The Bachelorette, Starring Emily!

I came into the whole Bachelor/Bachelorette thing a little late in the game. I just started watching the Bachelor with Jake's season, which was 3 Bachelors ago. I rarely watch the Bachelorette, because I'd much rather watch girls duke it out than a bunch of guys, but I'm making an exception this season of the Bachelorette for one reason and one reason only-- Emily. Emily Maynard was a contestant on Brad's season and almost immediately became what we call "America's Sweetheart." Only few women hold this title, and the rest of them are celebritites (ahem, Jennifer Aniston.) However, Emily came into the Bachelor as just a normal girl looking for love and ended up capturing America's heart with her beauty and sweetness. She ended up catching Bachelor Brad, too, but we all know how that went down, as it always does. Brad was a good ol' Texas boy who owns several bars on Sixth Street in Austin (The Dizzy Rooster, The Chuggin' Monkey, and Molotov) where he currently lives; and he'll be the first to admit that he just messed it all up. At least he can be honest. But what made it all the more heartbreaking was that not only was Emily going through a public breakup on national magazines, but it was what she had already been through prior to the Bachelor. One of the things that I think endeared us all to Emily was not the fact that she looked like a living Barbie doll and was very humble and modest on top of it all, it was the fact that she had endured suffering and came out on the other side. One of my favorite quotes was said by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross: “The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen.”  So very true. And as beautiful as Emily is on the outside, she is even more beautiful on the inside. Emily had dated famous NASCAR driver Ricky Hendrick for several years; he was her first love. They were engaged to be married when he was killed with nine others after their plane crashed into a mountain on the way to a race in October 2004 due to pilot error in heavy fog. Five days later, Emily discovered she was pregnant with their daughter, Ricki. Heart, meet knife. And twist. Devastating. It was obvious to everyone on the Bachelor how very important her daughter was to her, how guarded she was with her life, her feelings. I thought it might be the end of her chances with Brad, but he was so sick in love with her that he held tough and she got the ring in the end. Alas, it wasn't to be. As a fan favorite, the producers of the Bachelor have hounded her to be the Bachelorette since the break up, and she's turned them down several times. However, they made the agreement to hold the Bachelorette in the Bachelorette's hometown for the first time (instead of LA) so that Emily could still be home with her daughter and tend to her mommy duties. I think that says a lot about her. The second week just ended and I'm starting to pick out some favorites and some that I don't care for. I'm resisting temptation to check out Reality Steve. I usually can't handle it anymore by the sixth or seventh week and go read on the inside scoop, but I don't want to this time. I want to be surprised! I usually read because either a) I want reassurance that the Bachelor isn't going to pick the total B of the group that everyone in America hates (but that's usually how it turns out) or b) I read the scoop on Brad's season because I was dying with anxiety over whether or not he picked Emily, because I was ready to swear off the Bachelor forever if he didn't. 
On this season of the Bachelorette, there is a guy from Houston. Unfortunately, he's been pegged by the other guys as a total douche. Great representin', Kalon. But, even though he does stick his foot in his mouth at times, he's kinda gotten a bad rap. First, he showed up the first night in a helicopter fashionably late. Awesome entrance; however, the other guys weren't so enthused. Second, he's a "luxury brand consultant," which I take to mean that he's a buyer for the likes of Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana, somewhere along those lines. He showed up with Louis Vuitton luggage and all the guys think he's a total jerk. He reminds me of Ryan Phillippe when he played Sebastian Valmont in Cruel Intentions, the updated version of Dangerous Liasons. He even looks like him. I hope the fact that Sebastian totally screwed over and then fell in love with Reese Witherspoon's (another of America's Sweethearts) character and then dies tragically at the end is not a precursor of what's to come for Kalon. At the same time, he's not who I want Emily to end up with, either. I haven't decided that yet, but I do like Ryan so far. They had a good one-on-one date, and if I do say so myself, he is quite the looker. I do not like Stevie. What guy in their late twenties still goes by a name like Stevie? And he's a "party MC." Okay, you're a DJ. Great. Go work at the club every night while Emily is cooking dinner and putting her kid to bed. Really? I hope he doesn't last. Plus, he's kind of jerky. Anyways, that's my two cents so far. All I really want in the end is for Emily to find her fairy tale. Granted, a huge percentage of the Bachelors haven't worked out, but one Bachelorette DID marry the guy she picked nine years ago and they now have two children. The last Bachelorette, Ashley Hebert, is still going strong with her man, JP. So, there's hope. I think Emily has a good head on her shoulders and will make a wise decision. Stay tuned!

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