Entertainment

Nick Hands Out 'The Bachelor's First Rose

Craig Sjodin/ABC

It’s on like Donkey Kong, Bachelor fans — Nick Viall’s season of The Bachelor is underway, and the roses are ready to be handed to some of 30 (yes, there are really 30 contestants this year) lucky ladies. There is one rose, though, that is more important than the others — the first impression rose. Rachel got Nick Viall's first impression rose on The Bachelor, proving that she's an early frontrunner.

The validity of the first impression rose and its prediction of the eventual winner has been called into question. For instance, JoJo Fletcher gave Jordan Rodgers her first impression rose (and chose him as her winner), but Ben Higgins gave his first impression rose to Olivia Caridi, and we all know how that ended — he basically left her stranded on an island, crying. Even if Rachel doesn’t win the whole season of The Bachelor, I think she has a shot to go far.

According to her ABC.com profile, she’s an attorney from Dallas, Texas, and boy, does this lady have a head on her shoulders. She loves Basquiat, people! How many other Bachelor contestants are even old enough to know who that is? She’s smart, successful, beautiful, and did I mention smart? Rachel is a woman who can hold her own, and I think Nick likes that.

In fact, I know Nick likes that. If you look at the women he’s been involved with on his other Bachelor shows (all three of them) — Andi Dorfman, Kaitlyn Bristowe, and Jen Saviano — there is a distinct pattern of Nick loving a strong woman. Rachel certainly fits that bill, and I think her relationship with Nick will evolve into something special. Here’s hoping this is a first impression rose of the marrying kind.