Southern, blonde beauty Emily Maynard will reprise her role as the sweet-natured, single mom looking for love on next season’s The Bachelorette. The twenty-six-year old won her season of the Bachelor and became engaged to two-time loser Brad Womack. The couple who promised to be together forever broke up shortly after filming citing Brad’s temper, along with his commitment issues, and Emily’s difficulty handling what she saw on the show.

Speaking to PEOPLE, Emily discusses her decision to return to television to find a man and admits it’s a little intimidating! “It really hasn’t hit me, what I’ve signed on to do,” she reveals. “I’m scared to death.”

Emily surprised fans when she agreed to do the show, since she initially turned down ABC’s requests. Ashley Hebert was famously cast in her place, much to the dismay of some of the guys. Emily says she she “genuinely” meant it when she told producers she had no interest. “At the time I was dealing with a breakup,” which factored into her decision to decline the opportunity. “I feel like the biggest hypocrite because I said that and now I’m doing it.”

What changed her mind? “I know it can work.” That’s what they all say… “I fell in love the first time and no, we didn’t end up getting married, but in the end just falling in love, for me, is a success,” Emily shares. Well, at least she still believes in finding fame love.

One of the biggest reasons Emily finally agreed to sign onto the show, besides the obvious of wanting to get married, is that ABC agreed to film in her hometown of Charlotte, NC so she can be near her six-year-old daughter, Ricki.

“She’s not going to be involved in a lot of filming and certainly not meeting the guys,” Emily says of Ricki’s participation. “But she’s really excited to go on vacation with Mommy.” Does that mean Emily’s season will include the typical jet-setting adventures? Wow! Good for Emily that she’s not willing to leave her child for two months.

Another reason Emily agreed to participate in the show is her difficulty meeting decent men. “My schedule is very different than a normal single guy’s schedule. I can’t go out every night of the week,” she explains. “They just kind of fizz out before they ever have a chance to become anything. I have to take things slowly because I have a daughter, so that makes it really hard.”

With ABC willing to make so many sacrifices on Emily’s behalf she claims she couldn’t say no! “I would be crazy to pass it up.”

And speaking of guys that were pretty bummed about last season’s Bachelorette, the infamous Bentley Williams may be making a return to vie for the heart of the woman he wanted to woo all along! When asked if she would give Bentley a chance, Emily believes everyone deserves a second (or third) chance! “He would really have to show remorse,” she admits. “But one thing I have learned is to never say never.” How much do you want to be he’ll be back with bells on?

IS EMILY CRAY FOR WANTING TO GIVE BENTLEY A SECOND CHANCE? ARE YOU SURPRISED SHE AGREED TO DO THE SHOW?

The network confirmed today that Emily Maynard will indeed star as the next Bachelorette! The confirmation comes just weeks after Bachelor insider Reality Steve first broke the news.

ABC’s press release reads: “Emily Maynard, the beautiful, sweet, young mom who captured America’s and Brad Womack’s heart on the 15th season of ‘The Bachelor’, finally thought she had her happy ending. She accepted Brad’s proposal and was looking forward to walking down the aisle. Unfortunately her relationship with Brad ended, along with her dream of moving to Austin with her daughter, Ricki, and starting a family. But Emily is ready for her luck to change and to bring her the love she so richly deserves.”

Following her break up with Brad Womack last year, the former Bachelor winner had always remained adamant that she did not want to do the show. Her change of heart reportedly came when for the first time in Bachelorette history, ABC decided to have the guys film in her hometown of Charlotte, North Carolina, rather than in Los Angeles, in order to remain close to her 6-year-old daughter Ricki.

Meanwhile, the latest issue of Us Weekly magazine is now speculating that the procuders might be planning to bring back Bentley Williams, you know, the douche from Ashley Hebert’s season, to stir up some drama vie for Emily’s love. Yikes.

“Bentley is Emily’s type and she knows the show well enough to expect producers to bring him back,” says an Emily pal. “It would be good for ABC, but she’s not sure how good it would be for her!” Bentley is her type???

Production on Emily’s season is expected to begin filming in March, with her season set to air late spring on ABC.

[Photos Credit: SPLASH, ABC]

TELL US – NOW THAT IT’S OFFICIAL, DID ABC MAKE A GOOD CHOICE? WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE BENTLEY RETURN? YOU KNOW, SOLELY FOR DRAMA PURPOSES?

According to a report, past Bachelor and Bachelorette contestants have had it with the show’s super strict rules and are not taking it any more!

The coalition or planned class action lawsuit rather is being led by Jesse Csincsak, winner of the Bachelorette season 4 with Deanna Pappas.

In an interview with CupidsPulse.com, Jesse reveals he and other show contestants have spoken to attorneys and are in discussion to file the lawsuit against the show’s creators Mike Fleiss and Elan Gale.

“Once you’re on the show, they own you,” Jesse said. ”Even when your contract is up, they still interfere in your life and prevent you from promoting other brands and making money.”

Jesse, who does a lot of interviews/blogs posts about the shows and even hosts Bachelor(ette) events, reveals the last straw for him came when Gale contacted his business partners and other companies telling them not to work with him. Jesse adds that the producers have also contacted former other show contestants threatening to blacklist them if they participate in any of his events.

Jesse, who is now married to former Bachelor contestant Ann Lueders, explains how the planned class action lawsuit came about. “I had planned to file my own lawsuit last month but after discussions with numerous people and former Bachelor contestants, we realized that this issue is much bigger than me,” he said.

And in a separate interview with Star magazine earlier this month, the former pro skateboarder referred to Fleiss as a bully. “He thinks he owns me and can keep me from making money. I just want to feed my family,” said Jesse, adding: “I want Fleiss to treat me like he wants to be treated… if he wants me to leave him alone, he needs to leave me alone.”

Yikes, this is certain to get ugly. It, however, appears Jesse and others have a real shot at winning this case as back in 2003, the show’s producers sued former Bachelor Season 4 star, Bob Guiney, accusing him of violating his contract by promoting his cd and music video. Bob ended up winning that case.

It was also reported last month that the show filed a lawsuit against Steve Carbone, who operates the site RealitySteve.com, known for revealing pretty accurate spoilers about the show. The lawsuit alleged Steve was offering contestants financial incentives to break their show contracts.

[Photo Credit: Judy Eddy/WENN.com]

TELL US – THOUGHTS ON THIS PLANNED CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT? SHOULD THE CONTESTANTS BE ALLOWED TO MAKE A LIVING OFF THE SHOW AFTER THEIR SEASONS END?

Weeks after it was reported Emily Maynard was very close to signing on as the next Bachelorette, a new report now confirms it’s a done deal!

Bachelor insider Reality Steve broke the news this morning that Emily, 25, has officially signed on for the ABC hit show.

The single mother of 6-year-old Ricki first captured the heart of fans with her tragic story of how she lost her fiancé and father of her daughter, race car driver Ricky Hendrick, in a plane crash back in 2004 while she was pregnant.

Things appeared to be looking up for Emily after Brad Womack picked her on his Bachelor season and proposed. However, like every other Bachelor relationship that came before them, their relationship ultimately failed.

There’s no word yet on when ABC plans to make the official announcement though it will likely be after Ben Flajnik’s Bachelor season ends. Filming on Emily’s Bachelorette season will reportedly begin in March.

Reality Steve also adds that the likely selling point for Emily, who had stated in the past that she wasn’t interested in doing the show, might be the fact that ABC has agreed to film the new season in her hometown of Charlotte, North Carolina. This is a first and has never been done before in the history of the Bachelorette.

[Photo Credit: DannyMahoney/XS Nightclub/Splash News]

TELL US – THOUGHTS ON EMILY BEING THE NEXT BACHELORETTE?

Ashley, who got engaged to beau J.P. Rosenbaum on the last season of the ABC hit show, tells In Touch Weekly her “dream is to be outside in a big open field, very down-to-earth.”

“I thought Kim Kardashian’s wedding was gorgeous, but I want mine to be simpler,” adds Ashley on her potential wedding plans to JP whom she refers to as the “love of [her] life.”

Below are some details of Ashley’s dream wedding!

• Ashley hopes to have an outdoor ceremony, possibly in the Hamptons
• A large guest list
• Ashley admits that she wants to take dancing lessons with J.P. so that they can have a memorable first dance
• A honeymoon somewhere tropical — “One of those huts on stilts in the water,” describes Ashley
• Ashley and J.P. will write their vows, and Ashley has already started to write hers: “What bonds us together is the crazy experience we went through. You’re my everything. You look after me, you’re my best friend.”
• She wants a televised wedding

“I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with him,” Ashley reveals. “He looks after me. We respect each other. It’s cliche, but our personalities just go together.” Feel free to let out a collective awwwww.

[Photo Credit: WENN]

TELL US – THOUGHTS ON ASHLEY’S DREAM WEDDING? WHY IS ASHLEY TALKING ABOUT HER DREAM WEDDING WITH NO FORESEEABLE WEDDING PLANS?

What first appeared to be just rumors now seems like the real deal as a new report is stating Emily Maynard is very close to signing on as the next Bachelorette!

Life & Style magazine reports that Emily, former Bachelor winner and ex-fiance of Brad Womack, has officially been asked by ABC to become the next Bachelorette.

Even better, Emily, 25, is reportedly very interested in the gig! “It’s basically a done deal,” a source close to Emily reveals. “She hasn’t signed the contract yet, but she’s fully on board.”

It appears Emily, single mother to 6-year-old Ricki, has had a change of heart as she stated last summer that she didn’t want the gig following her breakup with Brad.

Life & Style states Emily is ready to find love again and ABC believes she is perfect for The Bachelorette: “Emily is America’s sweetheart,” the source adds. “Fans are going to be thrilled! Everyone loved her.”

TELL US – DO YOU WANT TO SEE EMILY BECOME THE NEXT BACHELORETTE?

The couple spoke to US Weekly at ASPCA’s “Blessing of the Animals” in NYC this Sunday and the couple, along with their dog, Boo, confirmed they are still happy but there’s no wedding date set! “Well, I’m almost done with school. I just have a week and a half [left],” Ashley explained. “I think once that’s done I can start turning my attention elsewhere.”

The couple is still happily engaged and enjoying their time living together in NYC. “We really are best friends, [so] just being together is a lot to look forward to,” Ashley said of their relationship, adding that the couple “looks forward to building our lives together.”

Since I know you all are heartbroken and dying to know the reasons Ali Fedotowski and Roberto Martinez ended their engagement and broke up, according to reports ABC is considering filming a breakup special with the former lovebirds.

Life & Style talked with host Chris Harrison about the canceled engagement and asked hat he thinks went wrong. “I’m sorry for Ali and Roberto, but I’m old enough and wise enough to know that these things happen,” Chris explains, adding that neither Ali or Roberto blame the show for the disintegration of their relationship. “It’s not the show, and it’s not TV, it’s life.”

As for the supposed breakup special, Chris says he’d be more than happy to film one! “I’d sit down with Ali and Roberto, but I don’t know what good it would do,” he muses. “It’s kind of like when someone says, ‘Why did you get divorced?’ It’s never really that black-and-white, and I don’t know what either one of them could offer or say that would really satisfy anybody.”

Following her breakup Ali has confessed to not knowing what to do with her life and it appears she may have some answers! OK! Magazine is reporting her days of looking for love on TV may be far from over as they are claiming she is a contender to be the next Bachelorette! Perhaps the reports that Ali is a desperate famewhore have some validity…

“The network would love to have her back,” Ali a friend tells the mag, dropping hints that Ali is interested in pulling a Brad Womack. And we all know how well that turned out!

