‘Bachelorette’ recap: Cast shows big love for Hilton Head, Bluffton shines bright, and 9 other things we learned

It seemed like we waited forever for Monday night’s episode of “The Bachelorette” — featuring Hilton Head Island and Bluffton — to premiere.

After the NBA so rudely interrupted the original plan for the show to premiere a week earlier, it felt like forever ago when Bachelor Nation crews invaded the area for a week’s worth of filming for Season 13 Episode 4 of “The Bachelorette” back in March.

We did our best during filming to chase rumors and put the reality TV puzzle together.

Where was the rose ceremony? Who was Rachel Lindsey going on dates with? Why the heck was a Goodyear blimp floating around the Lowcountry sky? Will the “Bachelorette” producers actually mention local areas during the show, or just lump the whole Lowcountry into one generic place?

We got most of the answers Monday night when ABC premiered the show, but it was a long time coming.

The we thought would be two hours of Hilton Head and Bluffton scenery started off with a disappointing 30 minutes of man gossip and stretched-out drama, mostly centered around Lee, an aspiring singer with obnoxious hair who was perfectly described as “alternative facts garbage.”

The crew eventually did get to Hilton Head and, man, it was exciting. Here are a few things we learned from last night’s episode.

This story was originally published June 20, 2017 at 11:15 AM with the headline "‘Bachelorette’ recap: Cast shows big love for Hilton Head, Bluffton shines bright, and 9 other things we learned."