This week, Australia’s most rogue Bachelorette Sophie Monk will declare whether she’s fallen in love with magician and actual teddy bear Apollo, pot plant enthusiast Jarrod, or overly keen millionaire Stu.
It’s the end of a much-anticipated series, that promised to rewrite the rules of The Bachelor franchise.
In a world first, Sophie Monk already had a significant profile as a singer, actress and radio personality when she became the Bachelorette, and at 37, she didn’t fit the mid-to-late-twenties age bracket we’re so used to seeing on reality television.
Sophie Monk knows what she’s doing in the world of camera crews and producers. She also has the profile, and in turn, the power, to be able to say no when she wants to.
As a result, this season of The Bachelorette has been unlike any other. A majority of the men have been sent home without having a date, and hardly spending any time with Sophie, and the predictable audience favourites – James and Luke – were sent home before the finals. Ryan, the archetypal villain, wasn’t kept around for ratings either, with Sophie eliminating him during a date in week three – far before some of the more quiet and unassuming contestants that are usually eliminated early.
Listen: Is the most recent season of UnReal based on Sophie Monk’s season of The Bachelorette? (Post continues after audio…)
It’s with this context in mind, that I saw the trailer for season three of UnReal, the Stan series starring Shiri Appleby as Rachel, a young producer for the ultimate (fictional) reality dating show, Everlasting.