Osher Günsberg: ‘I can never pick who’ll win The Bachelor’

Reality TV host Osher Günsberg on why he thought his wife was having a baby girl, his incredible bond with his stepdaughter and the truth about working with Lindsay Lohan.

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Reality TV host Osher Günsberg on why he thought his wife was having a baby girl, his incredible bond with his stepdaughter and the truth about working with Lindsay Lohan.

With the recent return of The Bachelor, a new season of The Bachelorette to follow and your stint as host of The Masked Singer Australia imminent, we are in the midst of what can only be called Osher Season.

[Laughs.] It’s a beautiful time of year.

Is it odd to be everywhere at once, or are you used to it by now?

I never get used to it, but every day I show up to work I remember that when I got this job, I was unemployed. I used to be in the vortex of ego, where I thought nothing would change. I don’t pretend for a second this will last forever.

After 25 years in broadcasting, you are pretty familiar to the whole of Australia. Do people feel comfortable approaching you in public?

It comes and goes. But life is different now. I’m sober, I don’t go out. I don’t go to nightclubs. So any negative interactions I had during the Idol days... I played a role in that by being afraid to start. Already I brought a weird energy to it.

But my wife [Audrey] helps. She’s always like, “Just take the photo. We’ll be here for five minutes if you try to explain why you don’t want to do it.”

”Every day I show up to work I remember that when I got this job, I was unemployed.” (Picture: Jedd Cooney for Stellar)

You went through an intense body transformation a year ago. Have you kept it up?

I used to run, but I have arthritis in both hips so that’s out. Resistance training was new to me. And it’s a great parallel to anything in life: if you want any growth to happen, just look at what your body does when you put it under stress.

It’s really something when you start your day overcoming adversity: “I can’t lift this thing. Holy sh*t, this is hard... I did it.” You grow capable and adaptable. And that same thing happens in work, careers, emotionally. Deliberately facing resistance and stress helps triggers be less intense and gives your brain strength to overcome.

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Your stepdaughter Georgia is now 15. Can you talk a bit about the bond you share?

Georgia was 10 when I showed up, still very much a kid. I know her dad. He’s a great bloke — they talk all the time. But I was truly taken aback by the primal switches that flicked when it was evident I had these emotional feelings for [her mother].

One day we were dancing in the room to silly songs; the next day it was, “If I had to die to save this little person’s life, I would.” And for someone as selfish as me, that was surprising.

I can understand why a bloke might be intimidated or reluctant to date a woman with a kid, but the transformations I saw my friends go through when they had biological kids... I think it’s fair to say I experienced a very rapid version of that without any of the cute baby stuff to remember.

With wife Audrey. (Picture: Instagram)

But now you will, given that Audrey is due to give birth to a baby boy in the coming weeks.Is it true you were convinced it was a girl?

[Throwing head back for emphasis.] Convinced! I was convinced. We gave Georgia the [gender reveal] envelope so she knew, and she planned a big party. That was fun. I wore pink.

Why were you so sure?

I just figured since every baby that’s come from my generation, in our family, had been born a boy. So I thought, sure. A girl’s going to pop out! But nope.

Seven seasons on, have you mastered being able to see when love is actually blossoming on The Bachelor or The Bachelorette?

Not at all. I gave up early. Because we look through our own lens, thinking about what we would want, rather than what those people want. I could pick Idol pretty well. I can’t pick this.

Gunsberg and characters from the The Masked Singer at the 2019 Logie Awards. (Picture: AAP Image/Dan Peled)

Lindsay Lohan is, of course, a judge on The Masked Singer Australia. What’s she like?

She’s an absolute pro. I’ve been doing this a while; you don’t get hired if you don’t deliver. I can’t imagine reaching the level of escape velocity she did from such a young age.

But at our first production meeting, she shows up on time, she asks questions, she takes notes. And after about 20 minutes I got the sensation that all the stories... she may be more than happy for those to get told if it means getting hired.

You’re hosting the show. Would you have been a contestant if they’d asked you to do that instead?

F*ck yeah! I’m a terrible actor, but I can sing.

Which costume would you prefer to wear?

Oh, I would have been a platypus. Who doesn’t want to be a mammal that lays eggs and has an avian bill? The greatest thing evolution created was the platypus.

Osher Gunsberg features in this Sunday’s Stellar.

And not even you know who’s hiding under those costumes, do you?

I’ve been on some shows with tight security but nothing compares to this. They’re loving it sick because they want to make sure we get that surprise ending.

I was standing onstage the other day between a seven-foot-tall [2.1 metre] prawn with swagger and a giant unicorn with wings that was kind of hot in a weird way. No idea who they are, racking my brain... it’s fun and it’s feel-good.

The Bachelor airs Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7.30pm and The Masked Singer Australia is coming soon to Network 10.

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