Bachelor's Jimmy and Holly share honest opinions on new season: 'Chaotic'

They found love on the 2021 season of The Bachelor, and now Jimmy Nicholson and Holly Kingston have shared their candid thoughts on season ten of the reality dating show. The new season, which kicked off on Monday night, features plenty of major changes, including a new location, a modern format, and three leading men.

Chatting with Yahoo Lifestyle, the couple revealed what they really think about the new structure and shocking twists, as well as their opinions on the three Bachelors Jed McIntosh, Thomas Malucelli and Felix Von Hofe.

What are your thoughts on the updated format?

“It couldn't be more different to ours, but I love it,” Jimmy says. “I think the new format is exactly what they need. It’s faster, and if we know anything about social media these days with TikTok, people are just scrolling. And you could see that in the format with no drawn-out scenes, just bang bang bang. It’s chaotic but great.”

“From an entertainment perspective, obviously it needed a change up,” Holly adds. “Viewers were kind of sick of seeing the same old format. But what we've been discussing is The Bachelor has had a bloody good success. So although it might be getting changed up for the entertainment value, different is good, but will it have the same success rate? And that's what people want to see. They want to see the love story. Five out of nine seasons are now married, engaged, and have kids, so as long as the different formula equals the same end goal then bring it on.”

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What are your first impressions of the three Bachelors?

“I would say that Thomas is definitely the clean-cut Bachelor gentleman, he loves love,” Jimmy shares. “Jed is the modern-day larrikin Aussie dude, not fitting the typical mould but definitely just sort of an off-the-cuff guy. Felix I think will be the controversial one, in that he's going to be saying some things that some people will be like, ‘Ah, I'm getting these vibes from him’. But I think it's great.

“I think the problem with having one Bachelor is that they need you to be polished and well-rounded. If you start saying things that are a little bit kind of controversial, which is how you get your personality across, people might be like, ‘Nah, I'm off him, don't like it, not watching’. If there are three, you’re all good. One can be controversial, the others can be polished.”

Jimmy, would you have signed on to be the Bachelor if there were two other Bachelors?

“I would have signed on, definitely,” he asserts. “I think the fact you've got two other guys there to vet the potential women that are coming into the house is great. Because at the end of the day, there's going to be chop and change. We know that's going to happen, you can already see it. But I think if I like the two guys and I get along with them and they're kind of on the same wavelength as me, they're gonna be able to pick beautiful women and they can vet the ones that aren't there for the right reasons. So you've got two bros helping you out. I like it, I’m all for it.”

“I actually don't think you would’ve signed on, I'm just going to call it,” Holly laughs.

“No, when I was approached for the gig, I asked which side of the franchise it was for,” he explains. “Was it The Bachelorette or The Bachelor, because I wasn't interested in going on there and competing for love, purely because of my profession. And I didn't want to get lost in the edit and somehow fill a character that could potentially affect my career outside of it.”

Holly, which Bachelor would you have picked this season?

“I think Thomas is probably the most in line with what I would be looking for,” she says. “I feel like I wouldn’t want to be with someone who has never been in love or never had a relationship, you always would be feeling like you're training someone. And Jed, absolutely love his personality and how he's coming across but he's not typically my type.”

What are your thoughts on the engagement ring bombshell?

“I can't imagine an engagement happening on the show and actually knowing what on earth is going on,” Holly remarks. “You do not have any time unmiked. You've got time off camera during lunch breaks and stuff like that, but you're kind of always surrounded by people, whether it be production or other people that you're dating. So your relationship starts at the end of the show, in my opinion. But if they can make it work, great.”

“I had a few rules going in,” Jimmy shares. “I said to [the producers] when they called me, if you want me to get down on one knee at the end of this, it's not going to happen. Because I just don't think that you can, in such a short time, get to a decision where you're going to make a lifelong decision. In hindsight, though, if I had watched MAFS or The Bachelor before, it’s an engagement ring, but it's not an engagement ring. But I was thinking it was a formal thing.

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“The other thing I told them is that I will not be telling anyone I love them unless I actually do, and they were really good with that. They didn't push it and they said that's completely fine and if you don't want to choose anyone at the end, no problem, you make your own decision, which I really respected.”

What did you think of the speed dates in episode one?

“I absolutely loved it, I'm all for it,” Jimmy says. “Personally, I think the blind dating approach is so good, because I had 23 beautiful women on night one. Did I feel a spark with all of them? No, I didn’t, so I didn't want to waste their time. And a lot of the girls are genuine that go on the show, so with the blind date you can do two things: You can vet who's genuine or not, which is sometimes easier said than done, and you can see if there's actually a spark there. If there’s not a spark, don't bring them on, simple as that… It’s brutal, but it’s great.”

“From the other side as well, I noticed the ladies last night had the option to go, ‘I'm not interested’,” Holly adds. “You could probably do that on our season, but I don't think many people would have done it. I think you would have kind of waited out to see what the go was and if you’ll form a connection with the Bachelor later on. But it's easier when you're in your hometown and you haven't given up too much. You’ve just gone on a date to then go, ‘Hmm not feeling it’, and keep walking.”

Jimmy, how hard is it to send a contestant home?

“Watching Jed say goodbye to like eight ladies in a row, you cannot underestimate how hard that is and how brutal it is saying goodbye to people,” he says. “Okay, yes, we're on a first date in the new format, and they're in their hometown, maybe it's not as full on. But for me, people have literally packed up their lives, moved to a random destination, and are there to meet someone. People buy like 12 weeks' worth of clothes and put their whole life on hold.

“So I think you watch it back and you think, ‘Oh, it's not that hard mate, it’s night one, how can you be upset about letting someone go’, but it's brutal. You see the look on their faces when you don't give them a rose and it's embarrassing for them, it’s embarrassing for you, and again, I think that's why this new format is great because there's not as much on the table.”

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