Looking for love and motherhood on reality show
Kristy Katzmann has some experience with awkward reality TV introductions. On The Bachelor season 11 premiere in 2007, she used her expertise as an acupuncturist to examine Brad Womack’s tongue and determine he was under some stress. She was the 15th and final woman to receive a rose that week. She finished in the top six of the ABC network competition.
Now Katzmann is starring on her own TV show, Labor of Love, hosted by Sex and the City star Kristin Davis, which is scheduled to première Thursday.
It’s clear from the start that the Fox series does not have the same premise as The Bachelor or The Bachelorette. Instead of mingling at a pool party, the 15 contestants are asked to give a sample of their swimmers for an analysis to see if they are able to father children.
Katzmann watches as each suitor takes a turn in the mobile collection centre.
“So awkward. We were all uncomfortable, and I think honestly, though, that ended up being one of the best things for a lot of reasons. I think because one of my biggest fears going in was that these men would not be there for the right reasons,” Katzmann said by phone. “And if they were willing to go through that screening pretty much moments after meeting me, then I knew that they were serious.”
Katzmann signed on after seeing a casting call.
Producers in the fall of 2017 were looking for men and women in their 30s or 40s who were ready to start a family, but they had not found “the one.” Katzmann said a friend sent her the casting call and noted the opportunity seemed perfect for her. She said she applied and immediately got called for an interview.
“I have felt really aligned with this whole process from the very beginning,” Katzmann said. “I found myself as a 40-year-old single woman trying to navigate dating while knowing that I still wanted to become a mom.”
The University of Notre Dame alumna, now 42, isn’t sure what went wrong in her love life. She said she was a hopeless romantic when she competed on Womack’s season of The Bachelor at the age of 29. Womack didn’t propose to anyone that season.
On Labor of Love, Katzmann reveals she was married for six months. DuPage County, Illinois, court records show her divorce was finalized in 2015, about the time she turned 38.
“I never thought I would be in this position, and I think the question then becomes, well, if you are, what do you do about it? And that’s where I had to really start thinking outside of the box because I certainly knew that I didn’t have a lot of time to still become a mom, and it’s what made me open to doing something like this,” she said.
Katzmann said she went on the show to fall in love with a man who wanted to become a parent with her. She said she wasn’t interested in finding a sperm donor or a man who didn’t want a family in the near future. The aspiring fathers go through a series of challenges to see if they are ready for parenthood.
“This is not just dating to fall in love. This is dating to fall in love and start a family.,” Katzmann said.