The Bachelorette: The buzziest moments from Rachel's season

By Megan Riedlinger 8:44am PDT, Jul 26, 2017

Season 13 of "The Bachelorette" has been a fascinating one, thanks to star Rachel Lindsay. The 31-year-old attorney from Dallas had a whole bevy of eligible bachelors to pick from — and there's been no shortage of crazy moments as she's tried to find her future husband! Keep reading to see all the buzziest things that have happened so far on Rachel's road to love as we get closer and closer to the finale…

There's always one! This season of "The Bachelorette" saw one contestant dressed up in an animal costume (much like Alexis Waters, 2016's's shark-slash-dolphin), and this time it was a penguin. The culprit? Matt Munson, a 32-year-old construction sales rep who chose to wear the bird getup upon meeting Rachel. "I know you have a thing for penguins," he explained. "Once penguins find their soulmates, they tend to mate for life, and I'm hoping that's me."

Since clever or over-the-top limo exits are pretty standard these days, there are destined to be awkward encounters on the first night. One of the most cringe-worthy this season? That honor goes to contestant Brady Ervin, the 29-year-old male model who literally brought a block of ice along with him — then proceeded to "break the ice" with a sledgehammer.

Showing up with a catchphrase and a custom T-shirt on night one? Not typically the best sign. But at least contestant Lucas Yancey was consistent! The 30 year old brought a megaphone, chanted his phrase — "Whaboom" — loudly (and often!) and even listed it as his occupation. Still confused as to what the word actually means? Lucas gave the official definition, explaining, "It's a lifestyle. It's an essence. It's who he is. It's a noun. It's a verb. It's an adverb, like you can be whaboom, and you can be whaboomed, and you can whaboom. And you can call somebody a whaboom. It's a lot."

The creepiest contestant entrance of the season? That has to be Jonathan Treece's. The 31 year old listed his occupation as "tickle monster" (though in reality he's a doctor!) and used those skills when he first met Rachel. His followup line to that disturbing move? "I wanted to make sure you had at least one good laugh tonight." Yikes!

What's creepier than being surprise-tickled? Maybe being greeted by a ventriloquist doll. Potential suitor Adam Gottschalk arrived with "Adam Jr." — a very disarming four-foot-tall doll made to look like his little dummy twin, right down to the suit. Adam seemed to think bringing along A.J. made him a catch, telling Rachel, "You get two for the price of one." Needless to say, Rachel wasn't impressed.

Here's a competition we can get behind — making the men prove they're husband material! On Episode 2's first group date, Rachel had the men face off in various competitions to prove they have domestic skills, including cleaning, changing diapers, setting a table, etc. But the man who took home the top prize was somewhat of a surprise… to everyone! Lucas Yancey, better known as Whaboom, ended up crossing the finish line first, topping real-life dad Kenny King.

Before he made waves as part of a massive "Bachelor in Paradise" scandal, DeMario Jackson served as a philandering villain on Episode 2! The second group date involved a friendly game of basketball and an appearance from Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Though DeMario's team lost, it wasn't the last we saw of him on this group date. As the guys changed in the locker room, Rachel was approached by a woman named Lexi, who claimed DeMario never broke up with her before going on the show. Not only that, but Lexi claimed that DeMario still had the keys to her place, and even offered up incriminating text messages. Needless to say, DeMario didn't handle the confrontation well. At first, he tried to deny knowing Lexi before switching his defense to calling his former flame "crazy." Since Rachel is a sharp lady, she obviously didn't buy any of this and sent DeMario packing.

Bring on the mud-wrestling contest! For the group date on Episode 3, Rachel had the guys strip down and battle it out in a mud-wrestling ring, and even called upon some of her former "The Bachelor" buds like Raven Gates, Corinne Olympios, Alexis Waters and Jasmine Goode to weigh in on her prospective future husbands. Surprisingly, the man who works as a professional wrestler, Kenny King, didn't win! It was actually Bryce Powers who ended up taking the whole competition.

Riding horses on Rodeo Drive? Only on a "The Bachelorette" date! When Rachel picked Anthony Battle for a one-on-one, the two hopped on some horses and strolled around the famous Beverly Hills shopping mecca. Among the most memorable moments from this date? Stopping by the Sprinkles ATM to pick up a "horse cupcake," buying some cowboy-themed clothing while on horseback and that time Anthony's horse opted to use a ritzy Rodeo Drive boutique as a restroom.

