Biography
DeAnna Marie Pappas, of Greek heritage, is the middle of three children. She was born in Marietta, Georgia, and shortly thereafter moved to Kentucky with her mother and siblings. At twelve years old, she lost her mother to cancer before relocating with her brother, Thomas, and sister, Chrissy, to Newnan, Georgia, to live with her father.
Pappas was vice-president of her class in both junior and senior years of high school and loved playing softball. After high school, she attended Georgia Military College and received a degree in General Studies. From there, Pappas attended the Gaddy's School, where she earned her real estate license. She practiced real estate at Keller Williams Realty Connections in Newnan, Georgia.
In 2007, Pappas decided to audition for The Bachelor (2002), a reality television dating-game show on ABC Television. She made it to the final rose ceremony, where bachelor, Brad Womack, famously rejected both girls. He was chastised by Ellen DeGeneres, who later retracted her statement. DeAnna's heartbreak was evident on the follow-up, "After the Final Rose" show. Recognizing her popularity, ABC Television tapped DeAnna to star in The Bachelorette (2003); this time, she would be in control of her dating destiny. The news was broken to her by Ellen DeGeneres, while she was a guest on Ellen's daytime talk show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show (2003).
In the 2008 season of The Bachelorette (2003), Pappas eventually rejected single dad Jason Mesnick and accepted the marriage proposal of professional snowboarder Jesse Csincsak. Their relationship lasted a few months before the engagement was called off. Mesnick went on to become "The Bachelor", in 2009, where he initially dramatically dumped but later made up with runner-up, Molly Malaney.
In October 2008, Pappas won Fox Reality Channel's "Golden Realtini", given to the most memorable reality performer of the year. During her engagement, Pappas was offered and accepted a co-hosting job on Get Married (2007), a daily TV show on the Lifetime TV cable network, that helps brides plan every aspect of their weddings. Lifestyle guru and "event planner to the stars", Colin Cowie, was the show's host.
She has been married to Stephen Stagliano since October 22, 2011. They have two children. Stephen's brother, Michael Stagliano, was on season 5 of The Bachelorette (2003).
