Once being engaged is obviously far more impressive than spine surgery and robots. At least that's true when you're a contestant on The Bachelor. Because despite Salley's job on The Bachelor being a spine surgery robot operator, the reality show has decided to list her profession as "previously engaged." And while I get that's tempting since Salley was supposed to get married to someone other than Clayton Echard literally right when this season of The Bachelor began filming, her real career — well, her real career before she inevitably transitions to social media influencer — deserves some recognition.
Salley's ABC bio states she's a "career-focused girl" and a "real-life Meredith Grey looking for her McDreamy." Despite the misleading bio that says she's a Meredith Grey, a "spine surgery robot operator" is not a surgeon. So Salley didn't forgo years of med school and a career as a surgeon to come on The Bachelor.
According to her LinkedIn profile, she's an Associate Navigation and Robotics Consultant and a Clinical Specialist for two companies. After getting her bachelor of science in 2017, she attended a 6-week spine program at Medical Sales College... which is what it sounds like — a school that trains people in medical device sales. She was then hired as a clinical sales specialist by Mazor Robotics.
But The Bachelor decided that rather than focus on her medical career for her job title, they were going to lean into the fact that Salley was engaged a month before going on The Bachelor. And I mean, with all of this drama, I kind of get it.
Salley's wedding date was set for Sept. 26 — the very day that Bachelor creator Mike Fleiss tweeted they were back at the Bachelor Mansion for filming Clayton's season. (Though limo entrances didn't seem to be filmed until Sept. 29 based on a tweet from Robert Mills — the chief of ABC's unscripted programming.) But internet sleuths found that Salley's fiancé (well, ex-fiancé) Dr. Avery L. Buchholz was possibly still married to another woman — Ebony Jane Hilton, who's a doctor and has been on TV as a contributor for MSNBC.
Another reason for the called-off engagement could have been that Salley's ex was cheating on her, according to a report from The Sun. A source told the publication that a friend of Salley's nominated her for the show after she called off the wedding. So Salley wasn't responsible for the crazy timeline of going from weeks before her wedding to Bachelor contestant.
Although Salley's Instagram was private for a bit, it appears that ahead of Clayton's season premiering on Jan. 3, she's purged it of any posts related to her wedding and her ex and made it public again. And based on her Instagram Story, she's celebrating 2022 and The Bachelor premiere with her friends in the Bahamas. Think of it as the honeymoon Salley deserves.
Based on spoilers, Salley will open up about the engagement in The Bachelor premiere. And how could she not considering her wedding day was when filming started?! So maybe in this instance, I'll forgive The Bachelor for having her career play second fiddle to her status as "previously engaged."
Images: ABC