by David McAlpine

This week on The Bachelorette, dentistry student Ashley Hebert got her chance at love with 25 lucky suitors. She had to send seven home before the night was over, but one of the bachelors, 35 year-old Tim McCormack of Long Beach, NY, had a little too much to drink and had to be put in the early limo on his way out of the game. Earlier today, Tim spoke during a conference call about his experience on the show and people's reaction to his appearance.

Q, David, RealityWanted: What was people's reaction after the episode aired?
A, Tim: People found it amusing, they found it funny, you know? I hear all the banter about the guy with the mask and everything. Honestly, I haven't watched the full thing; I had to turn it off, it was so nauseating. Friends of mine, colleagues at work, they all had the same general consensus: "What the hell happened to you?" At it wasn't just them, it was my friends and family members, too. There are plenty of nights where I had too much to drink, but no point have I ever seen anything like that.

Q: How did you end up the way you did?
A, Tim: Nerves definitely got the best of me. I had a few drinks, but I've never had alcohol affect me like that before. It was really stomach churning to watch the little bit that I did.

Q: How many drinks did you have?
A, Tim: I work in the alcohol industry, so it's a part of my life. To have that kind of reaction, I have to chalk it up to adrenaline or nerves when I walked in. I definitely got carried away--it's extremely humiliating. I can't pinpoint the number of drinks I had. I wasn't sitting in my hotel room drinking all day, but I was nervous just like everyone else.

Q: Were you aware of how drunk you were at the time?
A, Tim: The part of me going to sleep, that to me wasn't exactly a conscious decision, it was a bodily reaction to that in my system. I've never seen anybody as bad as what I saw myself going through on TV. I wouldn't have gone through this process planning to do that.

Q: What's your cure for a hangover?
A, Tim: I was in a giant fog as to what happened the previous night, and I killed the hangover with enough Gatorade to fuel a football field.

Q: Did you have a game plan of how you were going to woo Ashley?
A, Tim: Obviously I stood out and that didn't work for me, because that wasn't my plan. I didn't want to do anything too scripted, because some of the scripted things work for guys and not for others. My whole thought process and game plan was to take things and see how they progress, see how she feels about me and how I feel about her.

Q: If Ashley had given you a second chance, how would you have made it up to her?
A, Tim: I would have made an extra effort to show her the Tim McCormick that was cast and not some guy who showed up that night drunk; that was not a good barometer of who I am. I'm not saying I would have wound up the winner at the end, but I do think if I had the chance to speak with her, it would have been interesting to watch and see how it played out.

The Bachelorette airs Mondays at 8/7c on ABC.

(Photo courtesy of ABC)

Reach David by e-mail or follow him on Twitter (@DavidMcAlpine).