Eric Hill had been tapped to compete as one of the eligible suitors competing for Andi Dorfman’s heart on season 10 of The Bachelorette. Tragically, Hill, a 31-year-old explorer, died in a paragliding accident in April after he was sent home and while the show was still filming. On Monday night’s premiere, his death was addressed and he was shown meeting Dorfman for the first time.

'The Bachelorette' Addresses Eric Hill's Death

In the opening moments of The Bachelorette, host Chris Harrison gave a quick dedication to Hill. “Throughout the years, many hundreds of men and women have come on this show in search of love. And they’ve all become a part of what we consider The Bachelor family,” Harrison said. “At this time we’d like to take a moment to honor one of these men — our friend Eric Hill.”

“Eric passed away shortly after concluding his filming on this show. In the coming weeks, you’ll see that Eric was a vibrant man,” Harrison added. “Every day, he impressed us with his passion and courageous spirit. He will be greatly missed. And we dedicate this season to him.”

Eric Hill Meets Andi Dorfman

Since the producers decided that the best way to honor his memory was to keep him in the show, Hill – like the other 24 men – was later shown in the premiere trying to make a good first impression with the Atlanta-based assistant district attorney. After he got out of the limo and they exchanged hellos, he showed Dorfman two small dolls that he’d received from a girl he’d met in Peru many years ago, who told him to give them to his girlfriend.

Once inside the Los Angeles Bachelor mansion, Hill was one of the few men fortunate enough to get some one-on-one time with Dorfman. Sitting by the fire, Hill explained his Global Odyssey project in which he was aiming to visit every UN-recognized country in two years doing “action/exploration” activities and “cultural immersion.” He also told Dorfman that his timeline was open in case he met someone with whom he wanted to have a serious relationship.

“Our first step was to obviously honor him at the top of the show because we had made the decision, I think wisely, to leave him in and not take him out of the show,” Harrison explained to Entertainment Weekly. So the start was to at least acknowledge it there, and then honestly, we’re still figuring it out. We’re still dealing with the day-to-day of how to best respectfully and honorably include him in the show, but at the same time, not sensationalize it and make it anything that it wasn’t.”

The Bachelorette airs Mondays on ABC at 8/7c.