Emily Maynard has shared the advice she gave new The Bachelorette star, Taylor Frankie Paul, considering they were both mothers when they filmed their respective The Bachelorette seasons.
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"We talked about her kids being there and my daughter being there with me during filming," Emily recalled during the February 17 episode of the "Bachelor Happy Hour" podcast.
"I wasn't sure, at that point in her season, if they were able to travel with her or what, but [my daughter Josephine "Ricki" Hendrick] was able to travel with me a lot, which was awesome. I was really, really grateful that they let me do that."
After winning The Bachelor's 15th season and then going through a very public breakup with the season's star, Brad Womack, Emily starred on The Bachelorette's eighth season, which aired in 2012.
Nearly 15 years later, Taylor will be starring on The Bachelorette's 22nd season when it returns to ABC on Sunday, March 22 at 8PM ET/PT.
Emily said she figured that if Taylor had any questions about being a mom and The Bachelorette star simultaneously, she wouldn't have hesitated to ask.
"I think I told her just to kind of forget that you're a mom for a minute," Emily told Rachel Recchia and her temporary co-host Joan Vassos, who was filling in for Charity Lawson.
"I know that that's probably the opposite of advice that most people would give, but in my head a lot was, 'What are they going to say? I can't do this [because] I'm a mom. I can't do this, I'm a mom.'"
But Emily went on to explain, "It was truly the only time in my life since before I had Ricki -- so since I was 18 -- that I didn't have somebody asking me to open up a fruit snack. I didn't have to worry about flushing anybody else's toilet."
Emily therefore laughed about how she "really took advantage" of that opportunity to just feel like a single woman rather than a single mother with so many responsibilities at home.
"I love that!" Joan said, before asking, "Do you feel like Taylor was doing the same thing?"
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOW"I hope so," Emily responded.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOW: WHOM DID 'THE BACHELORETTE' STARS AND THEIR BACHELOR PICKS ULTIMATELY END UP WITH?! (PHOTOS)
Emily had watched Taylor on The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, and so she shared, "I feel like has a good balance."
Emily said it's "really important for" Taylor to figure out who she is and "what's important" to her.
"I learned a lot about myself during that whole process -- just things that I like about myself and things I don't like about myself," Emily explained.
"And even when I was on The Bachelor, and going into The Bachelorette, I told everybody to journal because it was the only way I could get my feelings out. There was so much going on in my brain that I just had to write a lot."
Emily said journaling would be her advice for all future The Bachelorette stars as a result.
"On those long flights, just journal. And what a gift it is for me, 100 years later, to be able to go back and re-read all of this nonsense and funny stuff that I forgot," Emily said.
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On her season, Emily admitted she had "complained a lot" because a lot of her dates were centered around everyday mom life.
"Like, does my date really have to entail me cutting up oranges and taking them to soccer practice?" Emily recalled with a laugh.
"Can I do something else?! We did a lot of kid-centered things. I went to a park with a lot of kids who weren't even mine."
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Joan wondered if The Bachelorette producers are going to "play up" Taylor's mom life in a similar way for Season 22.
Emily told Rachel and Joan that she'll definitely be tuning in to Taylor's new season and she hopes that Taylor enjoyed time away from her phone and "letting somebody else be in charge for a little bit."
"Remember, it's such a short amount of time," Emily reminded Taylor and all future The Bachelorette stars.
"I cried when my season was over and when we were done filming, because it was just so much fun. I had so much fun," she added.
Emily concluded, "So just be so grateful for that opportunity because it's just such a small group and it's such an honor and I had the best time."
Emily got engaged to Jef Holm on her The Bachelorette season but their relationship didn't last. The pair announced their breakup in October 2012, only three months after the show's Season 8 finale aired.
Emily is now married to Tyler Johnson, with whom she has five children: Jennings, Gibson, Gatlin, Nola Belle, and Jones.
Emily welcomed Ricki with her late fiance Ricky Hendrick, and Ricki, now 20, just had her first baby in January 2026, making Emily a grandmother.
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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
