Will it be a case of third time lucky for Australia’s new Bachelorette Ali Oetjen?

SHE’S looking for love in the strangest of places — reality TV. And while new Bachelorette Ali Oetjen has already struck out twice, she hopes a third stint will do the trick, now that she’s the one calling the shots.

SHE’s struck out twice looking for love on reality TV, but Australia’s new Bachelorette Ali Oetjen hopes a third stint will do the trick.

But why would this series be different to her previous experiences? And following on from the popularity and ratings success of current Bachelor, Nick ‘Honey Badger’ Cummins, will audiences come along for the ride?

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Ali Oetjen with Grant Kemp in Bachelor in Paradise. They broke up approximately 10 minutes later. Picture: Ten

Oetjen, 32, says this time will be different because she’s in charge, rejecting the idea that she might need to move from her hometown of Adelaide for Mr Right.

“I feel like relationships are all compromise,” she says.

“This time around, I’m in control. I want to see who’s open to moving for me.”

Oetjen appeared on the first season of The Bachelor in 2013, and is best remembered for awkwardly attempting to pash Tim Robards at the first cocktail party. He ended up with criminal lawyer Anna Heinrich, and the pair are now married.

Memories: Ali took Tim Robards to meet her parents, Hart and Helen. Not awkward at all. Picture: Ten

For her next act, Oetjen jumped headlong into island life in the sun-soaked, steamy Bachelor Island where she hooked up with handsome American Grant Kemp, a fellow reality TV repeat offender.

Things looked rosy in the series finale as they swapped lovey-dovey sentiments.

She told him she was “looking forward to the day where we can raise our children together,” while he insisted that “I already know I want to, and I will, spend the rest of my life with you.”

It didn’t end well.

Kemp publicly accused her of cheating, telling the Kyle and Jackie O Show he caught her in a compromising position, “so I kicked her out of my house that night”.

But Oetjen claims that Kemp was chasing headlines … and he succeeded.

Ali says Kemp was chasing headlines. He succeeded. Picture: TEN

Cummins, with Cass Wood, drew viewers in. Picture: TEN

“You know he said a lot of things and I’m truly disappointed in him. What we had in Paradise … I feel like it was something that he was just doing for fame. And I feel like he’s still doing it. He’s just someone that is a headline grabber. He is someone that wants to be in the spotlight and that’s why I haven’t responded to any of the comments. I feel like that’s where he wants to be, and he’s waiting for me to respond and give it oxygen so he can be back in the spotlight. And I’m not prepared to do that.

“I would never speak badly about anyone, and that includes enemies. I could, but I’m not prepared to and I won’t. I just have to accept that being in the spotlight there’s going to be these claims and rumours.”

Oetjen’s predecessor Cummins has delivered strong ratings for Ten, smashing premiere night records with a national average of 1.25 million viewers. To put this in achievement in perspective, it even pipped Nine’s ratings juggernaut The Block (1.2m).

It remains to be seen if Oetjen has the allure to pull such a big crowd, or if interest in the franchise will wane. For what it’s worth, she says it doesn’t matter if they are on her side or not.

Sophie Monk was a hit thanks to her forthright commentary on the blokes vying for her affections. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

“What’s important is that I’m pushing myself to do this. It’s taken a lot of courage for me to do this. I just want to find someone that I want to be with forever. The Bachelorette makes you go out on dates with a lot of men. It makes you compare all the different men as well. For someone like me who falls in love pretty quickly, and has ignored red flags in the past … if there is a red flag, sorry, we’re not going to work out. To make sure they’re aligned with what I want. It’s quite empowering. It feels good to be in control of what I want.”

With her new Zen mindset and optimism that she will find love, Oetjen is determined to stay away from social media as the series goes to air.

“I’m definitely not tempted to peek. I’m trying to stay away from people’s opinions. Everyone is going to have an opinion and I’m never going to be in control of that.”

She plans to watch the series with family and friends “who know me best”, though she admits there it might get awkward moments as there is plenty of smooching with potential love interests.

Her parents, who have retired to Noosa, initially didn’t want her to go on the show.

“They do find it hard to digest me doing this again. They’ve picked up the pieces before with me being heartbroken, so they just want to protect me. But as soon as I made the decision then they were fully supporting and backing me.

“I’m so excited. I literally can’t wait to share my journey with everyone.”

The Bachelorette, Ten, 7.30pm Wednesday October 10