To catch up on all The Bachelorette Australia 2021 recaps and gossip, check out Mamamia’s recaps and visit our The Bachelorette hub page.
WARNING: This post continues LOTS of spoilers for The Bachelorette Australia 2021, so proceed with caution.
This year's season of The Bachelorette is a game changer in so many ways, but one way it hasn't changed?
Rumours! Gossip! Tea!
This is despite Channel 10 taking control of the contestants' Insta accounts for the season, to stop Brooke's evictees dropping spoilers in the name of Insta followers a la Jimmy's season of The Bachelor.
Watch: Brooke's The Bachelorette 2021 trailer. Post continues below video.
Brooke's journey has now come to a very wholesome, very lovey dovey end with Darvid, but we've rounded up all the deets and gossip from the season into one handy place... because yes, we're super stoked for them, but we can't pretend we don't also enjoy the BTS chaos that goes along with it.
Brooke seems to have unfollowed Abbie Chatfield on Instagram.
During the finale episode, Brooke invited two close friends to grill her final two, as per Bachie tradition, and it just so happened that one of her mates was fellow Bach alum, Abbie Chatfield.
But while they were appearing on our screens as besties, something a little... awkward was going down on social media.
Earlier in November, images of Abbie kissing one of this season's fan-faves, Konrad, were published while he was still competing for Brooke's love on-screen.
Then the pair made their relationship ~Instagram official~ just days before the season finale.
After this, Brooke unfollowed Abbie on Instagram.
Abbie still follows Brooke, but did not post anything about her appearance on the show or about Brooke finding love with Darvid.
Awks.
The pair reconnected after Holly left the show (Millie left just before hometown week).
"Millie and I were really good friends in the house. I think you form these really strong bonds with everyone very quickly when you're thrown in to this experience all together," she explained.
"Then coming out of it all, we both live in Sydney so we caught up a couple of times and went for walks and then did lockdown Zooms, and it just was a really easy progression on top of that friendship.
"I'm absolutely, absolutely thrilled and couldn't be happier with her."
Ummm, LOVE THAT.
"It's a little bonus love story!" she laughed.
The Bachelorette's Kurt on the Timm Hanly comparisons.
When this season began, I was considering launching an investigation into whether Kurt was just Timm from Angie's season with a haircut and less eyeliner. Seriously, not only do they look similar, but their voices and mannerisms are creepily alike too.
It didn't take long for viewers to notice, with many tweets and articles pointing out the similarities.
Speaking to Mamamia after he left the show, Kurt said he wasn't surprised by the jokes because he'd actually heard them all before.
"I knew that was gonna happen as soon as the show started because when Timm was on, I was getting flooded with messages. And then I went on the show, there were soundbites and everyone was like, 'I can't believe it, your mannerisms, the way you talk, your smile, your mouth, this and that'.
"I mean, it's a compliment. He's a good-looking dude, he's charismatic, he's outgoing. I think it's a compliment, but like, I also think I'm like the Wish version of him."
(Don't worry, I set him right... Timm is the Wish version of Kurt, let's be real.)
Anyway, Kurt said he was sad, but not surprised to leave just before hometowns because he was the only one remaining that hadn't had a single date.
"At that point in time everyone that was there had a single date. I had two extra times, and while I thought that was good, I felt like the only time Brooke and I could get to know each other and chat was sitting a couch. I said to Brooke at one point 'I'm loving getting to know you, but I just want to get away from sitting on a couch. I want to do an experience where we are vulnerable and we can create a connection based off our vulnerability'," he said.
"I kind of knew after the painting date when everyone had painted their connection with Brooke, a lot of it was from their single date and their experiences there with Brooke during that time, and for me, I had to bank on what I saw Brooke as and what attracted me to her because I didn't really feel like I had as strong of a connection."
One of the highlights of this season has been the positivity and love among the contestants who all seemed to have gotten along well, with no clear 'villain' edits this year.
Kurt said this was actually a surprise to him.
