IT IS the reality television romance show that gains eye rolls around the office, yet is talked about incessantly around the ‘water cooler’. The Bachelor kicks-off on television on Wednesday night and this year’s single man is none other than rugby union player Nick Cummins.
For those who haven’t heard that name he is otherwise affectionately known as the Honey Badger thanks to his self-proclaimed fighting, never-say-die attitude.
Cummins will come face-to-face with his potential future wife in tonight’s episode at 7.30pm on Ten, including two women with connections to the Hunter Region.
Newcastle's famous mermaid Juliana Bahr-Thomson made headlines when she paddled from Newcastle to Noosa – an epic 1000-kilometre journey over 40 days.
The year before, she paddled 180 kilometres from Merewether to Bondi in just over three days.
Now the working lifeguard who dreams of a ‘Boho, low key, natural wedding with no shoes’ will take on a very different challenge to win the Honey Badger’s heart.
Brittany Hockley, who studied at The University of Newcastle, is also heading into The Bachelor mansion ready to find love.
The 30-year-old said it was the journey of a lifetime and after six years of singledom she was ready to throw caution to the wind and see what television love could bring.
“I would call my self an easy-going girl who is pretty laid back and up for anything so when I saw an opportunity to apply for the The Bachelor I thought ‘why not?’,” she said.
“In 2014 I sold my house and all of my possessions and headed to Brazil with my sister for the trip of a lifetime.
“In the end we visited over 50 countries, had an incredible time and didn’t come home until 2017.
“All my friends know me as Brittany the single girl and when I came home we made a pact that if I was single at 30 I would apply and I guess the rest is history.”
Despite The Bachelor being in its sixth season, Brittany said she only saw parts of the first season so had no expectations before filming.
“It’s weird, over the seasons so many people have watched the show but because I was travelling and didn’t have a television, I wasn’t a close follower,” she said.
“So going into the show I was pretty nervous and didn’t know what to expect but figured I would give it a go, have a laugh and see what happened.
“The whole process of the show I really enjoyed, we all had lots of fun, I made a bunch of great friends and laughed my way through everything.”
She said that when it came out what she had done all her friends and family were supportive.
“Everyone who knows me knows why I wanted to do something like this.
“With the premiere tonight I am a bit nervous about how it will all go down but I’m excited it is finally here.
“I tried to just go with the flow in the mansion and my go-to was cracking a dad joke so if I had my time again I probably would have made sure I had better material.”
Brittany said when she first met Nick ‘Honey Badger’ Cummins she had no idea who he was but that didn’t stop him making an impression on her.
“I don’t follow rugby at all so when I first walked up to Nick I really had no idea who he was so I just rolled with it.
“On the first night he looked pretty out of his element meeting us all but he was great.
“I would describe Nick as coming home from work and sitting down with a nice cup of cocoa with marshmallows on top; he is really lovely.
“I think people will be surprised to see a different side to Nick in the mansion.”
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Laura Telford
Jessica Brown
Jessica began her journalism career in 2009 as a cadet at The Port Stephens Examiner before moving to London for a two-year stint working in magazines and digital publishing. The Lake Macquarie local returned to Australia where she took up a reporting role at The Maitland Mercury. She worked across several rounds including local council, police and property before moving into digital journalism and joining the team at The Newcastle Herald in 2017.
Jessica began her journalism career in 2009 as a cadet at The Port Stephens Examiner before moving to London for a two-year stint working in magazines and digital publishing. The Lake Macquarie local returned to Australia where she took up a reporting role at The Maitland Mercury. She worked across several rounds including local council, police and property before moving into digital journalism and joining the team at The Newcastle Herald in 2017.
