Australia has quite literally fallen into a hopeless-romantic frenzy since finding out that heartbroken Sam Frost is embarking back on her journey to find love as Australia’s first-ever The Bachelorette, but some of you may not realise that she’s not the first woman in the world to be in these shoes.
The US is done and dusted with 11 seasons of The Bachelorette (and are currently producing its 20th The Bachelor), and, although Sam admits she’s never watched an overseas version of what she’s getting herself into, we think there are a few things she could learn from the world’s most controversial bachelorettes.
Whether it’s as simple as not sleeping with someone when there are still a load of contestants vying for your love or as simple as not trusting a guy with a car name, we’ve searched low and high to offer Sam some valuable tips.
1. Think twice about having sex with a contestant
Photo: Giphy.com
Season 11’s Kaitlyn Bristowe was probably the most controversial bachelorette yet, namely because she slept with Nick Viall (from Season 9 with Andi Dorfman) pretty early on in the season.
She invited him back to her hotel after a one-on-one in Dublin, only to have her moaning picked up by the cameramen’s microphones and, well, the world.
Photo: Giphy.com
She didn’t wind up with Nick, and had to instead tell the guy she ended up choosing, Shawn Booth. He happened to hate Nick’s stinking guts after he publicly humiliated Andi the season before (more on that below), so it all really went down the throat like a bar of soap.
Photo: Giphy.com
Photo: Giphy.com
Plus, the online bullying Kaitlyn received was downright cruel.
My grandma refers to kaitlyn on the bachelorette as “the slut” hahaha
— MICKEYY (@michh_rovv) July 14, 2015
2. Don’t let anyone speak smack about your family
We all know Sam’s a family girl. So was Season 8’s bachelorette, Emily Waynard. She had a young daughter named Ricki at the time, who was the daughter of Emily’s late husband who died in a plane crush while she was pregnant, and contestant Kalon McMahon had the audacity to call that little girl “baggage”.
Emily acknowledged the man for the full-on dick that he was, went “hoodrat West Virginia backward on his ass” and told him to “get the fuck out”. We hope if Sam crosses the same douchery that she’ll do the same thing.
3. Remember you’re not the only one in charge
Photo: giphy.com
Season 9’s Desiree Hartsock was blindsided when front-runner Brooks Forester dumped her while she was making her mind up about the final two. In her head, though, her choice was made and she was in love with him. “I didn’t want to share my heart, I wanted to give it to you,” she cried, right before he left.
Being the leading lady of the show, she probably didn’t foresee that some people might not feel the same about her as she does them.
Desiree almost didn’t even finish up the show because she was so heartbroken. Perhaps it was a blessing in disguise because she ended up picking Chris Siegfried, and they are now happily married.
Photo: giphy.com
4. Stay far away from social media
Season 11’s Kaitlyn absolutely kooked it when she sent a Snapchat of herself and winner Shawn with weeks of the show still left to air, becoming the first bachelorette to accidentally reveal the ending of the show.
“We were sending snaps to one of the producers,” now-fiancé Shawn explained to Jimmy Kimmel. We’re not sure that’s a good enough excuse for all the lives you ruined by spoiling the finale, mate. Sam: take notes.
5. Beware of the douchebags
Photo: giphy.com
Not everyone goes on this show for, we hate to say it, “the right reasons”. Take Bentley Williams, for example, who was on Season 7 with Ashley Herbert. He was not-so-secretly hoping the season’s bachelorette would be Widowed mother Emily, who was tapped for The Bachelorette the following season.
He totally tricked Ashley and made her think that she had found a connection with him, but said some pretty disgraceful things about her to producers. “I came in thinking that Ashley was not attractive at all,” he said. “A cute girl, but not an Emily.”
Exhibit B was Ian on Kaitlyn’s season, who called her “shallow”, “surface-level” and suggested she was just on the show to hook up with a bunch of guys. Obviously he was shown the door.
There are plenty more examples, because every season needs a token dickhead, whether that’s truly what they are or if that’s the way the show portrays them. Luckily Sam has met the likes of Blake Garvey, so she knows what to keep an eye out for.
6. Be sensitive to your contestants’ feelings
Photo: ABC
Season 11’s Kaitlyn treated her boys to an “Irish Wake” date, where she laid in a coffin pretending to be dead. It wasn’t exactly the most sensitive thing she had done, considering Ben Zorn lost his mother when he was younger and struggled reliving the experience.
Photo: giphy.com
Earlier in the season she took the boys on two consecutive dates which involved physical violence, boxing and sumo wrestling, and it didn’t go down very well with one contestant, Tony “the healer” Harris. “I can’t find happiness reverting back to my primal instincts,” he told her before going home on his own accord.
7. Stand up for yourself
Sam, you’re going to send guys home who are going to be hurt. They might say or reveal personal things as a defence mechanism, and, while you might understand where they’re coming from having been through heartbreak yourself, stand your freakin’ ground.
On Andi’s Season 10, her runner-up, Nick (the same one who slept with Kaitlyn, mind you), was so upset about not nabbing the final rose that he decided to tell everyone that he slept with her. “If you weren’t in love with me, I’m just not sure why you made love with me,” he said.
She handled it like a pro, saying, “That’s kind of below the belt. I think that’s something that should be private and kept private,” which in turn made him look really bad.
8. Bromance can be a threat
PhotoL giphy.com
The boys are going to spend more time with each other than they do with you, Sam, so be prepare for love to blossom in unexpected places. On Season 11 contestants and JJ and Clint got along so well that getting a rose was more beneficial for their relationship than their ones with The Bachelorette.
Photo: giphy.com
9. You’ll probably end up married with babies
If America’s first-ever The Bachlorette Trista Sutter (formerly Rehn) is anything to go by, in a decade’s time Sam Frost will be married with two kids to the guy she chooses.
8. If you send a good one home, be totally prepared for him to be the next bachelor
Not everyone can win, but every man you send home could possibly be the next bachelor. From Sean Lowe to Chris Soules and Ben Higgins, there has been some truly respectable gentlemen who have had a second chance at love. Heck, some of them live happily ever after and get married, so make sure you make the right decision.
Photo: giphy.com
We’ve got our fingers crossed for a real gem to become The Bachelor for Season 4, because, let’s be honest, we just weren’t very emotionally invested in Tim Robards, Blake or Sam Wood in the same way we are with you, Frosty.
