DeAnna Pappas & Jenni Croft Express Gratitude That Brad Womack Rejected Them On His First ‘Bachelor’ Finale
DeAnna Pappas Stagliano and Jenni Croft Badolato are happy that their stints on The Bachelor ended with rejection. The two women vied for the heart of leading man Brad Womack back in 2007, and he stunned them both – and America – when he said he couldn’t give his final rose to either of them.
In what was truly the most shocking finale ever on the ABC dating show, Womack left his season a single man. He returned four seasons later for another shot at love, but his engagement to his pick, single mom Emily Maynard, didn’t last.
In a post to Instagram, which can be seen here, DeAnna offered a message to her younger self ahead of the franchise’s Greatest Seasons Ever! special that will rehash her broken love story.
“Oh hey baby DeAnna,” she wrote. “Don’t worry, you’re gonna be fine. This will be a wild, emotional roller coaster, but ride it. One day (about 13 years from this photo), you will be thankful for his decision & you will be grateful to relive it all again.”
The brunette beauty, who married Stephen, the twin brother of Bachelorette suitor Michael Stagliano, in 2011 and now has two kids with him, also shared a still photo from her rejection at Womack’s final rose ceremony on her Instagram stories.
“Let me be clear, I was devastated by this moment. I was betrayed by the one person I trusted most during the experience,” she wrote in a caption.
She added that more than a decade later she is “utterly and completely at peace” and “so incredibly grateful that Brad did not choose me.”
She ultimately became The Bachelorette and found her future husband through the show.
In a separate post, Womack’s other final pick, Jenni, posted side-by-side photos of her then and now. The Bachelor finisher, who is now also married and has three kids, looked almost the same today as she did in the throwback photo of her posing next to Womack. In the caption, the mom of three joked that she has held it together pretty well since Womack said goodbye to her.
On her Instagram stories, Jenni also shared a still from finale night when Womack told her she wasn’t the one.
“This moment was so embarrassing!” she wrote. ” I could have sworn I was THE ONE but I am so thankful everything happens for a reason and God always has his hand in!”
Womack was asked by host Chris Harrison if he would return for a third stint as The Bachelor, but he is currently in a relationship. The Texas bar owner has been dubbed the worst leading man in the series’ 24-season history.
