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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Monday, April 9, 2007

As 'Bachelor' begins, it's one down — literally

By Catherine Toth
Advertiser Staff Writer

Blakeney Rowe, 29, of Alabama, says that although short, her "Bachelor" experience was fun.

BOB D'AMICO | ABC

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Blakeney Rowe, the tipsy 29-year-old from Birmingham, Ala., wasn't too disappointed she didn't get a rose from Lt. Andy Baldwin on last week's premiere of "The Bachelor."

He wasn't her type.

"Andy was great. He's an awesome guy and he has a wonderful heart," Rowe said by phone. "But he just wasn't a match for me. ... There was no connection between us."

Rowe was one of 25 women selected to be on ABC's wildly popular reality TV show to vie for the affections of Baldwin, a 30-year-old Navy doctor based at Pearl Harbor.

In addition to being a physician, Baldwin is a world-class triathlete — with abs to prove it — and a humanitarian with one goal in mind: Find a wife, settle down and start a family.

So what's not to love?

"I like more of an edgier person," Blakeney admitted, laughing. "He was just such a sweet guy — and maybe that was it. Maybe he was a little too sweet."

Her stay on the show may have been short-lived, but Blakeney will always be remembered for two things: falling off her stool after drinking too much champagne and rapping for Baldwin.

The women spent nearly 12 hours at a cocktail party during the filming, while Baldwin got to know everyone, Blakeney said.

That's half a day with a flowing supply of champagne — and nothing else to do.

So as a tipsy Blakeney tried to sit on a bar stool, her heel got caught in her dress and down she fell, laughing the whole time (but she held on to her glass).

"(My friends and family) were laughing too hard," she said. "We had a big gathering ... to watch the premiere, and they knew it was me. Anyone who knows me knows I'm the clumsiest person in the world. I can do that stone-cold sober."

The human beat-box, though, that was something new.

"We had been asked to do something to differentiate ourselves from the other girls, and I really didn't know what to do," Blakeney said. "(The rap) just came to me."

It was the first — but probably not the last — TV appearance for Blakeney, who considers herself a reality show junkie. Her favorites include Bravo's "Work Out" and "The Real Housewives of Orange County" and Oxygen's "Bad Girls' Club."

Blakeney applied for "The Bachelor" on the urging of a girlfriend. She applied online and got a call back within a week.

Unlike many of the other women, Blakeney hadn't Googled Baldwin before meeting him — and didn't know what to expect.

There were women who "were actually there for him," Blakeney said, adding that she thought Amber and Baldwin made the strongest connection that first night. "A lot of them knew what they were coming for."

Was Blakeney looking for love, marriage and the 2.5 kids, too?

"You know, I went into (this) to have fun and whatever happens happens," she said. "God works in mysterious ways. I was sent home for a reason. The love of my life came back into my life a week or two after I got home, and we've been working things out."

Though she'll always be remembered as the bachelorette who tumbled off a bar stool, Blakeney's OK with that.

"It was a great experience," she said. "I couldn't have asked for a better (one)."

Tune in tonight to see who else doesn't get a rose.