Emily Maynard Johnson was the first-ever “Bachelorette” to bring her young daughter on the show — and now wishes she hadn’t.
In an interview with People (above), the former “Bachelor”/”Bachelorette” star says, in hindsight, she should have left daughter Ricki, now 12, out of the show entirely.
“I wish that I would’ve kept [the show] totally separate [from Ricki],” says Maynard Johnson, 31, who married hometown sweetheart Tyler Johnson in 2014. “At the time, I thought, ‘This is it,’ and I never would’ve brought her into it had I not thought that.”
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She adds: “So I wish that I maybe would’ve taken a step back. Maybe sheltered her from that a little bit more.”
Meanwhile, Maynard Johnson has plenty to celebrate after she and her hubby welcomed a new addition in November, welcoming son Gatlin Avery. The couple are also parents to Jennings, 2, and Gibson, 1; Ricki (whose real name is Josephine) was fathered by late car driver Ricky Hendrick.
