You may not know the name Jeff Medolla, but if you watch “The Bachelorette” you definitely know him. As the bachelor who wouldn”t remove his big, black mask until he felt Ashley knew a little more about him, he got the boot shortly after his big reveal last week. In a conference call Medolla, who produces his own wine under the ahem, Freaky label, explains why he doesn”t regret wearing the mask, why he thinks there”s more to Bentley than we saw on TV, and what the produces chose not to show about him.
He says you don”t know Jeff: While he had a few moments to tell Ashley some details about his life, most of that information was left on the cutting room floor. “I work in the wine industry and some of my best friends are rappers,” he says. He”s not kidding, either. His sparkling wine is branded, suitably enough, Freaky.
He thinks Bentley wasn”t as much of a jerk as he pretended to be: Medolla, who was roommates with Bentley, notes that he spent “a lot” of time with the reviled creep who walked out on the show last week. Though he calls Bentley’s behavior “confusing,” he thinks he knows at least one truth behind the nastiness. “There is no doubt in my mind he missed his daughter. But I guess it sounds cool to say it”s really not the case… for him to say he was just using that as an excuse, I disagree. Of course you miss your daughter.”
But he thinks William was the real jerk: Like the rest of the bachelors, Medolla was appalled by William”s attempt to “roast” Ashley at the comedy club. “I think Ashley”s a good sport,” he says. “I think William did go way overboard. All the guys had a few cracks at Ashley, then moved on and ripped on all the guys… William didn”t say anything about the guys and ripped on her for 20 minutes. I would never in a million years do something like that. There some people who try to be funny and there are some people who are funny. You can read into that.”
There were no sparks with Ashley: Though Medolla did his best to get to know the bachelorette, he admits that the three times they spoke weren”t exactly explosive. “I didn”t really feel a connection at all. The mask was distracting and the conversations, you”ve got cameras around and you”re trying to spill out a bunch of stuff about you straight away.” Plus, she wasn”t exactly his type. “I usually date girls with darker hair. ” Still, he thinks that under different circumstances something might have sparked. “She”s got a hilarious sense of humor.”
He”s funnier than he seemed: Like many a reality TV star before him, Medolla says editing portrayed only one weird side of his personality and not his “extreme dry sense of humor.” “All I did was funny things with the mask. [But]my character on the show was Mr. Serious Guy. You never saw me smiling and laughing.” Not that he”s all that concerned. “I don”t care if these millions of people think I”m odd. I want you to think I”m weird. I can relate it back to my work. All my friends back home laughed their ass off.” Of course, there is the up side of being a reality TV weirdo. “I am a smart businessman,” he says. “I knew what I was doing and as much as I knew that it would draw attention, I also relate it back to my business. Think I”m a freak? Go ahead. Let”s go toast with some Freaky muscato wine.”
He doesn”t think Bentley will have problems dating: You”d think most women would stay away from a two-faced liar like Bentley, but Medolla disagrees. “I don”t think Bentley will have any problems with getting girls because a lot of girls like asshole guys. [But] I don”t think he”s a total asshole. He was just playing the camera.”
He thinks he looks young for his age: While Ashley seemed repelled by Medolla”s age, he notes that he wasn”t the only thirtysomething on the show, as one other contestant was 35 and another was 34. “I”m told every day I look really young for my age. I run 6 miles every day. I don”t think I look old…But at the end of the day she”s 27 and I”m 35 and maybe I”m just a little too old for her.”
He thinks Ashley might find love: While Medolla wasn”t the right guy, he isn”t ruling out that Ashley found the one for her on the show. “I think maybe she”ll end up engaged. It”s hard to say. There were a few guys sincerely into her. [Like] JP seemed like a nice guy. I didn”t talk to him tons. But the reception to me was never real warm.”
He considered options other than the mask: Medolla always knew he wanted to make a splash when he went on the show, but it took him a while to land on the mask. “I thought about doing a fake mustache or eating a donut. Really flipping the script around and throwing her off and everyone off. I knew I wanted to go in in disguise… As much as it was a joke, there was great aim behind it. Don”t judge me on what I look like. I had a brain hemorrhage when I was 29. You only live once.”
He restrained himself: While he didn”t seem too bothered by the insults of his castmates, that wasn”t entirely the case. While he knew going in he was going to be insulted, he admits it sometimes got under his skin. “When I”m sitting there with a mask on and there are people talking shit, it was very tempting to take the mask off and knock a few people out. But I”m not that person anymore.”