"The Bachelor" contestant Kara Wilson (second from left) of Brownsville poses for a picture Monday, January 5, 2015, with South Warren eighth grader Katlyn Hare (left) and freshman Madilyn Daugherty, both of Bowling Green, during a viewing party of the show at Double Dogs. (Bac Totrong/Daily News)

Kara Wilson says she has no regrets about her short stint on “The Bachelor.”

“The whole time, I was myself,” she said. “As long as I knew who I was, I knew I wouldn’t have any regrets.”

Wilson, 25, of Brownsville, was among 30 women who bachelor Chris Soules met during the ABC show’s 19th season, which premiered Monday. Wilson is a 2012 Western Kentucky University graduate who coaches girls’ soccer and teaches English and journalism at Grayson County High School in Leitchfield.

Meeting Soules “was natural, and it was normal,” Wilson said.

“It was not gimmicky,” she said. “The most gimmicky thing was when I said, ‘We would make the cutest babies’ and to me, that wasn’t gimmicky. That was what I wanted to say.”

Soules didn’t give Wilson a rose on the first night, and she was sent home at the end of the episode, but Wilson said she’s still glad she went on the show.

“I was meant to be there,” she said. “I said until the moment I left ‘I was meant to be here.’” 

The show has “given me a testimony like no other,” she said. “My testimony, I feel like, is every thorn has its rose.”

Wilson said the show left out some of her first meeting with Soules and her exit from the house was also cut short, but she wasn’t upset with her shortened screen time, because “they have an audience to accommodate.”

“I’m really glad that I wasn’t portrayed in any negative way,” she said.   

Several dozen supporters of Wilson showed up at Double Dogs in Bowling Green on Monday night for a watch party Wilson organized as a benefit for the Bowling Green-Warren County Humane Society. 

“It just means so much, just to have the response I’ve had,” Wilson said. “I really take the support and encouragement so seriously.”

Among her biggest supporters through her experience on “The Bachelor” were her mother and sister. Her mother, Jennifer Wilson, said she’s proud of her daughter and how she presented herself on the show.

“To us, it’s just so important she maintain her life with the Lord,” Jennifer Wilson said. “No matter what, she’s stayed true to her faith. On the premise of ‘The Bachelor,’ that’s a difficult thing to do.”

Kara’s sister Kelsea Wilson was excited her sister got the chance to be on the show and helped her make her audition tape. 

“She is who she is,” Kelsea said. “She didn’t try to hide it. What you see is what you get.” 

During the watch party Monday, Wilson performed several songs and launched a Kickstarter project with hopes of raising $22,000 to record a Christian album. The project will be funded only if enough money is pledged by Feb. 19. Those who pledge can receive rewards, including autographed CDs. The project is at www.kickstarter.com under the title “Kara Grey Wilson’s Debut Project.”

Lorri Hare, director of the Bowling Green-Warren County Humane Society, came to the watch party Monday. She said “The Bachelor” has always been a guilty pleasure for her and she’s glad to see someone local make it on the show and raise money for charity.

“It’s neat to me that she’s using the opportunity to give back,” Hare said. 

Laura Hilliard came to Double Dogs to support Wilson during the show’s premiere. Hilliard, who volunteers at the humane society, liked that Wilson made the watch party into a benefit for the animal shelter.

“I think it’s wonderful to have Kentucky represented by somebody as nice as her,” Hilliard said. “She’s a very cute girl and very articulate.” 

— Follow faith/general assignments reporter Laurel Wilson on Twitter at twitter.com/FaithinBG