Gold Coast reality stars reveal what it’s really like finding love on TV
We’ve all seen what happens when you mix romance with ratings, but what about when the cameras stop rolling? We ask four locals who’ve put their hearts in the hands of producers.
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We’ve all seen what happens when you mix romance with ratings, but what about when the cameras stop rolling? We ask four locals who’ve put their hearts in the hands of producers.
Apollo Jackson
Status update: In a relationship
APOLLO JACKSON MAKES A RETURN TO OUR TV SCREENS
If there was ever an unforgettable character from The Bachelor series, it would have to be Apollo Jackson.
With a moniker as noteworthy as his ripped physique, Apollo appeared on Sophie Monk’s season of The Bachelorette in 2017 and again on Bachelor in Paradise in 2018.
The Palm Beach magician, who goes by Jake Spence by day, is now happily in love with fellow Gold Coast reality star and Love Island export Edyn Mackney.
Apollo says they have their television stints to thank for that.
“She’d just done a radio interview and I was on the same radio station a few days after,” Apollo says.
“Edyn and I got talking just as friends and it evolved from there. She’s got a really big heart, she’s outgoing, loves adventures, she’s got a big nerdy aspect as well.”
Apollo says his time on The Bachelor helped him express his personality better, a lesson he’s carried into his new relationship.
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“When it comes to dating I’m a pretty shy guy. I thought it would teach me more about myself and what I want in a partner,” he says.
“When you’re in a house full of 18 other guys all vying for one girl, it’s kind of very much like the real world.
“It’s always been easy to try and be something you’re not, be cooler than you are, in order to get that girl in the outside world.
“(On The Bachelorette), you’ve got to own what makes you unique and you’ve got to be confident in who you are. For me, that’s being a big, nerdy, cheeky magician. I thought, ‘This is who I am, if you like it, then you like me’.”
Sophie liked it enough to keep him on until the season’s second last episode, where he came third to Stu Laundy and Jarrod Woodgate.
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He’s not jaded by his experiences — when the end result, in a roundabout way, is a geeky, gorgeous girlfriend like Edyn, how can you be?
“It was just a really good experience,” Apollo says. “It was a journey of self growth.
“I learned heaps about myself, I learned a bit about dating and gained a little bit of confidence in the dating realm, which eventuated in me getting a girlfriend,” he laughs.
Edyn Mackney
Status update: In a relationship
WHY I’M A CELEBRITY PRODUCER IS STILL SALTY WITH TOMIC
Edyn Mackney was blinded by the romance of it all when she applied to be a contestant on Love Island Australia.
“I was a fan of Love Island UK,” she says. “They had a great success rate, there’s couples that have been married and had babies.
“It looked like such a fun show — you get to chill out in a villa in Spain. I thought it would be fun.”
The program follows the format of the UK version and puts a group of male and female contestants together in a villa on an exotic island, with the aim of pairing up and being the last couple standing to take home $50,000.
Unfortunately the reality of reality TV made itself clear quite early into filming for Edyn (dubbed “Mac” by the producers).
“It wasn’t this easy holiday as it looks like on TV,” Edyn admits.
“You’re so out of your comfort zone, you’re constantly having to speak about your emotions. It’s a social experiment — you felt like a mouse.
“It looks like we’re partying and having the time of our lives, but you’re being told when to eat and sleep — going to sleep at 2am and getting up at 5am, but there’s no clocks.
“The reality is we are all very sleep-deprived. We haven’t spoken to friends and family in weeks. It is really mentally challenging.”
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While Edyn says her intentions were genuine going into the program, she couldn’t say the same for her co-stars.
“I was dumped on Valentine’s Day that year, (the opportunity) came around and I thought ‘I’m single and this could be an exciting way to meet someone’,” she says.
“The people that went on mine were after something different. You’re lying if you’re saying it isn’t a great opportunity to get more (media) work. One of the guys had a girlfriend at home.”
Edyn only had one go at attempting to find love on TV, but she says once was enough.
“I can’t knock it — I wouldn’t have met my boyfriend now (if it weren’t for reality TV), but meeting someone in real life is the way to go,” Edyn says.
“Going on Love Island gave me time to think and see what I didn’t want and helped strengthen me as a person. When I came out and finally met Apollo, I was really ready in myself to have a really good relationship.”
Their relationship has even been blessed by the blonde bombshell herself.
“Apollo was on The Bachelorette with Sophie,
and Sophie was the host of my show (Love Island),” she says.
“It’s a small world. She’s happy, she’s found love, she knows how great Apollo is.”
Bella Frizza
Status update: Single
THE STARS THAT TRIED TO GATECRASH LOGIES AFTER PARTY
Before Ines Basic and Jessika Power became household names, Married At First Sight took a less sensational approach to matching couples.
On the third season of MAFS in 2016 we met Bella Frizza, a Gold Coast radio announcer from Sea FM, who was paired with Brisbane fashion designer Michael Hughes.
Most couples were still expected to work and carry on with day-to-day life while camera crews documented their movements. Bella says it was exhausting.
“I was still coming to work every day, then having to be on (set filming) until midnight,” she says.
“It was a real shock. Working in media I was aware of what they were trying to do and say to suit what they wanted and I was adamant to not do that type of thing.
“But you’re so emotionally drained, you’ve got nothing left to give. You’re saying the first thing that comes to your head so you can stop filming.”
Bella described the experience as “a relationship on steroids” and it made her realise she wasn’t ready for the pressure of serious commitment.
“What happens to us in three weeks happens to a couple in six months. I did learn a lot about myself and the way I am in relationships,” Bella says.
“You go from being so single to so not. I learned pretty quickly I was quite selfish in relationships.
“I just wanted to be Bella, be able to do whatever I wanted and not answer to someone.”
Bella has been in a serious relationship since, however, is now single. She says she would choose the TV route for a potential suitor again.
“The dating scene on the Gold Coast, it’s not the easiest thing to have to battle with,” Bella says.
“I’m against dating apps and things like that, but if it came down it, I would do something that was TV-based. I’m 33 and single.
“There’s not a lot of ways to meet people these days. If that’s going to be another door, you should try.”
Wesley Ford
Status update: Single
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FIFO worker Wesley Ford was a reluctant romantic. The Bachelor producers were keen to poach him in 2016 after his modelling and acting side gig caught their attention.
“They used to keep asking me to come in. I didn’t feel it. I didn’t like the image of it,” he says.
“(In 2017) I was just going through a point in my life where I was giving everything a go.
“If you take the good or bad, at least you can say you gave it a go.”
Wesley was eliminated at the end of the third episode of The Bachelorette with Sophie Monk, and barely had time to unpack during Bachelor in Paradise — he was in and out within 24 hours.
He says both times he felt more like an extra than a character that added to the plot.
“I didn’t get much of a crack to be honest,” he says. “They (producers) have their story of how they want it to go, they pick little different characters to throw in and out.
“I was pretty happy to go on there. I don't regret anything — that’s not how I think.”
Wesley’s laidback persona helped him survive his short time in an ego-fuelled bubble, but he says others weren’t so lucky.
“A lot of stuff about reality TV and mental health is coming out. A lot of the boys, it’s shaken them up I guess,” he says.
“You do come face to face with a lot of that, it’s up to yourself to be ready.
“It can set people off their path if they’re unsure of what they want and they’re unbalanced. If you are sure what you want, it pushes you further to what you want to get.
“If I’m single and in a good space, I’d do it again. I might be seen as a guy that a girl likes. You don’t know unless you try.”
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