Bachelor villain Romy Poulier’s behind the scenes confession

Former reality TV “mean girl” Romy Poulier says she was manipulated by producers and had to change her appearance after the show to escape her bad reputation.

“It’s my fault. That’s what I’m most upset about.” (Picture: Tim Ashton)

Thousands of Instagram followers, sponsored posts and a stint on another reality dating show – that’s the usual trajectory for a contestant on The Bachelor Australia. But not Romy Poulier, who appeared on the 2018 season of the show with Nick “the Honey Badger” Cummins.

Instead, when the show ended, the so-called “mean girl” turned her social media accounts to private, dyed her hair chocolate brown and purposefully dodged the paparazzi rather than invite them to take pictures down at the beach. So what happened?

“I knew I was never going to meet the love of my life on the show but I thought it would

be a bit of a fun experience. In fact, it did the opposite of hat I hoped the experience would do,” she tells Stellar On Friday, in her first interview in more than two years.

The experience turned into a nightmare – and not because Poulier received the villain edit. The 32-year-old owns up to her snide remarks about other contestants but reveals that she was prompted by producers to say them.

“It’s my fault. That’s what I’m most upset about.” (Picture: Jonathan Ng/The Bachelor)

“They had tricks up their sleeves... I didn’t speak for the first episode at all. I answered their questions politely and then they gave me the last rose out of 24 girls and told me, ‘You’re going to go if you don’t start speaking.’ And I thought, I’ve come all this way.

They would feed me lines and said they would make me look cheeky and fun,” she says.

“It’s my fault. That’s what I’m most upset about. I never saw myself as an easily manipulated person and I was more frustrated with myself. At the end of the day, it was my behaviour. I just wish I’d stuck to my values and morals, and said, ‘F*ck you, I’m not saying that.’”

Eventually, Poulier decided she’d had enough and walked off the show. But she had to relive it all when it aired.

Bachelor trio Alisha-Aitken-Radburn, Cat-Henesy-Smith and Romy Poulier. (Picture: Justin Lloyd)

“I was ashamed of what I watched of myself,” she says. At the same time, her dad had just suffered a debilitating stroke and she found paparazzi camping outside a Brisbane hospital trying to get photos of her. “It made me feel sick,” she says.

“The Bachelor made me realise I’m a private person. I became a hermit and hid away.”

Poulier, who had previously appeared on Home And Away, stopped auditioning. “It left a bitter taste in my mouth about the entire industry. I’ve grown up in the industry and it really tarnished the entertainment side of performing. I didn’t want to have anything to do with it.”

Yet, ultimately, it was acting that helped her step back into the limelight. After more than two years, Poulier landed her first audition and is set to appear in the upcoming low-budget Australian horror film The Possessed, alongside Lincoln Lewis, John Jarratt and, serendipitously, Angie Kent of the 2019 season of The Bachelorette Australia.

“The film was reaffirming to me – it cleared any doubts and made me realise it’s what I’m meant to be doing,” she says.

“I realised it isn’t about being famous or having a profile. It’s about performing and the art of it. I love it. The two often get confused but The Bachelor made me realise what I want and I’m thankful for that.”

Find more exclusives inside this Sunday’s Stellar.

In another twist of Bachelor fate, Poulier has also started a production company with publican and fellow alumni Stu Laundy, who won the 2017 season of The Bachelorette Australia with Sophie Monk.

While Poulier has been asked to appear on other reality shows, such as Bachelor In Paradise Australia, she’s turned them all down. Instead, her focus is firmly on the future.

“I’d like the public to know that what they saw on The Bachelor wasn’t the genuine version of myself. That’s what irks me the most – I let myself down. But I want to move forward,” she says.

“I’ve done the work. I’ve done a lot of healing and self-reflection and it’s time to move on.”

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Originally published as Bachelor villain Romy Poulier’s behind the scenes confession