"I think everyone had an idea that there was going to be someone in there that they didn't like, and when everyone got along, it was a bit weird. I felt like someone had to be a bit more of a dickhead, like 'why aren't there any bad people in here?'
"It added to the pressure to be honest, because everyone was so good and so different and unique and amazing in their own individual way, that it was actually like 'f***, I wish there was somebody was a bad person' so there would be less competition. But it was nice. I mean, there was an incredible amount of amazing people in there and it was also awesome to meet people that have come from different backgrounds and experiences, different genders and we were all there for the one person. It was really beautiful."
ANOTHER couple may have come out of the series.
Ok, so while the series focused on a (fake) 'relationship' between Ryan and Jamie-Lee (we have that goss straight from the horse's mouth below, FYI), there may have been another connection we weren't aware of.
So Dramatic speculated that Carissa, who voluntarily left the series, hit it off with Bec, who left the mansion early on.
The evidence? Well, first of all, these friendly mansion shots raised a few questions:
A lot of people took this as proof that they were together, but then Bec backtracked...
"I'm so sorry to disappoint you all. At this stage, @carissacroft and I are just very close friends. She's going off to work on yachts, so my previous post is a gesture of my love and appreciation for her and our friendship after saying our goodbyes," she said in another post.
"Timing doesn't always work out, but you never know what the future holds and I will be forever grateful to have her in my life."
OKAYYYY. So it seems like if timing was an issue, this would definitely be happening.
The Bachelorette's Ryan on the chat with Brooke we didn't get to see.
Speaking to Mamamia after leaving the show, poor Ryan said he felt like he was thrown under the bus a little when Kurt told human lie detector Steve he thought Ryan had feelings for Jamie-Lee.
"It was strictly a platonic friendship," Ryan said of his relationship with Jamie-Lee.
"We were probably closer than other people in there, but it was a stressful situation. Being there, emotions are high, there's a lot going on, there are a lot of connections forming."
Of Kurt, Ryan joked maybe it was a strategic move.
"He'd just come off the back of his own little extra time [with Brooke], so I don't know, maybe he was trying to get rid of some competition."
During the show, we saw Brooke and Jamie-Lee discuss the situation at the cocktail party, but Ryan talked us through his own chat with Brooke which did not make it to air.
"She came and got me at the end of the cocktail party and we spoke for a good 15-20 minutes. I was reiterating to her that I was there for the right reasons, I was there for her. She was one of my favourites from all the past seasons, so I was so excited to meet her and hopefully something could happen."
He said there were actually quite a few moments with Brooke that he wished we'd seen to give us more of an idea of their connection.
"There were a lot of chats about our values and our goals and what we want out of life. I just spoke about how I'm very family orientated, my parents have been married for over 30 years and I look up to that. Essentially, my biggest goal in life is to meet someone, fall in love, get married and have a family," he explained.
Ryan said he had not spoken to Kurt or Jamie-Lee post-show in order to clear the air, but said he wasn't going to let his dramatic exit cloud what was otherwise a fun experience.
"It was a really great experience," he said. "Everyone got on so well. There was no one that didn't like anyone else or anything like that. There was always a lot of love for everyone"
The Bachelorette's Jessica: 'I think Kurt's interpretation of the entire event was incorrect.'
Intruder Jessica wasn't given much screen time, so unfortunately viewers didn't have much of an opportunity to get to know her. But speaking to Mamamia after her elimination, Jess shared some veryyyy interesting information about the Kurt/Ryan/Jamie-Lee drama which engulfed week three.
Turns out, the entire thing was probably just in Kurt's mind.
"I think Kurt's interpretation of the entire event at the end of day was incorrect," Jess explained.
"Jamie-Lee and Ryan are just friends and were just friends. Look, if long hugs were an indication of flirting, I'd be flirting with everyone."
Jess said that though some people may have expected romantic connections to form among contestants, she didn't see that happen.
