From final rose to mom of five, it’s clear family is a priority for Emily Maynard Johnson.
When Ricki was a single mother, Bachelor Nation was introduced by the North Carolina native to Bachelor Nation. Maynard Johnson was 24 years old when Ricky Hendrick died in an accident on October 4, 2004.
Viewers then watched Maynard Johnson – and her daughter — when she got engaged to Brad WomackSeason 15 of The Bachelor.
“I wish that I would’ve kept [my time on The Bachelor and Bachelorette]Completely separate [from Ricki],” she admitted in a 2017 podcast interview. “At the time, I thought, ‘This is it,’ and I never would’ve brought her into it had I not thought that. So I wish that I maybe would’ve taken a step back. Maybe sheltered her from that a little bit more.”
After Womack’s brief-lived romance, Maynard Johnson became the season 8 Bachelorette. She accepted a proposition from Jef Holm during the 2012 finale, but quickly “wondered [if] a relationship with Jef was going to work, how he would fit into Ricki’s life, if he was, in fact, ready to be a stepparent,” she recalled in her 2016 memoir.
After less than a year together, the couple split. Maynard Johnson was married to them. Tyler Johnson2014 In 2014, the couple welcomed three sons: Jennings Tyler (July 2015), Gibson Kyle (September 2016) and Gatlin Alvery (November 2017).
“You could have 18 kids and it really doesn’t make that big of a difference,” she told People2017. “Your stroller gets bigger, but that’s it. I’d like to have at least two more. Ricki is so much older, she’s just more of a help than anything else. So, we’ll see!”
In October 2020, she gave birth to Magnolia Belle.
“There is no other feeling like being a mom,” the former ABC star told THe Huffington Post. “People tell you that you won’t know it until you experience it. They’re right. There is nothing like it.”
Maynard Johnson got emotional on Ricki’s 17th birthday in June 2022 as she reflected on becoming a mother.
“On this day, seventeen years ago, I feel like I was reborn in so many ways because you brought so much joy to my aching heart,” she wrote via Instagram. “And now, you continue to brighten every room you walk in and make people, whether you know them or don’t, feel like they’ve known you forever. Your humility, grace, grit, and of course beauty, know no bounds and I’m so proud of you! I love you, Ki!”
Scroll through to see the Johnson family’s photo album:
