10/10 for romance
BACHELOR HOST OSHER GUNSBERG LISTS HIS 10 FAVOURITE MOMENTS FROM THE REALITY LOVE SHOW
He’s watched over countless declarations of love and heartbreak but as Osher Gunsberg heads into his 10th year as host of The Bachelor franchises, he reveals he often can’t pick who will be given the final rose.
“Not at all – when I worked on Australian Idol, I was good at picking who would win,” he says.
“But on (Bachelor) … no idea. Everyone wants something different for themselves. Everyone wants to be loved in a way that is meaningful to them. And they might see something in each other that I can’t see. I can’t pick it, I just can’t pick it.”
Fortunately he could pick his top 10 heartwarming, quirky and favourite moments of the Australian version of the reality love show, ahead of its return with three bachelors next week.
1 LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT
“Look, one of the most heartwarming was watching Sam
Wood and Snezana (Markoski) fall in love. They had this hot air balloon date and it was just so delightful. And, you know, obviously in hindsight, we can see how they ended up together.
“But there were a few moments on that date where we could just see both of them just figure it out. Plus, you know, hot air balloons – I mean it’s romance and it’s also terrifying, just like love is.”
2 WRITTEN IN THE STARS
“There was also this pivotal moment for Matty J and Laura, too. They went to the Sydney Observatory on their second single date and they named a star (Mattaura). It was so sweet and so lovely. And, I’m a bit of a nerd for physics and space and astronomy and I often reflect on the immense size of the universe and the possibility that you might find someone that you are OK with, which is kind of astonishing.”
3 COMING UP ROSES
“I’m a huge fan of (podcaster and author) Rosie Waterland and her view on the preposterous world of dating TV that I am a part of. She coined the phrase ‘Rose Maths’ and at one point … on a Bachelor in Paradise season, I managed to get Rose Maths in.
“I was so excited. I can’t give out Logies but that was my Logie to Rosie – I’ve brought your thing into the real world.”
4 GIRL POWER
“Of all the connections we had between people on this show, one that was largely overlooked was after Nick (Honeybadger) Cummins said ‘No, thank you’ and then ‘No, thank you’ again and there was this moment between Brit (Hockley) and Sophie (Tieman) which was just incredible. It was just a beautiful moment of closure, this sense of ‘Oh, thank goodness’. It’s one of the most powerful moments we have ever had.”
5 SEALED WITH A KISS
“Twice now I have had the honour, or privilege, or duty, to live commentate Guinness World Records’ live kisses entries – once with Sam Wood and once with Brooke Blurton. I was incredibly honoured to be a part of it.
“And yet, at the same time, it was extraordinarily weird and uncomfortable, shouting like I’m a sports commentator while the couple is exploring each other’s tongues forever and ever in a shot that did not have an edit.”
6 HOT CHOCOLATE
“It’s hard to go past Richie (Strahan) and Alex (Nation) in a chocolate bath. Whoever dreams up these dates – I don’t know if they ever thought ‘Oh, they’ll put their heads under’ but they did and I’ve never been able to look at a chocolate fountain the same.”
7 IN THE RING
“When Richie went to Olena Khamula’s house (on hometown dates) and he met her father Andriy. And he’s all ‘I’m dating your daughter – oh, and a few other people’. And Andriy was a boxing champ and was known as The Iceman. And he invited Richie to go out the back. Richie’s never been a boxer and while he can hang off the side of oil rigs, he’s afraid of this guy. “He looked terrified and I was so scared for him. It was full-on.”
8 WHO ATE ALL THE PIES?
“OK, so there are people who when someone says ‘I got you a meat pie’, would go, ‘I know I married you for a reason’. My wife Audrey, if I bring home a meat pie from her favourite bakery, it would be ‘huzza’ and high fives all around. Other people might say ‘No, thank you, a meat pie is not for me’.
“Laurina (Fleure) wasn’t having a bar of a Dirty Street Pie, never mind that it was from one of the most famous eateries in Australia (Harry’s Cafe de Wheels).”
9 I LOVE YOU TIMES TWO
“It was awkward in the finale of Locky (Gilbert) and Irina (Srbinovska) – and they’re so in love right now and got engaged recently – but in that finale watching Locky, this gigantic 6ft 5in human being telling both Irena and Bella (Varelis) he loves them.
“He was just racked with emotion trying to explain, ‘I’m in love with both of you, just one of you a little bit more than the other’. It just shows how real and intense The Bachelor emotional experience is.”
10 MEETING ABBIE
“I’m very grateful to work with Abbie Chatfield on The Masked Singer. She’s extraordinarily talented and a very hardworking person. When she met Matt Agnew and he says ‘I’m an astrophysicist’, she came up with the fastest, best joke ever: ‘I’m a Gemini’.”
The Bachelors Australia, Monday, 7.30pm, Ten