The Bachelor

Brad Womack has a past — and we're never gonna stop hearing about it! — so it's fitting that his Season 15 Bachelor babes have pasts as well. Some of Brad's ladies have been down really rough roads recently; in fact, overcoming tragedy seems to be one of the musts this season. Let's take a look at three of these sad stories. Grab some tissues and cue the violins...

1. EMILY MAYNARD

Age: 24
Occupation: Event planner for a children's hospital
Hometown: Morgantown, West Virginia.
Currently living in: Charlotte, North Carolina

Sob story: You may remember single mom Emily's story from national news back in 2004. In The Bachelor premiere, Emily talks about how she met NASCAR driver Ricky Hendrick when she was 15 years old, and they got engaged when she was 19. They knew they were meant to be together. In October 2004, Ricky had a race, but Emily wasn't feeling well and stayed home. Later that day, she found out 24-year-old Ricky's plane had crashed and all 10 people on the plane had died. "I wished more than anything that I'd been on the plane too," Emily admits. However, the Friday after the crash she learned she was pregnant with Ricky's daughter — the now 5-year-old Rickie — and she couldn't have been happier. "There was a reason I wasn't on the plane that day," she says. Emily gets a lot of screen time on the premiere and already seems like the star. She says she's on the verge of the next part of her life. Will it include Brad, or more heartbreak? Or both? Or The Bachelorette?

2. ASHLEY SPIVEY

Age: 26
Occupation: Nanny
Hometown: Ellerbe, North Carolina
Currently living in: New York City

Sob story: On the season premiere, Ashley S. talks about how she's sweet Southern girl in New York whose life is at a crossroads. About two years ago her father died suddenly of a brain hemorrhage. "I didn't get to tell him I loved him," she says. So, in some ways, she's like Chris Lambton of The Bachelorette, except Chris's mom was sick for a while. The death of her father gave Ashley a new outlook on love, and she's hoping to find what she's looking for on The Bachelor. "I'm positive it will change my life," she says.

3. ASHLEY HEBERT

Age: 26
Occupation: Dental student
Hometown: Madawaska, Maine
Currently living in: Philadelphia, attending dental school at the University of Pennsylvania

Sob story: Ashley H. is a bubbly dance instructor with a tattoo on her wrist that says "Crazy Beautiful." According to Spoiler King Reality Steve, Ashley's longtime ex-boyfriend died right before she came on the show. She doesn't mention it on the premiere, but — if true — it's bound to come up at some point. She should explain why she decided to go on a show like The Bachelor if her ex is newly deceased, right? On a *spoiler note*, Steve says both Ashleys are good friends in the house and on Episode 5 in Las Vegas they get small rose tattoos, along with fellow bachelorettes Lisa Morrisey and Melissa Schreiber. Of course, the two Ashleys end up going on a dreaded two-on-one date later that episode, and only one survives. Find out which one here.

Sources: AOL TV Squad, Reality Steve, ABC

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