There's another new book joining the Bachelor book club, meaning fans are now able to get yet another perspective on how the show goes down. This time, Emily Maynard Johnson, previous Bachelor winner and Bachelorette star, is revealing just what went down during her time on Brad Womack's season of The Bachelor and her time as the Bachelorette in her new book I Said Yes: My Story of Heartbreak, Redemption, and True Love. There's also a good amount of personal information about Emily's life before her time in the spotlight. Many of those stories led her to steal the hearts of America. Now, Emily is sharing about her time in Bachelor Nation and revealing major Bachelor secrets that will shock fans.
If there's one thing fans of The Bachelor love, it's secrets from behind-the-scenes of the show. Who was really mean IRL? What happened with that big fight? What was it like to be the season's frontrunner? In addition to going into details about her life during The Bachelor, Emily also documents her life before the show caused America to fall in love with her. Here are 14 of the biggest standout secrets that fans might be surprised to read.
1. She Was Pursued By The Show
In the book, Emily explains that she never had an "overwhelming sense of 'Oh my goodness! I definitely want to be on the show.'" Instead, she shares that she wasn't even sure of her decision after receiving the e-mail explaining she had been chosen. Producers called her trying to convince her to do the show, reassuring her that she would really like the guy.
2. Group Dates Start At Nine In The Morning
Ever wonder why contestants seem to get stir-crazy during group dates (or why no one actually wants one)? According to Emily, group dates would start at nine in the morning and would end "well after midnight." I'll never question why people groan at group dates now.
3. Emily Had Some Important Off-Camera Moments With The Other Women
After a confrontation with Ashley Hebert, Emily was given time from the producers to apologize to her off-camera, which she graciously accepted. Emily also says that she had a similar situation with Chantal where she was able to tell her why no one asked her questions about her date with Brad, without the presence of cameras.
4. There Was A Sleeping Pill Situation
At one point during The Bachelor, Emily says that she was so sleep deprived that she took a sleeping pill she had packed that put her in a funny situation the next morning. Unfortunately, Emily didn't get to sleep until 3 a.m. the night she took the pill, and was woken up only four hours later by producers, leaving her in a "medicated stupor," nodding off during Chris Harrison's visit. The situation left her worried that the show would include a clip of her portrayed as "a pill-popping drunk," but when the episode aired, she was just in the background.
5. Brad Gave Her Extra Validation
We know that validation is key on The Bachelor, but there are certain things producers don't want said to contestants before rose ceremonies. For instance, Brad told Emily that she would be getting a hometown date the following week, before the rose ceremony even occurred. She says, "All Bachelors and Bachelorettes were sternly warned not to spoil any surprises on camera. Brad got in trouble for this one..."
6. Brad Wasn't Prince Charming
When Brad proposed to Emily, between all of the magic and romance, he said a not-so romantic thing. "After I said yes," Emily writes, "Brad scooped me up in his arms and said, 'Wow, Em! You're a lot heavier than you look.'" Not. Cool. Brad.
7. She Initially Denied The Bachelorette
After her relationship with Brad didn't work out, Emily was asked to be the Bachelorette on Season 7. She didn't take it — Ashley Hebert went on to meet husband J.P. that season — and recalls her response being "'Thank you, but absolutely not!'" Then, during Ben Flajnik's season, the producers approached her again about the job. Again, she denied, but slowly started to reconsider due to what she describes as a growing loneliness.
8. She Met Her Current Husband Before The Bachelorette
After her breakup with Brad, and before she went off to become the star ofThe Bachelorette, Emily met Tyler at her new church. Unfortunately, the timing was just off, and Emily had accepted the gig as Bachelorette before anything progressed with her and Tyler. Before she left for The Bachelorette, Emily remembers Tyler, her current husband, saying something like, "'Well, let’s keep in touch as friends then, and if you’re not engaged when you get back, we can get together or something.'"
9. She Did Not Want To Get Engaged At The Start Of The Season
Unlike many people that go on The Bachelor or Bachelorette, Emily went into her role as the Bachelorette with no desire to get married. "I truly did want to meet my husband, not necessarily get engaged but find someone who I could, one day, see the possibility of marrying," Emily says about her intentions of going on the show. She later says that not getting engaged was a "no-brainer," and that she didn't want to walk away with a fiancé, but only with a serious partner in life.
10. The Contestants Couldn't Talk To Her Without Permission
This will make you question every "Can I steal him/her?" moment in all of Bachelor history. Emily shares in her book that none of the bachelors could "approach her without permission, so it's more orchestrated than it looks on TV." She did not go into detail if this was the case for the remainder of the show, but judging by the off-camera moments she was able to have with contestants later on (Jef visited her one night and gave her a turquoise ring), I'd say it was probably a night one rule.
11. Producers Write Down Their Predictions
According to Emily, the producers on her season both had guesses at whom she would pick as the final guy after night one. Both of them were wrong, with one producer guessing Ryan and the other choosing Alessandro.
12. We Didn't See Emily Get Angry
Alessandro, the vampire detector, really made Emily's blood boil after she found herself in the woods with him with "various-sized crosses" on every tree. What we didn't see from that interaction was how furious she became. She explains it as "utterly disrespectful" in her book and says that she was so angry that she hurled down the lantern she was carrying and began yelling, so much so that producers shut down production for a bit.
13. She Knew Saying Yes Was A Mistake
Knowing she didn't want to get engaged at the end of The Bachelorette, Emily spends a good amount of time talking about how she knew it was a mistake when she said yes to Jef at the end of the show. "The second I saw my sweet daughter, her long ponytail flapping in the wind, I knew I shouldn't have gotten engaged," she writes.
14. Arie Had A Friend Visit Emily At Home
We know that Arie, the rejected bachelor, left a diary for Emily to read, but what we didn't know is that she also received a visit from Arie's friend Christina at her home. At first, Emily thought maybe she was a journalist or paparazzi, but she turned out to be the middleman for Arie to get to talk to Emily post-Bachelorette. Christina informed Emily that Arie was around the corner in a car waiting to talk to her. Emily took a phone call with him, but never ended up meeting with him, despite him leaving the diary.
So, did Emily ever actually read Arie's diary? How did she feel about introducing her kids to the men she was dating? For more Bachelor secrets, check out the special episode of Will You Accept This Podcast? for an exclusive interview with Emily.
Emily's book I Said Yes: My Story of Heartbreak, Redemption, and True Love is available March 1.
Images: Everlarkdandelion (3), TheBachelorette-Gifs (12)/Tumblr; Giphy
