The Bachelor Season 23 is finally here, ladies and gentleman. As fans tuned in to witness Colton Underwood's journey to finding love on Monday, they discovered the contender he handed out his first impression rose to. Spoilers ahead, it's safe to say this season is off to a very interesting start.
While Underwood locked lips with a few lucky ladies during his first night at the mansion, it was Hannah Godwin who wound up earning the former San Diego Chargers player's first impression rose.
Godwin, who has more than 77,000 Instagram followers, is a content creator from Birmingham, Alabama. She's also a model that's currently signed to The Block Agency. According to her official website, the 23-year-old went to the University of Montevallo to study Photography but left with a degree in Business Marketing. However, Godwin said she "stumbled across" modeling in 2013. "I've combined modeling with photography to become an influencer—so that's how that happened," her website reads.
Receiving the first impression is a crucial get for any contender that appears on the franchise. In several past seasons of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, the person who received the first impression rose turned out to be the winner. Becca Kufrin gave her rose to fiancé Garrett Yrigoyen in Season 14 of The Bachelorette, Sean Lowe's rose went to now-wife Catherine Giudici in The Bachelor Season 17, Rachel Lindsay handed her rose to fiancé Bryan Abasolo in The Bachelorette Season 13, and Joelle "JoJo" Fletcher's rose was given to fiancé Jordan Rodgers in Season 12 of The Bachelorette.
Although Underwood chose to give his rose to Godwin, she isn't necessarily the winner of Season 23. According to a report from Reality Steve, Underwood is allegedly engaged to 23-year-old Cassie Randolph. The apparent winner is a speech pathologist from Huntington Beach, California.
Underwood, 26, earned his Bachelor Nation membership upon appearing on Kufrin's season of The Bachelorette. During Kufrin's run, much of Underwood's storyline was focused on his virginity and previous relationship with The Bachelor alum Tia Booth. He later rekindled his romance with Booth for a brief moment on Bachelor in Paradise Season 5, but he broke things off because he claimed she deserved "somebody who's going to be crazy" about her. Booth, however, is now rumored to be dating Cory Cooper—who is the executive vice president of his family's business, Cooper Steel.
Underwood's casting as Bachelor came as a surprise for many Bachelor Nation devotees, whom many of which wanted Kufrin's former suitors Blake Horstmann or Jason Tartick to tackle the role instead. Many fans cited Underwood's breakups with Kufrin and Booth as a reason for him to not secure the part. However, the NFL alum isn't worried about what opposers have to say. He's ready to find love.
"I never expected to be the next Bachelor," Underwood, 26, said on Monday's episode. "I know not everybody is going to like me. I know I have a lot of room to grow. But I also have an idea of what I want now. and that's what's so exciting about all of this."
The Bachelor airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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