11/03/2026
Twelve months ago I received a phone call.
“We would like to offer you the opportunity to be part of The Golden Bachelor.”
Nerves.
Excitement.
Apprehension.
Packing. Repacking. Packing again.
Two 23 kilo suitcases.
Would I use it all?
Yes, and probably more.
No one quite knew how long we would be away or what lay ahead.
And then suddenly I found myself doing something rather unexpected. Writing a poem to a man I had never met.
It began like this:
I may be golden, yet my spirit is ageless,
A heart that dances, wild and courageous.
Five years solo, a chapter ready to end,
A brand new story waiting to be penned.
Soon after came the red carpet moment.
Standing there with nineteen other women, strangers at first, stepping into something completely unknown.
The Bachelor may have brought us together.
But he was not the one who stole our hearts.
The women did.
Arms wrapped around one another in support.
Laughter.
“I’m listening.”
And when filming ended, life quietly returned to normal.
Group chats.
Phone calls.
Events.
Premieres.
Hair and make up, far removed from our everyday lives.
Life continued as usual, just with a little extra sparkle.
And we wondered.
Was that it?
Or only the beginning?
The friendships continued.
And here we are now, twelve months later, together again in Sydney for our reunion.
Dinner.
Dancing.
A cruise.
Reality television brought us together.
Real life kept us that way.
One woman found love with the Bachelor.
The rest of us found something equally extraordinary.
We found love with each other.
My spirit is ageless.
Perhaps that is the real lesson of it all.
Stay curious.
Stay open.
Keep flirting with life.
Because sometimes the love story you think you are stepping into becomes something even more beautiful.
