SOPHIE MONK
RADIO AND TV PERSONALITY, 38
In the weeks before the third season finale of The Bachelorette aired on Oct. 26, Australia’s dating darling Sophie Monk fled to Thailand, not wanting to spoil the result of her very public quest for love. “I feel like I’m a teenager trying to hide my boyfriend from my parents,” she confessed at her photo shoot for WHO’S Sexiest Issue. “That’s what it feels like. It’s so hard, especially at our age, to try playing by the rules. I did it because I knew I would stuff it up.”
Two months later, the singer and media personality who catapulted Ten’s Bachelorette to massive ratings (her last episode attracted 2.2 million viewers nationwide) is still answering questions about her relationship with final-rose recipient Stu Laundy, 44, the publican and still-married father of four who came on the show just to woo her. “I’m just done with it,” she told the No Filter podcast on Dec. 4 of constant tabloid speculation that she and Laundy have broken up. “We can’t win. We’re at the airport and they’ll just be like, ‘Kiss,’ and I’m like, ‘Why are we doing this?’ and then they’re like, ‘Overboard! You’re trying too hard,’ or we’re not affectionate enough.”
Part of Laundy’s appeal, she says, was that he wasn’t a Pda-seeking, clingy sort of guy. “We are together but he’s not co-dependent,” she told News Corp. “I used to be, but we’re not going to be by each other’s side [all the time].”
As Monk also explained to WHO, her attraction to Laundy was “a chemistry thing,” and when he told her she had “restored” him, she could not resist. “It’s a lovely feeling,” she said, “because I’ve travelled the world and felt really lonely, and similar feelings to what he’s had. It’s just nice to meet someone who can relate to that as well.” She added, “I was very vulnerable on the show and to see someone else do that, I needed that, because if you’re willing to risk everything like I did, then you’re the person.”
It also didn’t hurt that Laundy came with daddy skills. “I would love kids,” she said, and noted she was looking forward to meeting Laundy’s children: “I’m ready when he’s ready and they’re ready. I definitely respect that.” Added her best mate Oscar Gordon, “Sophie loves children, and seeing her with her nieces and nephews, she’s so beautiful and caring. I definitely think she’d make an amazing mother.”
Until that time, Monk promises she will stay in the entertainment spotlight and help others find romance as host of Nine’s Love Island. “It’s funny,” she told WHO. “I did record a song that I’m too nervous to release, only for me, though, because I miss music. I love performing. I love making people laugh. That’s the best feeling you can ever get.”