#Fact: I've searched for love on reality TV & here's the DL (shit got REALity)
<editorsnote> Nerds, meet my buddy Tribble. I met him through my buddy Daniel when we were in this social media job competition a few years back. Really rad kid, the job didn't work out for either of us, but we stayed friends and he connected me to his buddy Tribble who is on the CMT show Sweet Home Alabama. Like me, he's looking for love - just through a veerrrryyyyy different medium. He's here to tell you about his search and I only have one more thing left to say ... HIT IT TRIBBLE!! </editorsnote>
Howdy ya’ll…the names Tribble Reese and I’m a good ol’ country boy from Birmingham, Alabama. I felt weird even typing that. Let’s try this again.
Hey guys, I’m Tribble. Like dribble, but with a T. My real name is Herbert, but don’t call me that or I’ll totally kick your ass…just kidding….no really, don’t call me Herbert!
2011 was definitely the most interesting year of my life to this point. Graduated college in 2009, dabbled in Arena Football, moved to Atlanta, tried out corporate America (which was definitely not for me), decided to devote all my time to my true passion of working in entertainment, (I’m the only one with that dream, right?) and bartending to support myself. I know what you’re thinking, no, I’m not Piper Perabo’s character from Coyote Ugly. Although I might play a guitar naked every now and then in a room full of cardboard cutouts….but I digress.
Anyways, in the months leading up to my appearance on the first season of Sweet Home Alabama, I was living in Atlanta, bartending, and doing hosting/modeling gigs on the side. Life was good, but I wanted more. I received a random call from a casting director in LA about a reality show that was going to put a bunch of “city” boys and “country” boys in a house together to vie for the love of a stereotypical southern belle. I thought it sounded interesting, but still wasn’t sure, so I went through the interview process reluctantly. The casting people reassured me that I would be perfect for the show, but I got cold feet, so I stopped answering their phone calls (probably not the smartest thing to do, but I was still a n00b at that point.) Long story short, I ended up taking the plunge and went down to Mobile, AL to start filming and never looked back.
I feel like a lot of times we are faced with tough decisions in life, and we dwell/question over the decision that we decide to make. I couldn’t do that in this situation because I wouldn’t have gotten to where I am now. (Sorry, not trying to get too deep but just raining down some “Twisdom” on ya...that’s Tribble Wisdom for those of you keeping score at home.)
So we start filming and I actually start doing really well. I connect early with our southern belle, Devin, and before I know it...we’ve been whittled down to me and my best friend in the house, Adam. To be honest, I really didn’t know what to expect. Everything is amplified so the fact that I had only known this girl for a month was irrelevant. You’re forced to get to know this person on a very special level, whether you like it or not. I just so happened to really like it. Regardless of what people think of reality TV, the relationships formed on the show, since the other cast members are the only ones who have any idea what you’re going through, are extremely special and very hard to explain.
So here I am, dressed like a penguin, sweating my ass off (I was nervous and it was humid as balls down there) and Devin chooses…..Adam. Does she know my name is Tribble? Maybe she messed up. Ross messed up Rachel’s name and they ended up ok…maybe this would be ok.
Let me just tell you…getting dumped in any capacity is SOOOOOO awesome!!! And by awesome, I mean it completely blows. So I guess you can put 2 and 2 together and figure out how getting dumped on National Television feels. Picture your Dad coming to pick you up from senior prom, and pulling you off the dance floor by your ear. Now multiply that feeling times 7,000. Yeah, it sucks.
So after getting kicked to the curb, I returned home to try to get my life back together. I started getting back to my regular schedule and tried to put everything behind me, which was actually really tough at first.
A couple months later, after the show had actually started airing, I got a call that I was being considered for season 2’s bachelor for Sweet Home Alabama. I didn’t know if it was something I wanted to do and when they offered me the gig, I really had to do some thinking. It would be another good opportunity, but did I really want to put myself out there EVEN MORE this time? In the end I decided that the juice was worth the squeeze and traveled down to Mobile, AL again for my second 2-month getaway courtesy of Country Music Television.
