[Cyber Liberty]

Better be one heck of a "looker" to go through this much crap for her.

[dogbyte12]

Ok... this chick is a loser magnet. She attracts, and accepts dates from losers. Now she is going to get guys who want to date her by having her parents run a background check on them. Oh boy, I want a follow up on this story in 5 years.

[Mr. K]

"Devlin, who has a 4-year-old daughter, Karah, quickly warmed to the idea.."

Who wants to marry our slut?

[stainlessbanner]

Who Wants to Throw Their Life Away on Reality TV?

[Zavien Doombringer]

Here She is!!!!

[af_vet_1981]

"This is for the long run. This is not baloney," said Wood, a former bar manager.

ROFL if it wasn't so sad ...

[nothingnew]

"My mom is half Italian and half Greek, so she's all about family,"

"My Big Fat Italian/Greek Wedding II.

FMCDH

[ladysusan]

...and this is different from the story on the role of women in Bedouin culture...how?

[Roughneck]

Are they letting transexuals, homosexuals, and seekers apply as well?

If not, the ACLU better get hoppin' sarcasm/off

[1Old Pro]

.....But if we get all losers, we'll still have fun."

Well, they had just better resign themselves to having fun then.

[Orangedog]

"I work. I'm independent. I'm not looking for a man to support me. I'm just looking for love," said Devlin, a full-time nanny, who lists compassion, love, and truthfulness among her strengths.

Yeah, ok....she has zero job skills and a 4 year old. Sounds like she's looking for a box of "Instant Family...Just add dad!" No wonder her parents are trying to foist her off on some gullable sap.

[Hank Rearden]

"At first I was like, `No. Are you crazy?' " Devlin said. "When I woke up in the morning, they were like, `We're doing this.' "

"And, like, I had to like, turn down the Sorbonne scholarship because I didn't have anything to wear. Like, I so need a man. Any man. One from my front lawn. Like."

[Colofornian]

Karen Jones, a professional relationship coach

Ya got any idea what entity this is? A professional relationship coach?

professional relationship coach. Is this in contradistinction to an amateur relationship coach (e.g. a mother-in-law)?

professional relationship coach. Or does this mean we've professionalized relationships to the point that lay relationships are sub-standard?

[July 4th]

The man they choose will accompany Devlin on a weekend getaway at an International Inn "Cuddle and Bubble" hotel on Cape Cod, where their room will include a Jacuzzi built for two.

Ok, this place sounds like a total hole in the wall. We've got a few of these kinds of motels around here, and they're really disgusting. From everything else I've read, the parents probably thought it was perfect. Anyhow...

Kudos to her for keeping the kid. I only wish marriage were as easy as an interview.

[LJPenney]

Here's the video:

http://www.necn.com/

Definitely worth the watch.

I feel really sorry for her. She must be so desperate, especially because she has a daughter. No guy wants another man's kid.

[Wednesday's Child]

The man they choose will accompany Devlin on a weekend getaway at an International Inn "Cuddle and Bubble" hotel on Cape Cod, where their room will include a Jacuzzi built for two. Asked whether that may be rushing things a bit, Wood said that on this count she has complete faith in her daughter's judgment. "I don't think they're going to do something they shouldn't do there. It's just a getaway where they can relax and bring it down to a one-on-one level," Wood said. "I'm not saying they have to get married at the end of five weeks, after all.
Just how many applicants are going to say anything and everything "right" for a free trip to the Bubble and Cuddle Hotel?
Words fail me.............

[yarddog]

After reading about her, I wouldn't touch her with a 10 foot pole but anyone who says she is ugly needs glasses.

[sandydipper]

Looks OK to me - and I ain't been drinking - yet. Full time job, has her own car, knows how to and a Dad that owns a bar?? Can she clean fish?

[Andy'smom]

The daughter Kimberley is actually kind of cute but it has just
come to light today that both she and her mother are accepting
welfare payments from the state. Kimberley is also a high school drop-out and has a sister who also has a 20 month old
toddler also sans marriage. Mrs. Wood receives a monthly stipend to care for said child because this daughter has lost
custody. It will be interesting to see how many suitors appear
next week.

[WorldWatcher1]

Followup story in the boston globe:

Winning husband must fit the bills

by Tom Farmer and Jennifer Rosinski
Wednesday, August 20, 2003

The Southbridge family that's holding a public competition to find a suitable suitor for a daughter, has a history of financial and relationship problems.

``I'm not taking any more interviews,'' Donna Wood said last night before hanging up on a reporter. ``I'm reading all the horrible stuff in the paper and I'm not taking anymore, so I'm sorry.''

Wood and her family had caught the imagination of the public recently when she advertised for a man to marry her daughter, Kimberly Devlin, 22, and then interviewed candidates on her front lawn, setting off a media frenzy.

The attention also caught the eye of Hollywood and captured a free trip to California for the family to appear on Sharon Osbourne's new show next month when Devlin's beau will be chosen on air from two finalists.

But the family stopped giving interviews after the Worcester Telegram & Gazette reported yesterday that the family is receiving welfare payments.

According to sources familiar with the family, Kimberly, who works as a part-time nanny and is the single mother of 4-year-old Kara, is collecting $518 a month in Transitional Aid for Families with Dependent Children and $211 a month in food stamps.

Wood, 44, is collecting $428 a month in TAFDC for her 20-month-old granddaughter who was left in Wood's care by Devlin's older sister.

Beth Lavine of Oxford, Devlin's best friend, said the family's financial straits have nothing to do with Wood's matchmaking.

``The whole point of this is to find someone (Kimberly) loves,'' said Lavine. ``It has nothing to do with raising her daughter. It has nothing to do with bills.''

Sources said the family was also investigated for child neglect in 1998 when they were living in Dudley and Donna Wood was married to Mark Bonneville, 36.

After Bonneville was arrested for alleged domestic abuse on Wood, officials investigated allegations that the couple was doing drugs with Wood's two daughters and the daughters were not going to school, sources said.

``The allegations were unsubstantiated,'' said one source. ``The truancy issue was resolved when the children went back to school.''

``The older daughter moved out after the investigation and left her kid with (Wood) to take care of,'' said the source.

Devlin's biological father, Paul Devlin, is deceased, and Wood and Devlin are collecting Social Security benefits as a result of his death, sources said.

Of the 10 finalists who meet the judge's criteria and will go to the next round this weekend, at least one is not fazed by the family's background.

``They seem like a normal family to me. Nobody's perfect,'' said Bill Beck, 24, of Clinton. ``In my mind, generally what is in the past is in the past. I go from when I meet the person to the present. Nothing's changed in my mind and it doesn't appear it's going to change.''