Emily Maynard went on a powerful journey of motherhood before and after her appearances on The Bachelor and The Bachelorette.
After accepting a proposal from Brad Womack on The Bachelor in 2011, the couple called off their engagement three months later. Emily returned for her own season of The Bachelorette the following year, though she also split from winner Jef Holm before they ever tied the knot.
Emily was already a mother to her first child, daughter Ricki, before she made her reality TV debut and ultimately welcomed five more kids after marrying Tyler Johnson in June 2014. (Tyler and Emily share Jennings, born in July 2015, Gibson, born in September 2016, Gatlin, born in November 2017, Nola Belle, born in October 2020, and Jones, born in August 2022.)
Speaking to People in December 2017, Emily remembered being up front with Tyler from day one about wanting to have a large family.
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“I’ve always wanted a lot of kids,” she shared at the time. “I made it clear on our first day, Listen, my clock’s ticking, and I’m ready to get on this. I wouldn’t change any of this for the world.”
Keep scrolling to meet Emily’s six children below:
Ricki Hendrick
Emily discovered she was pregnant with Ricki a few days after her fiancé, racecar driver Ricky Hendrick, was killed in an airplane crash in Martinsville, Virginia, in October 2004. Nine others also died in the crash.
The future Bachelor Nation favorite gave birth to her first daughter in June 2005 and named her Ricki in memory of her late partner.
To mark the 20th anniversary of Ricky’s death in October 2024, Emily confessed in a poignant tribute that she’d sometimes felt “paralyzed at age 18” due to the trauma.
“It’s so strange to have a specific marker in time that completely changed my life and soul forever,” she reflected via Instagram. “I look at pictures and don’t even recognize that girl anymore, no matter how much I wish I could. [On] one hand I feel like I’ve changed so much and then in the other, that I’ve been paralyzed at age 18 forever.”
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She went on, “I have so many things I can’t wait to tell him. I can’t wait for him to meet my Tyler. I know they’ll love each other and that Ricky is so grateful for how well he has taken care of his girls. Thank you, God, for letting me be a part of his life and for allowing me the gift of being loved by him.”
Later that year, Emily assured her social media followers that her daughter Ricki was “alive and well” after mentioning via Instagram that her “heart [hurt] in a physical way” over missing her child.
“Ricki is alive and well at college. Sorry for any confusion,” she followed up.
Ricki announced the lovely news in August 2025 she was pregnant with her first child by sharing a photo of a sonogram via her Instagram Story and quoting Love Island USA’s Huda Mustafa: “Netflix told me I’m not allowed to talk about it.”
Accompanying a video of the baby moving, Ricki quipped: “My heart is so full, yet my stomach is so empty because she hates all food. I’m convinced.”
Ricki officially became a mom in January 2026 when she shared a photo of her baby in the hospital. “Best day ever,” she wrote via Instagram at the time.
Jennings
Emily and husband Tyler confirmed the arrival of their first child together, Jennings, in July 2015 by sharing a photo of the new mom and her infant son cuddling in bed.
“God is good,” Emily beamed via Instagram at the time. “My heart can’t even handle it.”
Prior to Jennings’ birth, Emily offered a tongue-in-cheek explanation to North Carolina TV station WCCB about how the couple planned to name their son.
“We’re excited. I told Tyler that if he gets to pick the last name for everybody, then I should get to pick the first name and if he wants to pick the first name, then he can take my last name and be a Maynard. He did not like that,” she teased in May 2005. “So, we’re still compromising.”
Gibson
Gibson followed Jennings just over one year later in September 2016. During her pregnancy, Emily admitted to E! News that it felt as if she’d “just had Jennings last week,” though she and Tyler had a good reason for having another baby so quickly.
“I just figured we already have one of each,” she explained. “As an adult, there are few surprises that you truly get and I just thought it would be fun and it’s been really exciting.”
Following her son’s birth, Emily said that she picked “Gibson” because it’s her middle name. Gibson’s own middle name, “Kyle,” was Tyler’s grandmother’s maiden name.
Gatlin
Emily and Tyler were stumped on a name for their third son when he was born in November 2017, so they asked their social media followers for suggestions.
“Welcome New Baby Johnson to the world. If anyone has any good boy names send them my way! We need help,” she wrote via Instagram.
Commenters suggested names like Walker, Truett, Luke, Parker, Jack and Leo before the new parents shared their choice a few days later.
“We finally came up with a name and were able to leave the hospital! Meet Gatlin Avery Johnson,” she disclosed. “The sweetest little brother this family ever could’ve asked for.”
Nola Belle
The Bachelorette star confirmed she was expecting baby No. 5 in October 2020 just two days before she actually gave birth.
Emily’s fifth pregnancy took a toll on her physically and emotionally because she was diagnosed with Bell’s Palsy in the latter stages of pregnancy. According to the Mayo Clinic, the often-temporary condition causes “sudden weakness in the muscles on one side of the face” that make it appear as if one side is drooping.
In Emily’s case, she had to wear an eye patch throughout her recovery, though she clarified that this wasn’t her first experience with Bell’s Palsy.
“I had it in high school and lucky me am one of the very few people that get it twice,” she wrote via her Instagram Story in December 2020. “It started with a bad headache that got progressively worse and went into my jaw. Thought it was an ear infection but then woke up one morning and couldn’t spit out my toothpaste or put on mascara. I knew exactly what it was so [the] doctor prescribed me a steroid.”
Jones
In November 2022, Emily announced that she and Tyler learned during the birth of their “sweet son, Jones West Johnson” that he had Down Syndrome and a colon abnormality.
“While it was certainly a surprise, we have so much peace in God’s perfect plan and know Jones is going to be a blessing to our family,” Emily wrote via Instagram.
Jones spent one month in the NICU before the family could take their baby home for the first time.
“[He] is thankfully now home in all the chaos and we couldn’t love him more,” she wrote. “Thank you to everyone at [Atrium Health Levine Children’s Hospital in Charlotte, North Carolina] for all that you did for our family. I’m so happy to finally share the news and can share all the pictures with you guys! He’s absolutely the cherry on top! 🍒.”
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Jones underwent an ostomy reversal procedure at 7 months old to reconnect his bowel. Shortly after the surgery, Emily assured her worried followers that Jones was on the mend despite undergoing such a serious operation.
“I love him so much,” she wrote via her Instagram Story. “And for those who have asked, he had an ostomy reversal and it went great.”
Emily and Tyler were even able to surprise their then-2-year-old daughter Nola with Mattel’s first-ever Barbie with Down syndrome as her brother recovered.’
“I may be new to this community, but it makes my heart so happy to see giant companies like @barbie including Down syndrome in their lineup,” she added. “Nola Belle was clearly just thrilled to get a new Barbie. Thank you @barbie for the sweetest gift ever.”
