Lauderdale man survives on TV’s ‘Bachelorette’

Attorney spells his way to the top of episode

Three South Florida suitors are still in the game on ABC’s “The Bachelorette.”

The reality competition returned Monday night, after being preempted for the NBA Finals last week, and featured some screen time for Kendall chiropractor Bryan Abasolo, Miami sales manager Will Gaskins and Fort Lauderdale attorney Josiah Daniel Graham.

However, Miami model Brady Ervin didn’t receive a rose from Rachel Lindsay during the rose ceremony, so he’s gone from the show.

Here’s a quick update on the South Florida contestants from that episode:

Early in the episode, Lindsay sat down with Abasalo for a oneon-one chat. She told him she thinks he’s too good to be true, and that his charm scares her. Abasalo reassured her that he’s the real deal.

When Abasolo wasn’t picked for a one-on-one date (that invite went to Dean Unglertand, and they took a flight on a Goodyear blimp), Abasolo said, “I want to put a smile on her face and build that connection stronger.”

Abasolo was picked to be part of a group date with the other guys, including Gaskins and Graham, aboard a cruise boat that took them around Hilton Head Island, S.C.

Some of the men immediately took off their shirts and showed off their dance moves.

“I’m the sexiest guy on this boat right now,” said Graham, who flexed his biceps and shouted out to the water: “Give me that rose!”

He then did 30 pushups with Lindsay on his back.

“I’m getting that rose. That rose is for Josiah Daniel Graham Esq.”

Back at the dock, the guys participated in a spelling bee. “I think intelligence is extremely sexy,” Lindsay said.

The men had to spell words such as “squirt,” “passion,” “schmuck” and “facade.”

Graham won over the crowd when he asked if he could use his word, “stunning,” in a sentence.

“Out of all the women out here tonight, Rachel Lindsay is by far the most stunning,” he said before spelling it correctly.

Gaskins, one of the two spelling bee finalists, struck out with “physiological.”

Graham won the competition with the word “polyamorous.” “Rachel saw that I am the man with the brains,” Graham declared after snagging the spelling bee trophy and kissing it.

The show airs at 8 p.m. Mondays on WPLG-Ch. 10 in Fort Lauderdale-Miami and WPBF-Ch. 25 in the West Palm Beach TV market.

Graham