“I wanted to leave, but I couldn’t. It was like being in an emotional prison.”
So. Much. Drama.
Tonight, The Bachelor Australia mansion will be crashed by two new contestants competing for Tasmanian personal trainer, Bachelor Sam Wood. Exactly like it was last year.
Then, six intruders walked into The Bachelor mansion completely unprepared for the controversy that followed. And tonight, as two new contestants – Rachel Moore and Lana Jeavons-Fellows – prepare to enter the show as intruders tonight, we thought we’d find out exactly what they can expect as producers try to ramp up the girl drama.
So I spoke to one of the intruders from last year, Rachel Smith, and it turns out, they can expect lots of Girl Drama. Rachel describes as being ‘thrown to a pack of wolves’.
Rachel says, when she auditioned for the show last year, she had no idea what she was signing up for.
“We did know that they had started filming, but we didn’t know how far in they were,” she said.
“They [producers] didn’t tell us any of that. They really downplayed it.”
After being in lockdown for two days, Rachel and the other intruders were told they would be going into the house as ‘date crashers’ – but the women had no idea how far along filming was.
“I thought maybe one or two girls would have left, but when we realised they were halfway through filming, we lost it.”
As their limo was pulling up to the top of the driveway and the ‘date-crashers’ were getting ready to meet then-Bachelor Blake Garvey, they found out the truth – they weren’t there to find love, they were there to create drama.
“The guy putting microphones on us had a sheet that showed the other contestants’ faces and microphone numbers, and about half of the faces were crossed out. That was the moment we realised just how far along the show was.”
Watch a segment from Studio 10 with one of the intruders from last year, Mary. Post continues after video.
So how did they react when they found out? “We all started screaming like five-year-olds. It was childish, actually.”
But understandable. For someone like Rachel, who doesn’t like confrontation, setting foot in a house where nine other girls have already been living for over a month was a nightmare. And the reality was no different.
“I felt sick in my stomach as I was walking in,” she said. “I just kept apologising. I kept saying ‘I’m so sorry, I had no idea’ to the other girls. I didn’t want to do that, it wasn’t fair on anybody – especially the other girls.”
After the rose ceremony, when two of the intruders left the mansion, the remaining four newcomers had to move in to the rooms upstairs. As they took their bags upstairs to the rooms, the original Bachelorettes stood in front of their doors saying ‘no, this room is taken’.
Just as the girls were thinking they’d have to sleep on the couches, everyone’s best friend Sam Frost (who’s now one of Rachel’s closest friends) told them they could bunk with her.
“That first night was really hard,” Rachel said. “I went into the bathroom with Lauren [one of the other intruders] and we just looked at each other and said, ‘what are we doing here?'”
But did she want to leave?
“Yes. But I couldn’t. It was like being in an emotional prison.”
After that first night, it got better. There were still contestants that wouldn’t speak to the intruders, but for the most part, they became friends. Still, she knew she wasn’t there to win it.
“I knew that we were just there to stir the pot, to create drama,” she said. “We were not at all there to win it. I just took it for what it was – It was a really good opportunity to take some time out from your every day life and job.”
And as for Blake? “I didn’t get to spend enough time with him to get to know him,” she said. “And I had not allowed myself to connect with him emotionally. It wasn’t fair on the other girls – we all know from the beginning who he had the emotional connections with.”
One of the good things to come out of the show were the friendships she formed with the other girls.
“Some of the girls are now my closest friends. We went through something that no one else understands. It’s a really special connection.”
Click through the gallery below to see the contestants from this season.
The Bachelor Season 3.
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Does this mean we don't get a Rosie recap??? 😡