ROCKSTAR OF LOVE

Reality TV Star Dies ‘Unexpectedly’ At 39

The VH1 star was in the top 10 contestants on the iconic reality show before she was eliminated.

Kelsey Bateman, who starred in Bret Michaels’ reality TV show Rock of Love, has died at 39. The date and cause of death have not yet been released. TMZ reports that Bateman’s death came “unexpectedly,” according to a family source. Bateman was just 21 when she competed in 2009 the VH1 reality show, which featured dozens of women competing to date Michaels, then 44, the frontman of the rock band Poison. Bateman was a contestant in the third season and was beloved by fans for her boldness and sense of humor. She was eliminated in the seventh episode after getting drunk with two other contestants and “bawling [her] eyes out” while lying on a speed bump. “But I mean, hey, I can’t be the only girl that’s got drunk and laid on a speed bump. Let’s be honest,” she said on the show. After Michaels notified her that she had been eliminated, she reported that she was returning to the single life at home in Utah, adding, “I’m not going to think about guys for a while, but the next guy I find definitely won’t be 44 and probably not a rock star.” In the show, Michaels described Bateman as an “awesome and beautiful girl.”