Selma Alameri: Not kissing 'The Bachelor' star Sean Lowe tested the both of us

Selma Alameri got her first one-on-one date with The Bachelor star Sean Lowe during Monday night's broadcast of the ABC reality dating competition.


Selma, a 29-year-old real estate developer from San Diego, CA, overcame a difficult rock climbing challenge with Sean to prove she wasn't a "prissy" or strictly "glamorous" girl during their date. And while they enjoyed a romantic evening together, Selma opened up to Sean by telling him she couldn't kiss him out of respect for her Muslim culture and traditional mother. Sean appreciated and respected Selma's decision, intensifying their mutual physical attraction.

During a conference call with reporters on Thursday, Selma talked to Reality TV World about her The Bachelor experience thus far. Below is what Selma had to tell Reality TV World. Check back with us soon to read the rest of her call with reporters.

Reality TV World: You told the cameras during Monday night's episode that you weren't planning on kissing Sean until you were the last woman standing. Were you kind of joking about that or completely serious? If you made it all the way to the end, would you hold out on kissing Sean until that final moment of the season?

Selma Alameri: Well, you know, I honestly, at that moment, I was kind of saying what I thought I was going to do -- like I want to hold out. I was just rolling with the punches. I didn't know what was going to happen. I didn't know if I was going to end up kissing him or if I wasn't, because things change. Life happens, you know?


You don't know -- you act on emotion. You don't know what is going to happen. So, for that moment, yeah, I really did mean it saying it. But you'll have to wait and see what ended up happening! But honestly, I really did feel that way.

Reality TV World: In his blog, Chris Harrison said you wanted to kiss Sean and really didn't necessarily seem to believe that dating publicly is wrong, nor is kissing. But you felt compelled, out of respect for your parents and their beliefs, to refrain from kissing Sean. He then wondered whether that would be something you'd ultimately regret. Could you talk a little bit about your thoughts on that? Did you develop a slight feeling of resentment or regret as the season progressed?

Selma Alameri: No, no. I'm the type of person who never regrets anything I do, honestly. I feel like everything is meant to happen. But I really don't believe that showing affection in public is a bad thing like my mom does, but at the end of the day, she is my mother and she had one simple request. She didn't mind that I was going to do the show, which is huge in our culture.

It's big enough to just be going on a dating show, but her one request was, "Please, just don't makeout with him on television. Don't be that girl." So to me, it was honestly a simple request.

And I needed to test Sean to see if he would respect my family and my culture as well, you know? Because we do have such a strong culture and my family is so big in my life. So it was sort of a test for him as well. And you know, it was a huge test for me to see if I could resist, even.


Reality TV World: In Sean's blog, he said you fell asleep on his chest while flying to Joshua Tree. I think that's the first time in awhile I've heard of a girl falling asleep during her one-on-one date with Sean that wasn't a fantasy suite date. (Laughs) How long did you sleep for? And when you woke up, were you a little frustrated you slept during precious time you could've spent talking and getting to know Sean better and vice versa -- or did that thought not cross your mind?

Selma Alameri: It's funny because we were both -- we had a Rose Ceremony the night before, so we were both very, very, very tired. We woke up very early that morning. It was literally like a 10 minute nap, like not even -- we didn't even fall asleep. We just kind of closed our eyes and were like, "Okay, let's just be peaceful for a minute."

Like I've been living in the house with the girls for so long, and it's been so rowdy with all these cameras in my face, and I was like, "I just want a moment of peace." So I wanted to just lay there with him for a minute just to see if that felt -- just to lay on his chest and see, "Hey, does this feel good? Can I just sit here in silence with him?"

Because it's easy to hold a conversation with somebody and be comfortable, but in my world, it's not as easy to just sit there with somebody in silence and be okay with it. So I kind of wanted to test that a little bit and I was really tired. It just seemed like a good moment to kind of close our eyes and just rest for a second. So, I didn't literally fall asleep. (Laughs) I just closed my eyes.

Reality TV World: If it's not you that ends up with Sean, is there another girl in the house you think would be a really good match for him?


Selma Alameri: Well, no. I think I'm the best match for him. (Laughs) I can't lie, I don't care. He's my man! (Laughs)

Reality TV World: Amanda Meyer was portrayed this season as being very quiet and guarded around the girls. One bachelorette once said she was "sneering" all night while another girl simply called her "weird." What were your impressions of Amanda while you were on the show? Were you a fan of hers and were you surprised at all that Sean sent her home?

Selma Alameri: Honestly, I wasn't surprised that he sent her home because I didn't see a connection between them. But I didn't mind Amanda at all. I liked her! I thought she was -- she was very different and quiet, but she wasn't mean or crazy or conniving or anything by no means. She was just sort of quiet, you know?

I mean, she talked to all the other girls, but she wasn't as outgoing as some of the girls in the house were. So maybe people took that the wrong way, but she definitely wasn't like a conniving person or anything like that. She just sort of kept to herself.

Reality TV World: So far this season, a lot of viewers have noticed that Sean seems to leave almost every one-on-one date he has thinking, "This girl could be 'the one.'" While you're watching the season unfold, what are your thoughts on that? Do you think that's a little surprising or do you kind of understand why he feels that way?


Selma Alameri: I actually kept saying, "I don't envy Sean. I feel so bad for him." Because there really were good catches this season. There were a lot of good girls and he was in a really tough position, because each girl was so sweet and also genuine. [The show] picked these girls for a good guy and they did a good job at it. So I did think he had a hard task, and I do think that he really genuinely liked each girl.

Because if I could really genuinely like each girl, then he definitely could too. As a girl living in the house with them and the drama, if I can still like them at the end of the day, they're good girls. So, I believe him when he says he really had a connection with each of them. 

Above is what Selma had to tell Reality TV World. Check back with us soon to read the rest of her call with reporters.






About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski