South Carolina’s ‘The Bachelorette’ contestant makes his debut. But did he get a rose?
ABC’s reality dating show “The Bachelorette” premiered tonight with a South Carolina man among the 30 (!) men vying for one woman’s heart.
The Palmetto State representation on the show is Alec Thompson, a 29-year-old civil engineer who lives in North Charleston. Though, he’s not “from from” South Carolina. He is originally from Forest, Virginia. The star of the show is Michelle Young, a 29-year-old, 5th grade teacher who previously appeared on North Carolina-native Matt James’ season of “The Bachelor,” which aired earlier this year.
On this new season of “The Bachelorette,” Thompson has some big competition — not only is he competing against 29 other men, Clint Eastwood’s grandson is one of the other contestants.
For those who are wondering, the grandson is L.T. Murray, a “yoga guru,” according to his bio.
Anyway, back to our South Carolina man.
Thompson’s walk out of the limo was quick, not as splashy as some of the others. No costumes, or different than usual mode of transportation (one man came in one an ice cream truck, another a school bus).
“You seem like an amazing girl and the total package. And I just can’t wait to learn more about you and get this thing on track,” Thompson said to Young.
Those first words, however, were also the only words we heard from him the entire episode. Thank ABC’s editing choices, and some drama unrelated to Thompson that took center stage about halfway through the show.
Thompson survived his first week, getting a rose about halfway through Young’s first rose ceremony. Beyond his name chyron, though, South Carolina was not mentioned during this episode.
In case you missed it, here’s Thompson’s bio from ABC:
Alec lives to make the most out of every day. After his first marriage ended, Alec learned a lot about the value of commitment and what it takes to truly make love last, so he is not here to waste anyone’s time. He is dependable, emotionally intelligent and values integrity above all else. Alec is hoping to find a woman who appreciates how much his career means to him but will also make him want to be sentimental and bring out the fun side of him. He is true a believer in that old-school, head-over-heels unconditional type of love and is ready to find that with the beautiful Michelle.
Since Thompson didn’t get much airtime during the first episode, the most important question of any contestant on the show, is he ... “here for the right reasons?” remains unanswered. Though, his bio does say, “he is not here to waste anyone’s time.”
As a reminder, Thompson’s favorite breakfast food is not shrimp and grits. It’s cottage cheese. (Does he eat it raw? Or with anything? We don’t know yet.)
If Thompson makes it far enough, we might get to see South Carolina make a cameo. Though, maybe he’ll spend his “hometown date,” which typically happens week seven or eight, in Virginia.
Check back next week to see how far Thompson makes it on ABC’s “The Bachelorette.”
This story was originally published October 19, 2021 at 10:18 PM with the headline "South Carolina’s ‘The Bachelorette’ contestant makes his debut. But did he get a rose?."
