The Bachelors week one recap: The good, the bad and the ugly

👍 The Good: Sparks fly with frontrunner

👎 The Bad: Bachelor cops backlash for shock act

😡 The Ugly: OnlyFans scandal rocks the mansion

After numerous delays, the long-awaited tenth season of The Bachelor Australia finally premiered this week with Jed McIntosh, Thomas Malucelli and Felix Von Hofe kicking off their search to find love.

Week one saw the dating show adopt a brand new format with 30 contestants being invited back to the Gold Coast mansion following a series of blind dates, allowing for plenty of romance, drama and chaos to ensue amongst the cast.

Sparks fly between Thomas and his frontrunner

It’s undeniable that The Bachelor has an excellent track record, with five out of nine seasons producing couples who are either engaged or married with kids.

And while many fans speculated that season ten's new structure might substitute love stories for drama, Bachelor Thomas’ budding romance with frontrunner Leah is proving otherwise. Sparks immediately flew between the couple when they met on a romantic blind date in a row boat, and she ended up scoring his first official solo date of the season during Wednesday night’s episode.

“This feels like the beginning of falling in love,” he told her. “I haven’t felt this way in years, like I’m talking years, so I’m just over the moon right now.”

Holly Kingston, who won Bachelor Jimmy Nicholson’s heart on season nine of the series, predicts Leah will make it “very far” for Thomas.

“I think Leah will make it to one or two, I’m calling it,” she tells Yahoo Lifestyle. “It's all in the music and I think Thomas is very spiritual and he is there for the right reasons, so I have a feeling someone baring their soul like that and opening up within the first 10 minutes of meeting them will be right up his alley. So, Leah number one.”

MORE GOOD:

• Jimmy and Holly reveal who they think will win The Bachelors 2023: 'Obvious'

• The Bachelors share their surprising reactions to major twist: 'Relief'

• The Bachelor's Matty J and Laura exchange X-rated wedding vows

Bachelor Felix cops backlash for shock act

Bachelor Felix caused controversy during the season’s first cocktail party when he made out with Tilly not once but twice in clear view of the other contestants. While he apologised for his behaviour on the group date the following day, it wasn't long before he ended up kissing Naomi in front of the other women.

“I tried my hardest to not kiss her in public, but she’s incredibly hot,” he said.

Former Bachelor star Jessica Brody describes Felix’s actions as “disrespectful” and says it’s “a bit gross” that he decided to do it knowing there were people watching.

“I don't blame the girls at all,” she adds. “If I were the girls, I'd probably do the same thing. You're trying to get the affections of this man who is sharing it with all these other women, so of course you're going to take that kiss. But he needs to be more discerning about where he's doing it.

“Felix gives me the ick sometimes, he’s not for me.”

Meanwhile, Bachelor Jimmy reveals he made it a rule for himself during his season not to kiss anyone at the cocktail parties.

“I didn't want the other ladies to be like, ‘That guy just wants to pash girls’, because that's not why I was there,” he explains. “Even if I really liked someone, it just feels weird kissing someone in front of someone else that you’re seeing.”

MORE BAD:

• Jed McIntosh reveals huge Bachelor spoiler with secret song lyrics

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

• Inside The Bachelor's 'cursed' new season as star almost dies

OnlyFans scandal rocks the mansion

Wednesday night’s episode featured two Married At First Sight-style scandals that have never been seen before in The Bachelor franchise. First, Tash revealed to Felix that his contestant Jessica was in a polyamorous relationship outside of the show before she had the chance to tell him herself, resulting in a tense conversation between the couple.

While fans online were divided about the confrontation, Jessica Brody believes Felix “handled it well”.

“It's so weird because he’s in this polyamorous kind of situation where he's sort of dating ten girls and then telling a girl who's polyamorous, ‘No’,” she laughs. “But he obviously wants a monogamous relationship at the end of this and I think that's totally fine.

“And you know what, if I was Felix I would want to know from date number one before I brought them to the Gold Coast that that person was in a relationship. So I kind of feel for him being thrown into that situation, not really knowing how to react.”

After this drama was hashed out at the cocktail party, Tash then outed fellow contestant Jasmine for having an OnlyFans account.

“The fact that Tash completely threw Jessica under the bus and now my information got shared without my permission, it’s so unbelievably disgusting to see someone act like that,” Jasmine said in her confessional.

MORE UGLY:

• 'Unbelievably disgusting': The Bachelors rocked by OnlyFans scandal

• Surprising truth about The Bachelors' Tash and her famous ex-fiancé

• Bachelor Jed suffers 'brutal' rejection in premiere: 'Bash to the ego'

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