Ten’s new Bachelor, Matty Johnson ready to take his second chance at TV love
EXCLUSIVE: Healing his heartbreak after being dumped by Georgia Love last year, the new Bachelor Matty Johnson is ready for love ... and maybe babies.
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EXCLUSIVE
Even before the first episode has started filming, The Bachelor’s new star, Matty Johnson knows how he wants this season to end.
And it’s not in the way he felt heartbreakingly humiliated last year, when The Bachelorette, Georgia Love dumped him on national television, handing her final rose to Melbourne plumber, Lee Elliott.
For Johnson, the hurt over that crushing “end scene” has made him wish the finale format spared him – and other runners-up – the same pain and suffering.
“It would have been great if I just got a text and it would have been like, ‘cool, she’s picked Lee.’ I mean, I would never [break up with someone over text] but that easy option is certainly tempting,” the 29-year-old Brisbane-born marketing director told News Corp Australia.
Despite that shattering moment, on a hotel rooftop in Singapore eight months ago, Johnson claimed he’s healed enough to begin a new search for love on Ten’s top-rating reality franchise.
“I feel so privileged that I’ve been given the opportunity to be The Bachelor. Without question, the most exciting part is the chance to meet the girl I’m going to spend the rest of my life with.”
The show’s executive producer for Channel 10, Hilary Innes, said the fan favourite was chosen because “Matty…was charming, fun and absolutely genuine.”
Only after pulling on a suit to secretly film publicity material for the 2017 season, Johnson said he felt ready to get back in the dating game.
“The last time I really wore a suit was on the show, so putting it on was like putting on a costume. Then for the [publicity] shoot we had to hold some roses and even then, just holding a rose felt … more than anything, I’m excited,” he said.
His willingness to sign up for another shot at TV love was motivated, Johnson said, not only by the lucrative pay packet used to lure him back for the six-month-long TV project (rumoured to be about $200,000), but the happy memories he still holds from last year’s experience.
“The way it ended definitely wasn’t the way I wanted it to pan out, but there was a huge chunk of that adventure which was so much fun, really enjoyable,” Johnson said.
“The ending definitely didn’t overshadow a lot of great things that happened last year.”
It’s only now the handsome, warm and popular contestant, who won legions of female fans last year, can reveal how he suffered watching The Bachelorette finale and how a new job and more specifically, new nephew George have been his greatest distraction.
“There was maybe a four or five-week period where [the finale] hadn’t been on air yet, so it really was a case of ‘out of sight, out of mind.’ Even then, both of them [Georgia and Lee] being in Melbourne was helpful because if they’d been in Sydney, it would have been tricky and I’m sure I would have bumped into them at some point.”
The doting uncle even admits he spent Valentine’s Day babysitting his eldest sister’s infant son, instead of taking advantage of his new-found celebrity to squire women around Sydney, where he now works and lives.
“My brother-in-law hit me up a few weeks in advance [of Valentine’s Day] and said, ‘what are you doing two weeks on Tuesday?’ and I went, ‘oh nothing.’ I didn’t even realise it was Valentine’s and said, ‘of course I can babysit,’ then later realised I’d been cornered,” he said, laughing.
Sure to win him more points with the ladies, Johnson said he spent the romantic holiday feeding George dinner and putting him to bed by 7pm.
“Then I watched the cricket on TV…it was a wild night,” he chuckled.
For those clucky types hoping to breed with The Bachelor straight up, Johnson said: “it hasn’t put me off parenthood, but I’ve realised it’s not something I want to rush into just yet.”
And it hasn’t all been early nights on the couch cuddling up to his remote, with Johnson confirming reports he “was lucky enough to meet some really nice girls” in the eight months since filming The Bachelorette finished, including model Nathalie Darcas.
“We got along really well but I was at a point where I wasn’t ready to start dating as such and she was heading overseas as well. We had a few dates, but it’s definitely not been a focus of mine,” Johnson said.
Intense interest in the series has already seen paparazzi drones launched over The Bachelor production’s rented mansion in Dural, with Johnson and the 22 women (aged up to 40 years old) who will try to win his heart forced into lockdown this week.
The Warner Bros series is expected to film for at least the next three months and air on Ten as early as July this year.
UPDATE: Channel 10 has since denied rumours Johnson was to be paid $200,000, stating: “the contractual arrangements between Matty Johnson and the producers of The Bachelor Australia, Warner Bros, are confidential. But the recent claims about the contract are completely inaccurate.”
LOOKING FOR LOVE - Matty’s checklist for love on The Bachelor
Matty Johnson may have had his heart broken on The Bachelorette, but he still believes he can find the woman of his dreams on reality TV.
The marketing director has worked with producers to plan the perfect dates for the 22 women who will try to win his heart - teasing out their personalities and testing their compatibility.
“I think it comes down to a few key points ... someone who is positive, someone who is kind, someone who is confident and someone with a sense of humour.”
While the single and group dates come with a film crew of six, Johnson speaks from experience when he said “the whole process is quite conducive to getting to know someone quite well. It’s over a three-month period and you do get to know someone without having the interference of sex and work and friends and everything else. You get to know someone and it’s just about your connection ... sex can overshadow getting to know someone,” the charming, 29-year-old said.
Email: holly.byrnes@news.com.au
Twitter: @byrnesh
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