Bachelor boy:
Guess who’s looking for love
Australia’s latest TV Bachelor reveals why he’s looking for love.
Nick ‘Honey Badger’ Cummins reveals why he’s toning down his language for a starring role in The Bachelor Australia. Sarah Nealon reports.
If you want to get people interested in your show, it pays to have a big name attached to it. It’s a policy that seems to be working for The Bachelor Australia even though – at the time of publication – its latest season hadn’t started yet. That’s because Nick ‘Honey Badger’ Cummins, the man in charge of handing out roses, is already a celebrity. Shaggy-haired Cummins is a top-line rugby player who has played for the Wallabies. He earned the nickname ‘Honey Badger’ after finding inspiration for his on-the-field antics from the defensive behaviour of honey badgers he had seen on nature documentaries. Cummins’ off-the-wall quips have earned him countless fans on both sides of the Tasman and inspired his 2015 book Tales Of The Honey Badger, a collection of short stories. He followed that up with The Adventures Of The Honey Badger, a book that he co-wrote with his father Mark. No stranger to television, Cummins has appeared in commercials for underwear, shampoo and beer. Earlier this year he fronted a travel show called Meanwhile In Australia With Nick Cummins. Cummins, 30, says he is hoping to find a romantic partner from the 25 single women who are lining up to date him on camera. And top of the list of the qualities he’s looking for is a sense of humour. “Looks fade but humour will get you through the tough times. There are so many twists and turns through life. If you’re having a bad hair day, who’s going to help you through that?”
“I wish I was bloody in my prime in the 80s. I reckon that’s where I was meant to be.”
– Nick Cummins
Speaking of hair, Cummins’ thick mop and accompanying moustache hark back to a look popular in the 80s. But he insists it wasn’t inspired by anyone.
“It just naturally happened,” he says. “But I like that vibe. I wish I was bloody in my prime in the 80s. I reckon that’s where I was meant to be.”
Cummins was born in 1987 and is one of eight children.
He comes from a family where laughter is important.
“In our family we’ve got some health dramas and when that happens you tend to turn to humour. Dad was really good with that,” he says. “He was always able to boost morale in times of need and it turns out that’s just how we operate.”
Two of Cummins’ siblings have cystic fibrosis and several years ago his father was diagnosed with prostate cancer.
When Cummins, who is taking a break from rugby, raised the idea of being on The Bachelor, not everyone in his family was happy.
“My brothers and my dad said, ‘Go for it. It sounds like fun’. My sisters were a bit more concerned.”
So is Cummins ready for the social media frenzy that comes with the reality show?
“No,” he says. “I don’t know what’s coming. But it’s the best way to live. That’s when you
know you’re alive. You’re on the edge of your comfort zone. “Whatever storm is coming, good. It might smash some things down and blow a few doors open. I’m just happy to go along for the ride and make every post a winner.” Blessed – or possibly cursed – with a colourful lexicon, Cummins’ one-liners and quirky comments may not be everyone’s cup of tea. Thankfully he has promised to tone down his language while on The Bachelor. “When you’re amongst the right crowds, like say the boys or the shearers or the farmers, that’s all fine, you can speak a certain way. “But if I’m going to go on a date you don’t start throwing all this strange slang because all of a sudden, you won’t get anywhere on the date,” he says. “You won’t be able to have a conversation. Of course, you know, you’ve got to tone it down and make it believable, make it understandable.” With Cummins a popular figure in Australia, there has been increased media attention since it was announced he was this year’s Bachelor. As to the question of whether you can find your soulmate on a reality show he says, “It’s possible – but whether it’s probable is probably another question,” he says. “The fact that 25 souls and me get to go and spend time with each other, then it’s definitely possible.”