'The Bachelor' bachelorette Kelly Travis: I think Juan Pablo Galavis was sincere

Kelly Travis, a 27-year-old dog lover from Atlanta, GA, is one of the 15 bachelorettes remaining who are vying for the love of The Bachelor's eighteenth-season star Juan Pablo Galavis.


Kelly arrived the first night with her dog Molly and had to dress up like a hairless spotted dog for the week's group date, which was a photo shoot for "Models and Mutts." According to ABC, tonight's episode at 8PM ET/PT will feature Kelly getting "upset when the Bachelor -- as he cooks the girls in the house breakfast -- sees her without any makeup."

Viewers will find out whether the encounter will change Juan Pablo's mind about keeping her and whether Kelly will devise a new strategy to keep herself in the running for the Bachelor's heart.

During a Thursday conference call with reporters, Kelly talked about her The Bachelor experience thus far and what's to come. To read what she had to tell Reality TV World, click here. Check back with us soon for more.

What were your thoughts when you were given the hairless spotted dog costume at the group photo shoot?


Kelly Travis: Ahh, the dog costume. At first I was shocked just because I didn't know how they were going to get all of my hair in the bald cap. However, I was totally okay with it just because I'm very, very easy-going, so it was fun and not a big issue at all. There were definitely worse costumes and I'd rather be painted than nude, (laughs) so.

Were you afraid Juan Pablo wouldn't see you as sexy after you had to dress up like that dog?

Kelly Travis: You know what? He had shared a story that he had been put in a bald cap as well, so he made it more comfortable, and I think that he obviously knew I wasn't going to be sexy in that (laughs) and that's not how I was going to come across either way. I think it showed my fun side.

How did you deal with the stress of competing with other women for Juan Pablo's attention?

Kelly Travis: The stress of competing with other women for his attention, you know, my group of girls was pretty good in giving everyone a little bit of time. And up to this point, we all are in the same boat and no one really had a leg up on anyone else.


So, I'm a pretty competitive person, but in that situation, there was not much competition. I mean, he is the first person to tell everyone he's very fair, and so he tried to make sure he spent time with everyone, and he was really good about that.

What was your immediate attraction to Juan Pablo? What were your initial feelings for him?

Kelly Travis: My initial feelings were that he's very laid-back and funny. I use my humor for everything, like that's a huge part of my personality. So I went in being friendly with him and trying to create a friendship first, because I think that, for me, relationships start with a friendship and humor and laughing. So that's what I ended up doing.

How did the girls react to having your dog Molly in the house? Did everyone love her or were some girls not crazy about it?

Kelly Travis: There were some girls in the beginning that were jealous. One of the girls, [Chelsie Webster], she loves her dog -- throws it birthday parties. I mean, she told me several times, she was like, "I wish I had my dog there." So I think at first there was a little bit of jealousy with some girls.


There are two girls that aren't "dog people" and I totally get that, because they didn't understand it. But probably after Night 2 of living in the house, everyone adored her, because she really is very relaxed and she makes it feel like a home. And I think after everyone being away from home and being used to having their dog around, to have a dog around, it truly did make it a home. So, in the end, everyone loved her.

Tell us what Juan Pablo is really like. Maybe there's something we haven't seen on-camera. What did you learn about him, I guess?

Kelly Travis: You know, I thought he'd be more serious than he actually is. I know in [Desiree Hartsock]'s season, he didn't get much air time, but he's very playful and relaxed and funny. He's definitely this outgoing personality that we didn't see on Des' season, and I don't know that we've seen much of it yet.

The first night, we had a photo booth and a dance party, and I mean, that's truly a part of who he is. He's kind of relaxed and easy-going. He stayed out of all the drama -- just very relaxed.

Do you think Juan Pablo seemed sincere about finding love? Why or why not?


Kelly Travis: He did seem sincere about it. I mean, he's a very genuine person and you can tell that in talking to him about anything.

He has a lot of passion for everything he does, and I think he made that very clear in the house, that he was there to find a wife and a stepmother for his daughter. There was nothing that made us think otherwise. I mean, he was very genuine the entire time. So I think, yeah, he is there to find love.

Do you think Juan Pablo seemed like a good Dad?

Kelly Travis: I do. I think that he's a great dad. He's made it a point that Camila is the biggest part of his life and she always will be his princess. He's definitely a playful Dad and uses the role of Dad to play with the child, and I think her mother is probably more the one that puts her foot down. He doesn't seem like he does that, but he does seem like a good Dad.

We didn't get to see him, up to this point, with his daughter. So we went off of just how he talks about her, and every time he talks about her, his face lights up, so.


