NJ natives Jenn Tran and Grant Ellis are looking for love on 'The Bachelorette'

The new season of "The Bachelorette" kicked off on Monday night with 25 guys all hoping to impress bachelorette Jenn Tran, a North Jersey native.

Tran, 26, captured the hearts of bachelor nation during the previous season of "The Bachelor" as she was one of 32 women dating bachelor Joey Graziadei. She charmed viewers with her fun and bubbly personality but was ultimately sent home during week seven with a broken heart. Now, she is getting a second chance at love with 25 men to choose from.

In an interview with Bachelor Nation, Tran shared that both of her parents were born in Vietnam and that they came to New Jersey, where she was born.

She graduated from Pascack Valley High School and is currently living in Miami studying to become a physician assistant. When she is not studying, Tran loves to read, paddleboard, and travel.

Tran is the first Asian American bachelorette, dubbed in her ABC bio as a "bilingual Vietnamese beauty." She is looking to find a man who is as reliable and thoughtful as she is.

In her first interview, immediately following the bachelorette announcement in March, host Jesse Palmer asked Tran what she would be looking for this season.

"I am looking for someone who has a big personality. I want someone who has that kind of banter, I'm all about having fun. ... I hope that I find my person, someone that I truly feel like is 100% my perfect match, is someone who I am compatible with, is someone who, he and I can have fun and feel like we are each other's person," said Tran, who described what she is looking for as a "ferocious love."

On Monday evening, the time finally arrived for bachelor nation to watch Jenn's bachelorette journey begin.

One by one, each man emerged from a limo or a car, rolled in on a stretcher, or walked in from behind the bushes with a backpack of balloons, all trying to make a great first impression on Tran. By the end of the night, 18 men received a rose and seven were sent home.

Grant Ellis on 'The Bachelorette'

One of the lucky guys moving on to next week's episode is New Jersey native Grant Ellis.

Ellis was born in Newark and graduated from Hudson Catholic Regional High School in Jersey City. He was the first Division 1 signee from his high school and went on to play basketball at Iona University in New York.

He ended up transferring, graduating from Alberta Magnus College in Connecticut and going on to play professional basketball overseas until an injury ended his career.

Ellis, 30, lives in Houston and works as a day trader.

During night one, he emerged from the limo with high energy, beatboxing on his way over to Tran and serenading her with a quick song, singing, "It's nice to meet you, my name is Grant. We'll make all these guys so jealous because at the end of the show you'll change your name to Mrs. Ellis."

Viewers watched as the two spent some time shooting hoops together during the premier episode, Ellis ending the night with a rose pinned to his jacket.

"It's easy to see what makes Grant such a catch. His smile lights up every room he walks into and is followed by his positive attitude," says his official bio on ABC. "Grant is a mama's boy who loves poetry and reading and says he's here to find the love of his life."

Outside of work, he enjoys watching the Lakers, bowling and singing at karaoke. He is also an avid salsa dancer. He plans to visit every country in his lifetime and wishes he could live to see what technology is like in the year 3000.

"The only thing I am missing right now is my person, and hopefully that's Jenn," said Ellis in his introduction. "I do want to win this woman's heart and I am going to do what needs to be done."

You can follow Tran and Ellis' journey on the 21st season of "The Bachelorette" every Monday night at 8 p.m. on ABC.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Jenn Tran, Grant Ellis of NJ on 'The Bachelorette'