Will ‘Bachelorette’ Ashley Hebert Make a Play for Brad Womack Now? 05/24/2011

Will ‘Bachelorette’ Ashley Hebert Make a Play for Brad Womack Now?

Just as the new season of The Bachelorette got underway Monday night, the news broke that Emily Maynard and Brad Womack had gone belly up. It appears she even returned the ring. A few hours after that news, there was perky Ashley Hebert meeting her 25 eligible men and speaking of Brad in sad, regretful ways.

“If only I had told him I loved him,” she seemed to lament again and again. And I call BS. If she had told him she loved him, then she would be ringless Monday night and Emily would be the Bachelorette. And maybe it would have been better that way.

Ashley is appealing in that cute, bubbly, smart, athletic kind of way. She is receiving her dental training at an Ivy League school (Penn), earned a 3.92 GPA in college, and has a rocking bod from years of dance (one of her minors) and a sweet smile. But she isn’t a knockout, not the catch to end all catches. Just the girl next door. As usual. Doesn’t this show franchise ever get tired of that?

After seasons and seasons of failure, the show did get creative by sending someone home the first night. Drunkard Tim was sent packing after he passed out on the couch and proved he wasn’t “there for the right reasons” (if I hear that phrase one more time …).

Then there was Jeff, who wore a mask reminiscent of Stanley Kubrick‘s Eyes Wide Shut in some feeble attempt to get Ashley to know his soul (or some such drivel). All it really did was make him stand out as the resident freak, which is saying a lot considering the competition. There is Bentley, who was open about preferring Emily Maynard and who Hebert was told is only on the show to promote his business.

His business is a recreation center? It seemed he mentioned that quickly in passing at the beginning of the show while tooling about his heinous, unoriginal McMansion. It seems he is relatively open about his lack of interest in Ashley. So, yeah. He may be this season’s “villain” (ABC has to pique our interest somehow), but he is in no way worse than 90 percent of the losers who go on these shows. They just don’t admit it.

One of the biggest mysteries of the night was Ames. Why would a Harvard/Yale/Columbia educated Wall Street finance guy have any interest in going on ABC to compete for the “love” of one woman? And by “love” I mean 10 minutes of fame, a pubic breakup, and a life lived in the discarded portion of US Weekly. He wouldn’t.

Something is amiss with Ames. There is another motive. I’m just not sure what it is.

So, Ashley, it seems Brad is single now. Maybe he was a safer bet, after all, than the clowns filling the room on this season.

What did you think of the new season?

http://thestir.cafemom.com/entertainment/120737/will_bachelorette_ashley_hebert_make?utm_medium=sm&utm_source=facebook&utm_content=bachelor_fanpage

Image via ABC

Why The Bachelor Makes Good TV-Watching But Very Bad Matchmaking 04/27/2011

Why The Bachelor Makes Good TV-Watching But Very Bad Matchmaking

Admission: so, on one level, I can totally get behind the whole concept of The Bachelor. There’s no one perfect person out there for any of us: why not choose from a selection of twenty-five telegenic types within your range of age and attractiveness and pick one as a fiancée? And why not broadcast the whole thing for an audience of millions, with someone else responsible for your wardrobe, makeup and maybe some dialogue?

Okay, don’t answer that.

All I’m saying is that in theory, it’s not such a terrible idea. But in practice, the formula ain’t working so well. In fifteen seasons, the show has produced exactly one wedding. The latest disappointment is Brad Womack: an Austin bar owner who returned for his second tour after famously declining to give anyone that fatal “final rose” the first time around. This season he did: to Emily Maynard. I know their demise isn’t quite official, but when one half of a celebrity couple publicly admits things aren’t going so well, you might as well consider the divorce papers signed.

So what’s the problem? How come The Bachelor producers can make such compelling television — close to fifteen million viewers tuned in to the latest finale — but can’t find Brad Womack a wife?

A few weeks ago I went to a party with my boyfriend, and noticed him talking to an attractive woman. One thing I appreciate about my boyfriend is that he is an exceptional conversationalist: he can talk to just about anyone. One thing I don’t always appreciate is that “just about anyone” sometimes includes attractive women.

“I don’t care if you talk to her,” I told him when we next got a moment alone, apropos of nothing besides my own internal monologue. Desperately, I tried to play the role of Not Ever Jealous, Completely Confident Girlfriend. “You can make out with her if you want, I don’t care, whatever.”

Apparently my performance was less than convincing.

