Ashley Hebert is down to four men to chose from on The Bachelorette hometown dates episode airing Monday July 18, 2011. Here is a recap of the show:
BACK IN THE USA
Ashley, Constantine, Ben F. and Ames return from their exotic tour of the Far East for four hometown visits across America.
HOMETOWN VISIT WITH CONSTANTINE
Ashley said things started to click for her and Constantine in Taiwan and after all four hometown dates, she told Chris Harrison that this was “the best hometown date.” She flew out to Atlanta to visit Constantine and found a whole new open side to him who has been slow to fall for Ashley so far. He took her to his Italian restaurant for a fun, flirtatious pizza-making lesson. Ashley is impressed by all the love the staff show their boss and feels that he is “such a stud.”
She then met his large Greek family and spent the night dancing. Ashley could feel the love in this family unit and in turn, Constantine’s family thought that Ashley and him looked cute and happy together. Constantine’s mom took Ashley aside and asked her if she would move for love and Ashley said yes–guess she’s come a long way because if I recall correctly, she said she wouldn’t move for Brad Womack when she was on The Bachelor.
Constantine’s father told him he has his blessing but gave him the advice to follow the example of him and his mother and work on the relationship through ups and downs but said in the beginning, things should be perfect. At the end of the night, Ashley had fallen in love with Constantine’s family and said she could envision a life with him. Ashley had also won over Constantine’s parents and Constantine said he could see her as part of his family.
HOMETOWN VISIT WITH AMES
Ames lives in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania and introduced Ashley to his fun-loving family. Ames’ sister saw a spark in Ames’ eyes that she had never seen before but worried that she could not see the same spark in Ashley’s. So, she took Ash aside to make sure her heart is in the right place. She asked her straight out how she feels about Ames. Ash said their relationship has progressed slower than with other men but she likes the qualities she sees in him so she has kept him around over other men with whom she had more of a connection.
Ames’ sister told Ash that Ames lost his father and stepfather at an early age which explains his hesitation to trust. The sister voiced her concerns to Ames that she’s not sure Ash sees Ames as her fiance at this time and suggested to Ames that he kick the romance and passion into high gear so he won’t lose Ashley to the other men. So, Ames decided to show Ashley the most beautiful part of where he lives and whisked her away for a romantic picnic underneath his favorite Magnolia tree followed by a spectacular horse and carriage ride through the picturesque Pennsylvania landscape.
Ames told her his mom loved her. They discussed his boarding school attendance, and Ames admitted he is nerdy. Ash said the two of them have a lot of similarities in common and look at life the same way. After the date, Ames said he has fallen in love with her…Ash felt that they had a real connection and that this could be a storybook romance that she would tell her children about forever.
HOMETOWN VISIT WITH BEN F.
Sonoma, California is the site for Ashley’s date with Ben F. Ben planned a picnic for Ashley at his winery. The two spent time tasting his various wines and discussing intimate details of the mourning he and his family went through when his dad passed away. He told her that this journey has helped him tear down the emotional walls he put up around himself as a result of his father’s death and that he is no longer scared to share his emotions.
Ashley met Ben’s sister and mother but felt a lot of pressure when she heard she was the second woman Ben has ever taken home to meet his family. Ben has a protective sister and she said she has not liked many of her brother’s exes. She took Ben aside and asked him if he sees himself proposing and he said yes. This made her happy that he is finally in touch with his emotions.
Ben’s mom showed Ash family pictures and she loved every second of it. Ben had a touching conversation with his mom about Ashley and how he feels about her–that he is falling for her. He spoke of the marriage of his parents and told her he wants to use their relationship as a model. He also admitted to her that he has regrets about how he handled things when his father died and wishes he would have been a better son to her. Ashley said she could see herself spending the rest of her life with him.
HOMETOWN VISIT WITH JP
Roslyn/Long Island, NY is the last date location with J.P. The two go on a date to a roller skating rink before she meets his family. The rink is empty but for the two of them–lights are lowered and the disco ball is in full rotation. The two do nothing but kiss, laugh, and fall–Ash says she feels like she’s in the 7th grade. These two are just comfortable together and look like they’ve been dating for a long time. So cute.
JP told her he is so high when he is with Ash and miserable without her, but still willing to risk getting a broken heart if there is a chance he could end up with her.
Ash meets JP’s family who seem very positive to her. JP ended up with a terrible broken heart after his last relationship and his mom and brother are worried that he may suffer a broken heart again. His mom asked him if he is in love with Ash and he says a lot of signs point that way but he has difficulty admitting it just yet. He also said Ash and him have “something” that she doesn’t have with the other men and is confident he won’t get his heart broken this time around. He said he would propose at the end of all this if he felt it, and that concerned his mom even though she feels that Ash fits well with the family.
Ash told JP’s mom that she has used her gut a lot on this journey but she has also learned that she needs to use her head as well. She told her, “I am smitten with your son,” which made the mom smile from ear to ear. “He has something that is very special to me,” Ash said and JP’s mom loved hearing that. Unlike Ames’ sister, JP’s mom said she saw a spark in Ash’s eyes! SCORE for JP! And the night ended after JP’s mom brought out a young mullet headed pic of JP looking all adorable like he should have been on Saved By The Bell or some other similar show when he was a teen.
ROSE CEREMONY
Before the rose ceremony, Chris Harrison mentioned the name “Bentley Williams” and it hit me that a whole episode had gone by and Ash had not uttered this man’s name once! In fact, when Chris mentioned it, she said, “Who?” Man, our girl has come a long way since those awful, painful weeks of crying over Bentley. She said she was thankful for everything that happened with Bentley because it got her to the point of being left with four fantastic men. Ash looks happy and is excited for her future.
Ben F., Constantine, and JP each got a rose. Ames was sent packing but not before he looked confused as hell when the last rose was given to someone other than him. But don’t worry about Ames, he will be on The Bachelor Pad this August. Never mind, I did feel a little bad when Ames would not stop smiling in front of Ash and kept telling her how beautiful and poetic the whole journey was. He really tried to keep his composure despite his utter shock. Once in the limo, he said he was numb and looked sick to his stomach. Poor guy.
