Married At First Sight star turned influencer Selina Chhaur has claimed that brands do not want to work with her because she doesn’t have the “influencer look.”
In a recent Instagram Q&A, the Season Nine bride got candid about her life and mental health post-MAFS. Since finishing her time on the show, Chhaur has worked towards becoming an influencer and has collabed with many brands, including Bondi Boost, Pretty Little Thing and Mermade Hair.
However, Chhaur spilled deets about the dark side of the internet influencer grind during her IG Q&A sesh.
The former bride said: “I still live this narrative at the moment where brands still don’t want to work with me because I don’t fit this cookie cutter ‘blonde haired, blue-eyed’ influencer look.”
“That’s my reality at the moment, it’s not fun and rainbows all the time. It sucks, life does suck sometimes and that’s okay.”
Ugh, as a South-East Asian woman, I can totally relate to Chhaur’s perspective on the influencer industry. It’s no secret that Australia has a diversity problem in the media, so it doesn’t shock me that it is also affecting online celebs.
Chhaur’s ethnicity (she is half-Chinese, half-Cambodian) was also a topic of discussion during her season on MAFS.
To give you a quick summary, Chhaur told her MAFS hubby, Cody Bromley, about her experience growing up with racism during the ranking challenge. AKA that fucked task where contestants rank each other based on attractiveness.
“I’ve been severely bullied at school for being Asian, I was, you know, the odd one out. I was always the ugly duck and always made to feel different, so I physically can’t judge people based on their looks,” Selina said.
When her husband ranked her lower than she expected, Bromley told Chhaur that she isn’t what he would “normally” go for and that she doesn’t fit his “personal preference”.
When Chhaur asked if it was something to do with her nationality and look, Bromley said yes.
“I’m not racist by any means, but it’s not something I’m familiar with… Short answer is, it probably did,” he said.
“It’s just not ever something I’ve ever normally gone for, and that’s, I don’t know what that’s from, personal preference.”
After her time on the show, Chhaur told PEDESTRIAN.TV that Bromley made her “feel like an alien.”
“For someone who’s done a lot and immersed themselves in so much travelling, it blows my mind how I, a proud ethnic woman, am something [Bromley’s] not ‘used’ to?
“It just blows my mind that there are still people out there who still think like that,” Chhaur said.
Chhaur also mentioned that she dyed her hair black as a way of choosing to get over her internalised colourism.
“[Dyeing my hair] is definitely a reclaiming,” the influencer said.
“I’m a proud ethnic woman and I feel so empowered — I feel like I’ve re-birthed myself. Like I’ve gotten rid of the darkness.”
During the IG Q&A sesh, Chhaur also opened up about her mental health and how it was affected by the fear of homelessness.
The influencer said: “Only a few weeks ago, I was literally fearing that I was going to be homeless in Sydney. I’m so lucky and grateful that I got approved for this apartment.”
Chhaur also talked about her current relationship with her family and how it has impacted her mental health.
“It may seem like I’m living it up over here, but it has been far from that reality,” Chhaur said on her IG Q&A.
“It’s been really tough. I have cried myself to sleep so many nights.
“For those that have been following my journey, that’s a long time to go [with] no contact from your family, especially with everything that I went through,” she said.
Prior to her television debut, the influencer lived with her family in Adelaide, but according to New Idea, Chhaur is no longer close with them after her time on reality TV.
Selina Chhaur, if you’re reading this, please know that you’re definitely doing a lot for POC women and representation in the influencer world. You may not be the biggest Aussie influencer, but you’re definitely someone we can look up to!
