My fave season of the year, Bachie szn, has officially arrived as The Bachelor 2021 starring Jimmy Nicholson kicks off next week.
Ahead of the premiere, we chatted to this year’s leading lad about the new crop of contestants, bringing much-needed diversity to the show and which former Bachelors have reached out to him.
Congrats on nabbing the role of Bachie! What made you decide to sign up to The Bachelor?
I was actually approached. I went into my DMs one day and saw a message from a talent scout, asking if I wanted to go on a dating show. I sort of said, “Which dating show?” And then when they said “It’s The Bachelor!”, I said, “Do you know what? Actually I would be interested in doing something like that! It’s something I never thought I’d do, but let’s see where this ends up.”
And then one thing led to another and I got the gig!
Why do you think you haven’t been successful in love so far?
Look, I wouldn’t say that I haven’t been successful, I’ve had two long-term relationships and my last relationship was two years ago, but she’s an amazing girl and we had a great relationship. But it was more so that I needed time to do my own thing and be single for a little bit.
Having been in two long-term relationships, I kind of hadn’t done the single thing of being able to travel with your mates and do what you want on the weekend, all that kind of stuff is really important to get done before you settle down. Because the last thing you want to do is get married, have kids, and then have a midlife crisis.
So it’s not to say that I was unlucky, [my ex] was an amazing girl, and IS an amazing girl, but I needed to go and do my own thing.
And that was a really difficult period, coming out of that breakup, but I’ve had significant times since then and I’ve gotten to travel with mates and stuff, and then I was ready to meet someone.
That’s great to hear! So what’s the filming process been like?
It’s been a whirlwind, rollercoaster experience, but the important thing is that it worked out. I’m happy and I’ve got a great girl out of it.
So you’ve found the one!?
Yep! I’ve met an amazing girl who I can see spending the rest of my life with. She’s incredible and we’re both really, really happy. I couldn’t ask for anything better coming into it.
I can’t wait to see how it all unfolds! But in the meantime, what are all the ladies like?
We can’t give too much away, I think four of them have been released, but I was really impressed with the ladies that came on. There’s always a lot of interesting characters and some big personalities, but the important thing for me is that I’ve met someone and I’m really happy.
Some of the girls I can see myself staying mates with for a long time. They’ve put a lot on hold to be there and I think it’s more of a stressful journey for them [than for me], they don’t know what’s gonna happen. They’re left in the dark more than I am, so it’s a stressful process.
But yeah, some incredible ladies there. They’ve done a great job scouting them.
Were there many heartbreaking moments this season?
Yeah, there always is, and definitely towards the end, it’s even more difficult. You develop a connection with these girls and it sucks, it’s not fun sending people home. But the thing that I try to remember is that there’s no point leading someone on if there’s nothing there, and yes it’s hard initially, but I’ve said to all of the ladies at the very start, “I’m gonna do the right thing by you guys. I’m gonna be honest with you and I hope you can be honest with me. I don’t want anyone to lead me along and I won’t do the same with you.”
But I’m sure all the ladies can leave the house knowing they’ve developed some genuine friendships, and I know a lot of them are really good mates, and also they got to do some really cool activities.
Nice! It’s so great to see some diversity on Bachie. My colleague recently wrote a piece about how there’s been a trend with Aussie reality shows casting people of colour, while not protecting them from racism. How have you found the experience?
I’ve never really thought of myself as anything different, I’m just a tanned kid from the Northern Beaches of Sydney. I try not to read any of the comments, but I’ve heard some stuff where people are happy with a bit of diversity and that’s great and if people are embracing that, then that’s amazing.
But I didn’t really think of it much, going into it. It’s more coming out and seeing people’s reactions. I fully embrace it and I recognise that I might not look like the typical Bachelor, I don’t think Locky [Gilbert] and I look like long lost brothers, but if people are happy to see a fresh face, then I’m happy with that.
It’s also been revealed that Brooke Blurton is this year’s Bachelorette, have you guys reached out to each other at all?
I left Brooke a note at the Bach pad! I actually didn’t know the new Bachelorette was Brooke at that stage, but I left a note saying ‘Good luck on your journey, I hope you find love, there’s a cat that turns up every day to the Bach Pad who we named Juiceworld. He’s really friendly, you can feed him.’
But I didn’t know it was Brooke at that stage, but since then when I found out it was her, I sent her a message saying ‘Hey, I wrote a note for you on the fridge, basically saying you’re going to be looked after, the production team are great,’ because little did I know, she knows a lot more about [being on Bachie] than I do. She’s been on the show a couple times before.
Beautiful! And have you spoken to any ex Bachies?
Locky reached out to me and he was great, he’s a really nice guy. He said, “It’s gonna be a hell of a ride, just give me a buzz if you want to have a chat.” So I had a chat with Locky for about an hour a couple of weeks ago, he’s a really great guy, he’s been really helpful. No one else knows what’s coming, but he’s been through it all, so he gave me some really great tips.
Also Tim Robards trains at my gym, so he gave me some really great advice before going into the show. A couple of really nice messages.
It’s wild to me how interconnected the Bachie world is, but not even intentionally.
To be honest I’ve only ever seen him in there three times before, I think he probably either doesn’t go there that often or he goes there at a different time to me. He obviously goes to the gym A LOT because he’s a big unit.
I actually saw him in there after I’d been given the gig, but I was quite nervous about what to expect, so when I saw him in the gym that day, even though he probably would’ve been like ‘Who the hell is this guy?’, I went up and had a chat with him and he was really, really great. Really helpful!
That’s so great to hear! All the best with the show, mate. Can’t wait to watch!
Thanks mate, I’ll see ya later.
The Bachelor Australia 2021 premieres Wednesday, July 21 at 7.30pm on Network 10.
