Brad Womack is returning to 'The Bachelor,' ABC announced during Monday night's 'Dancing With the Stars' performance show.

Womack infamously didn't choose anybody on season 11, rejecting both DeAnna Pappas and Jenni Croft in the 2007 season finale. "I just didn't want to lead anybody on," Womack said at the time. "I was very honest with both of the ladies about that."

So what prompted him to return? Womack told Ellen DeGeneres that he is a "completely different person" now. As for naysayers, he doesn't "care if people call me an idiot or don't believe those words coming out of my mouth. I truly believe that it can work."

After making the announcement, 'DWTS' host Tom Bergeron dryly advised, "Brad, this time, pick somebody."

But Womack told DeGeneres that if he couldn't commit to any of the women this time, he "would walk away" again.


Watch Brad Womack's interview on 'The Ellen Show'

The 37-year-old bar owner from Austin, Tex. endured a tidal wave of backlash when he made his non-choice.

'Bachelor' host Chris Harrison admitted to People magazine that he was initially skeptical about Womack's return. But the more I thought about it, the more I fell in love with the idea of him coming back, getting another shot."

"I don't think Brad deserved as much of the anger and resentment from the fans," Harrison told People. "He's come out a better man and I think he's ready to do this."

As we noted last week, Womack's rejection triggered a series of 'Bachelors' and 'Bachelorettes,' ending with Ali Fedotowsky this summer. Pappas went on to become 'The Bachelorette,' and recently became engaged. Croft, meanwhile, got back together with an ex-boyfriend immediately after the season ended.

"I think Brad's a great guy. I think he made the right decision not picking anybody the first time around," said Melissa Rycroft, a former 'Bachelor' contestant and recent 'Bachelor Pad' co-host, on 'Access Hollywood.' "At least he didn't pick one and change at the last minute, right?"

(She would know. She was chosen by 'Bachelor' Jason Mesnick, who then broke up with her on national television so he could be with runner-up Molly Malaney. Mesnick and Malaney wed in a ceremony shown on ABC. Rycroft, meanwhile, got married and is expecting her first child.)

"We have seen Brad go through this process before, so it'll be interesting to see how the show kind of changes now that this will be our second time to see him," Rycroft told Access Hollywood. "I would assume something's gonna have to change, whether it's the format or what."

According to ABC, Womack himself has changed "radically." In its official press release, the network said after his season ended, he "started therapy to learn what problems were confronting him. He desperately wanted to fix whatever it was that wasn't allowing him to let people into his life." Seemingly, Womack believes himself to be a "better person in many ways than he was in 2007."