More contestant controversy! While he didn't exactly get along swimmingly with the guys in the house, bachelor Lee Garrett also found himself in hot water off-camera. When tweets from the 30-year-old singer-songwriter's private account were made public, some were found to be quite controversial due to their racist and sexist nature. The Nashville-based artist also made headlines for having a disclaimer on his Twitter account, labeling himself in his bio as "pleasantly offensive." When forced to go up against Kenny King on a two-on-one date, Rachel ended up sending Lee home.

Dean Unglert got the one-on-one date in Episode 4, and his date activity certainly challenged his fear of heights: Rachel had a blimp ride planned. Once they were back on solid ground, the date turned into one of the most intimate conversations of the season thus far. Dean, 25, opened up about losing his mom at age 15, and how it caused his family to crumble. After explaining that the loss made him crave a close-knit family even more, Rachel handed him a rose and the two were off to enjoy a country concert.

First there was a husband material competition, then the men's athletic prowess was put to the test with the mud-wrestling competition, so a test of the contestants' smarts was overdue! Episode 4 included a spelling bee for the men on the group date, which showed how some guys shined and the rest… well… have other talents. Kenny King was the first one out, while Josiah Graham stuck it out and spelled "polyamorous" correctly for the win. He received a trophy and proceeded to show it more affection than he did Rachel the rest of the date.

Rachel Lindsay's season has been filled with plenty of jet-setting, and Denmark was one of the next exotic locations she and the guys visited. The group date after settling in there? A Viking challenge in which the men were pit against one another, one-on-one. The two ultimate victors of the Viking fighting ended up being Kenny King and Adam Gottschalk, though their final challenge resulted in Kenny getting a bleeding blow to the head — which wasn't exactly how ABC billed footage of his bloody forehead in promos all season long.

Time for hometowns! After Rachel Lindsay narrowed it down to her top four, it was time to see where they came from. First up, Eric Bigger, who took the attorney back to Baltimore to meet his family. One surprising thing we learned about the personal trainer during his time in Maryland? That he had actually never brought a girl home before! Oh, and that his family is absolutely adorable and super-supportive!

Rachel Lindsay was Miami-bound next — to meet up with her first kiss of the season, Bryan Abasolo. The most stressful part of this hometown date would be meeting Bryan's overbearing mom, whom he said was behind the demise of his last serious relationship. The woman lived up to the hype, though she was nice to Rachel. But she added a foreboding warning to the star of "The Bachelorette": "If he's happy, I'm happy. If not, I'll kill you." Sounds totally fair, right?

For fan favorite Peter Kraus's hometown date, Rachel Lindsay was whisked away to Madison, Wisconsin. Though it's clear the two have major chemistry and she got along great with his friends and family, during this date, we learned more about Peter's reluctance to get down on one knee. And as Rachel later pointed out in a confessional, "I don't want a boyfriend at the end of this. But my fear is that's all I'll get from him." We knew he was too perfect!

Poor Dean Unglert. The 25 year old had been stressing about bringing Rachel home to his unconventional family, and rightfully so. It turned out that his dad, who had converted to Sikhism, was just about as difficult and selfish a father as Dean had pegged him to be. And despite Dean admitting he was falling in love with Rachel — and Rachel even saying it back! — it was Dean who ended up getting cut before the Fantasy Suites.

This season, Rachel Lindsay opted to change up the timeline! Though bachelorettes typically have the Fantasy Suite dates prior to introducing the guys to her family, Rachel opted to do things out of order so her pregnant sister Constance could meet the men in Dallas. First up? Peter, who charmed all of Rachel's kin right away. But the most surprising portion of his visit? Right before going into meet her family, Peter changed his tune on the "L" word, telling Rachel he was falling in love with her.

After a bumpy hometown date in Miami, Rachel Lindsay's mom astutely asked Bryan Abasolo upon meeting him who would be the priority in conflicts between the mom and the wife. When his answer got a little shaky, Rachel intervened and later told her family she was annoyed with their excessive questioning and judging. But it wasn't just Rachel's mom who was concerned about whether or not Bryan was genuine! Rachel's sister Constance pegged him as a "charmer," noting her "guard was up" after hearing him say things like he considered Rachel to be his girlfriend after a week.

ABC