The eighth season of The Bachelorette vows to be unlike any other. The famewhore making the decisions this season is Emily Maynard. America’s sweetheart, America’s famewhore, same difference. You probably remember Emily from Brad Womack’s second season. Brad’s the frequent-flyer bachelor who handed out roses in both seasons 11 and 15 of The Bachelor. His second attempt at true love ended with him proposing to Emily. Emily accepted Brad’s proposal, but her ridiculously high expectations and naiveté quickly wilted the relationship.
Emily is a single mom. And, I don’t know if you’ve heard, but she was engaged once before Brad. She was engaged to Ricky Hendrick, of NASCAR fame, in 2004. Sadly, on a rainy Sunday afternoon in October of the same year, Ricky boarded a plane sans an ill-feeling Emily. The plane crashed, leaving behind a pregnant Emily. Now, Emily is a single mom looking for true love on The Bachelorette. Even though it didn’t work for her the first time around, she “knows the series works.” Because, you know, that 17% success rate is a great testament of the true love that comes from appearing on The Bachelor or The Bachelorette. I’m obviously grading on a curve, here. I’m including Trista Sutter, Jason Mesnick, by way of U-turn, Ashley Hebert, and Ben Flajnik, who is still collecting money on the deal.
Chris Harrison, oh blue-eyed, well-dressed, always there with stellar love advice, Chris Harrison. Call me. As I’m sure y’all know, I was very upset to hear about the divorce of the Bachelor franchise’s most level-headed and handsome host. Of course, instead of letting him deal with his family problems behind closed doors, People Magazine wonders if he himself will be the next Bachelor. Um, have you seen him? While he’s a beyond fabulous host of the train wreck, he’s way too good to be an actual contestant. For shame!
The very classy Mr. Harrison manages to remain upbeat, telling the magazine, “Getting out of a 22-year relationship, having just announced my divorce to the world a week ago, having two kids and trying to start a new life, I’m thinking I wouldn’t exactly be a great candidate to be the bachelor right now or anytime soon.”
With the Bachelorette premiering in less than a week, everyone (that may be a stretch), including me, is wondering what to expect from mild-mannered single mom Emily Maynard. She infamously turned down being the Bachelorette (much to Bentley Williams’ chagrin) after first being approached, explaining she wanted to live out of the limelight with young daughter Ricki. However, the rose veteran and former “winner” of Brad Womack’s (second) season, has since done a one-eighty, agreeing to let twenty-five cheesy eligible bachelors vie for her hand in marriage on the show’s eighth season.
Realitytvworld.com has the skinny on her latest print interview in the upcoming PEOPLE magazine. Emily talks of finding love, little Ricki, and those ever-present hot tub scenes the ABC franchise loves to exploit.
The newest Bachelorette tells the magazine, “I don’t want to be kissing every guy. I want to still be a lady. I’m a mom first,” adding, “I’m hoping the hot tubs have been completely phased out.”
Emily also doesn’t want date time to ever interfere with daughter time. While Ricki has been traveling with mom throughout the season, she has spent a lot of time hanging out with her grandparents and a nanny, and, according to Emily, loving every minute of it. Emily reveals, “[The show] has been so good at making sure there’s time scheduled for the two of us.”
With just three weeks until the premiere of The Bachelorette Season 8, ABC has released the photos of the 25 contestants vying for for Emily Maynard‘s heart!
Emily will traverse the globe looking for love, but her journey will begin in her hometown of Charlotte, NC. Emily will experience her share of ups and downs - namely juggling the show and being a single mom.
According to the ABC press release, Emily is hoping the third times a charm and she will meet the man to spend the rest of her life with! As for what she’s looking for in a man, her requests are simple. “She is looking for someone who makes her laugh, doesn’t take himself too seriously and can be her best friend.”
“Emily feels incredibly grateful to have found her first love when she was very young, and despite not having dated a lot, knows what it’s like to be truly in love. In the past seven years, she has been looking for someone with the same spark she has for life, and she believes that she will find her soul mate on ‘The Bachelorette.’”
