By Jared Sais
You may remember my recaps from season 17 of The Bachelor with Sean Lowe. Well, I’m back to analyze Desiree Hartsock and her suitors on season 9 of The Bachelorette. To get ready for last night’s premiere, I brushed up on my notes from last season and examined Desiree’s past non-verbal cues (her baseline) to help me determine what man will be the last one standing. Join me for another amazing, shocking and addictive season of The Bachelorette!
First, let’s take a look at the men worth talking about.
When Desiree first met Drew, her eyes widened; she smiled from mouth to eyes; and she even did a little “mmm” sound when he walked inside. The attraction is there, but will he be a winning personality? I would say that, with his dashing smile, he’ll be around for a while.
Tone and pitch are two of the most important ways to tell if someone is attracted to someone else, and when Robert started to speak to the lovely bachelorette, his voice went lower, and her voice shot up. These two definitely have chemistry. Another non-verbal cue was Desiree widening her eyes. When someone likes what they see, their eyes widened to let more light in.
Related Link: Desiree Hartsock Is the New ‘Bachelorette!’
I can’t decide what I think about Ben bringing his son with him, but I know one thing for sure: Desiree was melting. Her inner eyebrows rose; her eyes got a bit wet; her lips puckered; and her head did a side tilt. These are four non-verbal cues that signify the “aww” reaction. After she showed these quick facial expressions, I knew that all Desiree wanted to do was hug Ben and his little boy. She even asked for a hug, whereas the first 24 guys went in for the hug. Desiree was eager to find similarities during her one-on-one time with Ben, and once she did, he got the first rose. He definitely has some tough competition though.
And then there was “ab man.” Desiree was attracted to Zak W., which was his saving grace because it’s a risky move to make a first impression like that. So why didn’t he wear a shirt? Because it’s like Animal House. Some guys are peacocks and dress up to showcase themselves, while other men are bulls and clash it out.
I think Juan Pablo is the most interesting man in the world. The only thing he’s missing is a Dos Equis, but he made up for that with what he first said to Desiree, “Who’s Juan? Juan Pablo.” Yeah, he has a catch phrase. Very smooth. He also has a relaxing way of speaking; his voice is soft, slow and charming. It’s not always what you say but how you say it, and whatever that guys says sounds good. There will be plenty of non-verbal information on him to come, but sadly, his time was cut short due to a random soccer game. Of course, a competition broke out to prove to Desiree that they could kick a ball well. Very animalistic, right?
Now, let’s take a look at the men who will make an early exit. Knights, magicians and bad dancers — oh my! What the heck was going on? #youarenotgettingarose
Will won’t stick around for long, but I’ll take a high five on the way out.
Related Link: Who Is Your #PerfectBachelor? Tell Us and Enter to Win a Pair of Brilliance Diamond Earrings!
As for Jonathan, I have no words other than wow. He has no game and no class. During their time together, the brunette bachelorette showed extreme non-verbal cues of fear and stress: the corners of her mouth stretched straight back to the ears; her eyes widened; and her eyebrows raised. She showed these micro-expression a lot and was also very defensive around him, tightening her body and pulling herself a way from him.
When you’re in extreme stress, your body goes into alert mode as you try to put space between you and the stressful object or person. Desiree put her hands in front of her as he was leading her away. In other situations, people may do the following non-verbal signs: arms folded across their chest, leaning away to create space, hands clutched in front of themselves and/or an object (like a purse or glass) held directly in front of themselves. Given Desiree’s response to Jonathan, I knew he would be eliminated.
Diogo came out in a full suit of armor, which is worse then coming out in a wedding dress. Need I say more?
And finally, there was Larry, who reminded me of Superman: bad dancer by day (with his glasses on) and superhero doctor by night (with his glasses off). If you also want to see a great expression of awkwardness/fear, take a look at their introduction scene: Larry rips Desiree’s dress while teaching her a dance move, and then he curses as he walks into the house. The camera pans to a quick shot of Des, and you see the corners of her lips pulled back to ears and her eyes widened as they roll down. That is a fearful, awkward look.
Jared Sais is co-author of the website The Non-Verbal Game, where you can find free downloadable content. He is an expert in non-verbal communication, who specializes in body language, micro-expressions and lie deception as they relate to life and love.
