The Bachelorette 8 is the eighth season of ABC reality television series The Bachelorette. The show premiered on May 14, 2012, featuring Emily Maynard and dating 25 men. Maynard was chosen by Brad Womack in the fifteenth season of The Bachelor, but they split after the show.
Maynard is the second former Bachelor winner to be star in The Bachelorette since Jen Schefft in season three.
This is the first season of The Bachelorette filmed in Maynard's hometown of Charlotte, North Carolina, where she and her daughter Ricki Hendrick live, rather than Los Angeles, marking this as the first time a show in The Bachelor franchise has taken place in the Southern United States and also the second time one has been filmed on the East Coast since New York City in season three.
Emily will have her pick of 25 bachelors when she gets a second opportunity to find love.
The bachelors learn they are being tested on their promise as parents; the bachelors take advantage of every opportunity to score points with Emily when they learn that some of them won't get a date before the rose ceremony; Gloriana performs.
Emily surprises Chris with a performance by Luke Bryant on their one-on-one date; Emily's friends question the 12 bachelors on the group date; Dolly Parton gives Emily and Arie a private concert at Dollywood.
Emily and the remaining bachelors travel to Bermuda; John and Nate join Emily on a two-on-one date; the men race sailboats on the group date.
Emily and the men travel to London; the bachelors perform scenes from ''Romeo and Juliet'' during the group date; a disrespectful comment about Emily's daughter sparks drama.
The group travels to Dubrovnik, Croatia; the men hope Emily's one-on-one time with Ryan will allow her to see through his facade; Arie sneaks out to see Emily; the bachelors get decked out in kilts and compete in Highland games.
The group travels to Prague; Emily must decide which men get to take her home to meet their families; Emily addresses Arie's past relationship with one of the show's producers.
Emily travels to the hometowns of her four remaining suitors, but intimidating siblings and parents prove to be a harsh indicator of which guys could be potential step-fathers to Ricki; Emily looks for honest opinions of family members.
Emily escorts the three remaining bachelors on a romantic trip to Curacao where she invites each of them to stay overnight after a day full of fun dates; after some much-needed alone time with the final three, Emily must eliminate one hopeful man.
Memorable bachelors from this season return for a final confrontation with Emily and each other; one bachelor tries to justify his actions; previously unseen footage and unforgettable moments.
Jef and Arie arrive to meet Emily's protective family hoping to make great first impressions with everyone; assuming she will be faced with two proposals, Emily is finally forced to choose which man will fit best into her life, as well as Ricki's.
After the final rose has been handed to either Jef or Arie, Emily sits down live with Chris Harrison to discuss how she ultimately made her gut-wrenching decision; both men return to the stage to discuss how the final rose ceremony played out.