Emily Maynard may seem like a low maintenance single mom on The Bachelorette, but before getting her big break on 2010’s The Bachelor, the sweet southern gal went under the knife to prepare for her close-up, multiple sources tell Us Weekly.
Undergoing plastic surgery — she now has breast implants, veneers and likely a nose job — before taking part in Brad Womack‘s season of the ABC hit, Maynard spruced up her appearance in hopes of landing a hot husband.
Why the drastic cosmetic enhancements? One source tells Us Weekly Maynard, 26, developed aesthetic insecurities after developing Bell’s palsy as a teen. The nerve disorder left “the right side of her face paralyzed for a few months,” continued the insider. “She was tormented in school.”
Though her Bachelorette suitors declared her “amazing” and “gorgeous” during her season’s May 14 premiere, some close to Maynard believe she took her beauty quest too far. A friend of Womack’s who met Maynard when the two were still engaged is struck by her appearance now: “Her expressions seem kind of frozen,” says the pal. “It looks like Botox.”
Once she revamped her look, Maynard demanded a big fat paycheck in order to take part in The Bachelorette — after publicly declaring she’d “never” sign on.
“Emily told [producers] she wanted $750,000,” says a source close to the stay-at-home mom, who receives financial support from her late fiance NASCAR driver Ricky Hendrick’s parents. “They said no way, but she settled for something higher than $100,000, probably around $150,000.”
(In contrast, says the source, Jillian Harris and Ashley Hebert were paid $50,000 and $30,000 respectively).
When Maynard was tapped to be the Bachelorette after she and Womack split in June 2011, “she got difficult,” a show source explains. “She knew she was the star, so she became a bit of a diva.”
Argues a Maynard insider: “She is painted in this Mother Teresa light. She is a nice girl, but she isn’t as good as she is made out to be.”
