Kelsey Bateman, a former contestant on Rock of Love, has passed away.
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Bateman, who appeared on Rock of Love Bus with Bret Michaels in 2009, died “unexpectedly recently,” a family source told TMZ on Sunday. The cause of death was not revealed. She was 39.
Rock of Love Bus with Bret Michaels was the third and final season of Rock of Love, where contestants competed for the Poison frontman’s affection while traveling with him on tour buses.
Bateman advanced to the season’s top 10 but faced elimination in the seventh episode.
“I ended up laying on a speed bump, bawling my eyes out, but you know what? I’m here and I’m ready for whatever Bret has to say to me,” Bateman said in a confessional, according to a clip on YouTube.
During the episode, Michaels brought Bateman forward and said, “At some point, I looked over during the concert and you were no longer there.” He added, “I think you’re awesome and a beautiful girl, and I said sometimes I have to make decisions for people. And my decision for you is that I’m going to let your tour end here,” before sending her back to Salt Lake City, Utah.
A 21-Year-Old Kelsey Bateman Wasn’t Too Concerned with Getting Eliminated on Rock of Love
However, it didn’t seem that Bateman, who would’ve been around 21 at the time, was sweating getting dumped by a middle-aged, waning-hair-metal singer.
“I’m going to go home, and I’m going to be single. I’m not going to think about guys for a while. The next guy I find definitely won’t be 44 and probably not a rockstar,” she declared in her last confessional before exiting the show.
In the finale, the Poison frontman chose Taya Parker as his girlfriend, though their relationship proved to be brief.
Not much is known about Bateman’s personal life. Michaels, however, has been married to his wife, Kristi Michaels, since 2013, according to PEOPLE. They first met in 1994 and got engaged while Michaels was filming the finale of his reality show, Bret Michaels: Life As I Know It. They have two daughters, Raine, 25, and Jorja, 20.