Thomas Nguyen, a 31-year-old retirement adviser from Tucker, is the only Asian American man vying for this season’s “Bachelorette” Jenn Tran, who is the show’s first Asian American in that role.
On the season 21 debut Monday night on ABC, Thomas left a good impression and survived the first cut, which reduced the pool from 25 to 19. (Another metro Atlantan Matt Arnold didn’t receive a rose the first week despite squawking like a chicken during a “Truth or Dare” game.)
Credit: Disney
Credit: Disney
Out of the limo, Thomas was the sixth of 25 men introduced to Jenn. “Before I put a ring on it,” he said, “I want to put a bracelet on it with my last name so by the end of the journey, we can turn us into a ‘Nguyen-Nguyen’ situation.”
Jenn, a New Jersey physician assistant student, was not repulsed. Rather, she said, “I like a good pun.”
Thomas said he was a state swimming champion who pursued the 2016 Olympics but tore a rotator cuff. “I wasn’t an Olympic swimmer but I was an Olympic hopeful,” he said in a video bio on the show.
Later, Thomas had some one-on-one time with her and they bonded over similar backgrounds.
Both have parents who immigrated from Vietnam. She told him her mom gave up med school to come to the United States. “She sacrificed her dream for my dream, which is crazy,” she said.
“I 100% understand,” Thomas said. “My mom dropped out of pharmaceutical school to take another job to sponsor her family to come here from Vietnam.”
He later told the cameras: “Jenn is stunning. Our connection was more than just physical. Knowing what Jenn’s mom and dad went through so Jenn can be where she is now. I get this. This is me right to the core.”
Tran addressed the lack of Asian American suitors to Glamour. “I can’t really speak to the casting process and the decisions that were made, but it is unfortunate that there weren’t a lot of Asian men this season” she said. “Asian men haven’t always seen themselves in this position, and I am hoping that me being here and Thomas N. being there, that the both of us can inspire other Asian men to realize that they can do this too if they want. They can be in this position as well. I’m hoping that it inspires them.”
Thomas did not get the first impression rose or the first kiss. Both went to Sam McKinney, a tall contractor from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. In fact, Thomas did not get a kiss ― yet.
But Jenn did give him the second rose during the rose ceremony.
The show moves to Australia next week.
IF YOU WATCH
“The Bachelorette,” 8 p.m. Mondays on ABC and on Hulu the next day
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