Penelope Jean Hayes

Penelope Jean Hayes is a Canadian American writer and journalist, television popular culture commentator, celebrity publicist, and artist.

Early Life

Hayes was born in Windsor, Ontario, the daughter of Terrance Joseph Bachmeier and Joan Marie Bachmeier (née Fink). At age 10, she moved with her family to Chatham, Ontario, and two years later to London, Ontario. In 1989, at the age of 15, Hayes moved again with her family, back to their hometown, Windsor, Ontario. She says that she did not adjust well and “had always been shy and cringed at the idea of having to meet new people or be conspicuous in any way”. That same year, at age 15, she left her parents’ home. In the Introduction of her manuscript, M.O.V.E., she writes, “Occasionally I would come back home like a stray cat. So I suppose I was a runaway and a runback: an in-and-outer. Either way, I was a lost soul.”

Hayes suffered from “functional depression” from ages 15, and in 2001 was hospitalized for depression for three weeks after ending “a passionate, yet tumultuous relationship”. On her official website, she describes being “hopeless about life and love, both broke and broken in every way possible and chronically unfulfilled.” She said her depression continued until 2007, when she changed everything in her life, starting with moving from Windsor, Ontario to Nashville, Tennessee. She attributes her happiness to the pursuit of purpose.

Career

Hayes worked in public relations in Ontario from 1999 to 2007, when she moved to Nashville, Tennessee and started a publicity business. According to a 2011 article in BizX Magazine, Hayes represented recording artists, songwriters, television personalities, and movie stars. Hayes was the publicist to a number of cast members from ABC’s reality dating shows The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, and CBS’s Survivor. She attended an interview on Good Morning America in 2009 with client Dr. Andy Baldwin, the bachelor of the 10th season of The Bachelor dubbed The Bachelor: Officer and a Gentleman.

Journalism

Hayes writes the advice column, “The Magic Of Viral Energy: Your Guide To Supernatural Happiness (M.O.V.E.)”. In 2016, she was invited by Arianna Huffington to become a contributing writer for The Huffington Post. She writes about happiness and authenticity, environmental issues,celebrity interviews,and social pressures.and often writes from her own experiences of loss, heartbreak, and finding happiness.

In 2017, Hayes began writing a series of articles on the United States Military,with a focus on the U.S. Air Force and the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). Hayes said that her military journalism is an effort “to help heal the divide between the political left and right, showcasing human stories without a political agenda".Hayes is represented by literary agent Bill Gladstone, who is also agent to bestselling authors Eckhart Tolle and Neale Donald Walsch.

Television

In 2010, Hayes was invited by an ABC News affiliate in Charleston, South Carolina, to be their Resident Entertainment Analyst. From 2010 to 2015, she hosted a weekly segment, Pop News With Penelope, on the ABC News affiliate WCIV-TV.

In 2013, her client, model and television personality, Gia Allemand, committed [...],following which Hayes was interview by Dr. Phil McGraw for the Season 12 Premiere of The Dr. Phil Show.Originally airing, September 10, 2013, the show was titled, “Tragic Beauty: The Exclusive Story of a Bachelorette's [...]”. Hayes contribution on Dr. Phil was as Allemand’s representative, and a popular culture expert commenting on image and social pressures.

Personal Life

Relationships and marriage

Hayes and her husband, luxury homebuilder James Burton Hayes Jr., met in Nashville, Tennessee on July 4, 2009, dated until late 2010, then broke up. The couple began dating for the second time in 2012. The couple married on June 1, 2013, in Isle Of Palms, South Carolina.