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'Bachelor' contestant Carly Waddell talks drama, kissing, and why she'd do it all again

North Texan Carly Waddell is still getting used to being a local celebrity. She was recently one of 30 women vying for the affection of the hunky Chris Soules on the reality TV series The Bachelor. Compared to many of her competitors, Waddell's relationship with Prince Farming, as he's known, lasted a substantial while - about seven weeks.

Waddell's brother, Zak, who competed on season 10 of The Bachelorette, inspired her to try out, and she quickly became known as the staunch, cut-the-bull-crap personality.

"[Zak] gave me the advice of, 'Go in and have an open heart and ya know see where it takes you because this will be one of the best experiences of your whole life,'" she says, "and he's right."

We recently caught up with Waddell via phone to chat about her experience, from the drama at the Women Tell All to her sexy one-on-one date. Here are six interesting tidbits from our conversation.

Carly Waddell won one of the first group date challenges, during which she completed several...
Carly Waddell won one of the first group date challenges, during which she completed several quintessential farm chores such as milking goats.(John Fleenor / ABC)

The weirdest part about being on The Bachelor? Watching it all back on television.

For the most part, Waddell watched with family on Monday nights throughout the season, and it was weird for several reasons. Firstly, she says found herself accidentally laughing at her own jokes. Watching the one-on-one date, where she and Soules visited a sex guru, was also moderately awkward.

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"Oh man! Well, I sort of warned [my family] beforehand," Waddell says. "I couldn't tell all the details, but I did warn them it was going to be ... interesting."

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Chris Soules is a great kisser, in case you were wondering.

Waddell says the biggest surprise of being on The Bachelor was how much she ended up liking Soules. "I knew he was really nice, I knew he was cute, ya know I knew a little bit about him. But he was so easy to get along with, he made us feel so comfortable. He's a really good kisser."

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For the record, she believes the process - speed dating in front of millions of Americans - can work.

"I think that sometimes your heart just lets ya fall quick. It's happened to all of us," Waddell says. "There's so many people out there that meet someone and it's an instant connection and then you get to know them more and more, and you're like 'Whoa, it's six weeks in and I really like this person.' It's the exact same situation it's just, ya know, people are watching it."

The Women Tell All episode, and specifically her argument with contestant Britt Nilsson, was "really hard."

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Toward the end of Waddell's Bachelor tenure, she and Nilsson became fiercely competitive. Waddell admits she said some things she regrets. "There were things I said about Britt ... my intent was to be funny, and they came out absolutely not funny," she says. But it was difficult to get that across at the Women Tell All. "There was just a lot I wanted to say and it was hard to get a word in."

Carly, who's a cruise ship singer, excelled during one group date challenge where contestant...
Carly, who's a cruise ship singer, excelled during one group date challenge where contestant had to write the bachelor a song.(Richard Carlson / ABC)

The Bachelor doesn't always accurately portray situations.

When asked if she felt like all the show's events were accurately portrayed, Waddell hesitated more than 10 seconds before answering. After giving no comment, she summed it up like this: "With the preview to the week I had the one-on-one date, I said, 'This is the worst date of my life.' But then when you see the one-on-one date and it's not anything you expected."

She'd do it all again if asked.

If asked to be the next bachelorette or participate in Bachelor in Paradise, Waddell has no reservations about signing on. "I obviously didn't find my soul mate, so I'm still looking for him. I think [the show] absolutely can work and it's been proven to work, so why not?"

Season 19 of The Bachelor concludes Monday night, beginning at 7 p.m. CST. The episode is followed by the After the Final Rose special where next season's bachelorette will be revealed. Waddell's bet on the winner: Whitney Bischoff.