Schefft herself was pretty confused by the reaction because she thought she had played fair, and the show didn't look that way.

Schefft was the first ''Bachelor/Bachelorette'' star not to make a match. She declined marriage proposals from both Oklahoma entrepreneur John Paul Merritt and - in a live broadcast - Jerry Ferris, an art gallery director from Los Angeles.

Ferris seemed especially shocked, because Schefft had committed to him (though not yet to marriage) in a segment taped months earlier.

But in a recent telephone interview, Schefft said Ferris should not have been surprised by her wish just to be friends.

The two had seen each other a few times since taping of the show ended, and it was clear to Schefft they were not going to be a match.

''I was always honest with him,'' Schefft said from Chicago, where she works for Rockit Ranch Productions, a marketing and public relations company. ''He did know what my answer would be. . . . I spoke to him two nights before'' the finale.

The producers of the show also knew her answer, she said, and went ahead with a romantic buildup (including a love song).

''I kind of felt like they were setting me up for failure,'' she said. ''The whole thing left me confused.''

It also left her as a villain to many viewers, who wondered what it would take to satisfy her. She had been chosen by Andrew Firestone on ''The Bachelor,'' but that relationship did not last; then she turned down both proposals on ''The Bachelorette.''

''There have been so many things on the Internet that are so mean,'' she said, and people have sent nasty messages to her personal e-mail. But there have also been messages of support, and Schefft still does not regret her decision. In fact, she thinks she was more honest than she has been given credit for.

After all, ''The Bachelor'' and ''The Bachelorette'' have a horrible record when it comes to making long-term matches.

''People say the show doesn't work,'' she said. ''And when I'm fairly honest about it, I'm the problem?''

But long before the finale, she was not finding her prolonged TV exposure much fun.

She had tried to be honest with all the competitors - because she had been in their situation - and to act in a way that wouldn't disappoint the folks back in her former home of Mentor, Ohio.

''I tried to handle myself in a responsible way,'' she said, even if the show didn't always look like it. ''They do show a lot of kissing,'' she said, ''but it wasn't that much.''

Still, starring on the show was ''completely different'' from being a contestant, she said.

''Most of the audience is women. The women loved Andrew, and the women love the men on the show,'' she said. ''So when I didn't give a rose to someone they liked, it was 'What's wrong with you?' I didn't have a fan base, and I wasn't prepared for that . . .

''I don't think I'm hard to please,'' she said. ''I went into a situation that didn't work out the way I hoped.''

And now? She continues to deny reports that she is dating Billy Dec, one of the founders of Rockit Ranch. Asked if she might get back with Firestone, she said, ''Gosh, no.'' Nor is Merritt back in the picture.

She said Merritt is a great guy, and that Ferris is, too. Just not her guy.

Channeling

The Amazing Race 7: KUTV Channel 2, tonight, 8. One racer is caught trying to bribe someone into withholding information from other contestants.

Blind Justice: KTVX Channel 4, tonight, 9. Premiere episode of this drama in which a stolen-car case may be connected to multiple homocides.

NBA Basketball: KJZZ Channel 14, tonight, 7. Indiana Pacers at Utah Jazz.