Emily Maynard Johnson Wishes Daughter Ricki a Happy 17th Birthday: 'I'm So Proud of You'
Emily Maynard/Instagram
Emily Maynard Johnson is celebrating her daughter on her 17th birthday!
The former Bachelorette star, 36, shared a montage video of her daughter's life on Instagram on Wednesday to celebrate Ricki as she turns 17.
"On this day, seventeen years ago, I feel like I was reborn in so many ways because you brought so much joy to my aching heart. And now, you continue to brighten every room you walk in and make people, whether you know them or don't, feel like they've known you forever," the proud mom wrote.
"Your humility, grace, grit, and of course beauty, know no bounds and I'm so proud of you! I love you, Ki! Happy birthday!"
Maynard Johnson and husband Tyler Johnson share sons Gatlin Avery, 4, Gibson Kyle, 5, and Jennings Tyler, 6, and daughter Magnolia Belle, 20 months.
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Ricki's father, Ricky Hendrick, a race car driver, died in a plane crash in 2004 just before Maynard Johnson found out that she was pregnant.
Her season of The Bachelorette aired in early 2011. In a 2017 interview for PEOPLE's Celeb Parents Get Real, Maynard Johnson shared that she regrets having Ricki make appearances on the show.
"I wish that I would've kept [the show] totally separate [from Ricki]," she shared. "At the time, I thought, 'This is it,' and I never would've brought her into it had I not thought that."
"So I wish that I maybe would've taken a step back," Maynard Johnson added. "Maybe sheltered her from that a little bit more."
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Emily Maynard/ instagram
Maynard Johnson went on to admit that she shares a special bond with her oldest child.
"Ricki is the one that makes me laugh the most [and] she's probably the one that makes me cry the most," Maynard Johnson shared. "Because I had her when I was 19 and we've really grown up together."
She added, "So to see her becoming a grown-up … I cried like a baby at her lower-school graduation. People thought somebody had died. I was sobbing, ugly crying — it was horrible."
