The star of ABC's surprise summer hit tells The Post that she was reluctant to go on the full-body-contact dating show until she was told her ex-fiancée, Jake Pavelka, wouldn't be on, too.
"The producers will never tell you who's on the show, but they did say that no 'Bachelor' or 'Bachelorette' would be invited," Vienna said yesterday.
Translation: No chance she'd have to share a house with Jake, last season's "Bachelor" who chose Vienna -- then fell out spectacularly with her within weeks of the show's end.
To say Vienna was enraged to see Jake walk through the mansion doors in the show's first episode this week is an understatement.
That moment -- filmed months ago -- is still fresh on her mind, she says.
"I was absolutely terrified," Vienna says.
"The funny thing is [Jake] called me three days before the show started filming. I hadn't spoken or seen him in close to a year. I didn't answer the call, but I had a strange feeling it was to tell me he was on the show."
Instead of bolting, Vienna leaned heavily on her new boyfriend, Kasey Kahl, whom she's still with.
An ABC spokesman declined to comment yesterday.
Her decision to stay may pay off.
VH1 is interested in creating a show for Vienna and Kasey, according to an insider there.
"The ratings were off the chart for 'Bachelor Pad,' and we all know why: Vienna and Jake," said the insider. "Let's face it: a [Vienna] show would be a great idea."
"Bachelor Pad" is ABC's second spinoff of its remarkably durable dating franchise "The Bachelor." "The Bachelorette" was the first.
Now in its second season, the debut of the "Pad" was the highest-rated show of the night Monday.
Not surprisingly, Vienna yesterday beamed at the idea of getting her own show.
"When people meet [Kahl] and me, they're shocked how normal we are," says Vienna.
"We're not dramatic, crazy people. We stay at home and play video games like 'Halo.' We go to the beach and play Frisbee or set up our skateboards in the street. We're relaxed, fun people . . . a chance to show that in the right format would be welcomed."
The history of "The Bachelor" couples is littered with break-ups -- but none were quite as spectacular as Jake and Vienna's last summer.
In the wake of their predictable split, the two sniped at each other in the tabloid press -- accusing each other of "emotional abuse" and backstabbing.
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