Bachelor contestant Natalie is bisexual and viewers have a lot to say about it

BACHELOR hopeful Natalie says one look at Matty J shirtless was enough to make her leave her female partner — and viewers had a lot to say about that.

THE Bachelor Australia welcomed its first openly bisexual contestant in last night’s episode — and boy did viewers have a lot to say on the topic.

27-year-old Adelaide midwife Natalie Holmberg is quite the contender: She dropped the word ‘moist’ to Matty J several times in their brief first meeting, admitted she’d been “stalking his Instagram” for months, and sniffed her hands after touching him.

The best, worst and weirdest Bachelor outfits

Oh, and she told him her last partner was a woman.

Matty remained totally cool, calm and collected in the face of that news:

‘Say what now?’

The way Holmberg explained it, she’d been in a loving, committed relationship with a woman, but one look at Matty J’s abs on the previous season of The Bachelorette had ended that.

Natalie saw Matty J on TV and it ... did things to her.

“So I was watching The Bachelorette last year, and Matty J had his top off, and I thought to myself ‘Why am I in a relationship with a woman?’ I’m not going to say it turned me straight again ... but in some ways it turned me straight again,” she said.

Huh. So less ‘Pray the gay away’, more ‘Matty J the gay away?’

This rankled with some viewers, who were keen to point out bisexuality is not just a phase:

Way to set back mainstream perception of bisexual people a couple of decades, Nat #TheBachelorAU

— Campbell Simpson (@csimps0n) July 26, 2017

"turned me straight again" this chick needs a reality check, it's called being bisexual #TheBachelorAU pic.twitter.com/kNV0X4SrQr

— kylié (@heshalcyon) July 26, 2017

Angry Bisexual Gal reminding you that "turning straight again" is a gross idea + bi people are bi no matter who they date #TheBachelorAU

— Sara (@Sarkata) July 26, 2017

Dear Nat, you're allowed to say you're bisexual. Also let's not play the 'Matty turned me straight' shit because that's gross #TheBachelorAU

— Stacey (@staceyclairrr) July 26, 2017

Ah, the only hint of queerness on this show and it's some woman who says Matty basically turned her straight again. Fantastic #TheBachelorAU

— Cathy (@catherinebouris) July 26, 2017

Others seemingly couldn’t get their head around the concept of bisexuality at all, assuming Natalie was a lesbian who’d hatched a cunning plan to enter a house full of gorgeous women.

Where else is a better place for a lesbian to find another girl. #TheBachelorAU, full of girls & just one man. All for the taking

— ☢ (@Y2016CE) July 26, 2017

#TheBachelorAU Lesbian is already drooling all over fire girl.

— Gidgit VonLaRue (@GidgitVonLaRue) July 26, 2017

Natalie is a genius. Lesbian pretends she's straight to go on #TheBachelorAU & gets to live in a house full of stunning women.

— Steph (@StephWalker82) July 26, 2017

And then there was the unavoidable irony that two of last year’s Bachelor contestants, Megan and Tiffany, ended up in a same-sex relationship with each other once the show finished — while one of this season’s contestants had left one to enter the show. It’s like ten thousand spoons, when all you need is a lesbian (or something).

In an interview with The Advertiser this week, Holmberg said she hoped to be a role model for those with diverse sexualities.

“It’s (an) exciting (step), in some ways, I’d like to be a role model for those who felt slightly like I did ... those who may have felt attracted to a woman, but are confused. Maybe I can show that you’re allowed to be both,” she said.

“I don’t want to be pigeonholed as a bisexual ... the fact we are even having this conversation now goes to show that we’ve still got a way to go to normalise sexuality. (But) maybe this is that one step closer to having a gay Bachelor one day.”

Bachelor episode 1 recap

Want to host a Bachelor sweep of your own? It’s as simple as downloading our pdf and keeping your fingers crossed.