'The Bachelor's Maria Opens Up to Joey About "Dying" in a Car Accident When She Was Younger

Say what you will about supposed "villains" in The Bachelor franchise, because Season 28's not-so-nice contestant Maria Georgas is cleaning up by winning roses every single week. This is despite some of the other women accusing her of being a bully, and despite her own threats to go home.

But there is clearly something between Maria and Joey, and it may have to do with Maria being so willing to open up to him about the car accident she was in as a child. In the special Tuesday episode on Feb. 13, Maria talks to Joey about briefly dying when she was a child. It's a somewhat rare moment of vulnerability and, dare we say, it only makes Joey's feelings for her grow stronger.

In the episode, Maria explains her story to Joey. She tells him that when she was a year old, a cement truck fell on the car she was in with her mother. Although both Maria and her mom survived the accident long-term, Maria shares that it changed her mom and altered what could have been a close relationship. And, Maria tells Joey, it was an accident that caused her to lose her life, if only temporarily.

"I was literally pronounced dead at the scene," Maria says in The Bachelor episode. "It was in newspapers as a miracle at the time."

Maria also says that she knows how quickly things can change in the blink of an eye, and that she has a different kind of appreciation for life that some people may not.

Outside of The Bachelor, Maria has a close relationship with her dad. In June 2023, she shared a birthday post for him on Instagram. In the caption of a photo of Maria and her dad, she wrote, "The man, the myth, the legend. Happy Birthday pops. 60 never looked better."

Around the same time in 2019, Maria posted a selfie with her dad and wrote that he is "the best man" in her life. If Maria makes it to hometown dates with Joey, we foresee The Bachelor lead in a serious hot seat when he meets the parents.

Watch The Bachelor on Mondays at 8 p.m. EST on ABC.