Jef Holm reportedly had a girlfriend back home when he left to appear on the eighth season of The Bachelorette, and shortly after the edition aired, Emily Maynard's new fiance attempted to reconcile with her.
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However, Holm ended up putting a ring on Maynard's finger when The Bachelorette finished filming in May -- resulting in the pair not reuniting until Holm allegedly contacted Shepherd to hang out and ultimately put the moves on her after secretly concluding Maynard is no longer "The One" for him.
Shepherd reportedly met Holm at a party on a houseboat while vacationing at Lake Powell in Utah for the Fourth of July in 2011.
"We hit it off quickly," Shepherd told Us. "He's outgoing, confident and smooth."
Shepherd said she received warnings from friends that Holm was kind of a player, but she couldn't help falling for the 28-year-old water company founder. According to Us, the pair started spending time with each other every week and had dates such as going to the movies or staying in at his Pleasant Grove, UT apartment with a takeout Wendy's meal.
"We weren't officially boyfriend-girlfriend, but we had a relationship," Shepherd explained, adding that they subsequently "discussed becoming exclusive" that fall.
Around that time, Holm allegedly let Shepherd know his sister-in-law had sent in an application for him to compete on The Bachelorette, which she assumed would never actually happen. But much to Shepherd's dismay, Holm reportedly casually told her in January 2012, "So, I got picked to be on," as she left his apartment one day.
"I was bothered," Shepherd told Us. "But he was reassuring and said he was doing it 'for the experience.'"
Shepherd reportedly continued to date Holm until he left to film The Bachelorette about two months later.
While she didn't hear from Holm afterwards, she eventually discovered how Maynard's season had ended, with Holm proposing to the single mother and former fifteenth-season The Bachelor bachelorette. Shepherd admitted to Us she couldn't bare to watch even one episode and she just tried her best to move on.
"I cried once or twice. But I figured, 'What can I do?' I started dating someone else," she said.
Shepherd's world soon turned upside down when Holm had allegedly contacted her on August 9, which was just over two weeks after The Bachelorette's July 22 finale aired on ABC. According to Us, Holm texted her saying, "Hey long time no see," and asked if he could see her.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOWShepherd said she declined his invitation after initially agreeing to meet him, but then had another change of heart once he reached out to her again via text on September 16.
"I wanted to get closure," she said, adding that Holm allegedly made sure to ask whether she'd come alone to meet him at by the side of a highway.
Holm reportedly then decided to change the location and requested Shepherd meet him in the parking lot of the Marriott MountainSide hotel in Park City where he was staying instead. Upon her arrival that night, Holm allegedly escorted her inside to his suite.
"He gave me a hug," Shepherd noted.
While the pair talked on a sofa in his room, Shepherd told Us that Holm "scooted closer as the conversation progressed," and then leaned in for a kiss -- which she shot down because he was an engaged man. But Holm reportedly sweet-talked his way out of the uncomfortable situation.
"He said, 'It's not what it looks like. I thought I was in love. I thought I had found The One, but things have changed,'" Shepherd told Us, referrring to Holm's alleged August discovery that Maynard had been cheating on him with another man.
Holm allegedly attempted to kiss Shepherd again, and she finally gave in. However, the college student said she quickly became overwhelmed with guilt and tried to leave, but Holm convinced her to get food with him.
According to Us, after they grabbed Burger King and Holm shocked Shepherd with some shocking details of his alleged falsified engagement, Shepherd dropped him off at his hotel and they made "tentative" plans to hang out again the very next day.
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Shepherd said that once she texted Holm the following day, September 17, to meet up, he strangely replied, "See me again? We haven't see[n] each other for months. I can't see you. I'm engaged & really happy with Emily."
The text message originated from a number which was reportedly proven to be Holm's.
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