“You don’t mean that,” he replied, guilting me into matching his candor: “Okay fine, you’re right, I don’t.”

In other words, I — like many emotive humans — get uncomfortably, absurdly jealous for literally no reason. So I can only imagine the predicament of those Bachelor couples: for whom the early stages of commitment are punctuated by regularly televised images of half the pair making out with someone else.

“Monday nights became a nightmare for them,” a friend of Emily’s told Life & Style magazine — that reliable resource of all things essential and important. Shocking that Emily found it difficult to watch her fiancee profess (and display) his affections for a dozen-plus other women on a weekly basis. Who in god’s name wants to watch their significant other being intimate with someone else? It’s bad enough to know, intellectually, that our partners have had others. But to have to see it? In full, two-dimensional color? With commercials? I’d sooner spend six weeks in Los Angeles freeway traffic than be subjected to such a thing.

Who knows why Brad and Emily are breaking up, if they in fact even are. Who knows why any of reality television‘s marriages have failed or fizzled; all relationships, even those regularly splashed on magazine covers, maintain their own sort of mystery. I can imagine lots of potential reasons.

But I wouldn’t be surprised if that was one. We all know that our significant others have, in their lifetimes, been attracted to other people. But, for the rest of us, it’s a whole lot easier to pretend that they haven’t.

Follow Elizabeth Tannen on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ertannen

Emily and Brad: Reportedly (drum roll please) OVER! 04/20/2011

http://www.realitytvworld.com/news/brad-womack-and-emily-maynard-relationship-reportedly-over–12205.php

Brad Womack and Emily Maynard have reportedly split.

Maynard — whom Womack proposed to and selected over Chantal O’Brien in the finale broadcast of The Bachelor‘s fifteenth season — ended her relationship with her fiance over the phone during the weekend of April 9, Life & Stylereported Tuesday.

MOM of 7 Voted for the NEXT Bachelorette! 03/07/2011

MOM of 7 Voted for the NEXT Bachelorette!

AND YOU CAN TOO!

Brad Womack‘s tenure as the Bachelor is almost over, which means only one thing: it’s time for ABC to choose a new Bachelorette!

VIDEO: Inside Brad’s most “brutal” group date yet

Until the network makes an official announcement,UsMagazine.com wants to know who you think should follow in Ali Fedotowky‘s footsteps: hospital event plannerEmily Maynard, 24; dentist Ashley Hebert, 26; hair stylistMichelle Money, 30; or Seattle-based executive assistantChantal O’Brien, 28?

CLICK HERE TO VOTE on the USMagazine poll!

http://www.usmagazine.com/moviestvmusic/news/who-should-be-the-next-bachelorette-201173

 

Bachelor Update: Ashley Blames Miscommunication!

For a few weeks, it seemed like Ashley Hebert would be one of the last two contestants fighting for Brad Womack‘s heart on “The Bachelor.”  But last week, all seemed to go wrong between the two of them and by the end, the 26-year-old dental student was sent packing.

“There was a lot of miscommunication between Brad and I,” Ashley explained. “I went into the show not really expecting to feel as strong as I did, and I think I kept my guard up.”

Viewers saw Ashley’s “fantasy date” with Brad devolve into both sides getting frustrated with each other over where to take their relationship.   Ashley admits that things went downhill once they reached the “fantasy suite.”

 

“We had the opportunity to talk about more serious things, but we chose to take the light route.  I didn’t answer all the questions like he wanted, and he didn’t answer all the questions that I had.”

Despite the way the relationship ended, Ashley was happy he didn’t force her to sit through a final rose ceremony, choosing instead to eliminate her away from the remaining contestants.

“I think it helped me bring closure to Brad and the show,” Ashley said. “It also helped [solidify] the kind of relationship we had, one that was full of respect and mutual admiration.”

Ashley’s elimination means that Emily Maynard and Chantal O’Brien are the last two contestants left in the competition.  Ashley admits she doesn’t know who to root for, as both have their strengths.

“I think Emily’s probably a better match for Brad, but I love Brad and Chantal together.  Who I pick definitely changes from week to week.”

Bachelor Brad Explains: Not Kissing Emily 02/22/2011

Hello again, everybody! I hope you enjoyed watching the hometown visits. This week was especially important to me because I place such an emphasis on family. It gave me true insight about where the women come from and what life would be like with each of them in their everyday lives.

First of all, each of the families were so welcoming, warm and hospitable. I was welcomed into each home with open arms and I’m truly grateful for that.