So what’s your message to people who bombard you with questions?
I would just say to those people that it’s not fair to rush to judgment. You don’t know what someone has been through. What if there’s been abuse? What if there’s been betrayal? What if there’s a medical reason? We don’t know. And honestly, it’s so frustrating because even my family, God bless them, my dad would always just say, “Just pick somebody, Debbie.”
Oh no.
It drove me crazy because he’s the source of a lot of the pain that I’ve had to overcome, and the betrayals and things. Everybody is an individual, and I do think being single or never married is being more and more accepted than it used to be. I mean, certainly I got all the questions, like, “Is she a lesbian?” Seriously, it’s so crazy.
I’ve been so lonely for so long, and I’m just tired of it. So when I saw The Golden Bachelor, I thought, Gosh, how sweet, and it gave me hope. I thought, I’ve always been a risk-taker. So why not? I tried everything else.
Speaking of taking risks and putting yourself out there, if you were asked to be the Golden Bachelorette, would you say yes in a heartbeat?
I would say yes because even though I know how hard it would be, there’s just this feeling that this is my time. I have given so much, and I’ve been through so much, and I am ready for love. Mel kick-started my heart again. I feel confident again. I feel beautiful again. I feel I am worthy, I am deserving, and I want to find my partner. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life living life alone. So yeah, I would say yes. It’s all still surreal that I’m even sitting here, and that this is even happening. Because, wow, did I take a big risk, and did I put myself out there in a big way!