The Bachelorette casts first openly bisexual lead with mixed gender cast
Brooke Blurton, a 26-year-old youth worker, is the first openly bisexual star of the Bachelorette Australia. The series will see both men and women vying for Blurton’s affections. (Instagram/@brooke.blurton)
The Bachelorette Australia will feature not only its first openly bisexual lead, but also a cast of both male and female contestants.
Brooke Blurton, who is an Indigenous woman from Western Australia, will star in The Bachelorette Australia‘s upcoming 2021 season. The youth worker previously appeared in Australia’s The Bachelor in 2018 and Bachelor in Paradise the following year. Blurton, 26, said in a statement that she is “so ready” for the “truly unique and special experience” to choose “my person and who I want in my life”.
“My perfect person is someone that loves me for me,” Blurton said. “I hope they offer shared values and compassion for others. All the dreamy things!”
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For this new season of Bachelorette Australia, applications are open to both men and women seeking a chance to find love with Blurton, and filming is expected to run from mid-June to mid-August.
The series marks the first time any season of The Bachelor or The Bachelorette global franchise has featured a mixed-gender cast all vying for the lead star’s affection.
Blurton, a Noongar-Yamatji woman, opened up about the new changes in an interview with The Daily Telegraph, admitting she’s “ready” to bring LGBT+ inclusion into the series. She said: “I am not too sure if Australia is ready for it.
“I certainly am. If it makes people feel uncomfortable in any way, I really challenge them to think about why it does.”
Osher Günsberg, the host of The Bachelorette Australia, said in a statement: “We are a nation of people from so many different backgrounds, so many different cultures and so many different experiences, yet we all have one thing in common – we all want to be loved in a way that is meaningful to us.
“I can’t wait to get started on helping our Bachelorette Brooke find that kind of love.”
The upcoming season might spell more LGBT+ representation in the franchise going forward, especially after several former stars have come out. In April, The Bachelor star Colton Underwood came out as gay during an appearance on Good Morning America. A few days later, Australia’s The Bachelor star Abbie Chatfield said she identifies as queer after she had a “revelation”.
