Stacey, the hard-partying woman who got cut in the first round of "The Bachelor" after stuffing lacy panties in Matt Grant's pocket, admitted Thursday she was a sodden mess in the show.
"We've all been that drunk. I just happened to get caught on national television doing it," said Stacey, a 26-year-old graduate student from Chicago.
She attributed her brazen behavior to nerves, not having enough to eat that day and too much champagne.
At one point, she stroked Grant's thigh while he was talking to another woman.
"I just wanted to spice things up a bit and get the attention on me. Which I sure did."
She also said that she wasn't attracted to Grant, 27, a financier from London. She prefers the bad-boy type, preferably with a motorcycle.
"He was more uptight, reserved. I want to date a manly man."
She passed out in a bedroom during the filming, and told reporters in a conference call that she was awakened so she could attend the rose ceremony, the show's elimination round. Makeup and hair artists were standing by her bedside to make her presentable.
Among the contestants still on the show are Kristine Heffelfinger, 32, a fitness instructor from Charlotte.
Stacey said that she didn't remember much about that night afterward and was stunned by her performance when she saw it on TV Monday night while watching with a group of her girlfriends. "I held a blanket over my head and said 'Tell me when it's over, guys.' I was just as shocked as you were."
But she did want to make one thing clear about the panties: "They were an extra pair. They did not come off my body."
Mark Washburn:
mwashburn@charlotteobserver.co m