The Bachelorette took quite the emotional turn last night after Becky Miles made the decision to dump Shannon Karaka during his Hometown date. Like, as bad as that sounds, Becky just realised she didn’t feel as strongly for Shannon as he did for her, so she decided to cut him loose. It happens, hey? PEDESTRIAN.TV chatted to Shannon this morning, here’s what he had to say.
PEDESTRIAN.TV: So, did you have any idea who The Bachelorette was going to be?
Shannon: No! Funny story, like my cousin – my flatmate, actually – he was sending me through different – ‘cos it was rumoured to be like Brooke Jowett and Sharna Burgess, and Rebel Wilson at one point, and like I didn’t recognise Elly or Becky at all. Like I didn’t know who they were when I came out.
I was surprised because you spend months preparing for one girl, and then I didn’t recognise either, so I was like, “Oh, wow!”
P.TV: Can you talk me through performing the Haka on The Bachelorette? It was such a kickass moment.
S: Yeah, sure! So the Haka we performed it’s called Tika Tonu. Basically, that Haka is commonly performed as like a sendoff. It’s usually performed at a wedding, or a significant event or an occasion. And it’s literally a sendoff, so my brothers were sending me off on this experience with these amazing girls.
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I fluffed the horn at the start [laughs] but as soon as we started the Haka, the whole atmosphere changed and I could feel my brothers behind me. It was just so powerful, I felt the atmosphere change and it helped me get over fluffing the horn.
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P.TV: So, did you watch The Bachelorette last night?
S: I did [ laughs].
P.TV: And what did you think?
S: You know what? I got really emotional watching my family. I didn’t see any of that [Becky talking to his family] and my brother Dwayne warming up on camera, him and I are really close – he’ll be my best man at my wedding one day, you know? And just to see the way that he was on camera, that made me get really emotional [laughs].
We were sending messages to each other all night, that we love each other, so yeah, it was nice. It was nice to see my beautiful family, I’m so lucky.
P.TV: Aww! So what was it like introducing Becky to your family?
S: So Becky and Elly had met them when they did the Haka, right? My brothers were there, so it was just like closing the loop, ‘cos I got to introduce them when they weren’t being ferocious warriors [laughs]. So yeah, Becky said a lot of good things about my family, it was nice!
Overall, I thought the date was going so well, that when she was taking me out I thought she was going to give me a rose!
P.TV: Oh no! Did you feel confident going into Hometowns?
S: I mean, yeah I think you are confident because you’ve almost made it to the end. I was unsure ‘cos she had picked myself, Adrian [Baena] and Pete [Mann], and we had all been on multiple dates and had formed some really deep connections, and so you just don’t know where you stand exactly because they can’t be transparent and just tell you.
But my date was going so well, so I guess I read the whole thing wrong because I thought, ‘Oh, she’s going to pick you!’ It really did go so well, but it is what it is.
It just wasn’t my time, y’know?
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P.TV: Yeah, absolutely. You handled that breakup so well, though – what was going through your head?
S: Look, I just had so many nice experiences with Becky throughout, and I had formed really strong relationships with the guys too. So I just had an appreciation for, firstly, how hard it is to fall in love with someone and to find that one person. Like, if it is happening and it isn’t me then who am I to get in front of it? So that’s how I felt about the whole thing, and that’s why I think I handled it the way I did.
P.TV: And have you been in touch with the guys since?
S: Oh, yeah, we’re very close. Our group is very close, there are some guys that I speak to daily – we have a group chat. We just created a really close bond with each other. You’ve got some lifelong friends in there.
P.TV: Alright, so after your time on The Bachelorette, everybody’s asking – even Osher [Günsberg] – would you be the next Bachelor?
S: [Laughs] Why not? I had such an amazing experience, truly. Like, I learnt a lot about myself and I think I grew as a person, and I really know what I’m looking for in a partner. I had so many nice experiences where I was just surprising myself and I couldn’t believe the way I was feeling, even just my train of thought.
Imagine you’re in a mansion for eight weeks and all you think about is love, and you reflect on your life and your dating history and your past relationships, you really think about it.
I just had so many amazing moments in there where I was just surprising myself with the way I was feeling and the things I was saying. So look, I definitely would ‘cos I’m ready for it!
The Bachelorette continues Wednesday, 7.30pm on Channel 10.
