ABCWho says former Bachelor contestants can't be friends?!
Though they competed for Brad Womack's final rose on season 15 of The Bachelor, former Bachelorette Ashley Hebert has no beef with just-announced new Bachelorette Emily Maynard (who recently ended her relationship with Womack). We just caught up with Ashley, who is busy planning her own wedding, to talk about Emily's exciting new reality TV endeavor.
So does Ashley think Emily is a good pick?
Yep. "I was so excited for Emily!" Ashley tells us. "She really is the sweetest person I've ever met and I was really sad her and Brad didn't work out because I thought they were a good match."
Though Emily triumphed over Ashley on The Bachelor and dealt with a contestant during her season who preferred Emily (Stay classy, Bentley!), Ashley is hoping Emily, a single mother, finds "the one." "I know Emily is going into this with really high hopes that she does find her one true love and I really hope that after everything she's been through, I really hope she finds it." All together now: Aww!
While Ashley has yet to speak to Emily since news of her casting broke, she says, "I'm sure she's busy with everything that's going on!"
Since Ashley found love on her season with J.P. Rosenbaum, we asked her what advice she would give to Emily going into the process. "To go in open-minded and have a lot of fun with it because when you look back you want to have really fond memories," she says. "When I look back, I see a lot of the negative that happened, so just stay focused on the positive and have fun with it."
Still, Ashley acknowledges how hard it is for a Bachelor relationship to last, saying, "I got really, really lucky. It's hard for it to work. There are so many other factors that are involved, but it just takes one."
—Reporting by Vanessa McDonald
What do you think of Emily's casting, Bachelorette fans? Do you think Ashley gave Emily good advice? Will you watch Emily on her quest for love? Sound off in the comments!