When Nick ‘Honey Badger’ Cummins dumped both finalists Sophie Tieman and Brittany Hockley, Australia audibly gasped. After months of watching hopeful contestants fall in love, entertaining cocktail parties and cringe-worthy group dates, Cummins decided to walk away alone leaving hearts broken and Australia gobsmacked – and has since been cited as one of the most controversial moments in Bachelor Australia history.
As we still reel from the fallout of Cummins’ decision (yes, even a year on), we take a look back at the most shocking moments to come out of The Bachelor franchise in history.
1. Nick Cummins Dumps Both Finalists
It had never been done before in The Bachelor Australia history, but former Wallabies player and Aussie larrikin Nick ‘Honey Badger’ Cummins decided to walk away without picking a winner. The grand finale ceremony, held in New Caledonia, saw the Badgelor dump both finalists Sophie Tieman and Brittany Hockley. Shortly after the ceremony, Brittany asked to see Sophie to let her know that Cummins didn’t pick her either, telling her, “It was almost laughable” prompting Sophie to declare, “Are you f**cking kidding me?!”. Same here, Sophie.
2. ‘Mean Girls’ Cat, Romy And Alisha Slammed For Their Bullying Behaviour
In Cummins’ season, contestants Cat Hennessey, Romy Poulier and Alisha Radburn angered viewers when they bullied fellow contestant Tenille Favios, leaving her in tears and running out of the Bachelor mansion. Producers continued to film her when she was running away despite her pleas to stop. The reaction on Twitter was swift and Channel Ten was slammed for promoting bullying.
3. Leah Is ‘Slut-Shamed’ For Past Work As A Topless Waitress
During season 5 of The Bachelor, a group date saw Matty J’s sister Kate make a surprise appearance. After being tipped off by Elora, Kate confronts contestant and architecture student Leah Costa about her past as a topless waitress and whether she had told Matty yet. At the next cocktail party, Leah confirms her past to Matty and returns to the group where fellow contestant Elora asks, “Did he tip you?”. Viewers took issue with how Leah was treated and the double standards as former Bachelors Tim Robards and Blake Garvey had also worked as topless entertainers in the past.
4. Richie And Alex’s Racy Chocolate Bath
On a single date with Alex Nation, Richie Strahan surprised her with a bathtub filled with 300 litres of chocolate and it made for quite, um, uncomfortable viewing. The messy date will go down in history as the most cringe-worthy.
5. Bachelor Contestants Find Love With Each Other
Megan Marx and Tiffany Scanlon met on Richie’s season and, after they were eliminated, fell in love with each other. They revealed their relationship with an Instagram post noting the unusual circumstances: “I met Tiffany in a very strange situation. Well…we were kind of dating the same guy.”
6. Sasha Eats Her Rose During The Ceremony
In the first episode of Season 5, we saw Sasha Zhuraulyova take a bite out of her rose during the ceremony, leaving all of us perplexed and asking ourselves if we really did just see that happen. In an interview with ELLE, the Russian contestant cited long filming hours as the reason and revealed that the roses were actually covered in sugar.
7. Richie Receives Backlash For Choosing Alex Over Nikki
Australia was furious at Richie for dumping fan favourite Nikki Gogan for single mum Alex Nation. The backlash was swift with Richie going from Australia’s loveable ‘cool bananas’ bachelor to ‘most hated man’.
8. Blake Proposes To Sam Then Dumps Her For Second Runner-Up
In the season two finale, Blake Garvey got down on one knee and proposed to Sam Frost. However, after the finale was aired, Channel Ten confirmed the couple’s split and the drama didn’t stop there: after he dumped Sam, Blake went back to runner-up Louise Pillidge.
9. Stu Tells Sophie He Had A Vasectomy
Bachelorette Sophie Monk made it clear she wanted children and was left shocked when clear frontrunner, Stu Landy, revealed he had undergone a vasectomy. Despite this, Stu Landy ended up the chosen winner.
10. Bachelor in Paradise Contestant Has A Girlfriend On The Outside
When Brett Moore entered the resort in the first season of Bachelor in Paradise it was found out that he had a girlfriend on the outside – former Bachelor contestant Stephanie Boulton. Leaving the others puzzled as to why he entered in the first place, Moore was eventually booted out. However, he revealed that Stephanie was also asked to be on the show and they planned to pair up during filming.
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