Bachelor In Paradise couple slam Ten over ‘drama’ bid
FORMER Bachelor contestant Stephanie Boulton has lashed out at Channel 10 this morning, claiming that she was supposed to appear on Bachelor In Paradise with her boyfriend Brett Moore but the network turned it into a “girlfriend scandal” instead.
Confidential
Don't miss out on the headlines from Confidential. Followed categories will be added to My News.
FORMER Bachelor contestant Stephanie Boulton has lashed out at Channel 10 this morning, claiming that she was supposed to appear on Bachelor In Paradise with her boyfriend Brett Moore when the network “ripped up” her contract for “drama”.
The couple have come out swinging today after Bouton told KIIS FM’s Kyle and Jackie O that the move was the show’s attempt to create its first “drama” on the spin-off series.
The program has copped dismal ratings since it aired on Sunday — last night’s episode only had 656,000 viewers tune in.
It’s a far cry from Channel 9’s Married At First Sight series, which averaged at least one million per episode.
Boulton, who was on Matty J Johnson’s season of The Bachelor, said on air that she told producers “I’m keen too” and that she and Moore “both got cast”.
But Warner Brothers, who produce the show, said the couple’s claims were simply untrue.
“We had been dating, we had been hanging out and then he went on the island and this whole thing blew up,” Boulton said.
“We’re together now.
“So he got on the island and I think they just wanted their first drama so they just stitched him up and they just called me when he got kicked off and said, ‘If you’re coming onto the island and Brett’s not there, would you be willing to kiss people and stuff?’ and I was like, ‘No.’
“If Brett’s not there, what’s the point? I can continue this on the outside.
“We were going to do Channel 10 a favour and have a confirmed love story like no one else knew we were dating before except Tara.”
Boulton said she had previously devised a “full-proof” plan with Tara Pavlovic but Pavlovic started to have feelings for Michael Turnbull.
She claims that Moore told Pavlovic to choose the single hunk instead of saving him.
“(The show) made it look like that Brett had made her really upset,” she said.
“This hasn’t rocked us at all — things are going fine.
“I feel so bad for him because he came out looking like a bit of a douche but he’s not a douche at all.”
Moore, who was on Sophie Monk’s Bachelorette season, has also slammed the reality TV series, saying Boulton’s contract was “ripped up” unexpectedly.
“IMAGINE: you were in the really early days of dating someone and after a hectic year filming two TV series’ — along with some personal travel — leaving little time together since meeting,” he wrote online.
“IMAGINE: you were both asked to then go on a show in Fiji, sip cocktails with your mates from the last two series and, more importantly, spend time with THE girl your interested in, all the while being paid.
“Then imagine you arrived on the island first, her contract only then to be ripped up; leaving it to look like you went on a dating show without her.
“Imagine then airing it too Australia portraying you as a sh*t bloke and as always, forever putting production over humanity, despite never changing our story that we had being seeing each other in the lead up and couldn’t wait to be reunited in Fiji. Now you have ‘reality’ TV.”
Moore left the show last night but it is understood that the episode was filmed in November last year.
The Warner Brothers spokesman quashed their claims today, saying “being single and available to find love is a prerequisite for being on Bachelor in Paradise”.
“Brett and Steph were originally contacted as individuals but said they were seeing each other, so we wished them the best and moved on. They both then separately contacted us saying they were now in a position to go on the show, we had no reason to doubt what they said was true,” a statement said.
“Once it was confirmed during filming that Brett and Stephanie were actually dating, Stephanie was no longer eligible for the show.”