The Bachelor’s Alexe Godin on the Downside of the First Impression Rose

In The Bachelor world, getting the coveted first impression rose on night one is generally considered a good sign. But Alexe Godin disagrees. As the recipient of Bachelor Grant Ellis’s first impression rose, Alexe says she believes the first impression rose actually put her at a disadvantage this season.

For those unfamiliar, the first impression rose is given on night one at the mansion before the official rose ceremony. It signals strong connections, and, in Alexe’s case, earned her the first one-on-one date of the season. Pretty great, right? Wrong.

Speaking to People following The Bachelor “Women Tell All” special, Alexe said that getting that very first rose, while exciting, was the beginning of the end for her and Grant. “I think it did play in a disadvantage because it’s the first time meeting that person, and you’re not going to trauma-dump everything on the first [date], especially when you’re sitting on the ground at the mall," she said, alluding to their one-on-one at the Beverly Center mall.

To be fair, Alexe isn’t wrong about the first impression rose. It might sound great, but according to Bachelor Data on Instagram, only one woman awarded the first impression rose has gone on to get engaged to the Bachelor lead. (Peter Webber gave his to Hannah Ann Sluss—and we all know how that ended.) Not exactly a stellar track record.

Alexe added that she never really felt like she had the time or space to deepen her relationship with Grant, which eventually led to her being sent home week 5. “I wish that maybe—I don’t want to say regret because I’m a big believer everything happens for a reason—but maybe I would’ve opened up a little bit more,” she said, reflecting on her Bachelor journey. “But I think I wanted to have more time, maybe not in a 10-minute conversation, to open up a little bit more because I think it deserves that.”

In the end, Alexe said she’s also glad she didn’t open up too much with Grant if he was more interested in other women. “I’m glad I didn’t share that part of myself because I’m a big over-sharer, and I need to learn to keep some things for the right people,” she said. Maybe don’t learn that lesson quite yet, Alexe. We need all the tea we can on Bachelor in Paradise.