Emily Maynard Has Left Her 'Bachelor' Days Behind Her

Over the years, there have been a lot of memorable contestants and leads on The Bachelor and The Bachelorette. Now, The Bachelor: The Greatest Seasons — Ever! focuses on the highest and most buzzworthy points of the franchise overall, and in the July 20 episode, that includes looking back to Brad Womack’s two seasons of The Bachelor.

He left the show his second time around in love with Emily Maynard. And although they split up while the season aired, they got back together. Later, they split up again, and it was for good. Since Emily’s time on The Bachelor, however, she starred in her own season of The Bachelorette, got married to someone totally unrelated to the show, and managed to make a life for herself that isn’t about her former momentary fame.

One of the upsides of breaking up with the Bachelor after the season is the possibility of being picked as the lead for the following season of The Bachelorette. And in 2012, Emily returned to TV to find love in Season 8 of The Bachelorette. Unfortunately, even though she got engaged to contestant Jef Holm on the show, they broke up a few months after the season finished airing.

Luckily, Emily found love back home in North Carolina with someone she had known long before reality TV fame came into her life. When she was introduced on The Bachelor, she was a single mom with one child whose father had died before she was born and Emily was ready to find love again. Now, she’s basically living a Pinterest-perfect life and she may have The Bachelor to thank for that.

After The Bachelorette and Emily’s breakup with Jef, she married Tyler Johnson, who works for Hendrick Automotive Group in her hometown. Since Hendrick is the last name of her oldest kid’s paternal grandfather, it might even be a family business. After getting married, Emily and Tyler started expanding their family. In 2020, they have four kids total and, judging by the domestic bliss they seem to be living, they might not be stopping any time soon.

Emily also wrote the book I Said Yes: My Story of Heartbreak, Redemption, and True Love about her time in The Bachelor franchise, as former contestants often do. It didn't lead to a career of other tell-all books, but it did offer her a way to talk about the experiences she had during her *journey*.

Even if Emily didn't end up with the guy she chose on her season of The Bachelorette, she did have some memorable guys who went on to be parts of the franchise otherwise. Arie Luyendyk, Jr., who later went on The Bachelor Season 22, was Emily’s first runner-up. And Sean Lowe, who met his wife Catherine Giudici on Season 17 of The Bachelor, left Emily’s season in third place.

So even if Emily didn't have the best time on The Bachelor or The Bachelorette, she is forever linked to other contestants who have left their mark on the franchise. And who knows — maybe if she had never been on either show, she wouldn't have been so inclined to fall for someone she already knew away from the cameras.

Watch The Bachelor: The Greatest Seasons — Ever! on Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.