'The Bachelor' bachelorette Kelly Travis: My "the dog lover" description was taken out of context

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, the next episode on Monday, January 20 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 media conference call, Kelly talked to Reality TV World about her The Bachelor experience thus far. Check back with us on Monday for more from the interview.

Reality TV World: The show billed you as the "dog lover." While it's cute, it seems like some viewers are having a hard time taking you seriously as a contestant because of that -- similar to how Lucy Aragon was dubbed the "free spirit." So what's your actual current job and did it bother you that producers chose to call you "dog lover" instead of anything else or was that at your request? 


Kelly Travis: (Laughs) My current job, I do business development for construction companies, so I actually have a job. I honestly didn't think it was going to be that big of a deal. I didn't think the viewers would automatically assume I'm unemployed, and I think it was supposed to be funny. I mean, again, I view myself as funny.

So I think it was taken a little out of context, and now, reading comments, like my friends told me, "Oh, Kelly, some people think that you don't have a job!" And it doesn't bother me because I know that I truly have a great job that I'm great at, however, I am passionate about animal rescue too and I am a dog lover obviously. (Laughs) So I think it was just supposed to be funny and it was taken out of context.

Reality TV World: Did you want to bring your dog Molly with you on the show and therefore asked the producers' permission or was it the type of situation where the producers actually suggested you bring her along with you? And did you ever worry Juan Pablo might react negatively to the fact you always had a dog with you?

Kelly Travis: Well, she wasn't always with me, (laughs) she was in the house first and foremost. You know, it came up in casting. One of the producers asked what I was hesitant on, and truly, to be gone for potentially nine weeks, I didn't want to put my dog in boarding that long, and it would be hard for me to find someone to watch her that long.

So I jokingly said, "Well can I bring my dog?" And they were like, "Sure!" And then that's how it happened. (Laughs) It was as casual as that. There wasn't a big conversation on it.


She's a great dog and she's great in the house and the girls loved her, so it was just a very casual conversation. It was not a big deal. It's funny. I didn't realize that no one had ever brought a dog on the show, (laughs) I mean, I didn't realize it was going to be such a big deal.

Reality TV World: ABC's press release for next week's episode suggests you get upset when Juan Pablo sees you without makeup as he whips up breakfast for all the bachelorettes. Could you talk about that a little bit? Did you already have an insecurity about people seeing you without makeup before going on the show, or did Juan Pablo react in a way that gave you an insecurity about how you looked that morning? Did he do something to spark that emotional reaction from you?

Kelly Travis: No, it's not that I have an insecurity about it. My grandmother is very old fashioned. I mean, I'm from a small town in Georgia and we're just very Southern, and she always just said, "Never let a man see you without your face on."

And I guess I've always, especially in the beginning, I've always gotten ready and put myself together because I feel like if they're taking the time to take me on a date, and that sort of thing, then I can take the time and get ready. So it wasn't necessarily that he sparked this insecurity or this insecurity was there before.

I think it's just been engrained in me growing up in a Southern family that you don't let a man see you without your face on. And I don't wear much makeup. It's not like I look like a totally different person without makeup. It's just one of those things that I've always been told when I was little, and after going on one date with him, I wouldn't physically let someone see me without my makeup on.


Reality TV World: Did you feel during the show that looks were very important to Juan Pablo or did you believe he was truly looking for his match in every other way?

Kelly Travis: Well, I think every girl is beautiful and I think men are visual creatures, so that definitely plays a part in it for sure. But I don't think he, I mean, I didn't get a vibe he was just into looks or anything of that sort.

He did try to get to know us on a deeper level, and some gorgeous girls went home on Night 1. So, it's not like he went around and said, "Oh, she's the prettiest. I'm going to keep her." Because there were definitely some very, very pretty girls that went home on Night 1.

Reality TV World: Do you see any frontrunners emerging this early on in the season? Did any bachelorettes stand out to you because they seemed to have a great connection with Juan Pablo or maybe he seemed to be really interested in them?

