Exclusive: Marissa May discusses 'The Bachelor' (Part 2)

The Bachelor bachelorette Marissa May's televised search for love came to an end when Brad Womack opted not to give her a rose during last Monday night's broadcast of the fifteenth season's fifth Rose Ceremony.


On Friday, the 26-year-old sports publicist from Kissimmee, FL talked to Reality TV World about her The Bachelor experience. Below is the conclusion of our exclusive two-part interview with Marissa -- including what group date she considered to be her favorite, who she believed had the strongest connections with Brad while on the show and watching it from home, why she was excited when she discovered Brad was the Bachelor again, and how she had been frustrated over Brad singling out Emily for alone time on numerous occasions. 

Click here for the first part of Marissa's interview with Reality TV World. 

Reality TV World: Did you have more fun at the NASCAR, the action movie or the public service announcement date and what parts stood out to you from them?

Marissa May: I definitely think probably the NASCAR date. I was totally jazzed. I was so excited to get out on the track -- paranoid because I did not know how to drive a stick before that moment -- excited that I was going to be in a group and I was actually going to get to race Brad and beat him, which I did.


I was so excited. I was just so pumped to beat Brad and then at the same time, the second that I sat in that car this entire wall of fear just washed over me.

So, I think that's probably why it was one of my favorite dates, because I was so excited and so pumped to do it, had my competitive nature, but then at the same time, I was -- I mean, that's a scary experience. 

You're going 140MPH and there's a lot of fear when you're doing that. So, I was having fun, I was also facing my fears, and that's why I think that was probably my favorite date.

Reality TV World: That definitely must have been an adrenaline rush.

Marissa May: Oh my gosh! It absolutely was!


Reality TV World: There had been rumors Brad was going to come back again for The Bachelor floating around before the season began filming, so did you have any idea he would be returning or were you one of the girls who was totally surprised by it?

Marissa May: I wasn't totally surprised. There was nothing confirmed when we all left, but like you said, there some whisperings of it possibly being Brad. So, it was kind of in the back of my mind, but I walked in there not having any expectations. I didn't want to be disappointed.

I didn't want to be anything when I saw whoever it was that was standing there. I wanted to go in there with no preconceived notions and just see the guy, get to know him, and start with a clean slate.

Reality TV World: You said you had a little suspicion it could have been Brad, so what did you actually think when you found out he was the Bachelor when you pulled up in the limo and first saw him?

Marissa May: I was excited. I mean, he's an incredibly attractive guy. You know that there isn't going to be a guy standing there who isn't sweet and isn't ready to do this, and only knowing briefly about what his past experience was, seeing him there again, you had to know that this was something he was absolutely jumping all into.


You wouldn't go through this whole process again unless you were absolutely serious about it. So I was really excited because I guess that's been my hurdle in a lot of past relationships. It's just the guy isn't ready to commit or ready to take that step.

So, knowing that he was there, that fear was taken away, because I know it's a huge decision to do this.

Reality TV World: What was your reaction to Emily Maynard's story? Were you as emotionally affected as the other girls seemed to be after she shared it?

Marissa May: No, I definitely was. I wasn't there the day that she told the big group, but she did tell some of us at a separate time -- knowing sports, I had an idea about her story before she told me, but obviously I didn't assume anything until she felt comfortable with telling us. But yeah, no, absolutely.

That's a heartbreaking story. It's because of her little girl that she's still here, and that's just incredible. Emily's just an absolutely amazing woman and everything she's gone through, and the strength that she has, is incredible.


Reality TV World: You have spoken very highly of her, but did you get a little offended when Brad kept pulling Emily away for their private conversations and such? It happened a lot during your time on The Bachelor, so did you think it was because he cared for her and wanted to make her happy like he said or do you think it was really just because he had an intense connection with her?

Marissa May: I wasn't offended, but you know, it definitely was like, 'Oh okay, here they go again.' You know? We all, I think, were like, 'Okay, we know you are attracted to her. We know you guys have a connection. Can you figure out if you have a connection with me, please?'

But, you definitely saw that they had a connection -- absolutely saw that there was something between the two of them -- so at times it would just get a little frustrating.

You kind of have to sit back and remind yourself, 'Don't compare my connection and my time with him with his connection with her or his time with anybody else.' I definitely tried to keep that [in mind] where I was not comparing my situation with any other female who was in the house.

And, yeah, of course it gets a little frustrating seeing that, but I definitely would want to try to stay within myself and just trust in the time that I had with him.


Reality TV World: What did you think about Michelle Money while you were on the show and have you been surprised to see how she's appeared on the episodes?  So far, the consensus from the other woman I've talked to is that she came across really nice and completely differently while they were in the house with her.

Marissa May: Yeah, I'm definitely surprised. It's like some of the other girls have said, I'm definitely surprised to see the way that she is on the show. While she was there -- great girl, had fun, she would do our hair, she's just awesome. She's great -- fun to be around.

But then we're seeing the show and we're seeing this totally different side of her, so yeah, obviously I was a little confused as to if I got the whole picture of her while I was there, or if there was another side of her, or if she was just playing it up. You never know, but yeah, [I'm] definitely a little confused as to who the real Michelle is at this point.

