ABC'S The Bachelorette returned on June 26th, launching Charity Lawson's journey to find love within a group of 25 men.
But after watching her first conversations, a leading body language professional said she doesn't think most of the guys tickled The Bachelorette Charity's fancy — and at least one was so "creepy" he sent her into "fight or flight" mode.
Charity, 27, competed in Zach Shallcross's season of The Bachelor and was eliminated in the hometown episode.
Heartbroken and devastated, she had hoped to get the final rose and a destination proposal.
However, her chance at a TV engagement was reborn when franchise host Jesse Palmer invited her to return as the new Bachelorette for season 20.
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Now, she has completed night one of her search for love.
She greeted all 25 men outside the iconic Bachelor mansion as they exited their limos one at a time, attempting to woo her.
And while her hopes may have been high prior to the initial meetings, body language expert and author Patti Wood doesn't think Charity seemed excited by any of them — even the frontrunner.
"All show, she is not attracted," proclaimed Wood, author of Snap: Making the Most of First Impressions, Body Language, and Charisma.
"She has this thing she does with her mouth — it's sort of a sour mouth," she added, referring to how Charity's lips pursed during most conversations with the guys, indicating her assessment of them.
Wood also pointed to a reflex Charity demonstrated when she went to hug each new arrival.
Rather than leaning in for a full embrace, the Bachelorette would pat each man on the back.
"It's beautifully symbolic because she's really patting them away like you would pat a kid when they're being bad," Wood said.
"She did that in almost every greeting with a guy where he brought her in close to hug, but that seemed to mean she's in control of what's going on."
BRAYDEN
At the end of the long night, Charity gave 24-year-old travel nurse Brayden the first impression rose, and they celebrated with tequila to toast their "shots at love."
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Later in the evening, Brayden chatted to Charity by the pool and laid it on her — with his lips.
Wood immediately picked up on Brayden's confidence, instigating more smooches after their initial kiss.
And though Charity accepted each one, Wood didn't believe she was genuinely attracted to him based on the position of her heart and hands.
"Her body was angled out towards the front rather than towards him — so her heart window was angled towards the camera, rather angled towards him," she said.
"That's interesting because his body angle is more towards the camera too — performative. Both of them are performing for the camera."
Following Brayden's one-on-one with Charity, he went into the house to boast about his kiss.
Though Charity said she was flattered by his excitement about her, Wood wasn't convinced she was.
Based on her tense shoulders, Wood proclaimed: "I don't get that she's attracted to him. He makes good TV, though."
But Wood did note that Charity never made the "sour mouth" with Brayden.
JAMES
Among Wood's notable mentions was the 28-year-old Chicago-based attorney James, who gave Charity a gift box during their chat inside the mansion.
James claimed to be unaware of what was inside, saying it was sent from his mother.
When he opened the box and found a handwritten note from her for Charity, he seemed shocked.
"He was very embarrassed that that was in there," Wood said.
"The way he put his hand up around his mouth and kept rubbing his nose was symbolic of this situation doesn't smell right to me."
"The letter him seemed too intimate over the top. And he feared what was going to be said in there."
Charity handled the situation well, but Wood thought she was putting up a fake front of being touched by the letter.
"I call it Disney Princess voice. Her voice went up, indicating: 'I'm gonna be light about this, and let's act as if everything's wonderful.'"
XAVIER
A 27-year-old biomedical scientist automatically appeared to be a "player," according to Wood.
Xavier greeted Charity with confidence, but a little too much: "He gave me like very performative vibes like he was a player. That's just that was very obvious," Wood admitted.
However, Charity was intrigued by him, almost intimidated.
Xavier was one of the few men Wood could tell Charity was attracted to by her nervous cues, such as fiddling with her hair and adjusting her clothes.
Wood warned that these reactions were signals from her body trying to alert her of danger and intimidation.
"I can see this was her response," Wood proclaimed.
"'Danger at first sight' raises your pulse and flushes your skin. It's so intense, and it was the most intensely she responded to any of the bachelors."
"But it was really fear, as part of her figured that out and part was going: 'Oh, he's hot. He's hot.'"
In the end, Charity and Xavier locked lips.
