The real winners of The Bachelor have always been the women

A trend has been taking over Australia – and our social media feeds – for years now, and it has a pretty surprising backstory.

OPINION

The real winners of Australia’s The Bachelor reality TV series have always been the women … and the men, well, who cares? Seriously, no one does.

OG influencers such as Brittany Hockley, Abbie Chatfield, Anna Heinrich, Sam Frost, and Laura Byrne (among others) have become the true winners from Network Ten’s The Bachelor over the years, and their success certainly didn’t hinge on whether a man gave them a rose on national television or not.

When The Bachelor launched in Australia in 2013, it pretty much triggered a collective eye-roll from feminists across the nation.

A mansion full of women all vying for one man’s attention is slightly problematic, and it doesn’t take a feminist to figure that one out.

It made sense that the concept was met with some reservations. How can a show where the man has all the power not minimise the women?

The answer is in the women themselves.

Abbie has become so famous in her own right. Picture: Instagram/AbbieChatfield

Brittany is a true star. Picture: Instagram/BritHockley

The best thing about The Bachelor has never really been the vaguely well-mannered man at the centre of things, clad in a suit that looking like he owns a Fitbit. It has always been about what the women do, what they want, say and often how they interact with each other.

The water cooler moment the next day has never been about how well the Bachelor slowly jogged along the beach with his shirt off and has always been about, “What did Abbie say?”

Sure, the Bachelor blokes always do well for themselves. I don’t think any of us should be worrying about Jed; I’m sure he’s happily banging the drums and The Honey Badger was spotted hanging out in the jungle in 2023 with a bunch of other celebs.

Yet the women are always the breakout stars that go on to have careers that eclipse the men they were once trying to win over – even if they don’t wind up with the guy.

The examples are obvious because you probably already follow them on social media. Meanwhile, if I said the name “Sasha”, you’d have to google him to remember he was the guy that Frost ended up with on The Bachelorette in 2015.

Sam Frost is now a Home and Away actor. Picture: Instagram/SamFrost

She’s also loved-up and a mum. Picture: Instagram/SamFrost/

There’s Sam Frost, who left both Sasha and Blake in the dust and has gone on to be a hugely successful influencer and actor on Home and Away.

There was even that time she randomly co-hosted a radio show with Rove in 2018, and yes, she got a bit teary about the COVID-19 vaccine. But, like your aunty who has been braless since the 80s, we still love her.

Meanwhile, Abbie Chatfield has been everywhere. Sure, she overstimulated Australia with her make-out with Matt Agnew, but she’s become a full-time local celebrity.

She’s an influencer, host, and podcast creator, and she even has a fashion line. Seriously, the woman is so famous she’s getting papped picking up her dog’s poo, which is an Em-Rata level of fame.

Laura Byrne and Brittany Hockley are a power duo. Picture: Supplied/ACRA

Abbie’s a household name. Picture: MatrixPictures

Brittany Hockley and Laura Byrne have smashed through their Bachelor fame and have created one of Australia’s most successful podcasts, Life Uncut.

They now also co-host a radio show with Mitch Churi, and both have morphed into hugely successful influencers.

Byrne even won the Bachelor and is now married to Matty J, but her career has outshone her famous relationship by a mile.

Every season, The Bachelor always delivers the drama, but it also gives us a new woman to become obsessed with, and Australia has become all the better for it … otherwise we’d be stuck still talking about Kerri-Anne.

It’s probably a bit rich to call The Bachelor feminist but it has shown us that women are always the most interesting thing to watch on any reality television show and created a trend of powerful women dominating in media.

The Bachelors Australia airs 7:30pm Sunday-Wednesday on Channel 10 and 10 Play.