Bachelor Australia - Season 4 - Richie Strahan - F1-F6 - *Sleuthing - Spoilers*

Just Looking, I agree that we don't know about Olena's "compatibility" with Richie ... but my past mistakes taught me that neither do we know enough about the other girls, since what they (TPTB) show us is strategic to make us believe in something more ... and to see the other options "right", "perfect", exactly what Richie needs/wants ... and the trick is ... that we don't know Richie anything more than we know girls ... because what was shown during Bette season it was edited for this gig and what is shown now it's for the purpose of the story. The pick at the end reveals more of who Richie really is. JMO

AllAboutLove wrote: and great post [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]! ITA with you on F1-F3 and Rachael at F4 possibly.

I found it interesting that Nikki and Olena had their first SD on the same episode and Nikki's first and then Olena's so if they are in F2, then it may have been that Richie saw them as his possible F2 from the beginning? It's also interesting to me that Olena is the only one who gets SDs when someone else gets SDs in the same episode (Nikki in Ep 2 and Keira in Ep 8). Not sure what it means though...

Nikki as F1
- I also see Nikki's edit similar to Matilda's and agree that they have that IT connection and like the girls said in the last episode "there is Richie with Nikki and then there is Richie with the other girls" so Nikki is different from them all.
- What was telling to me as well was that, even after his date with Olena, Richie made sure to speak to Nikki at the CP and away from the girls and they had their kiss and took that time to spend with her even thought there was no rose ceremony showed me that Richie put Nikki first before all the other girls (which aligns with what the girls said).
- Nikki's sister's SM activity since filming ended reminds me most of Snez's sister and Matilda's friends/family as well since her sister started following Richie and liking pics of Nikki and Richie soon after filming wrapped. I don't think she would do so if Nikki had her heartbroken?

Olena as F2 (I'd think Olena was F4 but she seems to have too many s/caps so I also see her as F2)
- Olena's edit reminds me of a typical F2 edit when it comes to "mystery", "intrigued" and being guarded with "walls up". Lisa/F2 (Bach AU S2) had a guarded/walls up edit as did JoJo on Bach US S20 and usually words like "intrigued/mystery" and not used for F1. In a way I would say that Olena already has a built-in reason why she could be let go (not enough time, etc, to fully open up).
- I struggle to see how Olena will be able to say "I love you" in the season preview VO if she is struggling to open up at her 2nd SD. That's quite a leap in her edit to get there that fast for someone who is slow paced and more reserved, imo.

ThankMeLater wrote:I still think Nikki is f1. Richie taking her aside last week telling her his feeling were still "strong as ever" sealed it for me. He didn't want to lose her too  

My final prediction:

F1- Nikki
F2- Olena
F3 - Alex
F4- Rach

Sorry..had to bring back old posts, since i was dying to reply before RL took over my life .

After epis 9 and 10...I am still on board with Nikki , Olena, Alex, Rach as F1-F4 in that particular order. so yes, ITA with TML   .

i also couldn't agree more with AAL regarding the F1 and F2 edit :

as ive said in my prev post, to me, "Rikki " pairing can be lumped into "fall right from the start" category, along with Art-Matilda and Ben-Lauren. Since in the US franchise there are spoilers, rumor had it that Ben was done-deal with Lauren halfway through the season and the other girls can clearly "see" IT. I, personally believe, this is the case with Richie the Bachie.   . Hence, why Nikki was MIA on epis 6,7,9,10. (no footage shown during the 1-1- time on GD or CP). I mean, if they did, we might say its game over for everyone else since i presumed Richie kept assuring her with strong lines like ThankMeLater cited above   . We might also see their connection which, at this point, is far exceeding the other girls as well. JMO.

OTOH there is the edit for Olena, as i described it as "chase me" "intriguing""hard to fall" *kind of stuff..LOL. It had been emphasized from her 2nddate to the last epis..and will continues till the FRC.  I really think it resembles Chris-Becca story of the US franchise. I actually think with this kind of F2 the final couple will get the least backlash from the fans/audience, since the F2 was deemed "not ready" to love/receiving love at the final stage. The Bachie role is actually to show the F2, in this case Olena IMO, that love is 'possible' and beautiful..she just need to let her walls down...a great back story for her own upcoming gig (Read: next Ette )... so.. win-win to the max   . (note *: not only in the main episode, but also on Bach AU twitter, there are tonz of Olena footage showing her in that light LOL)

Regarding the last episodes, these tidbits are so interesting to me :

on episode 9 , i was amused by the "F4 saga" the editors kindly showed us.   . Alex -the F3 in my book -annoyed by Rachael -the presumed F4 - who said that Nikki -the clear F1 IMO -is Richie's person, and she already won   . Nikki then comforted Alex over it but was seen perplexed in her confession to the camera. Somehow, Olena - the F2 contender- acted as the 'voice of reason' for Nikki. She told us/the camera that Nikki was already fallen with Richie and it was hard for her to see Alex playing intimate with R. The next Ette audition, anyone?   .
The production seem to get bored not knowing what to do with Nikki (as i think they know that Richie had made up his mind at this point, JMO) so they have to play an "additional storyboard" to spice up the storyline by annoying Nikki to the max aka playing with her insecurities over R connection with other girls. (which i think they have failed miserably.. since Nikki came off as having the good head on her shoulder, eg: said she tried to compartmentalize her connection to not losing her mind..  )

Speaking of Alex on epis 10, IMO she had 1/10000000 chance to end up with Richie when Richie told Nikki on epis 5 that he and his partner should have wait to have children, by building the foundation first. Unlike Sam W, i don't think R is ready to be a prompt dad (yet), JMO. Its not necessarily translated to a good or bad thing..its just something that can't be forced, IMO. However it is so unfortunate that Alex must be taken far to the F3 (remain to be seen), at this point seemingly got the "chemistry" yet clingy, jelly edit being the hot mom that she is. Wonder why?

Anyhow, regarding the F1, i dig RIKKI pairing since i think they are a great match, with mirroring BL, the same level of quirkiness and expectation toward love and life. They seem to have the IT to last or at least doing the long run. The look-alike faces aren't hurt either... . JMO. To me, whenever they are together, Richie is simply being Richie, not the Bachie, unlike him with the other girls. JMO.
what can i say... i am just a sucker for a real good wuv story..   ..So, yeah, i look forward to their date on next week. This date is way long overdue!  

Just Looking wrote:I hear what you're saying Happy Go Lucky but I just don't kmow if Olena is at the same stage of life as Richie to be F1, where as Nikki is      JMO

This sounds interesting. What stage is Richie? Is he ready to settled down into a forever kind of love? Where are Nikki and Olena by comparison? 

I'm going to say that IMO and based off the little info about the women lives is that Nikki called off an engagement to a man she has been involved with for years, long years so it's kind of a divorce of sorts. Other than self promotion what is her motive for being on the show. Nikki has a persona to maintain, so she's gonna be nice and sweet even when faced with the green eyed monster however her modus operandi appears to be "get Richie" kind of like Alex but with a different approach. From the body language, Nikki is "full on" to quote Richie as this is how the show is and Nikki knows all about the show. She can be called a kissing bandit as well. She was an attraction and her choice of outfits first week was not a mistake :Nod: she knows what's up. 

Olena being on this show is a mystery, girl is shrouded in mystery. I'm thinking she's being real and that does not portray well on television. It comes across as boring and disinterested. This girl sits and observes and she's direct with Richie however she hasn't quite gotten that it tv time and her feelings has to match. She's not there so not in the bubble because she still questions her feelings and his. 
To me, it's obvious that Olena likes Richie but she's unsure of his relationship with the others and her age shows her doubt unlike the others. Alex's shows immaturity and much emotions which begs to question her sincerity. 
Olena telling Richie that she's going to be more open but she's not playing games to get to him says she's sincere in her feelings because she likes him. 

Quick outlook: 
Faith is quite the happy go lucky kind of girl. I think she would fit in wherever she goes. Life of the party whatever no foul no harm ...

Alex is an enigma. She's full on but seems unnatural in all her emotions. Does not read as genuine but yet she seems a nice girl. 

Rachael I'm still not warming up to. Maybe it's me! She's full on as well and speaks her mind. Is she being real or is she playing up to the camera? She is very much aware of the mechanics of the show as seen in her comments on where each girl stands and the progression of there relationship. She and Alex are producer driven it appears. 

So with that said, can someone please let me know what Richie is looking for and does he have a timeframe on settling down. Love, marriage and children.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]....I like to sleuth without any bias so please consider my response from that lens. From what I have heard Richie say on the show this season & read from his interviews; he is ready to be in a committed relationship. On his date with Kiki, he mentioned that he is lonely & wants to find someone to do life with (paraphrasing). Richie has also mentioned in interviews that he is not proposing at the end of this & that he wants to travel together & live with the girl first. So IMO Richie is not ready for marriage after this is over, he is going to take his time as he should IMO.

I believe most contestants that go on this show have admitted post show that what they felt was expedited hence why the term bubble love was coined. A lot of the sincere couples from this franchise will admit that this is why they go through challenges post show to really grow the relationship from the va va voom they felt to real grounded love.

With regards to this franchise in general, the best approach taken till date IMO are Art & Matilda from Bachie NZ S1....they got the concept of bubble love & waited 6 months after the show to say the words to each other after they got to know each other properly.

Overall IMO saying one is in love at any point during filming means nothing to me & it's just bubble love IMO. It's the commitment between the two to make a go at the relationship that counts IMO. So as long as Richie feels that with his F1, then they are off to a good start....all jmo.

ITA with you [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] and I'm looking forward to Nikki's 2nd date, too (it definitely is way overdue like you said). I think Nikki is a class act and a great match for Richie

Idlemess wrote:

Just Looking wrote:I hear what you're saying Happy Go Lucky but I just don't kmow if Olena is at the same stage of life as Richie to be F1, where as Nikki is      JMO

This sounds interesting. What stage is Richie? Is he ready to settled down into a forever kind of love? Where are Nikki and Olena by comparison? 

I'm going to say that IMO and based off the little info about the women lives is that Nikki called off an engagement to a man she has been involved with for years, long years so it's kind of a divorce of sorts. Other than self promotion what is her motive for being on the show. Nikki has a persona to maintain, so she's gonna be nice and sweet even when faced with the green eyed monster however her modus operandi appears to be "get Richie" kind of like Alex but with a different approach. From the body language, Nikki is "full on" to quote Richie as this is how the show is and Nikki knows all about the show. She can be called a kissing bandit as well. She was an attraction and her choice of outfits first week was not a mistake :Nod: she knows what's up. 

Olena being on this show is a mystery, girl is shrouded in mystery. I'm thinking she's being real and that does not portray well on television. It comes across as boring and disinterested. This girl sits and observes and she's direct with Richie however she hasn't quite gotten that it tv time and her feelings has to match. She's not there so not in the bubble because she still questions her feelings and his. 
To me, it's obvious that Olena likes Richie but she's unsure of his relationship with the others and her age shows her doubt unlike the others. Alex's shows immaturity and much emotions which begs to question her sincerity. 
Olena telling Richie that she's going to be more open but she's not playing games to get to him says she's sincere in her feelings because she likes him. 

Quick outlook: 
Faith is quite the happy go lucky kind of girl. I think she would fit in wherever she goes. Life of the party whatever no foul no harm ...

Alex is an enigma. She's full on but seems unnatural in all her emotions. Does not read as genuine but yet she seems a nice girl. 

Rachael I'm still not warming up to. Maybe it's me! She's full on as well and speaks her mind. Is she being real or is she playing up to the camera? She is very much aware of the mechanics of the show as seen in her comments on where each girl stands and the progression of there relationship. She and Alex are producer driven it appears. 

So with that said, can someone please let me know what Richie is looking for and does he have a timeframe on settling down. Love, marriage and children.

I'm with you on this one [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] IN MY OPINION *EDIT* in his interviews when asked about the one he sort of goes around the question saying i don't know about "the one" we could be in a relationship for 3, 5, 10 years time and break up????  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dv9JmRLY-PQ  this is the link to the radio interview.  So is he ready to settle down for marriage and kids just yet? JMO no I don't think he is.  IMO and Im not saying Nikki isn't F1 but IMO i'm concerned her being in a very long term relationship from when she was very young I might add and going into another apparent long term relationship may mean she doesn't quite know herself and "love" herself enough to love someone else fully. JMO Ive seen it too many times with friends and it doesn't end well unfortunately and I'm not sure she is in fact ready for that but asserting her insecurities by going in for the pash overtime.  Body language wise IMO the pic of the two of them at the highland games it looks like Richie doesn't look like he is enjoying it if you look at his face IMO.

As for Olena and before anyone jumps down my throat IMO I'm not saying she is F1 although I'm finding somethings on SM which are a little off kilter which I'll keep under my hat for now, but Anna from Season 1 had never had a boyfriend before and who was scared to open up and that turned out beautifully. I think she is genuine in her feelings IMO, but she is unable to articulate them but it looks like she is willing and prepared to do that going by the Sneak Peek for the up coming episode.  I think we need to look closely at the girls and their personas, their backgrounds, what they have achieved in their life to really comprehend who they are.  IMO thats a complex thing to do just by arm chair watching we can only speculate.  Heck IMO we barely know Richie at this stage as we never hear him articulate what he wants in life except for Olenas "interrogation." or really even asks the girls what they are looking for in depth.

I just need to point out though I went through 6 seasons of the Bachelor US and IMO its not always the obvious girl that gets the guys.  If you look at Ben Flajik season he ended up with the villain, Sean Lowe ended up with a girl with a completely different cultural background who had parental issues, we won't even go into Juan Pablo, Chris Soules went with the girl who he thought would fit perfectly into his life and that didn't end well and IMO Ben H season was sleuthed so early in the piece by RS, everyone was looking for the chemistry but his own mother thought JoJo suited him better, how awkward was that by the way And I do realise ya'll are talking about obvious editing but in saying that there ain't no way in hell anyone on paper looking at editing would have thought Ben F would have gone for Courtney. If anyone is interested there is an interview with Chris Harrison and Sean Lowe re: his season and he says he got rid of a number of girls even though they looked right on paper or they had chemistry he knew that by the 2SD there shouldn't still be awkwardness between them. I don't know much about the NZ S1 bach because IMO i couldn't watch beyond ep 4 as IMO I couldn't  warm up to Art at all.

So IMO each bach is different and each of the girls are different.  As for Olena having her first date the same day as Nikki as was mentioned somewhere previously, Snez also had her first date with Sam W on the same day as Madeline, but it was interesting that Olena was the first one to get a SD as did Snez which means he really wants to get to know her better, or he was just hanging to kiss her IMO:Huge smile: .  

As for Rachel, she was risen as the pot stirrer but quite consciously looking to "win" so I don't think she is genuine regardless of whether she is from the same state I don't think they are a good fit IMO.  Alex I think is a sweet girl but looking too hard to find love so I still see her as F2 IMO hence the edit.  But then again this is JMO.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.], you are so funny girl.  

I will allow myself to be biased here, I dare say the international threads are the best for sleuthing on this forum and we have an awesome moderator now (AAL); we may not always agree or see things eye to eye but all opinions are welcome and how we sleuth without spoiler intervention totally rocks...

All posts/opinions about the show (not other members) are most welcome, per [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] just be sure to add IMO for posts that are opinions and not facts, and a source for any pics/articles/SM/screeencaps/etc and we're all good to go

One may have different favorites or see things differently but that's what makes the sleuthing fun and at the end of the day we are all on the same team as members

Any questions just let me know

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This is a few days old so many may have seen it.
It's pretty accurate I think.

I think it's pretty accurate too, but it looks like Rachel will end up in F4 over Faith. I wonder what happens there.

Emayem wrote:I think it's pretty accurate too, but it looks like Rachel will end up in F4 over Faith. I wonder what happens there.

I love Faith I think she's hilarious and a lot of fun but I think IMO she may be friend zoned

mercieme wrote:[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.], you are so funny girl.  

I will allow myself to be biased here, I dare say the international threads are the best for sleuthing on this forum and we have an awesome moderator now (AAL); we may not always agree or see things eye to eye but all opinions are welcome and how we sleuth without spoiler intervention totally rocks...

Good to know