First time posting here, I did want to reply to the question that Tennisgurl (and others) asked. Yes! This did sort of happen, it was Sean's season as The Bachelor, the "hometown" dates were fairly atypical for this show.
So...Sean had his selection down to four women. AshLee, Catherine, Desiree, Lindsay.
AshLee's parents were a bit concerned in that she had been married before, they did not want to see her "heartbroken" again. Otherwise, they did not seem to mind Sean, figuring (if I recall correctly), that even though he was from Texas as they were, he was from a different city so no resulting accidental awkward meetings if it didn't work out (and it didn't). AshLee was a bit older than Sean and the other contestants, she likely moved on with her life after finishing (3rd?). Did appear for a while on BACHELOR IN PARADISE, I think.
Catherine, the father was dead and/or divorced. No "asking the dad's permission/blessing" therefore. I do remember Catherine's sisters objecting, not so much to "The Bachelor format" or Sean, to the idea of a man breaking up their all-female family (mother seemed neutral). Was a bit put off by Catherine just standing there and not "fighting for the relationship" (what she said to the sisters off-camera I don't know). Of course, Catherine did wind up with Sean and they are still married.
Desiree, the problem was not the parents but her brother. The brother threatened to punch Sean in the mouth (and it was the parents who were warning him to "cool it" and avoid wrecking Desiree's and their "big chance" for fame and fortune). Sean (not surprisingly) eliminated Desiree after the hometowns. He said her brother was not the reason (truthfully?) and she said later that her brother liked Sean (?!). However, Desiree did become The Bachelorette and end up marrying Christopher Siegfried so things worked out for her, also still married. Did her brother appear on Desiree's Bachelorette season?
Lindsay, her father was a Commanding Officer, a General in the U.S. military. Sean met him, appropriately, at a military base. The General took Sean to a bar in his home (I suppose when you have high rank you get these things). I (and Sean probably) thought the General was going to put Sean through "boot camp," an obstacle course and so on. But no, the General was amused by that idea and said if they wanted to get married, they had his blessing. Yet like soldiers in the field they were going to have to be adult and responsible enough to think for themselves, make their own decisions. He was very wise. Sean ultimately did not choose Lindsay, she did not appear on any subsequent Bachelor shows, hope her life has gone well.
There you have it. Four hometown dates, no Bachelor groveling/asking for permission. Even with brother/sisters objections (this was why I would have gone with AshLee or Linday over Catherine or Desiree). Two resulting marriages, again atypical.
