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Brooke Blurton's savage swipe at The Challenge co-stars: 'F**ked up'
After starring on a string of reality dating shows and making history as the first Indigenous and bisexual Bachelorette last year, Brooke Blurton decided to try something different and compete on Channel 10’s gruelling new series The Challenge Australia.
What she didn’t expect, however, was to be reunited with a number of fellow Bachelor contestants - who would go on to form the majority alliance in the house - and find herself surrounded by “so much drama”.
Speaking with Yahoo Lifestyle ahead of this week’s finale, the 27-year-old explains that the reason why she didn’t want to be a part of the ‘Bachie alliance’ was so she could prove to others that she was more than just the reality show she came from.
“I wanted to do The Challenge to do The Challenge,” she says. “I didn't go to do The Bachelor again or do a remake of Bachelor In Paradise, that’s not what I came for.
“I had just finished writing my book and I wanted to reclaim who Brooke Blurton was, so I didn't want to be affiliated with them. I got dragged into it so many times, but I made a conscious effort and a conscious decision that I wanted to go into The Challenge just being Brooke Blurton, not Brooke Blurton from The Bachelorette.”
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While Brooke says she “absolutely loved” filming the reality show in Argentina and taking part in the physical challenges, she admits she “really struggled” dealing with the social aspect of the game.
“I really like authenticity and genuine connection, and you think that you're getting a really genuine person in front of you and you think you're getting a really genuine connection, but you turn your back and the next minute you're getting thrown under the bus,” she remarks.
“This was a whole concept that I've never ever experienced or been involved in. Yeah, The Bachelor is a very competitive nature, you're vying for one person, but this is a game and people will do anything to win that game and win that money - even if it's destroying a potential relationship that you have with someone outside of that.”
'F**ked up'
Like many other contestants, Brooke shares that there was “so much” that happened during filming that she was surprised didn’t make it to air.
“There needs to be more context behind the arguments and the drama that has happened, it doesn’t just come out of nowhere,” she says “There was a full spill between Grant [Crapp] and I and I kind of called him out for his behaviour, but they didn't show that.
“They didn’t show the depth of Ryan [Gallagher] and Emily [Seebohm]’s relationship. Obviously now they're dating, but in the house, they were saying that they have a brother-sister love which is kind of f**ked up. It’s gross.”
One incident that viewers did see on TV was her conflict with David Subritzky, where she confronted him for telling others about an emotional moment they shared together in private.
“David was the crowd favourite and everyone loved David,” she says. “I love David, we’re friends. But would he be someone that I would rely on and know that he would have my back? Absolutely not. You learn that so quickly.”
Relationships with Konrad and Brittany
In addition to the extreme physical tasks and the difficulties of living in a house with so many outspoken personalities, one of the biggest challenges Brooke had to face during filming was reuniting with and often working alongside Konrad Bien-Stephen. The pair met and formed a romantic connection on Brooke’s season of The Bachelorette last year, with Konrad making it all the way to the final four before she sent him home.
“I have a lot of respect for Konrad,” she says. “I lost it obviously when he and Abbie [Chatfield] decided to do me dirty post-Bachelorette, and that was also quite heartbreaking for me, especially with my friend having no consideration about what The Bachelorette season meant.
“He was dragged into that, but I have a lot of respect for him as a person. I actually don't really know him personally on a personal level, but I think he's a good guy. Our relationship was, I wouldn't say friends, but I would definitely say that we worked really well together as partners in The Challenge and we just kind of left it at that.”
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Another relationship Brooke had to navigate on The Challenge was with Brittany Hockley, who she made it all the way to the top three with Brooke on the Honey Badger’s season of The Bachelor back in 2018.
“In the four years that I've known her I definitely don't think that I've seen a lot of change of a person,” she says when asked about their current relationship.
“I think the first season of The Bachelor, it was like living with her all over again in The Challenge house. Obviously, we both have our businesses now and we’re both pretty passionate women in the industry, and I just think that that’s her focus. I didn't really have a strong friendship with her, not because I didn't want to but because we're just two different people.
“You can't please everyone, and I don't really strive to please people because not everyone's gonna like me, and that's okay. Even though we were top four in The Bachelor, we were at that stage friends, but I feel like we're just two people that work in the industry and that's it.”
'A lot of love and joy'
With The Challenge wrapping up this week and the year soon coming to an end, Brooke teases that she has big plans in store for 2023.
“I would really love to go back to doing the things that actually make me really passionate and the things that make me feel a lot of love and joy,” she says.
“Going back to youth work is definitely something that I've got at the top of my list and top of my priority, working with young underprivileged kids, because that actually brought me so much joy. Way more than any type of reality TV could potentially ever.
“[I’ve also got] a lot of speaking events and potentially a few acting gigs where I can be something other than Brooke Blurton. I’m still writing two books with HarperCollins, so writing does take over my life a little bit. But other than that, just a lot of little mini projects that don't take up a lot of time.”
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