Braith Anasta: Why I turned down $500,000 to be The Bachelor
For the first time, former NRL star Braith Anasta has revealed why he refused a “tempting” offer to hand out roses on the latest instalment of the reality dating TV show despite being newly single, and opens up on why he “needed to make some big changes” in his life.
Stellar
Don't miss out on the headlines from Stellar. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Following an injury and the breakdown of his latest relationship, Braith Anasta was feeling weighed down – both literally and figuratively – but a renewed focus on his heath has left him feeling lighter. The former NRL star and television presenter gets real about mental health, why his daughters are his priority and why he turned down the chance to be the next Bachelor
As he looked in the mirror 18 months ago, NRL player turned television presenter Braith Anasta realised he wasn’t proud of the man who was staring back at him. As the host of Fox League’s NRL 360 program he was thriving. Away from the camera, his life was flailing. He had remained physically fit for years after retiring from professional sport, but a back injury and Covid had meant the former Sydney Roosters and Bulldogs player had stopped training.
He was also dealing with the emotional fallout of his break-up with his fiancée, personal trainer Rachael Lee, the mother of his daughter Gigi, now five. “It’s not an easy time,” Anasta admits to Stellar of the split last November, his second that has played out in the public eye. (Anasta and actor Jodi Gordon – who also have a daughter, nine-year-old Aleeia – separated in 2015 after three years of marriage.) “I wasn’t happy in a lot of ways – not just my appearance. I just needed to make some big changes.”
Fast forward to Anasta’s photo shoot with Stellar, and the 41-year-old is now 12kg lighter thanks to a fitness and nutrition program called StrongDad that he developed with his personal trainer Sean McInroy. And while Anasta has always prioritised his mental health, a new routine of watching the sun rise over Sydney’s Coogee Beach while setting his intentions for the day has helped him calm the overwhelm he was feeling before.
“My mates bag me about it, but that was the trigger for me. It’s the most peaceful and quietest time of the day. And you can set your day up. That was pretty much life-changing,” he explains.
With this new frame of mind came new opportunities, the most notable being an offer from the producers of The Bachelor Australia, who asked Anasta to be their leading man in the new season by dangling what was rumoured to be a $500,000 pay cheque to get him over the line. “That figure was a little bit exaggerated,” Anasta refutes. “But it was going to be a significant amount. And that’s tempting, especially when you go through a separation.”
Ultimately, Anasta decided that no amount of money was worth the time required, which would have been time away from the NRL season and his young daughters, each of whom spends time with him during the week. He was also conscious of how he might be portrayed once his time in front of the camera got whittled down in the editing room.
“I definitely considered it because I’m in a good space,” Anasta says. “I’m definitely ready to meet someone. But I was a bit concerned about how people’s perception of me could change because of the show. I know I’m a good person, but I’ve worked really hard on my image. [Through my hosting of NRL 360] people get to know the real person I am. And no disrespect, but I think I’ll be OK meeting someone. I want to do that in an organic way.”
But being in the public eye can still make it difficult. Recently rumours swirled that Anasta and P.E Nation founder Pip Edwards had had a fling. When Stellar asks him if he would like to address those rumours, he says that while he has known Edwards for years, he won’t comment further. “We all want to find love and have beautiful, amazing relationships. But it’s hard to do that when you’ve got all eyes sort of watching you,” he reveals. “The outside noise and pressure can impact your relationship. That comes with the territory of being in this position and playing for as long as I did, and all that’s fine – a lot of people get a lot worse off than me – but it’s not ideal.”
Anasta is also conscious of the impact that having his personal life become fodder for headlines can have on his daughters. “Everything I do is for them in the end,” he says. “That’s where I draw inspiration from. And that’s what drives me to be successful. That’s why I worked my ass off.”
It’s also why the businessman, who is the general manager of sports management company Searoo, created StrongDad. The eight-week program includes weekly mindset chats, training programs, a support network, expert health advice and a cookbook. While the program also addresses more light-hearted concerns such as how to cope with the encroachment of a “dad bod”, Anasta says he is most passionate about ensuring he helps men break the stigma they can face when speaking out about their mental health struggles, particularly given that his father, Peter, took his own life when Anasta was 15.
“I know I was always very insular; I didn’t talk to many of my mates,” he reflects. “I kept a lot in for a long time, and I think it always catches up to you at some point. The reality is, life is not easy, particularly at the moment with interest rates putting pressures on families and divorce rates being high.
“There are so many obstacles, and men can be proud. We don’t want people to know if we’re failing or if we’re struggling,” Anasta continues. “This [program] is a good way where we can train together and talk about those issues that we wouldn’t usually talk about. If I can impact one person then that really makes me feel good.”
Originally published as Braith Anasta: Why I turned down $500,000 to be The Bachelor
Barnsey’s daughter’s next big move
As she is interviewed by her half-brother David Campbell, Mahalia Barnes – the daughter of Aussie rock icon Jimmy Barnes – reveals she is taking on a high-profile new role.
Erin Molan’s X-rated beauty treatment
Erin Molan has revealed the extreme lengths she went to in her beauty routine recently, trying what she has called ‘the next big cosmetic thing’ – and it’s not for the faint of heart.