Bachelor Grant Ellis and season 29 contestant Litia. Photo:
Disney/John Fleenor
The time came for Grant Ellis to meet the families.
Grant, 31, headed to hometowns with finalists Dina, Juliana, Litia and Zoe in the March 3 episode of The Bachelor, and family meant a lot to the day trader.
“I want a family so bad because whatever my dad is lacking or whatever my mom is lacking, I wanted to do better,” Grant explained.
First, Grant traveled to Boston to meet Juliana’s family. Juliana, 28, wanted to show Grant how “us Italians get down here in Newton,” Mass.
They went to a pizzeria and made heart-shaped pizzas and ended the meal with some cannoli. Then, Grant and Juliana stopped into her family’s house where her parents and sister, as well as dozens of members of her extended family, awaited meeting her new boyfriend.
“I really like him a lot,” Juliana told her sister Dominique. “I think that I know, for some reason, it’s like I know he’s my guy.”
Grant told Juliana’s mom the story about his wolf pack tattoo and how it seemed similar to the client service associate’s experience of feeling lonely growing up.
Bachelor Grant Ellis and season 29 contestant Juliana. Disney/Anne Marie Fox
Meanwhile, Juliana’s dad thought “I got a problem on my hands” because he suspected his daughter might be “collateral damage” in Grant’s journey to find love.
“This is super serious for me and I’m excited,” Grant assured Juliana’s dad.
Grant also praised Juliana’s dad for how he led their family. “I respect you and what you’ve done, keeping your family together,” the former basketball pro said. “In my life, I haven’t always had that.”
After speaking with Grant, Juliana’s dad changed his tune about The Bachelor. “He’s got a lot of priorities that align with mine,” he said in an on-camera interview.
He also told his daughter he “loved” Grant. “Seems like he’s ready for a relationship,” Juliana’s dad said to her.
When Juliana and Grant had some alone time at the end of the visit, the Bachelorette alum told her where he stood.
“I’m falling for you and I feel like it could be a fit for me,” Grant said to Juliana. “So I’m excited and I’m happy.”
Juliana had previously expressed a similar feeling to Grant. “My heart’s dancing because I just feel on top of the world,” she told the cameras.
Zoe brought Grant around New York City, where she did not grow up but where she currently lived. “The people here are so kind and so inspiring and they want me to do more,” Zoe, 27, told Grant.
Zoe, a tech engineer and model, showed off her modeling skills during a wedding-themed photo shoot with Grant for Brides magazine.
“I’m impressed by what I see,” Grant said in a confessional interview.
Grant also described himself and Zoe as “a great fit.”
“I feel really, really good about today,” he said. “Zoe was in her element and I was getting to know her more.”
Bachelor Grant Ellis and season 29 contestant Zoe. Disney/Anne Marie Fox
Grant and Zoe sipped champagne on a rooftop after the shoot and she explained to him that he wouldn’t be meeting her adopted parents.
“I had to cut ties a year ago with them,” Zoe told the cameras.
Still, Grant met Zoe’s sister Faith, her aunt Cherise and her uncle Dave.
“He’s very supportive and I think that’s what I need,” Zoe told her aunt and uncle.
But Cherise didn’t feel completely convinced. “I think there’s still some layers to peel back and some things to discover with Grant,” she said in an on-camera interview.
Faith asked Grant why he hadn’t given Zoe a one-on-one.
“We’re locked in and our connection just started later,” Grant said to Faith. “It wasn’t too late, it was right on time, and now we’re here.”
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Faith also questioned Grant about whether Zoe not having a relationship with their parents concerned him.
“That doesn’t scare me at all,” he responded. “As a matter of a fact, I feel like I relate more to that than the perfect family.”
Faith closed out by asking Grant if he said “I love you” to Zoey yet. Grant revealed that he hadn’t, but he said, “Right now, I like Zoe a lot.”
He added to the cameras, “Out of all the women, she’s the one that I feel the most vulnerable with.”
At the end of the date, Zoe said in a confessional interview that she “definitely can see myself falling in love with him.”
Next, Grant flew to Wyoming to meet Litia’s family. He worried that not being Mormon like Litia, 31, and her family would be a problem for them. “There’s pretenses there that I have to just see and get past,” Grant told the cameras. “I’m a little bit nervous, a little bit anxious, a little bit scared.”
Grant and Litia started the day by going horseback riding and then went to see her parents Rob and Mari and brothers Ethan and Jackson. Litia’s family revealed that even more extended family members made the trip to meet Grant.
Rob immediately assuaged Grant’s fears about his and Litia’s differing religions. “If you’re not a particular, you know, a member of our church necessarily, that doesn’t mean that we reject you or we can’t accept you into our family,” Rob said to Grant. “I’m very impressed with what I see.”
‘The Bachelor’ season 29 contestant Litia Garr. Litia Garr/ Instagram
Grant told Mari he could “see myself being with” Litia.
“There’s really no expectation from us,” Mari said to Grant. “I think that core value and core belief that God is important and he will be important as you raise your family together, that’s what’s the most important thing.”
When Litia spoke to her mom, the venture capitalist said she thought she loved Grant and looked ahead to Fantasy Suites with him.
“It would hurt my feelings if he slept with other girls,” Litia said to Mari. “And I’m not gonna sleep with him.”
Mari encouraged Litia to keep an “open mind” and not make any decisions about it beforehand.
“I have to give him the benefit of the doubt,” Litia decided.
Litia ended the day by telling Grant she was falling for him, and he returned the sentiment.
“For the feelings to be this strong and there’s still so much more to go, it’s definitely big for me,” Grant said in a confessional.
Grant wrapped the week in Chicago with Dina, 31. The attorney told Grant that her family declined to participate in the show, so he’d be meeting her friends instead.
“It sucks a little bit, but I respect it because it’s real,” Grant said to Dina. “And I’m a little bummed out but not everything’s going to be pretty all the time.”
In a confessional, Grant called it “a little disappointing” and “concerning” to not meet Dina’s family. “I don’t know how this is going to affect Dina and my’s relationship,” he added.
Grant proceeded to be introduced Dina’s friends at a pumpkin patch.
“I’m very close to falling for Dina but this journey is short,” he told Dina’s friends Enrita and Lauren.
Bachelor Grant Ellis and season 29 contestant Dina. John Fleenor/Disney via Getty
Not meeting Dina’s family continued to weigh on him. “At the end of this, I’m ready to propose, but the family not necessarily buying in, that could be a make-or-break situation in this journey,” Grant said to the cameras. “And you know, not meeting her family, that’s my biggest concern, can we get our feelings there?”
Dina said in a confessional interview that she found herself “in a place where I’m like, falling for him” — and her friends could tell.
“I haven’t seen Dina like, this happy, smiley before with a guy,” another friend said to Grant. “It’s just so nice to see her happy and I think that’s obviously what we wall want. And I really hope that, you know, things happen.”
Grant said the date ended up “really opening my eyes.”
“I would’ve loved to meet your family,” Grant told Dina. “I feel like today was amazing and I learned a lot about you.”
Before Grant decided who to send home, he chatted with former Bachelor Joey Graziadei.
“I am little bit nervous because I have feelings for … I’m falling for multiple women,” Grant informed Joey, 29.
Joey advised Grant to “take a beat” and “give it time.” “It only gets harder,” Joey added.
Joey Graziadei stops by ‘The Bachelor’ season 29.
The women touched base about how their dates went, and Dina panicked a bit when she heard that everyone else introduced family members to Grant.
“I think if I were Grant, it would give me a little bit of pause,” Dina said to the cameras.
Turns out, it did. Grant ended up giving roses to Litia, Juliana and Zoe; therefore, sending Dina back to Chicago.
“This isn’t easy for me,” Grant said to Dina after the rose ceremony. “I hope that I’m making the right decision. You’re an amazing woman. I’m grateful for being around you and learning from you. You taught me what to look for in a women. I was developing feelings for you.”
Dina tried to be understanding. “You need to go with your heart and you need to go with what’s best for you,” she said to the reality star. “I hope you find exactly what you’re looking for.”
Back with his three finalists, Grant looked forward to the next part of the journey.
“Things are going to get a lot more real,” he said to Litia, Juliana and Zoe. “Overnights is night week. I’m just ready to dive deep and to find my wife.”
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The Bachelor airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.