"It was all very much platonic. It was really bizarre, because you'd think that even some of the queer women would hook up in the mansion but it was genuinely - and I'm sorry it's really not a bit more juicy - it was very platonic," she said. "We were all there for Brooke, we were all seeing if we could actually have that vibe together. Even Ryan [and Jamie-Lee] you know, they just got along as friends. It was very subjective on Kurt's end."
Jess said while the men and women lived in separate houses, they caught up frequently and the vibe between everyone was "extremely warm".
"In past seasons you hear the term bitchiness or cattiness, and that's something that we wanted to actually avoid. I think even just the terminology is quite misogynistic. So it was extremely warm energy in the house. We were all supportive. More importantly would talk about you know, our queer experiences and things like that. It was really wholesome."
Jess said being part of this season was "bigger than all of us".
"The reason why I went on the show in the first place, as a lesbian, I think visual representation that is shown in movies and television is usually hyper sexualised with kind of a negative stereotype," she explained.
"Having affirmative images of lesbian and bisexual women in mainstream media really helps with legitimisation and validity of queer love. So I'm really, really proud to be a part of something that really helps people be comfortable and seeing people who are gay or who are bisexual, and not having it hyper sexualised as well."
The Bachelorette's Carissa had to pass on a single date.
Carissa became the first person to walk-out of The Bachelorette this season, after telling Brooke she couldn't fall in love in the reality show's environment.
Speaking to Mamamia after her exit, Carissa said she made the decision to leave after being unable to build on her connection with Brooke.
"On the first night, on that red carpet entrance, I definitely felt a strong connection with her and I was so excited to get to know her and really build on that. But I actually got an injury early on there.
"I was offered a single date, but then I hurt myself and because of that injury missed out on that and also was missing out on the group dates, which are more active. So I felt like that kind of made it harder for me to get to continue the momentum that Brooke and I initially had."
She also hadn't foreseen the weirdness that would come with dating the same person as newly found friends.
"What I didn't anticipate happening was that I ended up forming some friendships within the house. And then by the time I was getting that opportunity to speak to Brooke more, it just didn't feel right because Brooke already had these strong romantic connections in the house and then it felt like I'd be betraying the others in the mansion if I was then to pursue her.
"And as soon as I realised I didn't see myself really giving her what she deserve, I didn't want to waste her time or take a spot for someone else who really want to be there. So I thought the best decision for me was to pull back."
Despite her dramatic exit, Carissa said she had a positive experience on the show.
"Everyone was so lovely and so supportive," she said. "Jamie Lee had been on another season and one of the first thing she said was, well, she couldn't believe how kind and supportive everyone was in this season. I was very lucky to be a part of that season."
The Bachelorette's Jess on the real story behind 'love seat gate'.
It's a little weird that so far, the biggest drama of the season has been over a wooden seat.
Speaking to Mamamia after her elimination, the woman at the centre of all the... chair drama, Jess, said she was surprised by how it all played out when she watched the show back.
"I was completely oblivious to the significance of it in the first place. I know it seems like from watching it, I was well aware, but in the moment, you're solely focused on talking to Brooke making sure that you get time with her," Jess explained.
"Anyone that said anything before that, I had just completely forgotten or didn't even hear or it did not resonate in my brain. Yes, I made this decision to sit there. I knew that it was Konrad's, but I didn't realise the significance behind it. So watching it back was like 'Ah, now I kind of get it."
But... "It's still just a chair," she laughed.
"Those experiences, the cocktail parties and rose ceremony, it's all a really emotional experience, for me anyway. Something like that could seem a lot more significant than perhaps it would in the real world, I guess."
Jess told Mamamia the intruders, and Osher's surprise that four people would go home, surprised her - so much so, she figured he was joking.
"I'm thinking, like, this is a joke. 'We're joking, right? Like you're just pulling my leg. We're gonna keep everyone around.'"
She had a really deep, heartfelt chat with Brooke at the cocktail party, which we didn't get to see on TV.
Jess said initially, she felt rejection after not being given a rose, but she understands Brooke's decision.
