People.com Archive Emily & Jef: My Surprise Choice By Monica Rizzo Published on August 6, 2012 12:00 PM Share Tweet Pin Email Emily Maynard is well aware that naysayers are already laying odds on how long it will be before her engagement to Utah entrepreneur Jef Holm, whose proposal she accepted while more than 9 million viewers watched on The Bachelorette‘s July 22 season finale, comes to an end. And yes, she admits, “I feel like the biggest hypocrite” for returning to the ABC dating show after vowing she was done when her engagement to Bachelor Brad Womack ended last summer. But after the single mom (daughter Ricki is 7; Ricki’s father and Maynard’s former fiance, NASCAR driver Ricky Hendrick, died in a 2004 plane crash) had difficulty reentering the dating scene last year, she decided to give reality romance one last try. “I know it can work because I fell in love the first time,” she says. Enter the boyishly handsome Holm, 28, whom Maynard, 26, calls her “soulmate.” While she was attracted to runner-up Arie Luyendyk, 30, it was Holm who grew on her each week, particularly once he insisted they forego the much-ballyhooed overnight “fantasy suite” date so as not to embarrass their respective families. Impressed by the gesture, Maynard gifted Holm with a key, which he wears around his neck, as a symbol of the doors they will open together. The happy twosome opened up about their budding romance, wedding plans and expanding their family. Congratulations! You’re engaged and you seem so happy. Emily: I found somebody that I now can’t imagine my life without. How is this relationship different from the one you had with Brad? Emily: I never want to take anything away from Brad. But this is the best relationship I’ve ever been in. With Brad, I knew in the back of my mind there was something missing. It’s a complete 180 from last time. We don’t fight. We communicate really well. The amount of happiness he’s brought into my life is unreal. Jef, did the fact that Emily is a single mom give you pause at all? Jef: No, I’m crazy about kids. Both of us are very family-oriented. So you’ve been spending more time with Ricki since the show ended? Jef: Yes. I run around and I’m dying by the end of the day, because all she wants to do is play, play, play. We have a blast. What’s next for you both? Jef: In one of the first conversations we had, Emily said she wanted to go do a humanitarian trip to Africa when The Bachelorette was over. It just so happens my business, People Water, is doing a well project in Africa. So we’re headed there. Emily: It will be good for us to get away and focus on the bigger picture. For the kids there, I have a full suitcase of jump ropes, race cars and little Bible books. How do your different religious backgrounds mesh? Emily: Faith is really important to both of us. He wouldn’t have gotten engaged to someone who clashed with him, nor would I. It’s a huge part of my life and the way I want to raise my children. Jef and I agree on everything. Jef: I was raised Mormon. My family is still active Mormon. I am no longer practicing, but the standards of the Mormon church and my family and my upbringing in the church shaped me into the person I am today. Mormons are Christians. So we’re both Christian and have basically the same beliefs. Did your family object to your doing the show, Jef? Jef: My family is private, so [my parents] weren’t stoked on the idea. They are Mormon mission presidents in South Carolina, and that’s a big reason they couldn’t come to the hometown visit. When will they meet her? Jef: My mom flew out for “After the Final Rose” and met Emily. Emily, you are close with Ricki’s paternal grandparents. How did they feel about all this? Emily: The stories of tension between us are ridiculous. I see them no differently than my own parents, and they see me no differently than they do their own daughter. They have seen me go through highs and lows. Now they see a difference in me, and they could not be more excited. A lot of tabloid rumors cropped up about you this season. Emily: The things that hurt me are about the kind of person I am or the kind of mom I am, because those are the things I’m most confident in. Jef reminds me every day of how great of a mom I am, and that makes it easier to brush those things off. One report said you were expecting Chris Harrison’s baby. Emily: Well, that was just funny! Emily, how difficult was it for you to say goodbye to Arie? Emily: My stomach hurt over it. The hardest part with Arie is everything had gone great. I had a way more intense bond [with Jef], something I haven’t ever experienced. It turned out Arie flew to Charlotte to see Emily after production ended. Jef, how did you feel when you heard that? Jef: Emily called me and said, “Arie is in Charlotte, what should I do?” And I said, “Talk to him.” When he went to visit her he didn’t know I had proposed. The minute he found out, he completely backed off. What are your long-term plans? Jef: I’m going to move to Charlotte, and the biggest reason is Ricki. We don’t want to uproot Ricki from her friends and school and her family that lives close by. The easiest transition is me moving there. We’re going to live separately until we’re married. Have you set a wedding date? Jef: There are no dates. We want to have kids when we’re married, so maybe next spring or summer. Emily: If there’s one thing I learned in the past year, it’s don’t make plans! The realist side of me is taking each day as it comes. Of course the girl in me is already looking up wedding places and dresses. If everything goes as perfect as it’s been, I’d marry him tomorrow. WHAT’S NEXT FOR ARIE? Though he seemed to be the front-runner, Arie Luyendyk was shocked to be sent home on the season finale. Reconnecting with Emily at the July 23 “After the Final Rose” special “gave me the closure that I needed,” he says, adding that he now has no hard feelings about the show’s outcome. “I wouldn’t take this experience back for the world. I’m very happy for her and Jef.” Still single, the Scottsdale, Ariz., race car driver says he’s looking forward to finding love again. “She was the love of my life up to this point, but you never know what the future holds. This experience has inspired me to find that special somebody.” WHO’S READY FOR Bachelor Pad? The Bachelorette may be over, but an “epic” Season 3 of Bachelor Pad is under way, says host Chris Harrison. “Each rose ceremony is a mess, because alliances form and fall apart in one night.” Vying for this season’s $250,000 grand prize: six “Super Fans” and 14 notorious franchise alums including Ed Swiderski and defending champ Michael Stagliano, who “has a target on his back,” says Harrison. “Everybody’s scrambling to survive.”