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Elly Miles reveals dark side to Bachelorette experience: ‘Really scary’
Former Bachelorette Elly Miles has opened up about her mental health struggles following her appearance on the reality TV show last year.
In a sit-down interview with Tegan Martin for Natural Living, the 26-year-old spoke about her battle with anxiety after the show and how exercise helped her feel like herself again.
Elly, who was working as a nurse when she appeared on Matt Agnew’s season of The Bachelor in 2019, said that she developed issues with her mental health for the very first time after The Bachelorette.
“I think my personal life being thrown into the public eye on such a high scale was just so overwhelming to me and I experienced a lot of anxiety and paranoia and I think probably even depression,” she revealed.
“I would wake up every day and just feel like there was a hand around my throat.”
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“I’ve never had issues with anxiety in the past before, so to have such an intense physical symptom of anxiety was just really scary to me and really overwhelming. It would just instantly hit me,” she added.
Elly went on to say that she took control of her mental health and helped ease her mind by going to the gym and exercising.
“Being able to do that was really the only thing at that point in time that would help me out I guess,” she acknowledged.
Elly and her older sister Becky both starred in last year’s season of The Bachelorette, which was a first for the Australian version of the franchise.
While Becky and her chosen winner Pete Mann announced their split shortly after the finale aired on TV, Elly stayed with her partner Frazer Neate until December.
“I definitely don’t regret doing it,” she told WHO earlier this year about her time on the reality show.
“I’ve learned so much about myself. When you’ve gone through a tough or stressful time, it helps you grow and I’m proud of how Becky and I conducted ourselves.”
Elly’s recent admission comes as Channel 10 released the official trailer for the upcoming season of The Bachelorette, which stars her Bachelor season seven co-star Brooke Blurton.
The new video gives fans an extended look at what to expect this year, with both male and female contestants in the mansion for the very first time, and seemingly confirms that there will be multiple on-screen romances this year.
“I knew coming into this experience that there might be a possibility that guys and girls would have an attraction to one another,” Brooke says.
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