It is T-minus two days until Locky Gilbert‘s ~ journey ~ on The Bachelor begins. So to celebrate, we caught up with the man himself ahead of Wednesday’s premiere, and yes, the topic of Zoom dates were discussed.
Locky, Survivor alum, had watched maybe three episodes of Matty J‘s season of The Bachelor before heading into the mansion. Yeah, he’s been on TV before, but Survivor and Bachie are obviously different.
So, why The Bachelor?
“Well, clearly I suck at dating,” Locky said.
Remember when fellow Survivor contestant Brooke Jowett got “semi-dumped” by Locky? That was a time. Brooke, who coupled up with Locky during their time on Survivor, said she was “blindsided” by his Bachelor announcement.
Brooke said they had planned to travel to Bali together, but that obviously didn’t go ahead.
Locky said the reason why dating hasn’t worked out for him in the past is because he never really gave himself time for a relationship.
“I’ve always concentrated on travel and adventure and business, and with The Bachelor, you’re forced into only thinking about a relationship, which is what I needed,” he said.
Locky is a big believer in love at first sight and, without spoiling anything, hinted at some strong connections on day one. But just under halfway through filming, the coronavirus lockdowns shut down production.
“I knew a little bit about what was happening on the outside, but we’re in our own little world so when we got told we were kind of like, ‘What the heck?’”
Locky said he had no idea what was going to happen next, and that he honestly thought his season might be finished.
What we’ve seen in the ads so far, including host Osher Günsberg breaking the news to Locky, is literally what happened.
“We all went home after that,” Locky said.
“I was able to still talk to the girls and that was actually quite good ‘cos take away the roses, take away the candles, take away the extraordinary dates, and we just got to know each other on a real level, on a normal level,” he said.
That’s not to say dating over Zoom wasn’t hard. For Locky, being in the presence of other people and being able to feel their emotions are important to him. He’s a physical guy, but dating over Zoom was – and still is for some people – the reality.
Next question: how did the Zoom dates go?
“Everyone’s like, ‘Oh, bloody Zoom dates’, but this is The Bachelor, we go big,” Locky said.
“The dates were funny as hell and pretty out there. I mean, I’m around the house and when I’m around the house I don’t have that much clothes on so that happens as well.”
Well then.
Channel 10 made sure Locky and the women had a strong internet connection too.
“That was a big thing!” he exclaimed. “I think whenever we came into the 5PM range when everybody was getting home and surfing the net, there was a bit [of lag] there, but nothing really came up.”
Virtual dating aside, Locky said you can expect all the drama you usually would in the reality TV series… and some more. This is The Bachelor after all.
In saying that, you don’t have to worry about any Honey Badger-esque antics.
“I don’t pull a Honey Badger,” Locky revealed.
“I am head over heels in love right now and I wouldn’t change it for the world.”
The Bachelor kicks off Wednesday, 7.30pm on Channel
