Weather | Sports | Forums | Comics | Classifieds | Calendar | Movies
© St. Petersburg Times, published November 23, 2002
On ABC's The Bachelor, 25 women compete for a single man. Here are three women who auditioned recently in Tampa. They all want to find Mr. Right -- in prime time, if that's what it takes.
Obviously I'm single. I just figured this would be fun to do. I told the producers they're doing all the screening for me, so why not?
I'm not having any luck finding somebody on my own. I would say I'm a deep person and I'm pretty straightforward, and I think a lot of people are scared of that. I have to be straightforward. I have a disability, cerebral palsy. You have to take me for who I am. If you can't handle the disability up front, you're not going to be able to deal with me.
Some people have said to me, "You're the type of person I'd like to settle down with, but I'm not ready to settle down." It gets frustrating when you're 28. If I want a family I have to start now. But I don't want to rush anything and settle for anything, either.
Would I really marry the guy on the show? I don't know. Everybody wants fairy tales at some level, but I'm not sure I'm going to say, "Sure, I'm going to marry you after only six weeks."
Did I think this would be the way I would meet my ideal person? No, never did I think that. But if things did work out, it'd be a great story to tell my children.
I was in a long relationship and I've only been single for a couple of months. My dating life is not going great, I've got to be honest with you. What's wrong with it? The men. I think that people see a pretty face and think that they can take advantage, get what they want, and keep walking. When they find out there's a little more homework to do, they're just kind of scared away.
I don't think I did spectacular in the audition. Some of those girls were a lot more into it than I was. A lot of them were all dolled up, and they were looking all the others up and down, kind of giving them the catty eye. Some girls tried to be friendly, but the other girls just weren't having it.
If I got on the show I would just try to maximize the experience to my benefit. At 30 I have a pretty good idea of what I'm looking for in a guy. So it would be pretty clear if this guy was right for me.
I'm looking for pretty much what the producers screen for. They come up with these guys with great qualities -- they're funny, emotionally stable, honest, charming, handsome of course. I think those are perfect qualities.
They're hard to find. I see a good-looking guy, and the first thing I look at is whether there's a wedding band on his hand. And a lot of times, there is.
How did I do in the audition? I was myself. And that was the best I can give them. They asked me for three adjectives to describe myself. I said outgoing, funny and personable. Not manic-depressive or emotionally unstable or desperate for a husband.