Sweet Home Alabama Season 1 ~ Discussion ~ Spoilers

Franklin native Adam Moyer emerged victorious on the debut season of CMT’s reality dating show Sweet Home Alabama Thursday night. The series pitted city boys against country boys who vied for blonde beauty Devin Grissom’s affection. Moyer, who grew up with his grandparents on a horse farm, gave Grissom a promise ring, and the two are officially a couple.

Tribble Reese, this season’s runner-up, has signed on to be season 2’s bachelor. When the series debuts its second season, 20 women from the city and country will compete for his heart, just as he did for Grissom’s.

The second season of Sweet Home Alabama premieres 8 p.m. Oct. 20 on CMT.

Country boy Adam Moyer won the affections of Southern belle Devin Grissom to emerge as the winner of the first season of the CMT reality series Sweet Home Alabama. The results were revealed Thursday night (Sept. 1) during the season finale.

After agonizing over her decision, Grissom chose Moyer for his strong values and big heart. Since the beginning of the season, Moyer, a horse trainer from Tennessee, was a fan favorite because of his endearing one-liners. He also earned respect of Grissom and viewers when he chose not to "kiss and tell" about their first date.

Runner-up Tribble Reese proved to be a strong contender and fan favorite early in the series, but Grissom ultimately followed her heart.

Although hurt by Grissom's decision, Reese has decided to give love another chance, signing on to be the new bachelor on the second season of Sweet Home Alabama, scheduled to premiere Oct. 20 on CMT. This time, he will be faced with the tough decision of city versus country in the search for Ms. Right, choosing between girls from all across the nation who are heading to Alabama to help mend his broken heart.

Raised near Birmingham, Ala., Reese was recruited by Clemson University where he was a quarterback and earned a degree in marketing. After college, he played quarterback in the arena league for the Carolina Speed of Charlotte, N.C. Reese was voted a 2008 "Most Eligible Bachelor" in South Carolina for Cosmopolitan magazine and was voted Jezebel magazine's "Most Beautiful" in 2010. He's currently pursuing his MBA and a career in mobile application development while living in Atlanta.

me and adam on one of my "secret" trips to nashville!

So we’re down to the final week on CMT’s first foray into reality dating with the show Sweet Home Alabama, where country girl Devin searches for her Mr. Right. But before you go getting visions of stale roses, desperate contestants searching for their 15 minutes and producers chomping at the bit to create manufactured drama for manufactured romance, let me tell you that so far Sweet Home Alabama seems, dare I say it, normal.

Sweet Home Alabama shows Devin Grissom, a 20-year-old college student and country girl whose search for love sets her up with a group of 10 country boys and 10 city guys to see who will ultimately win her heart. Unlike those other televised searches for “romance,” Sweet Home Alabama sticks pretty much to the down home vs. big city feel that remains the crux of Devin’s decision for how her future’s going to be. Will she find love with a man from the big city? Or will Devin find that her heart’s always been in the South?

Ahead of the season finale airing this Thursday, September 1st, Poptimal.com got the chance to talk to Southern Belle Devin. Topics of conversation include her feelings for the final two guys, the show’s most difficult moments, and also her search to find that fairy tale.

Keshaunta Moton for Poptimal.com: What made you decide to do a reality show?
Devin Grissom: Actually I never even heard about Sweet Home Alabama, I had no idea what it was until the casting directors contacted me on Facebook. I guess people had been sending in applications, they were looking for girls in Alabama and they just hadn’t found the right one yet. They contacted me and wanted to do an interview with me because they said we really think you’re our girl. I was really skeptical about it at first because obviously if you get a Facebook message about something like that, you’re going to ask a few questions. So I definitely did that and got to the bottom of it. I realized it was something I was very, very interested in. Kind of like the opportunity of a lifetime. It’s been a whirlwind ever since.

Poptimal.com: What have you learned most about yourself during the process of Sweet Home Alabama?
Grissom: I guess I’ve learned that I’m really good in under pressure situations. Obviously, I’ve never experienced anything quite like this before, not very many people have. I didn’t really know how I would handle the situations. I didn’t know that I would get so emotionally involved in it. So, I definitely learned that I’m pretty good at listening to my heart and just handling situations as they come along with a good head on my shoulders. I’m kind of proud of myself for that.

