DeAnna Pappas talks about her new adventures in dating!

Brunette beauty DeANNA PAPPAS made reality TV history last year when both she and finalist JENNI CROFT were rejected by Texas nightclub owner BRAD WOMACK in the 2007 season finale of "The Bachelor." Now, she's talking to ET about her new search for love among 25 hunky guys as the star of "The Bachelorette," premiering at 10 p.m. Monday, May 19th, on ABC. The good news?

"Luckily, none of them are from Austin!" DeAnna says. "There are no hard feelings towards Brad or Texas or anything. I was really confused when it happened, but after it was all over, said and done with, I was actually very happy that Brad stood up for what he believed in and didn't propose to someone just because he was under pressure."

DeAnna says she was "so excited" to be on the receiving end of the limo line on the first night, even when the guys got a little crazy, trying to impress her. One ambitious suitor even strips down to a Speedo and jumps in the pool!

"The only thing I could think about that guy was, 'It's so cold!' I was like, 'You gotta get a towel, you gotta get out, it's freezing!'"

And although she can't reveal the outcome of her search, she definitely gets some help from an old pal along the way: "Jenni and I have continued being very good friends throughout this whole process and, obviously, we have the same taste in men, so I asked her to come out and just help me a little and ask some of the questions for these guys and make sure I'm making the right decision."