SPENCER
When Charity greeted 32-year-old Spencer, Wood noticed an immediate "fight or flight" response.
When the two were holding hands outside the mansion, Charity picked up her gown and pretended to kick him.
"That's a very limbic brain response. You know, you've heard of the fight-flight response, it's more complex than that," Wood admitted.
"But she was fighting. She pushed him away. That's how creepy he was to her."
The chemistry wasn't there when Charity and Spencer spoke later on either.
Spencer chose to be upfront with Charity straight away about having a son — and Wood cringed at the whole conversation.
"He wasn't aware of how she really felt about him. He was just performing," she said.
"He didn't watch her body language. He wasn't looking at her. It was just a creepy performance."
Charity's response seemed to be "stiff laughter," "eye shutters," and "friending."
Patti explained: "One stress response is actually called 'friending.' So, what she's doing is laughing to appease him because he's creeping her out.
"As he's talking she brings the lids of her eyes down and leaves them there just a moment."
"He's doing a lot of intense staring at her. If you're doing this kind of stare, it's intimidating and it feels like you're being assaulted."
JOHN
John, a data scientist from New York, may have walked away from his first night pleased with his performance: The 27-year-old got a kiss from Charity, and his face lit up immediately after.
He spoke to her about how close he was with his siblings, similar to Charity and her brother.
The Bachelorette told him he had a very calming presence in what Wood described as her "real voice."
Charity cradled John's head while they locked lips, a sign she was genuinely interested.
JOEY
Wood used the one-on-one with contestant Joey as an example of when Charity wasn't interested sexually.
Joey, the tennis professional from Hawaii, was rubbing Charity's hand the whole time they spoke.
"That's the kind of thing your boyfriend does on a date where you're gonna go home and sleep together," Wood explained.
"It's sort of prepping you for sex. So it's very sexual. That's pre-sex."
Yet Charity's hand remained stiff in his, a clear reaction to Wood that she wasn't interested.
DOTUN
Although Brayden received the first impression rose, Wood believed Charity to be most interested in the 30-year-old Brooklynite Dotun.
Wood explained: "He gave her the best, I think, the most genuine hug.
"He did this thing that men do where they button their jacket and just sort of protect their chest, their heart for a moment."
"So not all the guys did that. It told us he was a little bit nervous."
Charity and Dotun mimicked each other's body language by protecting their hearts and smiling wide.
Additionally, Charity embracing him with her hands positioned high on his back appeared more sincere.
Her head was tucked into his chest, next to his heart.
"She brings her arms up, elbows down, hands tight. So she doesn't push him away like she did with the other guys," Wood said.
"It's more like a hug that she would give to a friend you haven't seen in a long time."
AARON B.
The smooth piano man Aaron B. attempted to impress Charity with a little song and cheeky coin flip.
Aaron B. started his time with her by performing, and Wood didn't think Charity was as impressed as she said she was.
During the 29-year-old software salesman's piano performance, Charity crossed her legs and glanced at the floor.
"She was hunched over slightly, and she was looking down. She does not want to hear him play the piano," Wood said.
"Her clap is not a clap. Her clap is her holding her hands together and still, meaning: 'Thank god it's over.'"
After Aaron B. was through with his private show, he told Charity that if he flipped a coin and it landed on heads, then they needed to kiss.
Fate decided to let them have the physical moment.
Wood admitted: "She wasn't merging. It's called merging when you go into the kiss.
"She didn't stick her lips and didn't merge with him, which would indicate: 'I want to keep kissing, or I want to go further.'"
To Wood, Charity appeared to initiate a lot of her smooches throughout the night, but not because she necessarily wanted to.
"She probably thought: 'Oh, I have to make this sexy.' It wasn't because it actually was, but she needed to make it so," Wood said.
Knowing she was on TV, Wood assumed Charity was told she needed to kiss some of the guys.
Regardless, Wood didn't think Charity was really into any of them.
"The next episode you should look for when she leans in and not when they're kissing, when she leans in towards them when they're talking."
"Most of the time, she's leaning back when they're talking to let them have their turn, but when she leans in, it shows that she's interested. I haven't seen her do that."
"And watch out for more of the sour mouth."