Poptimal.com: That is something to be proud of. I mean, I’ve watched quite a few episodes myself and I don’t know how you can choose between 20 guys who want you. How do you deal with the emotional aspect of letting guys go week after week after week?
Grissom: People look on to this experience from the outside and they’re like, “Gosh you have it made” and “Any girl would love to be in your position.” But really it’s hard. People don’t really understand that it’s difficult; it’s emotional. Sweet Home Alabama isn’t like other dating shows where you get to just not give them a rose and then they’re kicked off and you don’t have to say anything to them. I’m actually sitting these guys down and having a heart to heart break-up talk with the guys and it really is tough. I just have to buckle down and realize that I’m going for an end result. I wanted to end up with one of these guys and I had to get through it to get to the end.

Poptimal.com: When you say a heart-to-heart break up talk with each guy, it sounds like a nightmare. But what are some of your favorite memories from the show?
Grissom: I would have to say my favorite memory would have to be our visit to Tuscaloosa. We pretty much started filming early in the summer not long after the tornado hit. It’s so nice to be back and give back a little bit and see more of the heart of some of these guys. See them on a real level of helping people, not just competing to win my heart.

Poptimal.com: On last night’s episode you narrowed it down to the final two: Adam and Tribble. You said that you didn’t expect to have these feelings for so many guys. What would you say you learned the most about love during this weekly process that you had?
Grissom: Like I said I didn’t really know what to expect going into this because reality television dating, people kind of have a bad taste in their mouth about it and a lot of people don’t think it will work and a lot of the time it doesn’t work. I definitely went in skeptical not knowing what exactly would happen, if I would even have a connection with any of the guys. But I went in with open eyes. I definitely learned that if you put yourself out there and the settings are right and the people are right, it could definitely work. And I am so, so happy with the guy I end up choosing. I can’t say that enough, how excited I am to actually be able to go out in public and do normal couple things, the whole dating thing. It’s going to be exciting.

Poptimal.com: That was actually my next question: are you happy now? But you said that you are very happy.
Grissom: Yes, I am. These past three or four months, just from the beginning of this process all the way through filming has been crazy. A once in a lifetime thing for me. I can’t see myself ever doing anything like this ever again. It’s just a lot of fun and I’m taking it day by day and I’m excited to see how the journey’s going to go after next Thursday night.

Poptimal.com: I understand that, of course you can’t say who. And I don’t want to spoil it, for myself at the very least. But you can’t go out and do regular couple things because you can’t let it be known who won; so do you guys hang out?
Grissom: I have seen the person a couple times, but we have to be very, very sneaky. We just have to do our best to talk to each other on the phone and text and just keep up with each other in other ways because if one person sees us it could come out. We have to be very careful.

Poptimal.com: On the show when the guys met your dad he seemed to think that this isn’t something that you should be doing, that it wasn’t the right path for you. Has he come around and changed his mind?
Grissom: Definitely. At the beginning of this whole process my dad was completely against it. He’s actually come around a lot. When I was first approached about it he was like absolutely no…that’s not the way to find love. I kind of decided on my own that it really was the right path for me and he respected that so he started to support more. And then when he actually came down to meet the guys he realized there really were four or five great guys. Ever since then, since the show’s been airing, he’s really gotten to see their personalities a lot more. They’ve grown on him a lot. He’s being very supportive and he loves his little TV debut. A group of friends came over and watched it with them.

Poptimal.com: Speaking of your parents, they’ve been married 34 years?
Grissom: Yes, they have.

Poptimal.com: That is awesome in and of itself. Can you give them a high five for me when we’re done?
Grissom: I surely will. My parents are the best role models I could possibly have. They have kind of a fairy tale perfect marriage and that’s what I’m basing my future off of. I want my future relationship to be just like theirs.

