As part of her acceptance of The Bachelor: Paris bachelor Travis Stork's final rose and a $90,000 ring, Sarah Stone "promised" to pursue a relationship with the 34-year-old emergency room doctor. And she's followed through on that promise -- only her relationship with Stork isn't a romantic one.
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"It wasn't just about love and falling in love and breaking up," Stone told The Jackson Sun during an interview that was published in the Tennessee newspaper's Sunday, February 11 edition. "It wasn't like that. We got there and immediately clicked. Travis and I had an immediate connection. We had an amazing time in Paris, and just to come back, it all kind of just fell apart."
According to Stone, she and Stork -- who despite first meeting in Paris, were living only a few streets apart in Nashville at the time of their The Bachelor experience -- "really needed one another" after The Bachelor: Paris finished filming during October and November 2005. But since The Bachelor's participants sign $5 million non-disclosure agreements and producers also restrict the amount of contact that each season's final couple can have-- even if they live in the same city -- while the pre-taped show is still airing, it wasn't to be.
"We were really excited about coming back and starting a relationship. I just don't think we realized how many people would actually care," Stone told The Sun. "He and I share a wonderful experience together... I don't know how I can get rid of him. Everywhere I go, everyone's like, 'Where's Travis?'"
Stone will probably have to continue to expect people to ask where her former beau is, especially since he won't be getting spotted around town anymore. According to Stone, who no longer works as a kindergarten teacher and is now a real estate agent in Nashville, Stork (currently still unattached, according to Stone) recently followed through on the plans he discussed on The Bachelor and relocated to Colorado.
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But despite the way her The Bachelor experience turned out, Stone says she'd do it all over again.
"I was stuck in that rut. Stuck in that routine of teaching every day -- kind of dating but not too interested in anyone. When this opportunity [to appear on The Bachelor: Paris] presented itself, I just jumped on it... Not really thinking that I would actually win," the 26-year-old told The Sun. "My life went from being just your average school teacher to someone who can barely walk through the airport... My whole life has completely changed."
While she no longer has Stork, Stone is keeping the Chopard ring he presented her safe in a bank -- plus she has the memories. "It's the true experience that I'm taking with me. The stuff people didn't get to see on TV," she told The Sun. "I think overall, it was the best thing I've ever done in my life."
Despite the instant celebrity status that was given to Stone thanks to her nationally-televised courtship, she wouldn't mind possibly appearing on another reality series.
"The Amazing Race, so I could travel around," she told The Sun -- adding her partner for the reality competition series could be... "Maybe, Travis."
About The Author: Christopher Rocchio