The friend claims that Ali’s overwhelming ratings on the show have execs interested in giving her a second chance. “Her numbers were through the roof and people were really rooting for her to fall in love.” Does this “friend” think perhaps Roberto had anything to do with those high numbers?

Ali is carefully weighing her options whilst getting over her heartbreak before committing. “She hasn’t made up her mind about anything, but she also hasn’t ruled out the idea. It’s definitely been discussed,” the friend continues. “The show would love to get her to say yes.” Riiiight. Personally I think they should ask Roberto to be the next Bachelor instead!

WOULD YOU BE INTERESTED IN AN ALI & ROBERTO BREAKUP SPECIAL? DO YOU CARE? DO YOU BELIEVE THE NETWORK IS CONSIDERING ASKING ALI TO BE THE NEXT BACHELORETTE?

In a lawsuit filed Tuesday in California Federal Court NZK Productions and Alternative Television, Inc — the producers of the shows — are claiming the defendant, blogger Steve Carbone (a.k.a. realitysteve) is ” attempting to have contestants breach their confidentiality pledges.” The website has leaked such high-profile information as the location of the shows, the final three, the winners, even going so far as to disclose the participants before ABC officially releases the cast list. In exchange for realitysteve contacting participants for classified gossip they want at least $75,000 in damages.

Participants in the ABC shows are required to sign contracts barring them from divulging “non-public” information about the shows. Realitysteve is accused of learning “confidential information” about the series by “contacting and soliciting information from participants, cast, crew, and other employees of the series.”

According to The Hollywood Reporter, show employees are told that they will face high penalties upwards of a million dollars for disclosing the info, but according to the suit Carbone “allegedly contacted them with knowledge they were subject to confidentiality obligations.” Supporting this claim, the producers have included an email supposedly sent by realitysteve to a Bachelor contestant on Nov 17. It reads:

“Let me just say, I’m very well aware of your contract. I also know that over 500 contestants have been on this show and not one of them has ever been sued for the $5 million. It’s just a scare tactic. Trust me. Just like they had no idea you sent me that last email, they’ll have no idea about any correspondence either. I know you’re scared and a little paranoid by it, but don’t be. Unless they are hacking your email or tapping your phone, there’s absolutely no way for them to find out.”

In exchange for providing him with information, realitysteve allegedly offered the participant $2,500 if she were willing to breach her contract. “Since you are a student, and I know you have loans up the ying-yang, I’d be willing to compensate you… I swear, this is the easiest money you’d ever make and you and I are the only two people that would know.”

The producers claim this is not an isolated incident and include several other examples of where realitysteve contacted participants and former participants for information to further his site. According to the producers realitysteve was sent more than one cease and desist letters, which were ignored, before they sought legal action against the blogger for “intentional interference with contractual relations and unfair competition and demanding at least $75,000 in damages and an injunction.”

It is interesting to note that despite the producers so-called ire that realitysteve referred to their confidentiality contracts as “scare-tactics” they are not seeking damages against any of the show participants who broke their own contracts!

Rebutting against the lawsuit realitysteve posted a “statement” about claims and insists: “I have not been served a lawsuit, nor have I even seen this lawsuit, so I have no specific comment at this time.”

Instead he posted the communication he received from the production companys’ attorneys. realitysteve’s attorney, Brad Kizzia, insists there has been “no interference” with participants’ contracts and alludes to the website seeking legal action against the plantiffs! “For your clients to sue Mr. Carbone would be unnecessary – at best a waste of the parties time and expense and at worst, an illegal slap action attempting to deny Mr. Carbone’s First Amendment rights.”