The Bachelorette premieres May 19th at 8:30/9:30c on ABC.
[Photo Credits: ABC]
TELL US – THOUGHTS ON THE NEW SEASON AND EMILY’S GUYS?
CLICK THE CONTINUE READING BUTTON TO SEE THE PHOTOS & BIOS!
It wouldn’t beThe Bachelorette without douchey suitors and plenty of drama. Emily Maynard may have been a diva, demanding producers only cast totally amazing guys, but that doesn’t mean she’s exempt from getting a ratings grabbing dud! Hey, it is reality TV after all! And dating – two things that are notorious for their calamities.
Unfortunately for Emily, it seems one of her finalists has a previous relationship with one the show’s producers – who was also very involved in the casting process for Emily’s season! While ABC has not officially released the names of Emily’s guys, rumored top four pick indie car racer Arie LuydendykJr once dated Cassie Lambert, a female producer for The Bachelorette. Upon learning Arie’s history, Emily is reportedly “very pissed off,” according to WetPaint.
Emily shouldn’t worry because Cassie and Arie’s romance ended long ago and Cassie is currently engaged to another producer on the show! But Emily can’t get past the odd connection. “Arie has definitely been a front-runner so far,” an insider reveals. “Emily’s developed serious feelings for him.”
Emily Maynard‘s season of The Bachelorette is mere weeks away. I know you have all been dutifully doing your Men of The Bachelor countdown, where each day, you pull off a photo of a former Bachelor of season’s past until you reach the pinnacle of douchey-awesomeness in the form of Bentley Williams. Or Jake Pavelka—whichever works! Also, on my countdown isKasey Kahl, who is guarding and protecting my heart with his beautiful singing and inspiring tattoos. Shhh… don’t tell Vienna!
It seems the most homogeneous dating pool in America will soon get a wake-up call! Shortly after Lamar Hurdstarted a campaign to become the first black Bachelor in the franchise history, two other African-American men have decided to file a class action lawsuit against the show for discrimination!
According to TMZ, the two plaintiffs attended a casting call in a Nashville Hotel to audition to be the next Bachelor. Christopher Johnson, one of those men—who also happens to be an aspiring NFL player—claims when he arrived the producers asked him why he was there.
Apparently, that’s when the discrimination began. Christopher and another African-American applicant, Nathaniel Claybrooks, claim they were then taken to the side of the room and excluded from the normal audition process. Neither man received a call back and both believe it is because of their race!
In response, they have filed a class action lawsuit today in federal court against ABC, Warner Horizon Television, Next Entertainment, NZK Productions and creator Mike Fleiss. More details will be coming this afternoon and Reality Tea will keep you posted on the developments.
In other news, Ben Flajnik and Courtney Robertson continue their campaign to convince people they are in love. Hey, getting married following The Bachelor comes with a hefty reward – lifetime infamy! And likely some monetary pay-offs as well.
According to HollywoodLife, the couple is madly in love and will be walking down the aisle sooner than we think! “Courtney and Ben are getting married! They have totally rekindled their feelings for each other on an even deeper level,” Courtney’s friend reveals. “The drama that happened after the show actually brought them closer together and they both realized that they didn’t want to lose each other. Courtney has even been looking at wedding dresses.”
Indeed, the two were spotted at Mark Zunino’s recent wedding dress fashion show – which of course totally proves this wedding is happening, like tomorrow, and not that the couple is pretending to be in love for fame and publicity as some reports have claimed.
“They sat in the front row and were holding hands the entire time,” Courtney a friend reveals to HollywoodLife. “They looked really happy and very much in love. During the show, Ben played with Courtney’s hair and she was giggling and pointing to the different wedding dresses.” Apparently, when and if she weds, Courtney will be sporting a Mark Zunino gown. Ok, then.
And finally, with Emily Maynard‘s season of The Bachelorette premiering next month, ABC has released the first glimpse of her portrait. PEOPLE got the exclusive. Emily looks stunning, of course, and is obviously holding a bunch of roses! The portrait is below!
