The Bachelorette

Families can be weird. The hometown dates on The Bachelor and Bachelorette are usually warm and sweet, but occasionally we land on an awkward, creepy, or just plain bizarre hometown visit. As we prepare to watch Season 16 Bachelor Ben Flajnik meet the families of his “fortunate four,” let’s look back on five of the most interesting hometown dates in Bachelor/ette history.

5. Ian McKee, Meredith Phillips' Bachelorette Season 2
Adorable vagabond Ian had a memorable hometown date because that's when we met his brother Erik, who seemed even more skeptical of "the process” than Ian himself. Erik asked Ian whether he would propose if chosen by Meredith and Ian promised his bro that he would not propose. That vow shocked millions of viewers and it got blown off in even more memorable fashion when Meredith DID pick Ian and he DID get down on one knee and propose. And then they DID break up, which sucks, but whatever.

4. Bettina Bell, Brad Womack's Bachelor Season 11
Bettina's papa was a professor and looked down on Brad's lack of a college degree and profession as a bar owner. That disappointment rubbed off on Bettina, who took her cue from her own parents and started questioning Brad's lifestyle. Brad hates to be questioned about anything, but he at least kept her for one more date. But word on the street is, Brad was super into Bettina and wanted to pick her in the end. Since her parents were so anti-Brad, he realized it wasn't going to work out with her and he checked out of the entire "process." So are Bettina's parents responsible for Brad 1.0?

3. Shawntel Newton, Brad Womack's Bachelor Season 15
Honestly, it would've been just as creepy had Brad visited, say, Ashley Hebert's dentist's office for a mock cleaning. But Shawntel the funeral director was chosen for this season's obligatory creepy hometown date. Everything makes Brad uncomfortable and talking about death and embalming just freaked him out — even though he was the one asking Shawntel specific questions about her work. Brad was probably already planning to dump Shawntel and this producer-driven plan was just a ready excuse.

2. Kirk DeWindt, Ali Fedotowsky's Bachelorette Season 6
Kirk's dad seems like a sweetheart, but he took Ali for a private tour of his taxidermy basement and it was... creepy. Very creepy. The fact that the family keeps their popsicles and other frozen snacks next to the dead critters is extra gross. That was pretty much the final word for Kirk.

1. Naomi Rose Crespo, Jason Mesnick's Bachelor Season 13
Jason Mesnick — a Bachelor few would describe as "kooky" or "quirky" — went to Lake Elsinore, California, for an unforgettably odd hometown date/bird funeral with Naomi’s kooky family. Naomi's dad spent most of the date trying to get Jason to accept Jesus Christ as his personal savior, but the one who really made the date uncomfortable was Naomi's mom. A dove ran into her car's windshield and died, so obviously the thing to do was keep the bird in the fridge until her daughter’s prospective fiance arrived so they could hold a bird funeral in the backyard and televise it for millions to watch from home. Jason was asked to say the eulogy, but most of the talking on the date was done by Naomi's parents — who went on about religion, reincarnation, psychic powers, and something involving hula hoops. That was it for Naomi.

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