Well, this is all very interesting! And in case you weren’t aware Ben Flajnik‘s season of The Bachelor premieres next month…

[Photo Credit: WENN.com]

THOUGHTS? DO THE PRODUCERS HAVE A RIGHT TO SUE REALITYSTEVE FOR LEAKING SPOILERS ABOUT THEIR SHOW? SHOULD THEY BE TAKING ACTION AGAINST THE PARTICIPANTS THAT LEAK INFORMATION INSTEAD? DO YOU BELIEVE THIS A FRIVILOUS LAWSUIT TO GENERATE PUBLICITY FOR THE SHOW OR IS THAT JUST ME?

“I wouldn’t be being truthful if I said this came out of nowhere,” Ali reveals. “We definitely had been having problems. But I had always believed that we could work it out.” Apparently the couple had a lot of conflicting ideas about life, as well as some pretty big personality differences.

Speaking to People, Ali reveals that the couple who met and became engaged on her season of The Bacherlorette were ready to wed “right away,” but started having problems almost immediately after moving in together! Shortly after announcing their relationship to the world, Ali and Roberto moved to San Diego, CA together where Roberto was starting his own insurance office. Unfortunately for Ali the move left her feeling isolated, she struggled to find a career and only managed to find part-time work as a news correspondent. So, being stalked by the paparazzi and being an ABC talking head isn’t a career? Good to know…

We were trying to establish ourselves individually,” Ali explains. “But a relationship should be solid regardless of circumstances.” Additionally, Roberto wanted Ali to be the stay-at-home wifey type instead of focusing on her own career. “Roberto seemed bothered that Ali was career-minded and had a social life,” an insider confides to the mag. “He is very old-fashioned when it comes to a woman’s places.”

Ali attempted to be who Roberto wanted her to be, but it left her feeling stifled. Aren’t these things you’re supposed to discuss, you know, before becoming engaged? “I helped him build his business, and I’d bring him lunch all of the time,” she shares. “I was so supportive of him.”

“A lot of times what I wanted to do and what he wanted to do didn’t match up,” she says, describing their opposite personalities. “One of us was always compromising with the other, or we both ended up not doing what we wanted and staying home.”

Unfortunately bringing Roberto lunch just wasn’t enough and the couple started fighting all the time. “In the past six months, he kind of lost it,” the insider adds. “He’d be really good and sweet in public, but their fights could be explosive.”

And Ali’s knee surgery was apparently the last straw in their already bumpy relationship! “It really affected us,” she reveals. “I couldn’t really be active like I wanted to be. I hit a low.”

After postponing their wedding twice to work out their issues, the problems actually increased and eventually the couple just decided to take a trial separation. Ali moved in with a friend and “at the end of the day we both realized we were unhappy more than we were happy.”

“And we both deserved more,” she adds. “I just knew that we needed to go separate ways. Something inside both of us said we still had more figuring out to do. We take marriage very seriously. It’s not something we were going to do and just hope it works out.”

Well, poor Roberto is apparently “devastated” that Ali called off their engagement! “He really thought this would last and that they’d get married,” a different source discloses.

While their chances of walking down the aisle are pretty much over, Ali is having difficulty returning the $50,000 Neil Lane engagement ring. In order to stretch custody of the pricey piece a little longer, Ali is still speaking to Roberto “daily.” Perhaps ABC is hoping they will work it out so another TV wedding can commence!

Ali has no hard feelings about appearing on the show and starting a relationship with Roberto! “I found real, true love, and I’m grateful that I had that experience,” she says tearfully. “There’s no hate. I still love him, and I always will. But what matters is how we feel, and we both knew it wasn’t right.”

Now that her time as half of a happy and surviving Bachelorette couple is over Ali has no idea what to do next! “I literally don’t even know where I want to live, never mind what I want to do.”

Hopefully she’ll figure it out! Roberto has yet to comment on the break-up, but according to his Twitter as of early November things seemed good between the couple.

THOUGHTS ON ALI’S INTERVIEW? ARE YOU SURPRISED THE COUPLE HAD SUCH DIFFICULTY MAKING THINGS WORK? DID YOU BELIEVE THEY WOULD GET MARRIED?