The First Impression Rose Actually Means A Lot on ‘The Bachelorette’

It’s almost that time as The Bachelorette is set to return with Charity Lawson as the Season 20 lead. When the premiere comes, so too does the weight of that all-important First Impression Rose. There isn’t much of a secret that earning that safety and the ease of mind that comes with it is great news for its recipient. After all, that first rose ceremony becomes a moot point for the individual and there’s already an assumed chemistry that has been struck with the lead. Unless you happen to be keeping a tracker of who receives that rose each season, you probably end up forgetting all about the First Impression Rose by the midway point of the season as all the in-house drama and the anticipation of the looming finale.

We don’t blame you if you can’t recall the last five First Impression Rose recipients, but we do have something to share about the achievement: it’s very important. That’s not just because of its power (earning that safety on the first night is huge) but because of its foreshadowing. The First Impression Rose has been a part of The Bachelorette since season 4 when DeAnna Pappas handed hers to Jesse Csincsak (and two others because in that season, there were three awarded). Jesse would eventually be the one that DeAnna would choose, making him the first person to “win” the season and receive that first rose. What that moment also did was set off an interesting trend for those who pick up that First Impression Rose.

The First Impression Rose Has an Excellent Track Record on ‘The Bachelorette’

see more : The Rich Black History Behind ‘Summer House Martha’s Vineyard’

When it’s time for Charity to hand out her First Impression Rose to one of the 25 men vying for her hand in marriage, make sure you write that individual’s name down because there’s a good chance he will go very, very far. There have been nine men who have received the First Impression Rose AND been the last one standing on finale night. If we toss out season 9 in which six (!) such roses were handed out (and none of them was the eventual choice in the end), there have been 20 First Impression Roses, which means 45% of the time that person ends up being the final choice.

Moreover, recent history has an even higher percentage of successful First Impression Roses. Going back to season 11 when Kaitlyn Bristowe picked Shawn Booth, there have been seven instances of this occurring. With 12 First Impression Roses handed out in that timeframe, that means it foreshadowed 58% of the eventual couples. When including the two leads from season 19 (Gabby Windey and Rachel Recchia) there have been three such cases out of the last five picks and one successful First Impression Rose in three of the last four seasons (season 16 and season 19 had two leads apiece).

The FIrst Impression Rose Isn’t a Guarantee of Things to Come But It’s Important

There still have been more times than not where the First Impression Rose didn’t end up in the hands of the last one remaining on The Bachelorette, but the recent run of success stories in this regard suggests it’s beginning to be taken more seriously by both the show (eliminating multiple ones being given out) and the leads. There was even a run between seasons 11-14 where the aforementioned Booth, Jordan Rodgers, Bryan Abasolo, and Garrett Yrigoyen all received the honor and stood at the altar at the end. Charity will have a big decision to make when it comes down to it on premiere night. It may seem like it in the first moment but whoever she is most impressed by on night one may very well end up being the one who proposes to her in the end.

The Bachelorette premieres on Monday night and will be available to stream on Hulu.