"I was upset in the moment with that level of rejection. Like, 'why am I not good enough to keep around? Why did you not get to know me better', and that type of thing. But, you know, I didn't feel the connection. So I was okay with going," she said. "I'm cool with it."
The Bachelorette's Ritu on the moments we didn't see.
Ritu was sent home in week two and unfortunately, audiences didn't get much of an opportunity to get to know her.
Speaking to Mamamia after her elimination, she said there were a lot of moments that she'd hoped we'd get to see.
"On the red carpet, I had henna on my hand... I had gotten tattooed a piece of astrology into it. It was like a puzzle piece. That was really cute and really intimate because she's got my hands in her hands and palms, finding things within it. So it was really cute."
She said she was proud to be part of such an important step in Australian reality TV, but was disappointed that her journey was not shown.
"My only sense of disappointment comes from the real parts of me that are actually rooted to being a woman of colour we're not exactly displayed. Any of the intimacy between Brooke and I, the history leading up to before I go is not exactly displayed. So it's sort of like huge parts of my personality experienced a deficit when it was airing, which would have been really good to share. It felt like a bit of a miss. But the fact that I was even there does make me happy. It is historic, and I'm glad that I did."
One moment we did see was Ritu sticking up for Darvid, who was being criticised for always trying to get time with Brooke despite already being a frontrunner.
"In some situations, you cannot be passive, because Darvid was the one person who really, really, really had the one goal in mind, and he really went for it. And that's what works, you know what I mean?" Ritu explained, adding that perhaps people focussed too much on worrying about him rather than working on their own connection.
"Letting all the other personalities affect us, and doubting whether we're going to establish a connection with Brooke or not, it would affect the behaviours of the people in the house, including mine," she said.
"It was a cause for me to want to hold back a bit. And in hindsight, I probably shouldn't have done that, because I might have had more of a chance to actually get to know her, which didn't happen."
The women grilled the men on their opinions about sexuality.
"At the start, [when] the women and I first met, we were getting to know each other. Our primary concern was how the men are going to react to women who are Queer," Ritu explained to Mamamia.
"And we wanted to, you know, we sort of collectively wanted to reach out and understand if anyone there, obviously, if they're misogynistic, or if they even value same-sex relationships, and those bigger questions. We would ask them, it wasn't a secret. It was like, you know, 'do you think if you're, if you're a man in a relationship with a woman, would you consider, let's say, her seeing another girl, but in any capacity cheating?' Those questions are raised in order to know if same-sex relationships were considered valuable to the people who were there."
This was probably helpful in building the friendships between contestants, which Jess told Mamamia were really strong.
"We all got along really well. We love each other's company. So it was actually really great. Because you see it on previous seasons when people don't get along, there's a lot of bitchiness and there's a lot of like, attacking people, stuff like that, and that didn't really happen at all. We genuinely liked each other.
"So it was just, it was always a fun vibe with everyone. It was always such a good time, everyone was always high energy, big personalities, lots of smiles and giggles and lots of jokes. You know, and it was just honestly, like a lot of fun."
The men and women lived in different houses.
There are two mansions this season, and it turns out this was one of Brooke's requests before agreeing to the show.
Speaking to Fitzy & Wippa, Brooke confirmed the contestants were housed in two different properties next door to each other.
"Living separately was my choice as well. I asked because I didn't want them in the same house – I think for the girls' privacy and to respect that they might not want to live a bunch of dudes they don't know," she explained.
Brooke's salary.
Is there anything more pervy than reading about reality TV salaries?
According to Perth Now, which cited "a source close to Blurton" (lol), Brooke is earning $250,000 for her stint as chief rose-giver.
Not bad at all.
According to the 'source', she wanted to use the money to help support her family.
So, are we sufficiently up to speed? No doubt there will be plenty more goss as the series progresses, so we'll make sure to keep you updated.
This article was originally published on October 26, 2021 and has been updated.
Feature image: Channel 10/Instagram.
Like a $100 gift voucher for your thoughts? Take our quick survey about TV watching habits for your chance to win.