And Ambre takes it! Below, she tells us what’s going on with her relationship with Bret: “I’m dating Bret. I’m not disillusioned. I don’t think we’re going to run off and get married.” Also discussed: her background in acting, going panty-free and her near-elimination on the first episode. Get ready to feel what it’s like to be Bret’s rock of love:

How has it been spending five months away from Bret? Do feelings change?

Absolutely not. We talked about that at great length. He told me, “Listen, we can’t see each other. I’m not even supposed to call you. You need to know what you’re up against.” I told him that I knew what I signed up for. I’m a strong, confident woman. I’m not needy. Was it hard? Of course. But I feel like it was well worth it.

So you’re every bit as in love with Bret as you were in Cancun?

Absolutely.

Did you speak with him during the time between the filming and the reunion?

He got in touch with me several times, and we saw each other. We spent time together and we talked about it, but it was good. I needed to see him. It was nice.

Where are you in your relationship now?

I’m dating Bret. I’m not disillusioned. I don’t think we’re going to run off and get married. We’re dating and we’re going to see how this dating process holds, because we were in Cancun, we were on these challenges, I was fighting for love. Now it’s time to see how this works in the real world.

As practical as that sounds, is that satisfying for you?

It is. I’m in the entertainment industry, and it’s hard to date someone who isn’t. I’m always on set. I’m never home. When I’m on set, I can’t answer the phone. Bret has a similar lifestyle. He’s always on the road. It’s hard to get in touch with him. So he gets it and it’s really refreshing to date someone who understands my life.

Do you have any plans for making it work, or are you just playing it by ear?

I’ve always played it by ear and things are so natural, we have such great chemistry and a great friendship that we’re just going to see what happens. I didn’t plan for this and neither did he. So why mess with things now and start planning things? I think we should just go and see what happens. And I’m excited about that.

You’re optimistic.

Of course! If I didn’t think there was going to be some future or some chance for us, I wouldn’t have fought as hard. I wouldn’t have tried this experience in the first place. We found a great connection. We understand each other, which is very refreshing.

And the fact that Bret’s surrounded by women, especially on tour, doesn’t make you worry?

We’re both in the industry and I understand that his work is a little bit more hardcore than mine. But I’m a confident woman. If I have a great relationship and there’s communication, I trust people until there’s a reason not to. I don’t really focus on things like that. In the house, it wasn’t about competing or being jealous for me. It was about Bret finding the one for him. We were all so different, how could I compare myself to them?

You were almost eliminated on the first night.

Crazy! It blows my mind. When that happened, I was like, “I’m going next week.” And then we started making this connection and it started to grow. You don’t look back after that.

What kind of terms are you on with Daisy?

After the reunion [taped a few weeks ago], we talked. A situation like a reality show is out-of-the-ordinary. It got bad in Cancun. She was hurt, I was hurt. We talked about it and I think we’re moving past it.

Having acted and hosted shows, this exposure must feel really good.

I’ve been acting for years now and I’ve never experienced this side of it. It just blows my mind how reality TV can expose you so quickly.

I read an interview in which you talked about weighing out the pros and cons of entering the reality TV fold with your agent. Where are you with that now? Was doing Rock of Love a good career move?

It was a big risk to do this and it was something that I thought about, but I went on the show with an open heart, because I feel like the bigger the risk, the bigger the reward. From this, yes, there’s been a big reward. But will I be stigmatized to one genre? I don’t think so, because I stayed true to myself on the show. I think I’ll be able to move forward in my career, but we’ll see what happens.

Because you have a showbiz background, the cynic’s reading of your involvement with the show is that you did it all for exposure. What do you have to say about that criticism?

I’ve only heard that a few times, and I think the reason that it’s been so infrequent is that I have remained true to myself. I didn’t become this rocker character. I didn’t form a character for the show at all. I went on as me, I went to try to find love for me and see if it works out for me and I think that comes across on TV.

It’s interesting when you talk about staying true to yourself because people thought that your no-panties date with Bret was out of character.

The thing is, when you’re dating someone, because I was dating Bret…I said things at that dinner table that you would say to your significant other that you wouldn’t necessarily say for the whole world. At that moment, I just forgot the cameras were there because I was just there with Bret.

I know that you posted a blog about being accused of lying about your age, and I wonder if you want to say anything else about it?

There’s editing involved in the show. I just don’t want people to think that I’m a liar because I’m not.

Are you still hosting?

I’ve moved onto other gigs. I just signed a letter of intent to host another TV show that’s going to air nationwide. But I’ll still do commercials and film and TV and that kind of thing.

Your father said in his exit interview, “No father wants their daughter to end up with Bret,” and you did. Is he disappointed at the show’s outcome?

No. My dad had the best intentions with that line. He meant that he doesn’t think anyone’s good enough for his daughter, but he thinks Bret’s a great guy. If that’s who I’m in love with, he supports it.

There’s a very palpable power dynamic on the show: Bret is flanked by women telling him that they’re in love with him, but he’s generally tight-lipped. Do you find him to be emotionally closed-off? Has he told you that he loves you?

He’s not emotionally closed off. What he says to me, he doesn’t say in front of the cameras. He couldn’t in that situation. You just can’t. But when the cameras aren’t there, we do talk. The things we talk about help me stay strong throughout the time that we weren’t able to see each other. They’re the things that I cherish.

Of course, this isn’t the end of the story for Bret and Ambre. Find out what’s next for them and their saga when the Rock of Love 2 reunion airs Sunday, April 20 at 9/8c. And keep up with Ambre via her personal site, her MySpace and her FamousVH1Friends.com profile.