Ashley Hebert went on network TV Monday night and told the world that she goofed.

The Madawaska native said on Monday’s episode of “The Bachelor” that she was in love with bachelor Brad Womack while filming with him last fall, but couldn’t bring herself to tell him.

Additional Photos

Ashley Hebert wore her natural brunette hair color on Monday's show rather than the blonde shade she had while she was a contestant on "The Bachelor." John Ewing/Staff Photographer

In fact, it took a while for “Bachelor” host Chris Harrison to get her to say it on Monday night’s show. 
“I hate to break it to you, but you were in love,” said Harrison, interviewing Hebert on what ABC dubbed “The Women Tell All” episode of the show.

“I know I was. I’ve lost so much sleep wishing I said things I didn’t,” said Hebert, 26. “I didn’t expect to feel so strongly so fast, so I was vulnerable. Maybe my defense made me lose out on a great man.”

Hebert cried a little while recounting her experience, but told Harrison that the experience made her stronger and that she was a “changed woman.”

She literally was, sporting her natural brunette hair color rather than the blonde shade she had while she was a contestant.

Hebert is among the 28 women who have been eliminated from “The Bachelor” this season. They appeared as a group on Monday’s episode to talk about their experiences. Only two women remain in the running for a proposal from Womack, in next week’s season finale.

Hebert was on this season of “The Bachelor” from Jan. 3 until she was eliminated by Womack on the Feb. 28 episode. She was one of the strongest contestants – landing the first kiss of the season – and survived to be one of the final three women.

Womack said on Monday’s episode that his first date with Hebert was “the best first date of my life.”

Hebert was one of only four women on the show who got a “hometown date.” For that episode, Womack went to Madawaska and met Hebert’s family.

But in the last episode she was on, Hebert was seen talking with Womack about growing frustrations with one another and doubts about their future together.

Harrison called it “one of the most stunning dates gone wrong” in the history of the show.

When Womack appeared on stage with her Monday, Hebert apologized to him for “wasting” so much of the time they spent together. Womack told her not to be sorry for what they shared.

Womack also said he is “very much in love” with the woman he ended up choosing at the end of the show’s season. So next week’s finale has already been filmed.

Much of Monday’s show featured the women sitting as a group criticizing each other, and reliving fights and arguments.

At one point, several of the women verbally battered Michelle Money, the contestant who was most aggressive on screen in trying to gain Womack’s attention.

Hebert teared up while defending Money, saying she became close to Money during filming last fall and considered her a good friend and a good mother.  

Hebert now lives in Philadelphia and is just a couple of months from graduating from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in dentistry.

There has been much speculation in the media that Hebert, because of her strong finish and ease on camera, will be the star of the next season of ABC’s “The Bachelorette,” this summer. Usually, a woman who finishes in the top two or three on “The Bachelor” is chosen to be “The Bachelorette.”

Hebert said on a conference call last week that she had not been asked to do “The Bachelorette” but would consider it if asked. She did say that finishing her degree would be her first priority.

Staff Writer Ray Routhier can be contacted at 791-6454 or at:  rrouthier@pressherald.com
 

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