I mean, it’s more like what didn’t they ask me?
I’ve just spent two hours applying to be on Brooke Blurton‘s season of The Bachelorette and wow, what a journey. I literally bared my soul to the Channel Ten Casting Network and honestly, they’re in for a treat.
In all seriousness, I was really intrigued by what the application process would look like this year, given that this season will be one of many first’s for Australia’s Bachelor Nation.
Brooke is set to be Australia’s first bisexual Bachelorette with Indigenous heritage, making waves in the Australian mediasphere, with outpourings of support flowing in after the initial announcement.
Look, I’m not going to lie, I’ve always wanted to apply for a season of The Bachelor. Every year, my mum says, “Laura, you’d be great on this show”, which I’m not sure is a compliment, but I reckon she’s probably right.
I don’t exactly know what’s stopped me. I think it probably has something to do with the fact that the show is historically really goddamn straight, and I’m not. That, added with the truth that petty drama is way more fun to watch from afar than be a part of, and perhaps a sliver of disbelief that a reality show could actually lead one on the path of “finding true love”.
Regardless of what has stopped me in the past, I sit here now, having applied to be on Brooke Blurton‘s season of The Bachelorette. I’m so excited for her. To be able to express your queerness openly on Australian TV is a pretty big f**king deal. Who wouldn’t want to be a part of that?
And Brooke’s a babe, duh.
I’ve got to be honest, I didn’t have high expectations for the application questions, but Channel Ten have done a pretty good job. The questions are extensive, they’re worded openly and leave a lot of the direction up to you, which makes it feel like you can control your own narrative.
There were basic questions like “tell us about yourself” and “what are you genuinely passionate about?”, as well as the usual, age, where you live and if you’re ready to fall in love questions.
They did ask a range of questions in the “clothing” section, that I didn’t totally love, like my shirt size and pant size. Anything related to size just always feels super specific, as though they’re after a certain look or size range, which given that I’m a plus-size model and body diversity advocate, I’m always cautious of.
They ask what your heritage is, which isn’t unusual for a reality TV show, but means a little more knowing that their lead is representing an underrepresented culture.
There was also a range of questions relating to sexual orientation, which I found interesting. Firstly, ‘Sexual Orientation’ was spelt with capitals which I had a bit of a LOL at, because using it as a title made it seem very on-purpose.
They also ask how many sexual partners you’ve had, and how many were male and female, which I found to be interesting. As a bisexual person, I find that people really want you to be 50/50, but that just isn’t the reality for many of us.
For me personally, I feel as though I was brought up to appeal to men, so that has always been easier for me. Also, growing up in a narrow-minded place, I never felt brave or free enough to explore my sexuality, which meant that my first few years of dating was all with men.
I can’t help but wonder how and if that question will help them to narrow down their cast. I mean, are you taken less seriously as a bi person if you’ve had more sex with men than women? This is a question I constantly face and struggle with.
It’s clear that Channel Ten don’t want any secrets when it comes to their contestants’ past. They ask everything there is to ask about a love life.
Have you been in love? Are you ready to fall in love? If so, when? What are some regrets from your past relationships? What have your parents taught you about love? Are they still together? How far would you travel for love? Do you have any bad habits? Have you ever been arrested? What’s your best quality? What’s your worst quality? What’s your dream job?
… I’m literally puffed. And that’s not even a quarter of the questions.
Surprisingly, there weren’t many questions about Brooke herself. Just a few generic “why do you like her?”, “what makes you think you’d be good together?” type questions, but I think that in these applications, their main focus is to get a good idea of who you are.
While I was answering the pages and pages of deeply personal questions, I was not only reflecting on my entire life, but I was wondering how they come up with their specific application template.
The “getting to know you” part of the application was less about physical and surface stuff, such as “summer or winter?”, “dogs or cats?”, and more like “what is something that really scares you, and why?” or “what is your dream job?” and “who is your best friend and what do you love about them?”.
I actually think that the questions were really clever. They got me thinking into parts of myself and my life that took me a moment to properly answer, which to me always means that the question is well-thought-out.
Look, whether I get a callback or not, I’m truly excited about Brooke Blurton’s season of The Bachelorette. I vow to be involved, whether I’m emotionally invested from my couch with a glass of wine, or overly candlelit in the mansion myself.
And I take my hat off to Channel Ten, for already doing a fab job in casting Brooke as the lead and for including application questions that truly made me think about my past, present and future love life.