Reality TV World: Most of the bachelorettes seemed very jealous when Shawntel Newton came back to the hotel with all her bags of clothes and shoes during her one-on-one date. What was your reaction to her date with Brad? Were you also a little bit envious?

Marissa May: (laughs) Yeah, I think you saw a little bit of my reaction on the show. I was just like, 'Oh, gag me. Please' -- of course all this joking around -- but any girl that comes back from a one-on-one date, obviously you're a little envious because they got to spend time with Brad.

I didn't care what I was going to do with Brad if I got the chance to have a one-on-one. I could sit in a hotel room and hang out and just talk with him. I would have been over the moon about that. So, obviously with me, it was more envious of the fact that they got to spend time with Brad.


Of course if you get to go shopping with the guy and get all these great things, that's icing on the cake, but I definitely just envious more of her experience -- the experience with him than with what she got to do.  

Reality TV World: What girls did you see having the best connection and being the best fit for Brad while you were on the show and has your opinion changed since you've been watching at home?

Marissa May: The best connections -- I definitely would have said [Ashley Hebert] from the get-go -- had a very strong connection with him. They just seemed very drawn to each other. Within the past couple of weeks of when I was there, [Chantal O'Brien] started to step up and develop a connection with him.

While I was there, definitely thought that Emily had a very strong connection with him, but I didn't get to see inside her dates and her time with him on the show, and now watching it back -- not seeing much of a romantic connection -- more intrigue and thinking she's an amazing woman, and wanting to get to know more about her.

Almost like he's breaking down while every single time that he talks with her, and I think that that's a lot of the connection between the two of them. I'm not seeing as much of a romantic connection between the two of them as I am with some of the other women and Brad.

Reality TV World: I know The Bachelor allows you to take two suitcases and gives you some guidelines on what kind of clothing to bring, so how much of a process is it to pick out a wardrobe to bring with you on the show and how'd you go about it?


Marissa May: Picking out a wardrobe was probably one of the most stressful experiences of the whole entire experience. They give you a list -- bring clothing for all sorts of weather -- rain, wind, sleet, snow, heat. I feel like, 'I only have two bags to do this in?! This is crazy.' But, I tried to just bring pieces that I could just layer if I ended up being anywhere cold.

So, yeah, definitely had some friends helping me out -- ended up doing, of course, 50 wardrobe changes in front of my roommates -- to make sure I was bringing the right outfits. But, definitely kind of organized things by what kind of experience I could be in, and then tried to shove it all in two bags. 

Reality TV World: Well I thought you always looked very nice, just to let you know!

Marissa May: Thank you very much!

Reality TV World: Looking back, do you have any regrets about being on The Bachelor or would you have done anything differently?

Marissa May: Definitely no regrets. I like to think that I was very true to myself and I was as much as myself as I could have been in the time that I was allowed. Looking back, should I have opened up sooner? Who knows. I went into it as I would any other relationship, and I'm not going to open up earlier to a guy just because I was in that situation.


I told Brad from the beginning, it's a two-way street. You will know exactly how I feel emotionally. You will know exactly where I stand, but I also expect to receive from him as well. And if a guy isn't showing my anything, I'm not going to just all of a sudden show him just to try and grab his attention.

It was definitely a two-way street for me and if I would have been overly emotional or pushed myself on him, that wouldn't have been me, and that wouldn't have been how a real relationship would be for me. And so, definitely don't really have any regrets about it. 

Reality TV World: Would you be interested in being a part of Bachelor Pad if given the opportunity?

Marissa May: That's a tough question. It's definitely a little more risque than The Bachelor and The Bachelorette series are. I definitely would be put in a more compromising position and my career and my family are what mean the most to me, and I would definitely not want to do anything that would compromise any of that.

But at the same time, the chance of winning part of $250,000 is definitely enticing. Anyone could use that, and I have a lot of loans I would love to pay off, plus I'd love to be able to help out my family. So, it would definitely be a tough decision if I was ever asked to do that.

Reality TV World: What's next for you? How did you come to the decision that you wanted to become a sports publicist and do you plan on continuing doing that in the future?


Marissa May: Yeah, sports have been a part of my life forever. I played sports all through college and it's what I absolutely love. So, yeah, I would love to continue with sports PR. It's something that I enjoy doing, and if you can have a job where you absolutely love doing it everyday, it's not a job and that's what I love.

I had to leave to go on the show, so I'm hoping that I'm able to kind of pick everything back up and get back into it. It's been a tough road so far trying to do that, but I'm trying to make that work. So, hopefully, I can continue that path.

Reality TV World: How did you end up on The Bachelor? Did you apply or did someone nominate you, and was it also your first time applying for the show?

Marissa May: Yeah, absolutely my first time applying. Watching the last season, you know, they always have those promos, 'Do you want to be on the next season of The Bachelor or The Bachelorette?' And of course all my roommates and girlfriends were like, 'Well let's see if they're doing any casting calls.' So, we looked it up, saw that they were doing a casting call in Orlando.

We all filled out the paperwork, we all had plans of going, and then I ended up being the only one that could go. Everyone else had work -- work complications -- so no one else could go. And I took the time and I filled out that application, and I was like, 'There's no way that I filled all of that out and I'm not going to go.' So, I went to the casting call and that was that.






About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski