Engaged Brad Womack and Emily Maynard broke up, canceled their wedding!
Just as Reality Steve ultimately predicted, during his second go on The Bachelor, Brad Womack proposed to Emily Maynard.
Although Brad has expressed how happy he’s been via the press for The Bachelor, everything hasn’t been completely seamless for the reality couple.
Brad says on the After the Final Rose special that he wanted to marry Emily while the show was taping, but Emily declined that. In fact, they also planned to get married on the After The Final Rose Special, but that got nixed too.
Chris Harrison brought up the fact that Brad and Emily also broke up at one point during their short relationship. Brad cited tabloids and the pressures of having their life in the open as reasons why the relationship has been rocky. “It’s just been a tough go,” he said.
When Chris brought up the breakup, and the audience gasped, Brad explained, “Before everyone overreacts, I don’t know if people will understand what couples go through while the show is airing. So, it’s been a roller coaster, and I’ve always been very honest about it. I want to be very real, but I also want everyone to know that when, not if, when this works out, that we did go through the trials and tribulations that any relationship goes through, and we made it through.”
Chris: “Was there a low for you?”
Brad: “Anytime I hear Emily say ‘I just can’t do it.’ And I’ve told you, I’ve told everyone, this truly is the woman of my dreams. This truly is the woman that I want to base my life on, and to hear her tell me ‘I just can’t do it, I’m leaving,’ and I’m not saying it was a daily basis, it felt like it sometimes. But, that was the low.
“But I’ll admit fault . . . I missed this woman so much, the woman that I loved so much, I take it out on her when I shouldn’t. And hopefully she’ll admit that too. She can be tough. Sweet little Emily can be tough. Sweeeet little Emily.”
Chris: “I’m sorry this hasn’t been a fairytale.”
Brad: “Yeah, but what relationship is a fairytale? . . . This is real life.”
Brad was very excited to see Emily again because he hasn’t seen her in a while, but when she came out she said that she wasn’t ready to marry Brad “right now, at this instant.”
Emily: “For me, it’s not just me, it’s my daughter too (Ricki, with the late Ricky Hendrick,) and it has nothing to do with the way I feel about him. I love him with every part of who I am. But could I move to Austin today? No.”
Brad replied to that stinging bluntness with a gem of a Bradism: “The one thing that I love about you, amongst many things, is your honesty.”
Emily says she had severe anxiety attacks every Monday because Emily had to watch Brad interact romantically with all the other girls. Watching things like Chantal go to the fantasy suite (and the fun with the other girls) with Brad made her question the uniqueness that she thought she had with Brad. Emily also was disappointed with her own portrayal on the show, and was disappointed that she came off as boring, and “not fun.” She then pointed out that she didn’t get to go on exciting dates like diving with the sharks.
Emily admits that she’s been putting up walls because she’s afraid of losing love like she did when her fiance Ricky Hendrick died in a plane crash. She also cites Brad’s temper as a roadblock to their relationship moving forward.
Emily is also struggling with understanding the ultimate meta-question: “What is reality TV, and what is reality?”
But all is not lost, even though Emily has her doubts, and the couple claim they have huge, knock-down, drag-out fights over the phone, right now they both seem to have strong feelings for each other.
To buoy up Bradly, Chris brought out Bachelor/ette couples who are still together: Trista and Ryan, who met on The Bachelorette, and have been together for seven years, are married, and have kids; Jason and Molly (The Bachelor) who got married last year; and Ali and Roberto, who got engaged on The Bachelorette last summer and are still hangin’ in there.
They closed off the show on a high note by watching their engagement for the first time, and then let Brad slip (a resized) engagement ring on Emily’s finger.
If things go sour with Emily, Brad can’t turn to his number two choice Chantal, because she’s happily dating someone she met after she came home from the show.
Brad’s third choice, Ashley Hebert is rumored to be the next Bachelorette (set to be announced tonight on Jimmy Kimmel,) so he’s outta luck there too. Will we see Brad’s third season on The Bachelor?