Meredith Phillips, who placed fourth in the latest “Bachelor” series, is the woman with the power.
She is following in Trista Rehn’s steps in the second season of the unscripted ABC series “The Bachelorette,” starting Wednesday(underscore).
Chris Harrison returns as the series’ host, and leads Phillips through her introductions to 25 men, who eventually are sent home until just two contenders for her heart remain.
Raised in Portland, Ore., and currently living in Los Angeles, model and makeup artist Phillips made “Bachelor” history by going ahead with a date with Bob Guiney just after learning of her beloved grandmother’s death. She later took him to the grave site when he visited Phillips and her family.
“I was really surprised,” Phillips says of landing “Bachelorette” duty. “It was something I hadn’t really even thought about, but I didn’t have any second thoughts. I based my decision on what I want in my life right now and where I see my life going. It has been tough for me to find someone really good. I’m picky, so when the opportunity arose to have 25 great guys hand-picked for me, I would have been a little stupid not to go for it.”
Phillips knew she’d be the next “Bachelorette” long before ABC’s official announcement, but she had to keep mum about it when she appeared on the special “The Bachelor: The Women Tell All.”
“It was tough,” she admits. “My family knew, of course … but from being on ‘The Bachelor,’ you get back in the swing of keeping quiet about it. I had such a good experience on ‘The Bachelor,’ despite how it turned out for me. My family was very supportive of my doing this. They want to see me happy, so they were excited.”
Millions of viewers saw Phillips at her most vulnerable upon her grandmother’s passing. “If anything,” she reasons, “going through that has helped me think more about who I am. Everyone has their own opinion on how they would have dealt with the situation, and I felt I did what was best for me and my family. My mom and dad weren’t going to tell me, and my brother was the one who said, ‘She needs to know’ – and I’m so glad.”
Phillips now has more appreciation of Guiney’s experience, since he was sent packing by Rehn in “The Bachelorette,” only to have to do the same to others during his “Bachelor” tenure. “Oh, my gosh, it’s horrible,” Phillips says. “That’s the hardest part of this for me. It’s not exactly a breakup, but I haven’t had to do it too many times in my life. It’s just the worst feeling and I try to deal with it as best I can. It’s getting harder and harder as this process goes along.”
The “Bachelor” track record isn’t particularly great. Alex Michel, Aaron Buerge and Andrew Firestone all broke up with the women they selected, although at press time, Guiney was still together with Estella Gardinier. First “Bachelorette” Rehn married the man she chose, Colorado fireman Ryan Sutter, in a recent ABC miniseries.
If that puts heat on Phillips to consider “Meredith and (Whoever’s) Wedding,” she isn’t showing it. “It gives me hope,” she claims. “I know Trista and Ryan are very much in love, but as to whether I would want my wedding on TV, I don’t know. That decision will have to be made along with the guy I choose.”
