'The Bachelorette' Gone Awry: Did Emily Maynard Cheat On Jef?

By all means, express surprise at even the very rumor that a bond born of ABC's "The Bachelorette" would be forged without accusations of something tawdry.

Go ahead. Laughter is the best medicine, and I have a headache.

Reports have stirred this week that former "The Bachelor" winner and this past season's "Bachelorette" Emily Maynard may have strayed from fiancé Jef Holm, leading to one explosive fight between the two during a South Carolina vacation. The source snitching to tabloids about the pair's love on the rocks is alleged to be no less than Holm's brother Mike, E! Online reports via Us Weekly.

"I can tell you that it's all 100-percent true," Mike claims. "I was there and I heard the fight and watched the whole thing go down, Emily leaving and everything."

Jef's sibling claims that the Holm family was joined by Jef, Emily and Emily's seven-year-old daughter, Ricki. Jef allegedly found "explicit" text messages and photos between Maynard and an as-yet-unidentified other man.

"It's just a bogus 'source,'" Maynard said Wednesday. Another source close with Maynard similarly debunked the tale. Keep in mind, tabloid allegations of infidelity also tore apart her previous relationship with two-time "Bachelor" Brad Womack. That was, after all, what she tearfully told "The Bachelorette" host Chris Harrison when Harrison asked during the season preceding Maynard's why her and Womack's union failed.

For his part, Jef sounds disappointed but not necessarily riled by the attention.

"It's crazy what people will do, even family members, to see their name in a magazine," Je said. If it's a lie, it's a lie to which Mike sounds committed. "I love my brother very much and, like the rest of our family, I just want him to be happy," Mike said. "We all love Emily, too. Mistakes happen, we all get that. I hope they can work it all out, but as far as [the] story goes, it's all true."