Bachelor Australia - Season 4 - Richie Strahan - Social Media - Media - NO Discussion - *Sleuthing - Spoilers*

The Bachelor’s Richie Strahan ready for romance
Sue Yeap - The West Australian on July 22

Walking on to the set of reality romance series The Bachelor Australia is like stepping into a fairytale.

Stepping out of our mini-van after driving 90 minutes north of Sydney, we are greeted by fairy lights. And more fairy lights. And more fairy lights.

There are thousands and thousands of them.

The palatial, palazzo-style home is new for season four and has a tennis court, citrus groves, dams, a koi pond, a romantic wisteria archway, a turret jokingly referred to as “the pashing tower” and of course, a swimming pool and plenty of room to land a helicopter out the back.

It took four weeks to dress the house ahead of filming including a kitchen makeover and the addition of hundreds of metres of flowers so realistic you’d never know they were fakes unless someone told you.

“The US has said our execution is the best outside the US, we’re all quite proud of that,” says host Osher Gunsberg during a guided tour of the mansion.

“Their catering budget is probably the same as our show budget.”

During the tour, we pass a handful of bachelorettes in cocktail gowns in the kitchen. A shimmer of silver, a flash of cleavage; later that night will be a rose ceremony and someone will be going home.

All that’s missing on this tour is The Bachelor himself, WA rope-access technician Richie Strahan, who rose (pardon the pun) to national prominence last year as a contestant on The Bachelorette Australia.

Back in Perth a few weeks later in the less distracting surrounds of the Network Ten Perth boardroom, Strahan is upbeat about the experience and doing a very good job of staying mum about whether or not he will meet “the one” during his televised quest for love.

“It feels good being home,” he says.

“I’ve been helping a friend who’s renovating his house at the moment, he put me on the tools straight away, so we’ve gone from amazing dates to sweaty and dusty.”

Strahan, 31, has been riding a rollercoaster of recognition since Sam Frost sent him home two suitors away from the finale of The Bachelorette. The audience favourite was an early pick to become this season’s Bachelor.

“Last year, coming off the back of The Bachelorette was an exciting time for me. Everyone in Perth was so friendly, nice and supportive,” he says.

“I have no problems heading out in Perth. I feel like it is going to be very much the same now; tell them to come say G’day and have a beer with me.”

Well trained by his publicity minders, Strahan has a stock answer for anyone who plans to pry from him any information about his love life.

“Tune in on weeknights,” he laughs. “You’ve got to plug it.”

Strahan has become a fixture of social pages and gossip mags and even attended The Logies; not bad for a guy who confesses he had never watched the US version of The Bachelor/Bachelorette and had to download episodes so he knew what he was getting himself into last year.

Some media outlets have gone to extraordinary lengths to capture spoiler images of Strahan’s dates on this season of The Bachelor (which has wrapped filming) and some of the stories about Strahan have been over the top, including one magazine article that claimed some bachelorettes thought he had body odour.

“I don’t think anything can really prepare you for it, you just don’t know where you’re headed,” he says of the attention.

“You come off something like The Bachelorette and there’s a lot of excitement about that show.

“After I agreed to do The Bachelor, my goodness, the paparazzi have been absolutely out of control and the articles have been pretty sensational.

“There’s an awful lot of interest out there which is exciting. It stems from a lot of people having a lot of interest in this kind of show and they really want to see the journey that I go on.

“I’m an Aussie guy; I can’t go a day without my mates giving me grief about doing something like this. A couple of bad articles just have to be water off a duck’s back.

“Someone is going to write something bad if they want, you just really don’t have any control over it. You’ve just got to laugh that kind of stuff off, which is easy to do because most of it is fabricated anyway.”

He says it was a big decision signing up for the show, one he knew would also have an impact on his friends, his mum and his sister, but he could not pass up the opportunity to meet someone “quite special”.

Strahan has the pick of 22 eligible women aged from 23 to 34 this season including five from WA: Megan, 27, a health promotions officer from Geraldton, Natalie, 28, a journalist based in Kalgoorlie, Rachael, 31, a support worker, Nikki, 28, a real estate agent from Northam, and Tiffany, 29, a training administrator. Did the women with a hometown advantage have extra appeal?

