'Bachelorette' Emily Okay Being Bonus Mom
On Monday's season premiere of The Bachelorette, Emily Maynard quickly gravitated towards single dad Doug, giving him the prestigious honor of the first impression rose.
The single mom of six-year-old Ricki could relate to the Seattle native having to "leave the biggest part of his heart at home" with his eleven-year-old boy. "I have a daughter and I know what a blessing she is in my life," she beamed to ETonline. "I get a bonus along with Doug."
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While some would find it too complicated to uproot children across the country, Emily doesn't find this technicality to be a turnoff. "I have to have 100% confidence in the relationship that it'll be forever," she said of the prospect of packing her bags. "I would move in a heartbeat. Ricki is happy wherever I'm happy."
All the while considering being a stepmom a "blessing," Emily did dismiss Brent, the father of six youngsters, because "he probably wouldn't want more kids." At the tender age of 26, the youthful Emily hopes to expand her family to four with the man of her dreams.
This is the first time in the show's history that a single mom has been featured as the title character. "I definitely felt a little bit of a double standard with Jason [Mesnick] and I," she compared, "but I was really happy when they agreed to move filming to Charlotte." Her decision to star on the program has been embraced by the community and women of all statuses. "Everybody has been so supportive. Single moms, single girls, married moms," she reported.
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Doug wasn't the only one in the hunky lineup to make a splash on night one. Kalon whirled in on a helicopter, but the Southern belle didn't find the outrageous gesture endearing. "Anybody who knows me knows I would take a classic pickup truck over a Ferrari any day," she quipped. She found Travis' egg-tastic introduction to be the most gimmicky, but "even the really cheesy ones were a great icebreaker."
Skateboarding Jef, note-writing Ryan, and racecar driver Arie also landed on her standout list. The adrenaline junky's racing career did anything but irk Emily, who told ETonline, "Arie is such a great guy. He could have been a taxi driver and I wouldn’t have cared." Satisfied with her selections, Emily does waver slightly, saying, "If I could go back and could have kept one extra, I would have kept Randy who dressed up like a grandma. That took a lot of guts."
Hoping to meet her handsome prince, Emily's little princess at home has been her priority throughout the whole process. Carefully "sheltering" her daughter from the men and the plot of the show, Emily told a little fib that "it was for a very elaborate family home video she'll be able to watch way down the road."
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The Bachelorette airs Monday nights on ABC.