Kelly Travis: Right now, [Sharleen Joynt]. There's definitely some chemistry between them and she got the first-impression rose and I think that he definitely is intrigued by her, which we are all intrigued by her as well. I mean, she's a very classy girl and she's the epitome of a woman. I think that she's definitely our biggest competition. She's just a very intriguing girl.


Reality TV World: Why did you originally apply for The Bachelor? Was it really to find love, more specifically find love with Juan Pablo, or were you thinking it just may be a great experience regardless of whether you walked away with a man in the end?

Kelly Travis: I didn't know it was going to be him. A girlfriend of mine signed me up. I got out of a four-and-a-half year relationship like six months prior to her signing me up, and it was one of those things where crazier things have happened. And if I can put myself out there -- and I do think that it works.

I think that the show can bring people together that may not have found each other otherwise. So I went on there for potentially finding a connection with him, and I was told that he was funny and has a great sense of humor, and that's what I want in someone. So I definitely went on there to find love. I do think crazier things have happened and it was a great experience. (Laughs)

Reality TV World: Lucy is obviously a different type of girl in that she loves walking around naked and such. What do you think about Juan Pablo's decision to keep her around at this point in the season, and did that ever make you worry about what that might say about Juan Pablo as a man or what he's looking for in a girl?

Kelly Travis: I never questioned him keeping her around because he didn't see how she was in the house, so in front of him, she was clothed. And she is very interesting and she's intelligent if you talk to her, and she has life experiences that are interesting.


I can see someone being intrigued by that and I did think that eventually their connection wouldn't be strong enough for her to stay around just because she's younger and she's like the last unicorn.

I mean, if he keeps her around, you're going to be like, "What happens next?!" But once you get down to, "Okay, I've got to actually have a connection with someone," you're probably not going to keep her around.

Several times I joked because Lucy and Juan Pablo would be having one-on-one time, and everyone's like, "Oh, where's Lucy?" And I'm like, "She probably found Narnia and has taken him there." (Laughs) She's just a very different character. I think he was probably intrigued by this at first.

Reality TV World: What exactly are you looking for in a guy in general and which of those qualities did you see in Juan Pablo that made you feel he'd be a good match for you?

Kelly Travis: For me, I need a guy with passion and he's definitely passionate. He's passionate about music and life and that's truly important to me, and I need a guy that has a sense of humor. Because life gets hard, and if you can't laugh through it, then how are we ever going to make it, you know?

And he's funny and he's relaxed and that's important, and I need someone that's intelligent and I want to constantly learn. I have to be learning in a relationship or I get bored quickly, so I want someone that's intelligent and challenges me, and he definitely has a lot of those qualities that I'm looking for overall.


Reality TV World: So far this season, the girls seem to be getting along really well with one another, to the point where everyone seems to support each other. My guess is that that will change once feelings grow for Juan Pablo. Could you talk about that a little bit? Did tension start settling in at a certain point and therefore do you believe a lot of the friendships formed in the beginning maybe weren't genuine?

Kelly Travis: I think in the beginning, everyone was on their best behavior, and I think it's that way every season, I'm assuming.

Because you go into the house and you don't want to overstep boundaries and you don't want to rub a person the wrong way and I know that in the beginning, I rubbed people the wrong way because I went in completely who I am, and sometimes that can offend people even when I don't mean to. I make snarky comments, and in the beginning, I think everyone was on their best behavior.

And then as you start developing feelings for someone, you're not going to pretend to like someone when you don't. And you're not going to pretend you're okay with the fact that your girlfriend kissed him and then is talking to you about it. So, I'm sure that happens every season, but I definitely think friendships will change as it goes on. I'm sure you'll be able to see that one as the show goes on.

Reality TV World: Has Juan Pablo eliminated any of the girls that really shocked you -- somebody maybe whom you thought was going to get a rose or should've gotten one that got sent home?

Kelly Travis: At this point, no, I wasn't really shocked by any of the eliminations. On Night 1, there was one girl -- I don't even remember her name and that's terrible -- but she was a pretty girl and she spoke Spanish. I think they just didn't have time to talk, and so that kind of surprised me. But it didn't surprise me when I realized that they didn't have one-on-one time.


Check back with Reality TV World on Monday for more from Kelly's call with reporters.






About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski