Philly contestants on ‘The Bachelor’ continue to dwindle following a surprise self-elimination
These continue to have spoilers — you’ve been warned.
It turns out the Philly sisters who thought it was a good idea to date the same guy — for the second time — can’t have their cake and eat it too.
On the second episode of ABC’s The Bachelor starring Collegeville native Joey Graziadei, we lost yet another Philadelphia ambassador, bringing our count from three down to one.
Lauren Hollinger — a registered nurse at a Rittenhouse Square dermatology office — decided she’d had enough and self-eliminated during Monday’s episode.
“I just can’t deal with it,” Lauren said at one point. “I hate it here.”
Her decision came after an episode full of psychological warfare against the 22 remaining women — ranging from a wedding-themed date that forced Lauren to confront the grief of losing her father; to placing hearing-impaired contestant Daisy Kent on a date that involved communicating while on a helicopter and at an outdoor music festival; and finally a paint battle group date that promised the winning team extra time with Joey before pulling the rug out from under the winners and revealing only one woman would actually get that time with him.
Here’s what you need to know from night two at the Bachelor mansion.
🌹 The basics
The episode kicked off with a cold open featuring a visibly upset Lauren.
Lauren admitted she was miffed and was handed a cake. She took a wad of it with her hand and ate it before throwing it to the ground. Then the episode jump-cut to Joey playing tennis (of course).
Following last week’s eliminations, we watched the 22 women settle into bachelor mansion and host Jesse Palmer asks Lauren and her sister, Allison Hollinger, about dating the same guy.
“It’s a little weird, but we’ve done it in the past,” Lauren said as the other women shriek. This is a fun fact that has been teased since the Philly sisters announced their roles. In a Melba toast reveal, Lauren clarified: “I was talking to a guy and [Allison] was like ‘Oh my God, I dated him in college.” Boring.
The episode would go on to feature three dates: two group dates and one one-on-one. Producers (we’re assuming intentionally) split the Hollinger sisters up on the respective group dates.
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Lauren went on the first date: a wedding simulation where each of the nine women donned a white gown and competed for attention at their sister-wives-style reception with Joey. The date also inexplicably included a cameo from Michael Bolton, who sang “When a Man Loves a Woman.”
Next was a one-on-one date between Joey and Daisy, who established herself as a front-runner for being as close as you can get to a Hallmark movie character in real life.
Daisy, 25, grew up on her family’s Christmas tree farm and faced debilitating health issues that ended up being connected to Lyme disease. She ultimately received treatment and is doing better, but has partial hearing loss. On her solo date with Joey, she revealed that she has a Cochlear implant and leads a nonprofit that helps kids with hearing loss.
Joey was understandably smitten by Daisy’s perseverance and grace.
“It takes a special kind of person to go through all these challenges in life and find a way to make it positive,” he said. “This has only made you seem more interesting, more impressive.”
The third date was a group date focused on fitness, an “ultimate paint battle.”
The women were divided into two teams and were told to do whatever it took to steal the opposing team’s heart prop. It was messy, fast, and we didn’t see a ton of Allison. The women were told the winning team would get extra time with Joey. But only one woman actually got that time with the bachelor — it ended up being Edwina Dorbor, 25.
🌹 Philly flair dwindles
Lauren’s group date — the wedding-themed playdate — weighed heavily on her. She revealed that her father, Mark, died about seven months prior to filming.
“Putting on a wedding dress and being at that venue hit me a lot that my dad’s not going to be there for my wedding,” Lauren later told Joey. “It made me think about walking down the aisle and the father-daughter dance. Grief’s not linear, it comes in waves.”
By the time of the cocktail party — the women’s last chance to make an impression before the elimination rose ceremony — Lauren’s mood worsened.
“Allison is getting her time with Joey and I’m happy for her ... [but] the anticipation of waiting around kind of gets to you,” she said.
Yeah, dating the same guy is going real swell, ladies.
Lauren told producers she had a plan for a do-over wedding date with Joey, but as more women had their time with the bachelor, she grew increasingly frustrated.
Finally, we got back to the scene teased in the show’s cold open.
Joey went to check on Lauren, and she told him that she was going home.
“The first thing she said to me [tonight] is that she’s leaving,” Joey said. “I didn’t expect that.”
As Lauren explained that she wasn’t vibing with the atmosphere, producers handed her the cake. She asked Joey to share it with her before she left, but warned that if it wasn’t red velvet as she requested, she would be in an even worse mood.
Spoiler: It was not red velvet.
“I can tell you’ve gotten to a point where you’re over it,” Joey told her. “Maybe the setting just wasn’t the best way for us to get to know each other.”
Lauren told Joey she wished him nothing but the best and added, “Maybe I’ll see you at hometowns,” reminding us all that her younger sister is absolutely still dating this man and that it’s totally normal and not at all weird.
🌹 Who stayed and who went home?
Lauren’s early departure means there’s one more Philly woman to root for: Allison. And even that’s on shaky ground.
Joey called Allison’s name second-to-last at the rose ceremony, a demotion from being called first last week.
In an interview with producers, she was seen crying over her older sister leaving.
“Lauren was my support system,” she said.
In addition to Lauren’s self-elimination, three women — Erika Cardenas, Marlena Haddad, and Taylor Weins — were sent home, bringing the count to 18.
It’s hard to say what will happen next, but previews for the rest of the season had one clear hint: We’re getting a Susan cameo. The Delco 66-year-old became a fan favorite in ABC’s The Golden Bachelor. And with our Philly connections quickly fading on Joey’s season, we’re so ready for this.
The Bachelor airs on ABC on Mondays at 8 p.m.