Alexandra Nation - Bachelor Australia - Season 4

So far, Alexandra and Keira have had the most involvement in dates (posted in filming schedule thread)...they could potentially be getting the most screen time at this stage. Maybe that will translate into Bette story for one of them. 
The Bette was really predictable and some people complained about how obvious it was that Sasha was the winner - maybe this season, they'll represent Alexandra or Keira as frontrunners (given their appearance on dates every episode so far) and present his F1 as the dark horse of the season (potentially polka dot girl, Megan, etc.)

Both Alexandra and Keira have really romantic and extravagant dates which seemed very produced and staged from BTS photos...maybe these girls have peaked too soon?
That could be used to trick the audience into supporting those girls at the start. In contrast, it looked like Richie and his first 2 dates had more space to themselves - no one else was hanging from the crane (I think), and he got to swim around with Nikki...but I could be wrong. With Heather and Richie, they both had a lot of involvement in group dates so I'm seeing that the most with Alexandra and Keira so far from released photos in comparison with the other girls.

I guess I'm trying to apply a post-show theory to a currently-filming show so it probably means nothing and they can edit it however they want later on but those are my thoughts!

Great post [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]! Loving your thoughts and make so much sense. I can definitely see it playing out as you posted

Photos from the archery date have put up on diimex - it seems he's getting along really well with Alexandra. These were the only photos taken of him laughing and showing special attention to a girl on that date (although there aren't many photos).
Maybe he's focussing on Alexandra for F1 after their date
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Awww he looks really happy! Lovely to see and a continuation from their earlier date so I think Richie really likes her.

Who knows, if Richie chooses Alexandra he could be a stepdad just like Sam W.

If she is in F3 then I think she will be F1 for sure. I don't see Richie dragging a single mom past F4 unless he knows she's the one just like Sam knew with Snez.

Yeah that would be 2 single mums in a row!  here are some other daily mail photos which show Richie looking her way during the date - whether he's looking at Megan or Alexandra is hard to say but he seems amused
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Yeah I reckon Megan and Alexandra are up there. With all the pics he seems to be looking at either Megan or Alex I reckon. The two seem like good friends too so that could get weird!!

I agree  the whole situation is weird though the girls live together and form strong bonds so it's always a bit awkward when it gets to the top few left.

Alexandra is a very attractive young woman and it is easy to see the reason Richie will be interested in her physically, if she continues on then there is more to her than looks or she's there by production choice.
Will have to see how she comes across on the show.

Like the US version and maybe in general, aren't most contestants on the show for fame or an opportunity?

Yeah I think she either will go far because Richie likes her and/or she may be producer's choice for possible next lead (or whatever else role).

As for fame/opportunity/etc, I am sure everyone around the world goes on TV for those reasons to some degree. Whether they fall in love or not remains to be seen.

That being said, I will say that the opportunities and "fame" in AU is not quite the same as in US. That Ben H has 1.3 million IG followers (as does Kaitlyn) and yet Sam Wood only has 197K along with getting paid much less makes me think it's not quite in the same league as US and neither is the fame/opportunity on the same scale.

I don't know of many past contestants from Bach AU (not leads or F1) that make money off of IG sponsorships the way many have and do for US show so I think the opportunities and fame are limited to the lead and F1 for the most part. Unless they are someone who is in the business already (like Heather, for example) it seems like most fade into obscurity and no money or opportunities post-show.

I agree that she'll go very far. As we know, her starnow profile states that she gets a buzz from being in front of a camera and wants to build a profile in the modeling/acting industry. I think it's reasonable to assume that the fame or opportunities that come with the show (e.g. potential Bette, magazine covers, signing with a modeling agency, etc) would have made up a large part of her decision to do the show. Many contestants have been able to sign with modeling agencies and various other things which sounds like what she's after. 
I just hope that if Richie starts considering her as a potential F1, that she genuinely likes him.
I'm also wondering if they'll use "Model" as her occupation? Her LinkedIn says she works at her family's restaurant as well so they could use that instead perhaps?

I thought I'd write down a summary of the signs of Alex as F1 plus the pros and cons of these clues so far:

1. She's physically close with Richie. Their slow dance date was obviously a touchy-feely date. He was even pictured holding her hand while a crew member put a microphone on her. Also seemed quite close on the sport date during their interaction.
Pros: pretty important to be physically comfortable with the F1 by that stage in filming. The last couple of seasons have had the 'physical connection' contestant win the show - e.g. Snezana, Sasha.

Cons:
Apart from their kiss, the physical contact isn't much different to his other dates (and a music performance pretty much requires a slow dance on the Bachelor series). e.g. Red romper girl gets very close to him on their date - he holds her hand quite a bit and also while they walk, and stands close to her the whole time.

He makes her laugh. diimex photos show Alex laughing at Richie quite a bit when they're talking to the band. Also at the sport date, he obviously teased her about something or tried to have a laugh with her again.

Pros: We know Richie will try to make his F1 laugh. That was his go-to move with Sam. While he likes a girl to make him laugh, he has said he prefers it to mostly be the other way around in romantic relationships in this article: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
He always took pride in having Sam in stitches so he'll definitely pick a girl who laughs at him.
Cons:
Not much different to other interactions he's had with other girls. Polka dot girl makes him laugh and vice versa, and he made red romper girl laugh on their date as well. According to OK! Magazine, his date with Megan involved a lot of laughing too.
When Alex is laughing, it's also clear that Richie isn't really looking at her that much either - he's looking at the band members (who are also laughing) and it's more like a group conversation. I'm assuming they went somewhere beforehand so maybe that involved more of a private conversation and alone time but from the photos, most of the chatting and laughing is with the band.

3. He seemed to enjoy their kiss. From photos, he seemed to be leaning into it, etc and Daily Mail describes it as passionate.

Pros: as already mentioned, the contestants who have the best kissing chemistry with the lead have won the last few shows - Snezana, Sasha and are always strong contenders.

Cons: like [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] has noted, Alex might be initiating it more. The whole thing seemed pretty planned as well with producers ushering them over to the right location (but maybe that's the norm anyway.)
I also noticed this: is Richie looking away from her right before they're about to kiss? And are his eyes open? Might just be the blurry-ness but I thought it kind of looked that way compared to another photo when they're kissing.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

4. She's been on the most dates (that we know of.)
Assuming we saw all the dates that happened in the first few episodes, Alex is one of the few girls who is on a date every episode. Obviously means he wants to see her a lot. 
Cons: 
From photos, he hasn't given her much special attention on those GDs - I didn't see him anywhere near her on the rollerblading date or photoshoot but that could just mean that it wasn't captured.

^^^Don't know, but just looking at those pictures, she seems to be grabbing at him. Looks more like an audition than real passion. Obviously we will see when the show airs, but that was my first impression when I saw those.