TELEVISION

Austin reality star fights to clear name

Hayden denies that he had a girlfriend at the time he appeared on 'The Bachelorette.'

By Claudia Grisales
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Monday, July 20, 2009

When ABC airs the "Men Tell All" episode for "The Bachelorette," one of its more notorious contestants will be conspicuously missing: Austinite Wes Hayden.

Hayden was portrayed as a ruthless player who wasn't on the show to find love, but instead had a secret girlfriend and a larger motive to promote his singing career.

Now Hayden says he's on a mission to clear his name. He is denying that he had a girlfriend while taping the show, and he says he's a victim of creative editing.

"I signed a contract with them, so I knew they could portray my character any way they saw fit," Hayden said. "But they have totally slandered me and taken my words and put them out of context. They cut, they paste, they left vital sentences out."

Hayden's public fight is another in a series of behind-the-scenes controversies that have recently plagued the 7-year-old "Bachelor" and "Bachelorette" series, which each season feature dozens of contestants fighting to win the heart of one designated man or woman. The shows have resulted in one marriage (in 2003) in a combined 17 past seasons — 13 for the "Bachelor," and four for the "Bachelorette."

Now, some claim the show has gone too far in its portrayal of unfolding romances, with producers playing a heavy hand to inject drama.

"The powers that be can't possibly think people are tuning in to watch a love story," said Steve Carbone, a Dallas-based blogger whose popular "Reality Steve" Web site has followed the series for several years. "So they've decided in recent seasons to ramp up the drama. Contestants are put in certain positions and even told to say certain things to get the maximum drama effect they can."

Carbone said he was initially "suckered" into seeing Hayden as villain, but he says a later interview with the Austinite led him to think it's a case of "character assassination."

An ABC spokeswoman declined comment, and e-mails and calls seeking comment from the show's production company, Next Entertainment in association with Warner Horizon Television, were not immediately returned.

Last season, the show ran into controversy when "Bachelor" Jason Mesnick proposed to one woman, then broke off their engagement to choose another finalist on air. Mesnick has denied claims he was pressured by producers to make the flip.

Other contestants, such as bar owner and Austinite Brad Womack who was featured as the "Bachelor" in 2007, have walked away from the show entirely without picking anyone in the end.

"There's nothing realistic about this TV show, from the fancy dates in Spain and Hawaii to 30 men fighting for one woman," Hayden said.

Robert Thompson, a professor of television and popular culture at Syracuse University, said debates about how individuals are portrayed are as old as reality shows themselves, and the controversy can actually help create more buzz for the program in the end.

"I wish I had a dollar for every time a reality show star said they were portrayed negatively," Thompson said. "So what else is new? That's like saying you went to the beach and got wet."

Thompson said the program's odds of resulting in one marriage out of 17 shows are actually good. And anyone who goes on the show with sole intentions of meeting a life partner are on the wrong track, and viewers, by now, are smart to that fact, Thompson said.

"The real goal is to be discovered. It's an ability to be a co-star of a national network television show without learning to act," he said. "It would be gravy if you meet someone. But this late in the game, anybody that is going on a reality show with the sincere belief that they are going to find the love of their life is fairly delusional."

Still, that's little consolation for Hayden, who says he receives hundreds of hate messages each week, and his music producer received a death threat. He's also had several performances by his band canceled.

The country music singer, who's been with his band for 14 years, says he broke up with his longtime girlfriend Laurel Kagay a year ago and went on the show a single man.

However, he says producers helped build drama that he had a girlfriend and portrayed at least two other contestants claiming he did.

One on-air confrontation with Hayden, which took place at the Hyatt Regency Austin overlooking Lady Bird Lake, featured "Bachelorette" Jillian Harris of Canada hearing the news from another participant, Dallas airline pilot Jake Pavelka. In recent interviews, Pavelka has maintained his stance that Hayden told him he had a girlfriend.

Kagay, whose name was mentioned in that episode, has also received hate messages, phone calls and threats of boycotts at her Austin boutique business. Kagay also says that she and Hayden broke up a year ago. Besides Hayden, she dated two other show contestants in the past, including Womack, but said she has harbored no interest to be on the show.

"I didn't ask to be part of the episode," said Kagay.

Hayden said there were several instances on the show in which his words were edited and manipulated to portray him as saying something he wasn't.

For example, Hayden says he was repeating a producer's question in a scene capturing him saying he was the only contestant in the series to make it to the final four with a girlfriend. He says he followed that sentence by saying "Come on, get real. If I had a girlfriend, I'd be home with her right now."

"They really pulled out all the stops to create drama," Hayden said.

Hayden says he was unknowingly submitted for consideration to the show by a younger sister, and although he was surprised to get the call to appear, he consulted his family and management and decided to go for it. His mother, who was then a fan of the show, said it might bring a true chance to find love. His manager told him there were worse ways to find love, and he could still promote his career.

Hayden said the show's staff was intrigued by his persona, from his spiky hair to his tattoos to his singing career. He was encouraged, he says, to present that persona on television, bypassing suits for a suede country jacket and playing on camera.

At the time, he said, there was strong camaraderie between him and the show's staff.

But by the time of a rendezvous in Canada to film Harris and her remaining suitors, he grew tired of increasing talk about his motivations. He said he also saw a dwindling shot at developing a true relationship with Harris and was conflicted about remaining on the show.

Hayden also says that early this month he angrily declined to appear on the "Men Tell All" episode, for which the show's rejected bachelor contestants reunite on air. A week later, however, he changed his mind but was told the show didn't want him there.

Hayden has booked interviews in recent weeks with People magazine, the New York Daily News and others. He said he will continue telling his side of his story.

"The gloves are off," Hayden said.

cgrisales@statesman.com, 912-5933