Parker County Today February 2016 | Page 29

our celebrities: MAEGAN MILLER Down To the Boots A local country girl dons her ‘Juliet hat’ for a trip to the big city and a crack at Romeo Numero Uno. BY MEL RHODES W FEBRUARY 2016 Maegan Miller on TV with her mini-horse escort and Ben Higgins — The Bachelor. PA R K E R C O U N T Y T O D AY eatherford’s Maegan Miller is a pretty down-to-earth gal, right down to her cowboy boots. But she’s no stranger to the spotlight. Jan. 4, 2016, some local viewers were surprised to see her on ABC’s The Bachelor, a popular reality TV show, in essence a variation on an old theme ― Romeo and Juliet. (Though in this variation, it takes Romeo a while to figure out who Juliet is.) This season Ben Higgins has 28 contestants to cull through, only one of which (hopefully) will be the woman of his dreams. “People told me for years ― even like five or six years ago ― that I’d be perfect for the show and I needed to apply for it,” Miller said. “I always just laughed, and it was like, ‘oh, my gosh, please! I don’t think so.’” Then came Iowa farmer Chris Soules, a countrified Bachelor she kind of fancied. She applied. “I didn’t realize how early in advance you had to apply for it, and I was way too late for his season,” Miller explained. “So they took me for the next season, which is this season. I figured I might as well, since the experience is kind of priceless.” But Ben Higgins, however cute or interesting, was not her farmer fave. She arrived at the premiere wearing her ubiquitous cowboy boots and escorted by someone short, dark and handsome ― a mini-horse. “I’m pretty sure the reason they took me on the show is because they fell in love with my mini-horse that I have in my backyard. I have the cutest little guy ― his name is Huey,” said Miller, laughing. “He was in my intro video; you have to send them a 27