Being the bachelor comes with its perks obviously. There were 22 hotties trying to make me fall in love with them. Schwing! However, like Spiderman said, “with great power comes great responsibility.”
Who knew Peter Parker was a photographer AND a philosopher?
Something I didn’t anticipate was how genuinely crappy sending home girls would make me feel. I have never really broken up with anyone in my life, and if I have, there was a clear-cut reason (cheating, lying, etc.). But with this, I literally had to look 21 girls in the face and tell them that even though they had left EVERYTHING at home for a chance at love with me, it wasn’t going to work and they had to leave that night. As cheesy as it might sound, it was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. As we got down to fewer and fewer girls, it became even harder. I thought it would be easier since I had been on the chopping block at least two times in the first season. I was wrong. There is nothing easy about this situation. I learned a lot from it though, and now I feel as if I am a professional breaker-up’r. If anyone needs to go to Splitsville with your significant other, just call me and I can do it no problem.
All in all, though, the whole Sweet Home Alabama experience was and continues to be an unbelievable experience, and I wouldn’t change a thing. Everything happens for a reason and I try my damnedest to live my life with no regrets. I really do owe a great deal of gratitude to CMT and all the wonderful people who I met and who went out of their way to help me out.
I think the most interesting thing I’ve realized from this whole experience is how close people feel to you after following you on TV and the amount of emotion it elicits. It’s really cool that people care about my feelings and want me to succeed. The outpouring of support has been overwhelming. The only thing I wish some people could appreciate more is, the fact that now that the camera’s are off, Tristan and I have a chance to figure out what we want, which is a private thing. People say things like, “I haven’t seen pictures of you guys together, you must be broken up, and I feel completely scammed by all this.” I honestly don’t know what the future holds for Tristan and I, but I know I have made a lifelong friend, and together we’ll definitely figure out what is best for both of us. My fans will be the first to know…but I kinda gotta figure it out first. I think there is a common misconception that after a reality dating show, the couple runs off into the distance and gets married and live happily ever after.
Making a relationship work is hard!!! Especially when it’s long distance. Ya know, I have a busy life and things going on in Atlanta currently, and Tristan goes to school down in Mobile, AL and is an aspiring nurse. We both have lofty goals and good heads on our shoulders, so no decisions will be made in haste. She is truly a sweetheart, and I am so glad to have met her and have her in my life.
It’s interesting to see how I was portrayed on the show. A lot of what people saw is how I am, but there is a lot more to me.
The show really portrayed me as a southern gentleman (which I am), but they really didn’t go beyond surface level. I like to have fun, be witty, and make fun of myself. I’m really goofy, but the show didn’t really show that side of me. It is funny how people who watch the show, and then meet me after, say that I am so much more “normal” or look so much more relaxed in person.
Even the girls; some of them were portrayed as the villains when they were actually some of the nicest girls in the house. It just goes to show that you really can’t believe everything you see on TV. Even though it is called “reality tv,” the producers hold the magic wand that can make Mother Teresa seem worse than Snookie. When you have over 50 hours of footage to make each one-hour episode, you have the full spectrum of people’s lives to choose from.
It’s been really cool to get involved with TNTML. I first heard about the site a few years ago from my buddy @DannyWeiner, who had interacted with Jen in the social space. I think I hit on Jen via Facebook chat shortly after. Something along the lines of, “how YOU doin,” I’m sure.
I have a passion for technology and have worked on 2 smart phone apps this past year, 1 of which is available in the iOS and android markets (search “Tribble Reese” in your app market #shamelessplug)…one of which, well…sometimes shit doesn’t work out, so back off!
Social media has been an awesome way for me to interact with fans, haters (who I particularly enjoy interacting with) and people I admire. It’s a humbling thing when people actually want to talk to you on Facebook and Twitter, and care about the video’s you post on YouTube. I’m very pumped to see what 2012 has in store for me. For now though, I’m just along for the ride.
Feel free to hit me up via social media or my website.