Brad Womack, perhaps unfairly, has a reputation as one of the least-liked people to have competed on ABC’s The Bachelor. Sure, he came from a simpler background than others who have filled the role. And yes, he ultimately decided to go home from Season 11 still single. But does he really deserve all the online hate? Let’s look at what Brad’s doing these days, and see if we weren’t all a little too harsh?
Early Life
Bachelor’s before and after Brad have come from some pretty impressive and diverse backgrounds. Andrew Firestone, heir to the Firestone Tire company, for example. Or Andrew Baldwin, the Navy surgeon, and triathlon star. Or other people, not named Andrew. So Season 11’s Brad Womack seemed sort of out of place.
He grew up with a twin brother and younger brother in Atlanta, Georgia. When he was 12, his family moved to Texas. He went to Texas State University’s San Marcos campus for a year, before leaving to work in the oil extraction industry. He did that for about eight years. While he was working, he was investing in bars and restaurants across Texas with his brothers.
By the time he was 30, Brad Womack was focusing full-time on managing the various bars he co-owned. Then, when he was 35, he auditioned for and was picked to be the man on the 11th season of The Bachelor.
The Bachelor
Brad Womack was one of the last bachelors before they all started being recruited from The Bachelorette. And in fact, he might be the reason why they started only taking men up from The Bachelorette. Until Juan Pablo came along in Season 18, Brad Womack was audience’s least favorite bachelor. While there was some upset through the season, there always is. What really turned audiences against him was how he ended Season 11.
Deanna Pappas and Jenni Croft were the two finalists. Brad took them to meet his family and two brothers. First, his family met Deanna, who they loved, and then Jenni, who they also loved. Eventually, Brad Womack decided not to go with either of them. It was a first for The Bachelor and hasn’t happened since. The Bachelor left the show as single as when he’d started. A lot of tabloids gave Brad flak for this, but considering how much negative attention those same tabloids directed at the women, it seems unfair. After all, if tabloids can find glaring flaws with the contestants, is it really surprising Brad didn’t want to propose to any of them?
The weak finale makes it surprising that The Bachelor chose Brad to be The Bachelor again in season 15, in 2011. His second season, the show’s cast 30 potential partners, up from the normal 25. Maybe it was to give Brad better odds since he’d struck out during his first season.
This season proved more fruitful, and during The Final Rose ceremony, Brad proposed to Emily Maynard. The two ended up breaking off their engagement before the finale even aired. Then they got back together, briefly, before ultimately breaking up in May 2011. Emily went on to star in Season 8 of The Bachelorette, where she ended up with Jef Holm.
What’s Brad Womack Doing Now In 2024? – Recent Updates
Womack was recently featured in The Bachelor: The Greatest Seasons – Ever, which looks at some of the most dramatic moments ever from the franchise. Hosted by Chris Harrison, the show premiered on June 8, 2020, and continued for ten episodes (Womack was featured in the sixth episode, which aired on July 20, 2020).
Aside from that, he hasn’t made any recent television appearances. He last appeared in The Bachelor, the same show that had propelled him to fame, back in 2011.
During the early days of the pandemic, however, he did give a virtual interview, where he showed off his quarantine beard. When asked whether or not he would return to The Bachelor for a third time, he replied “there’s no way I’d say yes to that”—that “[he] will not do it a third time.” For those who are interested, you can check out a clip of the interview here. As of this post, it has already been viewed more than 48,000 times on YouTube.
Aside from that, he also confirmed during his Bachelor: GOAT episode that he and Jena Mays, whom he had started dating back in 2017, are still together (many fans had been wondering whether or not that was the case as he’d been MIA from her page).
In fact, he later introduced her to Chris and revealed that they had met while working out at the gym—that she had been in a relationship at the time but was later single, which led him to jump at the opportunity.
As for what he’s up to now, he spends a lot of his time working. Several years back, he founded Carmack Concepts, an Austin-based restaurant and bar group that he founded with his friend Jason Carrier and his twin brother, Chad (he and his brother had always wanted to own a bar). Nowadays, they operate several bars including the Dogwood, which has locations in Nashville, Rock Rose, and Austin.
Previously, they also owned the Dizzy Roosters and its sister bar, Chuggin’ Monkey in Austin. However, they were both sold for an undisclosed amount back in 2017. That year, the former had made over $78,000 in alcohol sales and the latter had made more than $91,000.
Womack had opened Chuggin’ Monkey back in 2002 after begging the landlord of his previous employer, Lucy’s, to let them open his first bar in the same location. He later opened the Dizzy Rooster a year later and over the years, they’ve become one of the best-known bar operators in the city.
