Tim Robards, a.k.a. the first-ever The Bachelor Australia leading lad, has shared his theory as to why the show’s ratings have gone downhill since he started it all in 2013.
Speaking to Daily Mail Australia, the fit as fuck dude explained that the dating reality series has been kicking for almost a decade and yet the formula is very much still the same, hence why folks are low-key getting over it.
“When a show has been going for so many seasons, it’s a lot,” he said. “I guess with formats they have got to be fresh, so that’s always going to be a challenge with something like that.”
Tim met Anna Heinrich on the show back in the day and the pair’s still together. They are perhaps the greatest The Bachelor Australia love story to date.
“We were the first one, so [obviously] it was fresh,” he added. “But you see it with all the different shows. Sometimes they have a break for a while, then they rejuvenate and bring them back out, or put a bit of a twist on it.”
He went on to rattle off a list of other shows that have shaken up their format and seen positive results.
“Look at Big Brother, The Voice – they tweak them, and give them a break for a little bit,” he continued. “It’s one of those shows that can be fun and a little love story, but is that what people want?”
The 2021 seasons of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, starring Jimmy Nicholson and Brooke Blurton respectively, have seen the lowest ratings in the shows history.
The Bachelor, for example, had its lowest-ever premiere ratings when it aired earlier this year, with just 482,000 metro viewers tuning in for the first episode.
That number dropped even lower the following week, hitting a record low of 360,000, which can also be chalked up to the fact that it coincided with the start of the Tokyo Olympics on Seven.
Meanwhile Bachelor In Paradise was recently put on pause due to the batshit nature of its most recent season.
Will there be a The Bachelor Australia 2022? Too soon to tell. But here’s a list of blokes who are apparently being eyed for the role, if all goes well.
As for Tim Robards, he’s currently an ambassador for Cure Brain Cancer Foundation‘s Burpees 4 Brain Cancer initiative, after hearing the heartbreaking news that his best friend Tom Barrett had been diagnosed with brain cancer a month ago.
Head here to read all about the initiative and to donate.
