Reality TV veteran Angie Kent had just one hard and fast rule for producers before agreeing to appear on the 2019 season of The Bachelorette.
Speaking on Mamamia’s daily entertainment podcast The Spill, the 29-year-old former Gogglebox and I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here star said in her opinion, the whole point of her being on the show was to be an untraditional Bachelorette.
“Gogglebox is an observational documentary because we were sitting there not really being produced or told what to do. With I’m A Celeb… you’re living in a jungle stripped of all your vices. This time it’s just me being completely vulnerable, ready to show all sides of me which is something Australia has not seen before. It’s scary but exciting.
Listen to Angie Kent tell The Spill hosts Kee Reece and Laura Brodnik exactly what it was like filming The Bachelorette, how she’s keeping her new relationship a secret and Georgia Love’s clever advice.
“I wanted to go in there and make sure I was not morphed into a “Bachelorette”. Anyone can put on a nice dress and heels, I just always wanted to be myself, otherwise, what’s the point of having me? So I went in saying ‘if you want me, you need all of this that comes with it’.
“No one will ever understand how the show really works unless you are a Bachelor or Bachelorette. It’s such a full-on process, it’s so much more than I ever expected but obviously it’s worth it because it has a 50 per cent success rate.”
In her new role as Bachelorette Angie will follow in the footsteps of past looking-for-love ladies Ali Oetjen, Georgia Love, Sophie Monk and Sam Frost.
Angie said that Georgia Love, in particular, is a woman who is “not afraid to stick up for herself” and gave her some advice for navigating this particular type of reality TV show before she started filming.
“I had a really good chat with Georgie Love before it all started and she’s just fabulous,” Angie said on The Spill. “She was so good at letting me know what the process was really going to be like.
“The best thing she did say to me was ‘picture yourself out of the Bachie bubble, who is going to be there for you when you are just Angie and you’re not The Bachelorette anymore? Who is going to keep loving you and wanting to be with you when the cameras stop rolling?’ and I just through that was really good advice.
“I don’t want to give away the ending, because then who wants to watch the rest of the show? I want you guys to join in on the roller coaster I went through filming the show, but yes I am very happy.
“Right now we just talk a lot, it’s all about communication, lots of Facetiming and rooms where no one can see.”
Angie's final words of wisdom for fans of the series is to just accept the show for what it is. Watch it, enjoy it and please avoid viciously attacking anyone on Instagram just because you happen to disagree with them.
"It’s a TV show about love, so just enjoy it," she said. " In saying that though I’m sure I’ll be in the fetal position at some point while watching it, but I’ll be right.
"I put my heart and soul into this show and this experience and I just want everyone to get amongst it."
The Bachelorette Australia premieres this Wednesday, 9 October at 7.30pm.