The Bachelorette premieres May 14th at 8:30/9:30 EST on ABC.
IS THE LAWSUIT AGAINST ABC AND THE BACHELOR VALID? DOES THE SHOW DISCRIMINATE? WILL COURTNEY & BEN GET MARRIED – OR ARE THEY IN LOVE WITH PUBLICITY?
CLICK THE CONTINUE READING BUTTON FOR EMILY’S PORTRAIT!
It’s no secret that ABC wanted Emily Maynard to be The Bachelorette something desperate, but according to a new report, producers were so anxious to get the southern beauty to sign on they were willing to go to extremes. And tolerate some pretty diva behavior!
Many were surprised when Emily seemed to have a abrupt change of heart about finding love on TV after a first failed attempt, but according to In Touch Weekly (via their print edition), producers agreed to accommodate all of her demands in order for her to agree to the show – including moving the Bachelor house to her hometown of Charleston, South Carolina. And the network is reportedly paying Emily a whopping $250,000!
A source close to Emily disputes that she is getting a huge fee to appear on the show, telling RumorFix that Emily is not being paid. “None of the reports are true. None of the contestants go on the show for money – only for love.”
Even more surprising is how far the network is willing to go for Emily’s cooperation. “The producers have completely changed the format this season in order to meet Emily’s demands,” a source tells In Touch. Emily has some pretty strict demands for her potential suitors, too. She allegedly requested that producers “pre-qualify” the men to make sure she isn’t getting any losers – or any broke guys. “She wanted only the best-looking, most mannered guys,” the source reveals.
After viewing former competitor Ashley Hebert‘s season, Emily made it perfectly clear she is not accepting any Bentley Williams-esque villains. Furthermore, Emily knows what she’s looking for and the single mom is quickly sending men home! “She’s whittling it down to a handful of candidates who she will spend a lot more time with,” an insider explains. “If she doesn’t like a guy, he’s gone.” During a recent group date in Bermuda where the men were involved in a boat race, a source claims that Emily “had the producers change the teams so that her top guys were in the same boat.”
Most surprisingly, is that after Emily insisted that her six-year-old daughter Ricki would have no interaction with any of her dates, a source is reporting that Emily is keeping Ricki very involved. “She took one of the guys to watch Ricki play soccer on day one!” Not sure I believe this allegation…
Moving on, the most hated Bachelor couple ever, Ben Flajnik and Courtney Robertson, are still proclaiming that their love is real and a wedding is in their future! “We’re very much in love,” Courtney recently told US Weekly (via their print edition). “We’re talking about getting married maybe at the place where we had our first date in Sonoma. Ben’s open to it.”
For now the couple hasn’t moved in together, but they are going on dates and learning about each others’ lives. “I’m going to be in San Francisco a lot, and he’s going to be in LA a lot,” Courtney shares. “We’ve got a lot of trips planned.”
“They need time to have that normal relationship before saying ‘I do,’” a source asserts. “He wants to take the time to court Courtney.”
Ben adds that they don’t want to rush into things because they want their relationship to last. “We want to figure out who we are together, so we’ll have a better chance.” And putting those cheating and break-up rumors to rest, Ben assures us that he and Courtney have been spending plenty of time together. “When the show was airing, we spent a lot of time together and got to know each other really well.”
Things are continuing to go well for the couple who just returned from a romantic vacation in Puerto Vallarta. “Courtney and Ben have the same sense of humor, and their friends do too,” a friend of Ben’s tells the mag. “Everyone hangs out like they’ve known each other for years. It’s been a very comfortable combining of worlds.”
IS EMILY BEING A DIVA ON THE SET OF THE SOW? IS SHE MAKING DEMANDS OF THE PRODUCERS? DO YOU THINK BEN AND COURTNEY ARE RIGHT TO TAKE THINGS SLOWLY? WILL THEY GET MARRIED?
