Alumnus Roberto Martinez Makes ‘Bachelorette’ Finale

Having whittled down her pick from 25 men to two — including one UT alumnus — Ali Fedotowsky will make her final choice tonight in the season finale of the ABC reality show “The Bachelorette.”

Roberto Martinez ’05, who majored in international business at UT and was a right-handed pitcher for the baseball team, is a finalist in the show that airs tonight, Aug. 2.

Monica Sheridan ’05, UT’s associate director of admissions, sat next to Martinez at graduation. In fact, the two were good friends, and she said they kept in touch after UT, though she didn’t know he was on “The Bachelorette” until she saw the listing of bachelors online at the start of the season. She’s seen college friends interviewed about Martinez in US Weekly and other entertainment media, which has been a little surreal.

“You don’t expect to see one of your friends on ‘Extra,’” Sheridan said. Some of their mutual friends wear Team Roberto T-shirts on Monday nights.

Sheridan said the wholesome persona Martinez displays on the TV show is true to life. He wasn’t a big drinker in college, and Ybor City wasn’t his scene. She said he was kind of shy around the girls too, which is ironic now that he is on national television in search of love.

“He isn’t scandalous. He’s very much a clean-cut guy who is representing UT well,” Sheridan said. “He doesn’t have a cocky attitude, and is generally just a really great guy.”

Sheridan said Martinez, who is an insurance agent in Charleston, SC, cut off communication during the filming of the show, but as of Saturday, July 31, he had reactivated his Facebook account with just one message: “It’s good to be back.”

Martinez, 26, has traveled around the world with Fedotowsky, from Iceland to Portugal to Tahiti. In one episode, Martinez brought her to Tampa to meet his family and see his alma mater. The two donned Spartan baseball jerseys and Martinez gave Fedotowsky private batting lessons on the Sam Bailey Baseball Field. They ended the date with a picnic on the baseball diamond, Martinez nearly popping the champagne cork in Fedotowsky’s eye.

The two, along with the other bachelor finalist, are concluding the season in Tahiti, where Fedotowsky, 25, may give out the final rose and receive a marriage proposal from one of the two guys.

Jamie Pilarczyk, Web Writer
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