (Bach producers at work once again). They go explore the wedding venue. Courtney pulls out notebooks from her bag so they can write "vows" to each other. She also has a bow tie for Ben and she just happens to be wearing a white dress. I'm all for the cheesiness of The Bachelor, but they don't need to act so surprised in these OBVIOUSLY planned situations. Ben and Courtney read their fake vows to each other in front of a preacher at the front of the altar. At the end of Courtney's vow, she confesses to Ben that she loves him. Ben seems to be very giddy after she shares this with him.

Before the rose ceremony, Ben sits down with Chris Harrison to discuss the hometown dates. I was extremely happy they included this segment this week because I think precious Chris Harrison needs more screen time. Ben needs some wisdom imparted on him from time to time. Overall, Ben thinks the hometown dates went very well and enjoyed getting to meet the girls' families. He says the decision is a very tough one for him. Sadly, it seems that Kacie's family's differences were just too much for Ben to handle and sweet Kacie did not receive a rose. She did not take it well and had a very emotional limo ride home.

Next week on The Bachelor: Ben and the girls travel to Switzerland and it looks like there will be ANOTHER surprise visit to Ben's hotel room! Have a great week girls!

IN:
-Courtney
-Lindzi
-Nicki

OUT:
-Kacie