Why Brooke Blurton joined The Bachelorette after swearing off reality TV

Brooke Blurton has revealed why she agreed to be the new Bachelorette, after previously swearing she’d never do reality TV again. 

After a video resurfaced of her saying she was done with dating shows, the 26-year-old told Popsugar she was ‘really upset’ at the time and was ‘shutting off an opportunity’ to find love.

She explained that when Channel 10 offered her the role several months ago, the timing was perfect and she jumped at the chance.

‘I was still grieving the Bachelor process and I was still a bit sensitive after Paradise,’ Brooke said of the video, which she posted a video to Instagram in 2019.

‘At the time, obviously I was very distraught and in a really upset place to say that because I feel like I was shutting off to an opportunity that could have happened but it’s about timing and what comes up.

‘I have really considered this opportunity and I think I had to be in the right headspace and mindset to what to find that perfect person.’

Brooke said on Instagram two years ago she would never appear on reality TV again, telling fans: ‘I am here to say that I am really happy and I’ve met a new love, her name is Shiraz.’

‘No I’m extremely happy and thank you so much for following my Paradise journey. It was fun, it was emotional,’ she added. 

She went on to say that perhaps two stints on reality TV was enough and she was no longer interested in finding love on a national stage.

‘But do you know what… I don’t think I’ll be going on a reality show ever again – and I say that for the second time,’ she said.

‘I promise you I am so happy on the outside, I don’t need to go on the show.’ 

Brooke, who made her franchise debut on Nick Cummins’ season of The Bachelor in 2018, clearly had a change of heart after recording that video.

She was announced on Thursday as Australia’s first openly bisexual Bachelorette.

The forthcoming series will mark the first time any season of The Bachelor or The Bachelorette has featured a mixed-gender cast vying for the lead star’s affections. 

Brooke told The Daily Telegraph she was ‘ready’ to smash reality TV conventions.

When asked how she felt audiences would take the change, the youth worker said: ‘I am not too sure if Australia is ready for it. I certainly am.

‘If it makes people feel uncomfortable in any way, I really challenge them to think about why it does.’  

The youth worker has dated men and women in the past.

She addressed her sexuality on The Bachelor in 2018, telling leading man Nick Cummins: ‘I’ve had four relationships… one with a guy but I’ve also had two relationships with women.

‘When I was in those relationships, I looked beyond what they were as female and I really loved [them] for who they were as people.’