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Perth’s Richie Strahan is The Bachelor for season four, seen here meeting WA contestant Nikki


“I went into The Bachelor experience with an open mind; I knew I was going to meet girls from all over the State, all over the country,” he says.

“I didn’t want to put up a boundary straight away, and be like if I meet someone from the Northern Territory I am going to be like ‘sorry it’s not going to work out’.

“I think it is fantastic there are girls from WA, I think it is fantastic there are girls from all over Australia.”

Is Strahan prepared to move for love?

“I am just really open to meeting someone beautiful, I don’t really mind where she’s from, it just comes down to how you feel about that person really.”

In his spare time, Strahan enjoys riding his motorbike, fishing, rock-climbing, four wheel-driving and surfing. In the TV ads he describes himself as an adrenaline junkie. So what is he looking for in a partner?

“I certainly like to live quite a high-octane lifestyle and I would love to meet someone that wants to share those passions with me and really enjoy life. Someone that is really confident in themselves,” he says.

“I think in my promo I said I was looking for someone nice.

“I think the word nice is an understated kind of word; meeting someone who’s got a really nice personality is hard to find.”

When The Bachelorette premiered last year, Strahan’s sister and her friends supplied Richie masks for the viewing party.

“That turned out to be a pretty full-on night, we woke up the next day with rose petals everywhere,” he recalls.

Strahan will be in Sydney when the show premieres later this month and jokes he may end up watching it alone in a hotel room. He is amused to learn there will be life-sized cardboard cut-outs of him, just as there were of his predecessor Sam Wood.

But he’s slightly alarmed to learn at least one cut-out of Wood was almost destroyed at an enthusiastic Bachie-watching party.

“Please be gentle,” he laughs.

“You can just call me up and I might come say G’day, that might be better than a cut-out.”

Strahan promises this season will be packed with lots of amazing dates, lots of laughs and of course, lots of tears when women who don’t get a bloom at the rose ceremonies are sent home.

“Wow, women are very emotional,” he says.

“It’s very much different to The Bachelorette where you’d look around at the bros and are like ‘I’ve got this’.

“Doing The Bachelor, girls are always crying, it’s very emotional and really full on.

“You build relationships with these girls. I went about this trying to really respect the girls for putting their hearts out there; it’s a big thing to do and it’s a lot more intense than people think.”

ThankMeLater wrote:Richie Strahan on Life as The Bachelor: "No One Really Trains You For This Stuff"
25 July, 2016

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Richie Strahan will be the name on everyone's lips when season four of The Bachelor Australia launches on Wednesday night, but the man himself was as unassuming as ever when we sat down for a chat recently. Topics covered? Meeting Sandra Sully at the Logies, being embarrassed after our last interview together (sorry Richie!) and learning to live with fame . . . But for someone who's about to become a national talking point again, Richie seemed pretty chilled. One thing that comes through loud and clear is his genuine desire to find love. "I'm not everyone's cup of tea but I believe I've got a very exciting life," he tells us at Network Ten headquarters. "I just want to be able to share that with someone. Someone who wants to grab life, and be my partner in crime and my co-pilot."

With 22 beautiful women vying for his attention, we'd say he's got a good chance ahead of him — keep reading to learn how Richie handled meeting the ladies for the first time, and if he has any dealbreakers.


POPSUGAR Australia: How are you finding being the actual star of the show this time?

Richie Strahan: [Laughs] It's all very exciting. It's so different from doing The Bachelorette. This comes with a whole heightened sense of intensity.

PS: Did you hesitate at all when you were approached to do it?

Richie: Yeah, it was a really big decision. I am a private person [laughs]. It was a very big deal for me to do The Bachelorette. And coming off the back of that my life changed considerably. And I knew that by going down this avenue I was going to be under the spotlight even more and it could again just absolutely shake things up. Which is exciting in one way but also it's a big decision to do that to your life. It was a very tough decision to make.

PS: I remember speaking to Sam [Wood] last year and he said it wasn't a normal world for him but the reason he signed up to be The Bachelor is because it's such a rare opportunity. Does that ring true for you too?