Poptimal.com: Did they give you any advice going onto the show?
Grissom: My mom was totally excited. My dad, his advice to me was don’t do it. But my mom just said, go in there, be yourself, and of course she was the sweet little Southern mom she is and she was like any of these guys would be lucky to have you. She kind of gave me a pep talk about it. I was so nervous going in; I didn’t know how it would work out. My mom was very supportive and she told me to be myself and stay true to my values and what I believed in.

Poptimal.com: Can you tell us about the most difficult moments for you on the show?
Grissom: The most difficult moment is coming next week, my final decision. I was in tears a lot as we were filming the last episode and most of it wasn’t while I was on camera, it was times when I was all by myself. I was so torn on what to do. I kind of felt it a little bit in this past episode, very emotional and not really sure with my decisions. I truly think that I made the right one so no matter how emotional and sad it was coming to the end decision, I’m very happy with how it turned out.

Poptimal.com: So, you’re down to the final two. You said it’s really hard for you next week, but before that can you tell us how you feel about each guy; let us in your head about your feelings for Adam versus those for Tribble?
Grissom: I took Adam on the first date. Just because of the first impressions, he was so warming and I could tell that this is someone I could build a relationship with. I think that’s so important in a relationship to have that first initial spark. He was such a gentleman; he was the only guy to not kiss and tell and not tell everybody that we shared that moment. That definitely scored brownie points for him. Adam [is] literally the sweetest guy. And just as charming and goofy in person as he is on the show. It’s so great to see that there are still guys out there like Adam.

And Tribble, I don’t think any woman in America can deny the fact that Tribble is absolutely drop dead gorgeous, just to put that out there first. He’s one of those guys that are just the life of the party. When I’m around him I’m just drawn to him and he’s just got that spark about him that makes you want to hang out with him. It’s hard to not want to be in a relationship with him. He was one of those guys that I was kind of scared of falling for way too easily and I definitely did. It just felt kind of natural. We have a lot of the same qualities.

Poptimal.com: So you’re a huge sports fan.
Grissom: I am.

Poptimal.com: What kind of fan are you? Are you a go to every game type of fan or go to every game painted head to toe, screaming til your lungs break kind of fan? Or somewhere in between?
Grissom: I have not gone to a game painted head to toe, but I don’t think that makes me any less of a fan. I definitely go decked out in school colors and I’m definitely screaming my lungs out at every single game. I’m a huge Alabama fan, not only the NFL, but NBA, baseball everything. I’m just a big sports fan all around.

Poptimal.com: Unfortunately I know nothing about sports, other than The Blind Side, The Replacements, and Remember the Titans.
Grissom: [laughs] All movies.

Poptimal.com: They’re all awesome movies. And they all revolve around these sort of “Hail Mary” moments. Can you tell us about your greatest real life sports upset?
Grissom: Last season, the Iron Bowl, which is pretty much the biggest rivalry in all of college football. Especially in the state of Alabama, it’s pretty much a religion. You’re either an Auburn fan or an Alabama fan. This past year at the Iron Bowl, which is the Alabama/Auburn game, Alabama got up 21 to nothing in the third pass. I don’t want to go into detail because I’ll start crying. We lost that lead and we just completely ruined the whole way and ended up losing the game 28 to 27. It was one of the most heart breaking moments of my entire life, I can honestly say that.

Poptimal.com: I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to dredge up bad memories for you. But on the other side what’s your favorite football memory?
Grissom: Definitely my favorite football memory would have to be the 2009 national championship with Texas. It was such an amazing year and it was pretty much all you could ask for as an Alabama fan. And I’m pretty sure we’re going to take it again this year. We’re starting off the pre-season at #2 and I think we I can see us going to the national championship game again, so I’ll keep my fingers crossed.

Poptimal.com: Well thanks for talking with us Devin and best of luck to you.
Grissom: Thank you.

Devin Grissom’s Favorite 5
Favorite Song: “Carolina” by Eric Church
Favorite Sound: My cat purring
Favorite Smell: My perfume, it smells like cotton candy
Favorite Memory: “I think my favorite memory would have to be with my dad. We used to go to the fair every single year together and eat corn on the cob. It seems insignificant but it’s always one I keep coming back to.”
Favorite Place: Bryant Deny Stadium.