Bachelor Grant Ellis 'Never Saw a Llama' Prior to His First Impression Rose Recipient Showing Up with 1 (Exclusive)

Not one but two unexpected women showed up during the premiere of Grant Ellis’s Bachelor season: his sister Taylor, and a llama named Linda, who contestant Alexe arrived with at the mansion on the first night.

“You know what's crazy? I never saw a llama before,” Ellis, 31, tells PEOPLE. “They're kind of awkward, but that llama was sweet. I don't know what their feeding that llama, but it definitely had a really nice personality."

Related: Bachelor Grant Ellis Says Any Woman 'Starting Drama' or 'Gossiping' Lacks Wife Potential (Exclusive)

The day trader ended up giving Alexe, 27, the first impression rose after she tried to teach him French — a nod to her Canadian roots and her job as a pediatric speech therapist  — during the Night 1 cocktail party. Host Jesse Palmer revealed during the Jan. 27 premiere that, for the first time ever, the first impression rose recipient would also score the first one-on-one date of the season. But that extra factor “didn't add any weight to my decision,” Ellis says. “I just think our connection, the way we laughed and the way it just flowed, that was the right choice for the first impression rose.”

The other unforeseen twist — Ellis’s sister Taylor showing up — caused a lot of the women to think Taylor might be one of his ex-girlfriends. But instead, Taylor assured her brother's suitors during the premiere that he wanted to find “his wife, his soulmate, his best friend, his everything,” and she showed them childhood photos of the TV personality.

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Ellis, who appeared on Jenn Tran’s season of The Bachelorette last year, admits he had concerns about what his sister might share with his suitors.

“I was nervous that she was going say something or show something that would embarrass me,” he says. “Even if she did, that's me, so you got to take it or leave it. But I know she had my best interest in mind.”

The former basketball pro reveals that Taylor and the rest of his family feel happy about how his season ends.

“They're happy for this whole experience,” Ellis says. “And I think that they're happy to see me healing from things that happened in my life and doing it in a way where maybe it'll inspire some people.”

Related: Bachelor Grant Ellis Says 'Things Ended the Way They Were Supposed to' on His Season (Exclusive)

The teaser for the rest of Ellis’ season shows the reality star torn between two women on engagement day.

“Any rose ceremony was difficult for me,” Ellis, who sent home seven women in the Jan. 27 episode, says. “And then as time progresses, you get to know these women better, and they're so great, they put their hearts out there. So that was the hard part, just letting somebody down that their heart was in it. That was really tough for me, but it's something that was a step forward in me finding my person, so that's something that I'm happy about.”

Still, Ellis says “things ended the way they were supposed to end” with his journey. “I'm happy with decisions I made, and I don't regret anything,” he teases. “I'm very happy with the ending.”

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The Bachelor airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

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