'The Bachelorette' May Not Be Bryan's First Try At Finding Love On TV

Bryan has been doing well so far on The Bachelorette. He caught Rachel's eye almost immediately and earned himself the first impression rose. He hasn't crashed or burned majorly since then. In fact, he might have a good chance at taking home a shiny engagement ring of his own. But maybe it's been going too well. Suspiciously well. Maybe Bryan is simply too skilled at the reality TV game for a novice. Is there a chance Bryan was on another reality show before The Bachelorette?

That question is so leading that I'm sure you already know the answer is yes. This hasn't been confirmed by Bryan himself, but all the context clues are coming together to indicate that he once had a stint on a UPN reality show called The Player. If that title makes it sound like a 2004 nightmare of negging, you're not far off; its sign-off was the truly imaginative, "Don't hate the player, hate the game." It followed a Miami model named Dawn Olivieri and 13 "players" as they fought it out to be the one to win her heart in the end. Hmm, something about that sounds familiar. And do you know what's even more familiar? Player Bryan, who certainly seems to be the same guy now intently wooing Rachel on The Bachelorette.

If you zip on over to the 45-second mark in the opening credits for The Player, you'll get an eyeful of someone who certainly looks like a younger, 2004 version of Bryan. Subtract the flowing hair and the earring, add a beard: the similarities are staggering. Both Bryans are from Miami, which is another startling coincidence. And it looks like he's always been pretty solid at romancing women on television, because Player Bryan did pretty well too, for a while.

According to a UPN press release (via The Futon Critic) from the days The Player was airing, Bryan made it all the way to hometowns before he was cut from the competition by Dawn. But before he was out of the game, he tried to win her over with such romantic gestures as a swim at the beach and a plane pulling a banner with the heartwarming message, "Dawn & Bryan???" It's the three question marks that really tug at the heartstrings.

Unfortunately, Dawn ultimately felt that Bryan did not possess "player skills." In her opinion, he had no game. This could actually bode well when it comes to The Bachelorette. Failing out of a show called The Player because you're not enough of a player is one of those situations that you win by losing.