WE’RE THE BACK-UP BOYS MIKE BULLOT, 35, SAILOR

If Art Green calls and asks you to fly with him to Argentina for love and adventure, it’s an opportunity hard to turn down! That was the case for world champion sailor and

Bachelorette NZ intruder Mike Bullot. The Aucklander is good friends with the show’s host and new dad Art, who fell head over heels with Matilda Rice as New Zealand’s first Bachelor.

“I’d just come back from 10 months overseas, where

I was coaching the Olympic circuit in Europe, South

America and Japan,” explains Mike, who is looking for someone adventurous and kind, with a genuine smile.

“I caught up with Art and Matilda and met their baby boy Milo, and we were joking about setting me up with one of her friends. Then we left it at that.”

But a few weeks later Art got in touch. “He told me he knew an amazing girl, LLesina, who is a doctor and really happy and fun,” he recalrecalls. “I was in the headspace of giving anything a go, anand thought, ‘Why not?’”

Until then, Mike’s focufocus had been on travel. For the past 18 months, he hasn’t been dating. “I wasn’t really in a place for a relationship,” admits Mike, the former husband of celebrity chef Chelsea Winter.

Touching on his split, Mike says he and the 2012 MasterChefNZ winner went in different directions. “SheShe’s met someone and had a little baby, and she’s very happy so I’m happy for her,” he asassures. “On coming back to New Zealand, I was looking forward to setting myself up againagai and starting a new life. It’s the right time and I’m open to finding someone.”