Roger and Donna Stork are the parents of the new “Bachelor,” Travis Stork, a 33-year-old doctor at Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville.
The new season of “The Bachelor” has finished filming in Paris and is set to premiere Jan. 9. This is the eighth season for the show but the first season to be filmed outside the United States.
ABC had Stork’s parents sign a confidentiality agreement, so they could not be interviewed for this story. But ABC said that Stork has a traditional Midwest upbringing and wants the type of relationship he’s seen in his parents’ 37 years of marriage.
According to a press release from ABC News, “Dr. McDreamy” is completing his residency at Vanderbilt Medical.
According to published reports, Stork didn’t audition for the show but was discovered in Tennessee by a crew looking for female contestants. The producers had been looking for a doctor for several seasons.
Stork graduated magna cum laude from Duke University and got his M.D. from the University of Virginia. He told ABC media that the show would give him a chance to focus on his personal life rather than his career.
“The Bachelor” slipped in the ratings last year while ABC saturated the market with two seasons of “The Bachelor” and one of “The Bachelorette.”
ABC pledges that the show will return to its roots “highlighting all the romance and fantasy of new relationships,” the press release said. “And what better place for the perfect love story to play out than Paris — the city of lights.”
Stork is described in the news release as a “hunky” 6 foot 4 outdoor enthusiast who enjoys mountain and road biking, kayaking and hiking.
According to the press release, Stork is looking for a woman who is genuine, honest and caring and someone who is adventurous and athletic.
“It’s the woman who catches my eye — maybe with the way she smiles, the way I first react to her,” he said, in the press release. “I get that feeling inside you really can’t describe.”
Matthew Moriarty may be reached at 693-2479 or by e-mail at moriarty@thepilot.com.