Richie: Yeah, that's a really good way to put it. I like to go by that quote, "I'd rather regret doing something than regret not doing something." It is an experience. It's a life-changing experience. And life should be lived — that's my motto. I don't fear death, I fear not living. It's about just diving in there and having a crack at things . . . and potentially meeting a beautiful woman. Sign me up! Can't be too bad, right?

PS: How have you found the fame? You were kind of inundated at the Logies back in May.

Richie: The Logies were fantastic. I'm just a regular dude and I was like, "What's going on!" [Laughs] I get starstruck so easy. If I had my phone I probably would have annoyed everyone on that carpet and gotten a selfie. I just would've been that guy. It is hard because you can't give away too much, and people try and get stuff from you. I'm not a person who's good with a filter, I need to just let it go — it's just so much easier! So it's tricky to navigate through conversations, but I loved it. I couldn't believe I was at the Logies. And Osher's my wingman?! I was just walking around going, "What is life?"

Like Delta walked past — I don't know if she walked, she kind of glided, there were doves, there was smoke — I was like, "It's Delta!" I had a fantastic time with Chloe [Richie's Network Ten publicist] when I met Sandra Sully. It was hilarious. In the corner of my eye, there's Sandra. And I've just turned to Chloe and I've gone [whispers], "There's Sandra Sully. Can I go say hello?" And she just goes, "No, Rich. Just chill out." But as she's said that, I've just turned and Sandra's locked eyes and she's gone, "Hi Richie." Before she finished the "ie" on Richie, I was up, straight next to her like, "Sandra." It was the best! I was just excited. It's Sandra! And then, you know Dr. Chris Brown? He's a giant, the guy's like 8ft 9. Every part of his body is amazing. I met him and I'd just rammed a couple of Tim Tams in my mouth. So I turned around and I just hear "Hello, Richie." I was like, "Chris, I don't know what to say. I've got Tim Tams in my mouth." He was just laughing [laughs].

PS: How do you keep everything a secret? It seems impossible to me. Do people try and trick you into spilling details?

Richie: Oh, all the time! It is so difficult. It is tough. I'm an open kind of guy, I like to be open and honest so it's kind of hard to have a filter and keep all the secrets in. I feel like I'm President Obama [laughs]. It's a little tricky. Oh look, it's Dave from The Bachelorette [he points to his phone which is receiving a call from Dave Billsborrow]. Bilby's calling me!

PS: Hilarious! Are you guys all still friends then?

Richie: Yeah, absolutely! They're all great guys.

PS: Do you ever talk to Sam and Sasha [Frost and Mielczarek, from last year's The Bachelorette]?

Richie: I don't talk to Sam much. In fact I only spoke to her at the Logies. When Sam picked Sash, you know, they go on a whole journey and that's their thing. It'd be a bit weird if I called Sam and said, "Hey, what up!" [Laughs] That's just not how that works. Sash on the other hand, I talk to Sash all the time.

PS: He's a great guy.

Richie: Isn't he though?! He's the nicest and funniest bloke I've ever met. I've got all the time in the world for Sash, he's a great guy.

PS: Did the attention last year catch you by surprise?

Richie: Oh yeah. Crikey! Bloody oath. Yeah, definitely. That was difficult. At one point I felt like if I just stood next to someone it was going to be a headline. It's tricky, no one really trains you for this stuff. You just go about your normal life . . . It's interesting but at the same time it's exciting. Life is just so different now, which is awesome.

PS: What are you looking for in a woman?

Richie: Someone who's going to love me for me. I'm not everyone's cup of tea but I believe I've got a very exciting life and I just want to be able to share that with someone. Someone who wants to grab life and be my partner in crime and be my co-pilot. Be my equal in terms of wanting to do things and grabbing life with both hands.

PS: Did you have any dealbreakers for the women?

Richie: Oh, that's interesting! I guess a good dealbreaker is someone who has zero sense of humour – when you crack a joke and they just look at you and raise an eyebrow. It's a tough one, imagine meeting the most amazing girl, but she smoked. You be like, "Can we just work at this? Can we just cut down?" I guess you've just got to look at the person and figure out if it is a dealbreaker.

PS: You were nervous meeting Sam last year —

Richie: Pfft, yeah — "cool bananas" nervous! I panicked.

PS: How did you go having 22 women to meet at one time?

Richie: It was an experience like no other. I was excited, yes I was a little nervous. I just really wanted the girls to like me. I wanted to make a good impression and hopefully meet at least one girl who likes me.

PS: Does it feel different being in the driver's seat?

Richie: Oh, definitely! All the power [laughs]. Everything is just so much better!

PS: Last year you told us Renae Ayris was your celebrity crush. Did you ever meet her?

Richie: Yeah, no . . . And that's something I've learned to never, ever mention again! Articles were written. It was the most embarrassing moment of my life! I thought nothing of it but then there were a lot of articles about it. Poor girl — you guys tweeted it to her! She was really, really sweet about everything.

PS: And has your celebrity crush changed now?

Richie: I am never saying anything ever again!

PS: I'm sorry! We had good intentions.

Richie: Nah, it's OK [laughs]. I can have a laugh at it now. That was full on!

PS: Can you tell us what it was like meeting all the ladies for the first time?

Richie: Oh my goodness, you could hear two heartbeats just pounding — with the sound of heels clip-clopping around. When they say it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, I'd say it's a once-in-a-lifetime experience because it's just the most intense moment of your life. I panicked, said "cool bananas" about a thousand times to Sammy [in The Bachelorette] — this is that, but next level.

PS: Are allowed a few drinks beforehand?

Richie: Coffee! I'm allowed coffee. [Laughs] Peptides, steroids . . . nah, joking. It was actually pretty funny — I had a vodka, lime and soda going into a cocktail party, but it just sat on the table because you're talking so much. I was like, "I need a drink! I need to wet the whistle!"

PS: Finally, if you could binge-watch one TV show what would it be?

Richie: I love Game of Thrones, I'm a bit of a Game of Throner. I liked True Detective, the first one was really good. Oh, and Entourage! How good was Entourage? That's one series I can just constantly watch.

ThankMeLater wrote:The Bachelor Richie Strahan tells all ahead of new series
Kris Crane, The Courier-Mail
July 25, 2016

HIS quest to find love has not even gone to air, but new Bachelor Richie Strahan has already revealed he has been making daily phone calls and enjoying secret rendezvous with his chosen woman.

The Bachelor season four kicks off tomorrow night and the man at the centre of it all, Strahan, was the second last guy to be dumped by Sam Frost on the inaugural series of The Bachelorette.

But now is his time to dish out the red roses to those who will go through to each subsequent episode.

Since the finale was filmed in Asia last month, Strahan and his specially chosen woman face a long wait until they are allowed to be seen together in public.

“We talk every day. We speak about how we both can’t wait until we can just walk down the street together or go to a cafe,” he said. “They have organised for us to meet up a few times. “We have to be secretive, we even have secret nicknames for each other.”


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Strahan confessed to The Courier-Mail that producers called him just weeks after he was booted by Frost.

“I was in a pub with the other guys from The Bachelorette,” Strahan said.

“It was around ­Melbourne Cup time and the producers from Warner Bros called to talk to me about being the Bachelor.

“I did take a while to decide. I spoke to my family about it quite a bit.

“It is a life-changing decision to make.”

In the new season, 22 women will fight it out for Strahan’s heart on the hit ­reality show.

Strahan said he was excited for the show to air.

“I am excited, although there are a few episodes that I am a bit anxious to watch back as things get a bit crazy.”

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ThankMeLater wrote:Did Richie give away the winner? The Bachelor star Strahan drops strong hints that Megan Marx has won his heart
26 July 2016

Richie Strahan may have unintentionally given away the winner of this season's The Bachelor before it even begins. The hunky 30-year-old from Perth dropped several hints that WA-based contestant Megan Marx, 27, takes home the gold during an interview with Smallzy's Surgery on NOVA FM and then in a subsequent interview with Rove & Sam on 2DAY FM.

Appearing on Tuesday night's edition of Smallyz's Surgery, Richie was quizzed about whether he would move across the country for his chosen girl. Hinting that his girl comes from his home state of WA, Richie interjected with: 'Ok, but what if she's from Perth? Or from WA?' (The contestants who hail from Western Australia are Nikki, Tiffany, Rachael, Natalie and Megan.)

