Former The Bachelorette Australia star Charlie Newling has reportedly passed away in Sydney’s eastern suburbs on Saturday.
Daily Mail Australia has reported that Newling, 36, who appeared in Ali Oetjen‘s season of the reality series in 2018, died after his car fell from a cliff in Dover Heights at 11pm on Saturday night.
Police and ambulance workers arrived at the scene after being contacted by residents who allegedly found his car alight at the bottom of the 70-metre cliff. His passing was confirmed by a spokesperson from the NSW Police, per news.com.au.
Newling is a father to two children. His partner, Kristal Taylor, is believed to have given birth to their daughter just eight weeks ago. He also has a 13-year-old son from a previous relationship.
Newling was a frontrunner when he was on Oetjen’s season of The Bachelorette. Halfway through the season, he was eliminated because he wasn’t comfortable introducing Oetjen to his family unless they were official.
There was also minor controversy following his time on the show when it was discovered that he was a father, something not mentioned while he was on The Bachelorette.
At the time, he told NW Magazine that he didn’t publicly speak about his child because he wanted to “ensure their privacy was protected.”
In September 2022, Newling was charged with and convicted of using a carriage service to threaten to kill his mum’s husband in a series of texts. Due to an outstanding court order following a drink driving offence in 2021, he received a 13-month prison sentence to be served in the community.
More recently, Newling was said to be working as a builder.
Our hearts go out to his friends and family during this difficult time.
