Freddie Fackelmayer: MTV Made Me A “Womanizing Jerk”

Freddie Fackelmayer, a 2005 graduate of the George Washington University, wants everyone to know that he’s not a “womanizing jerk.” Fackelmayer just finished up a stint as a boyfriend to reality television star Whitney Port on MTV’s “The City,” a a show about Port’s real life working in the fashion industry.
“They can still make you look however they want,” Fackelmayer said “They made me be this sort of womanizing jerk, which is not really who I am,” he said. How does that work? According to Fackelmayer, MTV “never asked the cast to say or do anything, but the editing that followed skewed what actually happens.” He adds: “You know they cut it up [into] little bits and they pick what they want to make it as interesting as possible and it’s tough not to look like a jerk, I think.”
Fackelmayer said he became involved with the show after his younger brother met Port during filming in New York. Fackelmayer said producers approached his brother to get Freddie on the show as well.
"I was reluctant at first 'cause I was worried how it would affect work after being on one of these shows, but I gave it a shot," Fackelmayer said.
"[Whitney's] got a lot to say and a lot on her mind," Fackelmayer said. "She's just been doing this a lot longer than any of us and she knows to keep her two worlds entirely different. There's a Whitney and there's a Whitney on The City."
Fackelmayer, who grew up in Greenwich, Conn. and knew a couple of the cast members before filming began, went into filming prepared but said he still felt he was inaccurately portrayed.
It's not fun to look like a jerk on TV, it's not good to be a sloppy mess when you've got a real job," he said.
Fackelmayer who has been working for a commercial real estate company has another job he's like to add to his resume - author. Before the show, he started writing a novel about two young boys growing up in Greenwich, and said appearing on MTV has opened a lot of doors.
"I'm speaking with agents, and that's actually something that actually has been helpful, because agents, if you're a first-time writer, its really difficult to get your foot in the door, but I sort of skipped those really difficult first steps because most of them had heard of me," he said.
Fackelmayer said he has put his time on MTV behind him and has no qualms about his appearance on the show. He adds that although he and Port are no longer dating, they are still good friends.
"I'm not looking back on it, I don't regret it. I'm just focusing on what I've got going on now," Fackelmayer said. "And we got great ratings."
credit - Lucy McCalmont@GW Hatchet, washington city paper