"There's added pressure": The Bachelor’s Grant Ellis expresses interest in therapy post show

The Bachelor is taking a slam dunk into love this season with Grant Ellis, a 31-year-old day trader from Newark, New Jersey. After turning heads on Jenn Tran's season of The Bachelorette, the former pro basketball player is now juggling dates with 25 women as he searches for "the one."

As only the second Black male lead in The Bachelor's history, Ellis acknowledges the heightened expectations. He says:

"Yeah, there's added pressure,but I'm built for that, so I think that's something that wasn't too hard for me."

His journey began on January 27, as he stepped into a role that would unexpectedly lead him to discover not just potential romance but also new perspectives on emotional wellness.

---

Who is Season 29’s The Bachelor– Grant Ellis?

Ellis's path to The Bachelor is anything but conventional. After playing basketball at Iona University and Albertus Magnus College, he took his talents overseas to play professionally in the Dominican Republic. His transition to day trading came from observing his fellow athletes struggle with financial management.

"When I was overseas, a lot of guys would make really good money, but they didn't know what to do with it," Ellis explains.

He approached trading as a puzzle to solve rather than a gamble. Despite the current trend of commitment-shy millennials, Ellis is clear about his intentions.

"At this phase in my life, I'm stable in my career and my health, and I really want to find somebody to build with instead of my mind being everywhere and dating around," he shares.

Before embarking on his Bachelor journey, he sought advice from recent Bachelor alum Joey Graziadei, who warned him about the emotional complexity of dating multiple women on camera.

Ellis isn't afraid to challenge conventional masculinity. He proudly identifies as a "mama's boy" and dismisses negative connotations associated with the term.

"I think it just means that I love my mom," he states simply. "We've been through some pretty tough times, and she's always been there, so when she calls me, I answer."

His creative side emerges through writing poetry and song lyrics, though he insists it's casual:

"I don't take it seriously, I just think it allows me to express myself."

---

Grant Ellis’ thoughts on therapy

Perhaps the most surprising outcome of Ellis's experience on The Bachelor was his newfound appreciation for emotional vulnerability.

"Such a big part of me held a lot of things in, like my upbringing and a lot of feelings that I just pushed down," he reveals.

The constant presence of cameras and probing questions created an unexpected therapeutic environment.

"It was like a therapy session for me which was really, really cool because I wasn't really the biggest advocate for therapy. I was like, 'I'm just going to go to the gym more.'"

The experience has shifted Ellis's perspective on mental health.

"But now I'm like, 'You know what? Therapy is cool,'" he reflects.

Elaborating:

"It's definitely something that's good. It allows you to talk about things and then you understand yourself better."

He plans to continue this journey of self-discovery through therapy once the show concludes.

When he's not making life-changing realizations, Ellis keeps things light with karaoke performances of John Legend's "All of Me" (improved, he jokes, by "a couple of drinks") and following his beloved Lakers, particularly admiring LeBron James's performance this season.

As viewers watch his journey unfold on Monday nights on ABC, they'll see a man who's not just searching for love but also discovering new aspects of himself along the way.

---

The Bachelor broadcasts on ABC every Monday at 8:00 pm PT/ET.