TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Mouth Punch A Taste Of Reality For Bachelor

ADVERTISEMENT

By STEPHEN THOMPSON, The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 24, 2007

Updated: 11/25/2007 08:08 am

SEMINOLE - Mary Delgado quivered and sobbed when TV's Bachelor went down on his knee and popped the question to her before a national TV audience.

Maribel Delgado

It was Nov. 24, 2004, and ABC billed it as the most romantic proposal in the series' six-season history - the professional bass fisherman from Lake Mead in Nevada, 42-year-old Byron Velvick, had reeled in the real estate agent and former Buccaneers cheerleader from Tampa, then 37.

Three years later, almost to the day, Delgado slugged the man she credited with her "fairy tale ending," hard enough to draw blood from his lip and land her in jail in Pinellas County, according to arrest affidavits.

Delgado and Velvick never did marry, judging from affidavits that say the victim was her fiance and they had been living "as a family" for the past three years.

The reports don't make clear what led to the punch, only that Delgado was under the influence of alcohol when it happened at 11:30 p.m. Tuesday in Seminole, on Park Boulevard just east of Gulf Boulevard.

Delgado, 40, was taken into custody just after midnight Wednesday on a battery charge.

She gave authorities the name Maribel Liliana Delgado. Affidavits do not identify the victim, but a phone call to the home number she gave authorities was answered by a man who identified himself as Byron. He declined to comment.

Three years ago today, he spoke romance on prime time TV, whispering to Delgado, "We're going to be together forever. You have my rose. You have my heart."

Just as dramatic was his rejection of runner-up Tanya Michel, a 31-year-old special education teacher from Plano, Texas, who said, "I gave him my heart and he took it and stepped on it."

Velvick later announced he was moving to Tampa, where Delgado was living.

"Finally this is my fairy tale ending," she said.

ABC had cameras in Tampa to see the reaction of Delgado's parents, Juan and Juanita, who left Cuba when she was 1. Velvick explained he first proposed in Spanish so her parents would understand the depth of his feelings for their daughter.

For their part, Velvick's parents were impressed with Delgado. His mother liked her self-confidence.

It was Delgado's second attempt at finding a soulmate on national TV. In 2003, she came close to winning the heart of Detroit stockbroker Bob Guiney on the show's fourth installment.

In 2004, Delgado said she had "fallen completely in love" with Velvick but had feared the worst.

"I had my heart broken before, and I hoped I was not walking into the same situation," she said at the time.

Reporter Stephen Thompson can be reached at (727) 451-2336 or spthompson@tampatrib.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT