Runaway Bride Wilbanks Gets Probation, Cooking Show

ATLANTA — Jennifer Wilbanks, once dubbed America’s Runaway Bride, has extended her fame just a bit longer by landing a half-hour cooking segment after entering a plea agreement related to her widely publicized disappearance last spring.

Dressed in a black jogging suit and running shoes — but notably without her trademark head-covering afghan — Wilbanks entered a no-contest plea in court yesterday. Her much-discussed disappearance, which occurred days before her high-profile wedding, prompted a multi-state search and round-the-clock cable news coverage. She later acknowledged that the tale she initially provided to police had been inaccurate.

As part of a deal that includes probation, community service, and ongoing counseling, Wilbanks agreed to devote her volunteer hours to producing twelve episodes of a local-access cooking show titled “Getaway Meals,” which will air on WOMG, a regional cable outlet serving the Greater Atlanta area.

Willy Bob Thurston, the station’s program director (and de facto night watchman), expressed unqualified enthusiasm. He described the target audience for “Getaway Meals” as “busy folks who need something hot on the table before life pulls them in ten different directions.” The program will air opposite “Thirty Minute Meals,” hosted by Food Network personality Rachael Ray.

Thurston was predictably blunt in comparing the two shows. “Rachael talks fast, cooks fast, and smiles fast,” he said. “Jennifer cooks like someone who has been places — emotionally, I mean.”

If Wilbanks’ courtroom demeanor is any indication, she will need a bit of polish before stepping in front of studio lights. She fidgeted with the ring on her left hand, her voice wavered when addressing the judge, and she appeared on the verge of tears more than once.

Wilbanks declined to speak to reporters afterward, but her fiancé, John Mason, remained confident in her television prospects.

“I still remember the corndogs and hush puppies she left for me the day she went to clear her head,” Mason said. “She puts heart into her cooking. That alone will make the show work.”