Was there a bachelorette, or maybe more than one, whom you were worried wasn't in the house for the right reasons?

Kelly Travis: It's hard to take [Lucy Aragon] seriously because she made a comment that she doesn't know how she would be a mother when she acts like a child herself. So it's kind of hard to take her seriously. Even watching her -- I'm sure the audience doesn't take her seriously -- but she's the only one that you really get the sense of, "Hmm, why are you here, Lucy?"

Whom did you feel was your biggest competition in the house for Juan Pablo's attention?

Kelly Travis: Right now, my biggest competition is probably [Clare Crawley] just because she got the first one-on-one date, so there was definitely some initial attraction there.

Do you feel all the girls are mom-material considering that's so important to Juan Pablo?

Kelly Travis: You know, the only one I truly questioned being mom-material would be Lucy, and the other girls, I mean, there are some young girls, like [Cassandra Ferguson] is the youngest and she's already a mother, and the other girls are all very mature for their age with the exception of maybe one.


But whenever I talked to them, they seemed like that's what they want, and we can only know so much about each other. So, I can only go off what they say, but they're all great girls. I mean, he has a great group. I don't think that anyone, with the exception of Lucy, would not be a good mother at this point.

Do you think the bachelorettes that may be on the show for the wrong reasons could end up breaking Juan Pablo's heart? Because it seems like he really wants to find love and that mother figure for Camila.

Kelly Travis: Right, it does seem like he does want to find love, so I think that if he ended up choosing someone, you know, that didn't seem like she was there for the right reason, it probably would break his heart.

Because he's putting himself out there and putting his daughter out there, and it's a big step for him. So to end up with someone that was just there for a joy ride or whatever it may be, I think he could definitely get his heart broken.

What were your feelings after watching Monday night's episode?

Kelly Travis: Monday's show was pretty accurate in terms of the [Victoria Lima] blow-up. Watching it back, that's exactly how I remember it happening. It was like, "Oh well, you can't really edit anything [inaccurately] because that's really what happened."


I didn't watch it and think, "Oh, why didn't they show this?" or "Why didn't they show that?" I thought that the very end of my interview after getting the rose was short, because Victoria took up most of that time, so I understand it. But truly, Monday night's episode was exactly how it happened. I mean, there was no changing that.

At the season's first Rose Ceremony, Juan Pablo included your dog. How did that make you feel?

Kelly Travis: I know. It's funny, because whenever he said Kelly and Molly, all the girls were like, "Aww." And in my head, I'm like, "Of course he should say both of us because we kind of are a package deal." Everyone else was like, "Aww, that's so cute!" And I'm like, "Well of course!" So I thought it was cute, but at the same point, we are a package deal and you can't just take me without her. (Laughs)

How does Juan Pablo react to Molly? Does he play with her while he's in the house with you?"

Kelly Travis: Yeah! It's cute. Every time he comes into the house, she goes up and greets him and wags her tail, and he always says "hello" to her. I mean, he's definitely a dog person. He's had dogs before. He just travels too much for them now. It's cute. I think dogs are good judges of character and she likes him, so that's good.

I read that when Juan Pablo surprised you and cooked the girls a Venezuelan breakfast, you weren't wearing any makeup. And prior to that, you were forced to wear the bald cap in the photo shoot. Were you concerned about how he saw you?


Kelly Travis: Ohh, you know, it's funny. I wake up earlier than everyone to let Molly out, so I get up before the girls and I had actually had an eye injury like two days prior to that. So I couldn't wear contacts and I had on glasses, and I'm just not comfortable in glasses. It's just one of those things that, I don't like myself in glasses.

So I go downstairs and [Juan Pablo] is in the kitchen making breakfast, and it's such a sweet gesture. I felt like such a jerk because he was like, "Good morning!" And I'm like, "Oh, hi," and went running outside. I was thinking, "How am I going to sneak upstairs to put on makeup?"

Because typically, if I'm dating in the real world, I wouldn't let a guy see me that early without getting ready. And eventually, the person you're dating does see you that way, but you're still trying to impress and he's there trying to impress us cooking breakfast.

And here I am in like a [nightgown] and knee-high socks with glasses on. (Laughs) So, it was not my comfort zone for sure, but it wasn't a huge deal. It's one of those things, like, "Okay, well I guess I have to get over it" -- not ideal for sure, and the bald cap was not ideal for sure. But if he can get past those two things, then we have something we're working with!

To read what Kelly told Reality TV World during the conference call with reporters, click here. Check back with us soon for more.






About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski