Bachelor Australia - Season 8 - Locky Gilbert - Discussion - *Sleuthing Spoilers*

Wow.  Angie totally throwing shade at Ciarran here saying he's not a "grown man"/not old enough to be Bach 2020.  Sounds like a case of "if I can't have him I don't want to watch anyone else have him either" to me.  

"Oh my god… I don't know. He's only 25. He seems so much older, but The Bachelor to me is like a 'grown man', and he is a grown man, but he's also 25," she reasoned.  "I reckon he'd probably want to party a bit more before he settles down, but I could be wrong."

Source

I would have no qualms watching a 25 year old Lead.  Maybe Ciarran wants to find a girl to party with?  Relationships and partying are not mutually exclusive IMO, and he was in a long term relationship with Renee so....  

Also considering Nick and Matt are both 32 it's pretty obvious age has no bearing on the success of a season IMO. But since TPTB are still calling for applications I guess they're probably passing on both Timm and Ciarran.  

Boo.

Angie never wanted Ciarran and I agree with her comments. His actions after the show do not suggest he really wants to settle down.
JMO

Agent99 wrote:@therealswahili Timm is definitely too loose to be the bach imo  I know Timm and Ciarran are popular, but how are TPTB going to spin either as a bachelor seriously looking for love when their social behaviour says otherwise.  I think Ciarran could certainly carry the show as lead, but I for one would have a lot of trouble believing he was sincere about finding 'the one'.

Agree with all of this. Neither would make believable bachelor leads imo.

Bobette wrote:Wow.  Angie totally throwing shade at Ciarran here saying he's not a "grown man"/not old enough to be Bach 2020.  Sounds like a case of "if I can't have him I don't want to watch anyone else have him either" to me.  

"Oh my god… I don't know. He's only 25. He seems so much older, but The Bachelor to me is like a 'grown man', and he is a grown man, but he's also 25," she reasoned.  "I reckon he'd probably want to party a bit more before he settles down, but I could be wrong."

Source

I would have no qualms watching a 25 year old Lead.  Maybe Ciarran wants to find a girl to party with?  Relationships and partying are not mutually exclusive IMO, and he was in a long term relationship with Renee so....  

Also considering Nick and Matt are both 32 it's pretty obvious age has no bearing on the success of a season IMO. But since TPTB are still calling for applications I guess they're probably passing on both Timm and Ciarran.  

Boo.

I don't see it as her throwing shade at him and if what you quoted is correct, no she did not say that he was not a grown man. In fact, she specifically said that he seems older and is a grown man...but he is also 25. What she is saying is pretty reasonable to me. His behaviour post show hasn't exactly screamed ready to settle down. Now, admittedly, it doesn't mean that the older guys are ready either, but their behaviour seems more in that spirit...even if they may be faking it...or the casting department just did a lousy job.

While I think Ciarran could certainly be an entertaining lead, I personally don't watch this show to watch people who want to find someone to party with. If fact, since the contestants have gotten younger and younger...specifically the leads, the more the show has gone down the toilet IMO.

I agree @Sprite. I personally want to see older, more mature guys who are ready to settle down. This is not Love Island!
JMO

Bobette wrote:Wow.  Angie totally throwing shade at Ciarran here saying he's not a "grown man"/not old enough to be Bach 2020.  Sounds like a case of "if I can't have him I don't want to watch anyone else have him either" to me.  

"Oh my god… I don't know. He's only 25. He seems so much older, but The Bachelor to me is like a 'grown man', and he is a grown man, but he's also 25," she reasoned.  "I reckon he'd probably want to party a bit more before he settles down, but I could be wrong."

Source

I would have no qualms watching a 25 year old Lead.  Maybe Ciarran wants to find a girl to party with?  Relationships and partying are not mutually exclusive IMO, and he was in a long term relationship with Renee so....  

Also considering Nick and Matt are both 32 it's pretty obvious age has no bearing on the success of a season IMO. But since TPTB are still calling for applications I guess they're probably passing on both Timm and Ciarran.  

Boo.

I totally agree with her tbh - Ciarran and Timm would both be unsuitable Bachelors. The Bachelor should be a 'grown man' imo, ie a man with a career, assets, ready to get married etc. They don't fit what a Bachelor should be at all imo. They would make the show even more of a joke than it already is. Where are the leads who are aspirational? Not the kind of dude you meet a dime a dozen in pubs up and down the coast every weekend. They're nice, good guys and they were okay contestants for the show (they probably had trouble casting) and they seem like decent human beings. But being the Bachelor? I'm going to nope out of the Australian franchise if they start casting 25 year olds with no direction and no desire to settle down as the Bachelor.

Just my opinion and not trying to change anyone else's.

sprout wrote:I agree @Sprite. I personally want to see older, more mature guys who are ready to settle down. This is not Love Island!
JMO

Exactly. If I wanted to see the kind of show where the cast just wants to find people to party with, there are shows like Love Island. I have tried to watch it and personally it is just too much for me. It is too over the top with stupidity/crazy/crass.

The issue with Ciarran as the lead for me is that the cast of women would end up really young. Then they end up being even easier to manipulate by production and we end up with even more drama. It all ends up feeling even more fake than I already know it is.

The last two Leads were both "grown men" over 30 with careers and assets so I fail to see a correlation between the age / social status / wealth of a Bach Lead and a successful or interesting season.  

For me the key to a good Lead is that the contestants genuinely want to be with them.  IMO Ciarran and Timm are both popular with the demographic of women likely to apply so why not try giving them what they want and see what happens?  At least it wouldn't be boring IMO!

I have no desire to see another season of a "mature, successful, traditionally attractive" Lead who most of the cast are "meh" about, because the goal quickly becomes just winning for the sake of it IMO.

Right, that's why they need to be eligible bachelors who also genuinely want a serious relationship. That counts out Nick definitely (I'm #teamNick when it comes to him not choosing anyone; it's tptb at fault for choosing him in the first place and if I was him I wouldn't turn down the cash or the exposure either if it was offered to me) but Matt, I think it's too soon to know for sure if he didn't really want a serious relationship.

I think Timm and Ciarran appeal to some fans (thinking of the fans on social media here, from what I've seen of them) because they come across as achievable and on their level. Tradies covered in tatts who are good for a laugh? If I want to see guys like that I'll just go to my country town high school reunion. I want my TV people to be in a whole different class, I don't want the people I watch on TV to be "relatable" and I think most girls who go on this show are above Timm and Ciarran. This goes to the evergreen issue with the franchise: many women want to participate, fewer men do. I want to be clear I don't dislike guys like Timm and Ciarran at all, I just don't think they're Bachelor material and I wouldn't watch a season they were on. I like how on the US show the participants are all WAY hotter than anyone I'd hang with IRL! But of course, not only does that show have a different premise, it also has a huger pool to pull from.

@leavers ITA re: Nick.  He shouldn't have been cast and had no idea what he was getting himself into IMO.  I also agree with choosing no one; I don't think any of his girls were genuinely into him and vice versa.  

If they're going to cast a unique Lead, they need to make sure the cast are carefully tailored, and TPTB totally dropped the ball there IMO.  It seems like they never get the Lead and cast right at the same time.

IMO that's exactly why Timm or Ciarran would be good choices though, because there are already so many girls wanting a shot with them.  Cast girls that the Lead would be equally into and good things could result.  

In 2020 I'd like to see two people standing at the FRC that are clearly, genuinely into each other - no matter what age or what they do for a living - because I don't feel like I've seen that since Matty and Laura TBH.

Bobette wrote:The last two Leads were both "grown men" over 30 with careers and assets so I fail to see a correlation between the age / social status / wealth of a Bach Lead and a successful or interesting season.  

For me the key to a good Lead is that the contestants genuinely want to be with them.  IMO Ciarran and Timm are both popular with the demographic of women likely to apply so why not try giving them what they want and see what happens?  At least it wouldn't be boring IMO!

I have no desire to see another season of a "mature, successful, traditionally attractive" Lead who most of the cast are "meh" about, because the goal quickly becomes just winning for the sake of it IMO.

I mentioned that other leads have been older and that doesn't necessarily mean they want a relationship either, however it is more believable that they might vs a 25 year old. And the issue is that if the lead is that young, the cast will be even younger.

Frankly, IMO the reason that many women in that demographic find Timm and Ciarran that hot are because they are on tv. I'm not saying they aren't good guys or attractive to women normally since they have clearly had girlfriends, but they are the "it" guys now because they were on the show. I doubt so many women would be clamouring to get at them if they just ran into them at the local pub. No matter who the lead is, they become attractive because the cast have nobody else to go for, they are told that person is desirable and they are in the bachelor bubble...and yes, it becomes all about the winning. Prime example...Abbie.

Bobette wrote:snipped
In 2020 I'd like to see two people standing at the FRC that are clearly, genuinely into each other - no matter what age or what they do for a living - because I don't feel like I've seen that since Matty and Laura TBH.

I agree. Over the years we have seen many "grown up" what ever that means, be the lead who didn't last long. Then there are others like Colton Underwood Bachelor USA who was 25-26? who didn't play TPTB's game, let the F2-3 go early because he knew who he wanted, went after the girl he wanted, and as of today are very happy.

The older I get after watching the U.S franchise from the beginning, I'd like to see older mature leads and contestants, however I realize over the years, age doesn't mean anything IMHO.