On top of this, Sam Frost managed to identify Megan Marx as being the stand-out from this list of WA girls. Chatting to Richie on Wednesday morning during her radio show with Rove McManus, Sam posed her theory to the hunky oil rig worker, saying: 'I think Richie chooses Megan. She is one of the four or five girls that has had a promo made of her, right?' Richie seemed stunned by Sam's ingenuity, remaining decidedly silent.

'S Fro had her own promo, Snez had her own promo, Sash had his own promo', Sam said of the show's previous winners. 'The music under her promo is very magical, guys', she went on, before adding that Richie and Megan share similar interests including outdoor exercise and adventure-seeking. Richie chose his response carefully, saying: 'The music could be a bit of a giveaway, that was an interesting one'.

He then appeared to become tongue tied prompting Rove to narrate Richie's uncomfortable body language. Richie then proceeded to swiftly change the topic to Bachelor buzzword drinking games. 'I just love that you said 'let's all go on this journey, Rove. That's a Bachelor drinking game', quipped Richie.  

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'I am head over heels': Richie Strahan confesses he's 'smitten' after finding true love on The Bachelor ahead of the season premiere
26 July 2016

'I am that smitten, it has been incredibly hard to keep this a secret,' he told the publication while revealing he still hasn't told his mother who his final rose receiver is. 'You kind of want people to know, but I haven't even told my mum. It's a big thing to hold in, that's for sure,' the man of the moment continued. His confession comes a day after he read off a checklist to what he believed made the 'perfect' match for him.

Earlier in the month, the television hunk hinted he found a lucky lady who matched all the boxes. 'I’m absolutely really happy… she’s an incredible woman,' he said during an interview with the Daily Telegraph. Richie also hinted to WHO Magazine it was love at first sight, saying: 'I definitely felt something on the first night. When you're in front of the right person, you can just feel it.' 'I've met an incredibly amazing woman,' he added, while admitting it's been hard to remain incognito when he wants to shout their romance from the rooftops.

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Osher Gunsberg reveals what’s ahead for new Bachelor Richie
Tiffany Dunk, National TV Editor, News Corp Australia Network
July 26, 2016

OSHER Gunsberg spends half his working year counting roses for our Bachelor and Bachelorettes, and it’s a job he never gets tired of.

The dating series’ host reveals what’s ahead for Richie Strahan — and the aspiring Bachelorettes — this season.

So fill us in — how did our Richie do as The Bachelor?
Our boy became a man. It made me very happy to see.

Given you already knew him from The Bachelorette, do you have more of a vested interest in seeing Richie have a happy ending?
Absolutely. Richie’s such a lovely guy and he’s the man that won’t rest if everyone in the room isn’t smiling. So it was really confronting for him to be the reason that, every week, someone in the room is possibly crying. It was really confronting for him.

How did the women react when they realised Richie was this season’s Bachelor?
It was so good, the amount of limos that pulled up and the ladies were like, ‘Oh my God, I’m so stoked it’s him!’ Or ‘I was hoping it would be him!’ They were just thrilled. And he really charmed everyone.

The arrivals are always fabulous to watch. Were there many gimmicks brought by the ladies this year?
The arrivals are absolutely glorious. The dresses are fantastic and the place looks incredible — we can land helicopters in the backyard now which is pretty good. There’s singing, there’s dancing and there’s poetry. The poetry is particularly wonderful.

This crop of ladies were cast specifically for Richie. What sets this new group apart from previous seasons?
I’m just going to say it because the women on the production said it: They’re really hot. Second, every year there are women who you go, ‘How are you single?’ Then others that you’re like, ‘Okay, that’s why!’ This year it was like, “What happened that you’re here?!’ Some of these women are so amazing in their careers and so driven and educated and funny. And the other thing I’d say is that somehow the layers of personality go way deeper. You think you know what’s going on and then in about three or four weeks you go, ‘Wow! You were hiding that the whole time?’

So can we surmise there will be some surprising personality reveals?
Yes. And certain facets of the personality in two particular ladies I’m thinking of don’t become apparent until later on.

Last year the women didn’t get on so well. How does this group of women mix?
They become quite close. They have one thing in common — they’re all there because they had the idea that this will be the best thing I do next. Some of them are more liberal in their views than others. The freer spirits did tend to convene together a bit more.