We might only be two episodes into this year’s Bachelor, but 23-year-old Brooke Blurton has already set herself up as a clear front-runner for the final rose.
The Youth Worker – and the show’s first indigenous contestant – took Bachelor Nick Cummins by surprise with her bubbly energy and love of sports and the pair shared a moment during last night’s group date. However as Cummins himself noted, there is ‘vulnerability’ behind her eyes.
The West Australian Beauty has opened up about her difficult upbringing and the tragedy that shaped her childhood and how she is using it to inspire others.
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“I don’t have a lot of family, unfortunately,” she told OK! magazine.
“Mum and Nan dying when I was younger and having to grow up without any parents (was the hardest thing).”
Earlier this year, Brooke opened up further about her childhood, speaking with SBS’ Noongar Dandjoo community TV program about her work within the Aboriginal community, her passion for raising awareness for mental health and how she hasn’t let her own past define her.
“I grew up in a country town in Carnarvon. I spent my childhood there up until I was about 11, when my mum, unfortunately, passed away – she committed suicide,” she told host Neil Coyne.
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“My nan actually passed away a month later so us kids had to separate. All my brothers and [me], we didn’t really have a lot of strong role models so creating that myself was my inspiration.”
“My biggest passion in life is mental health, from working and growing up with a lot of drug and alcohol violence in my childhood really,” she said.
“I had an older sister who suffered from schizophrenia so growing up that was pretty complicated and then losing mum to suicide.
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“It wasn’t until I kind of experienced my own mental health problem that I was like ‘this is something’.”
It’s refreshing to see a Bachelor contender who stands for something important and hopes to use the platform the show provides for something more than just Instagram fame.
If you or someone you know needs help, contact Lifeline for 24/7 support on 13 11 14 or visit the website at lifeline.org.au. If it’s an emergency, call 000.
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