Emily Maynard Reveals How Tragedy Turned Into Celebration, Reports ‘Us Weekly’

Emily Maynard shared one of the saddest stories when she filmed The Bachelorette. She was engaged to a man named Ricky Hendrick but lost him when he died in a plane crash. As she told viewers at the time, she was supposed to be with him but chose to stay home because she wasn’t feeling well. Later that week, she learned she was pregnant with their child. The child ended up being her first-born daughter, Josephine Riddick Hendrick, who she calls Ricki after her father.

In an emotional Instagram post, Emily opened up about Hendrick’s birthday. As it turns out, his birthday was April 2, which happens to be the same day as her husband’s birthday. Ricky died in the plane crash in October 2004 and it would take years before Emily felt ready to date. Despite not staying engaged to Jef Holm after her second shot on The Bachelorette, it sounds like she’s very happy with her husband, Tyler Johnson. According to a new Us Weekly report, Emily Maynard is now revealing that April 2 has gone from being a day of tragedy as she couldn’t celebrate Ricky’s birthday with him to a day of celebration. Now she has plenty of things to look forward to.

In her Instagram post, Emily Maynard explains that she believes God is sitting in heaven, smiling at her. She also points out that once she learned of Tyler’s birthday, she felt it was a sign for her to move forward with him. One can imagine that Tyler understood her reaction when she told him about her past relationship and Ricky’s death in a plane crash. Fans of hers have followed her for years, as she searched for love twice on The Bachelorette. Since marrying Tyler, she’s been very open on Instagram about her life, including a recent birth. She now has three children with Tyler and Ricki from her previous relationship with Ricky Hendrick.

Emily Maynard has revealed that she has no interest in participating in Bachelor or Bachelorette-related things anymore, possibly out of respect for her husband. Since he has nothing to do with her past relationships, it’s possible that she just wants to focus on her marriage and her kids.