Brooke Blurton Set To Be The First Bisexual 'Bachelorette' With Mixed Gender Contestants
A big step for LGBTQ+ representation.
Brooke Blurton Instagram In a series of firsts for the franchise, the Australian edition of “The Bachelorette” has announced its lead for the upcoming 2021 season will be Brooke Blurton, an openly bisexual Indigenous woman.
The contestants will consist of both men and women who will all be competing for Blurton’s heart.
The LGBTQ+ contestants will break the typical cast mold of strictly one gender, meaning better representation for queer audiences.
Who is Brooke Blurton?
In 2018, the 26-year-old Noongar-Yamatji woman was a front-runner in the Australian edition of “The Bachelor” and a contestant in the 2019 season of Australia’s "Bachelor in Paradise."
“I’ve done it twice before and now, having the opportunity to choose my person and who I want in my life, is a truly unique and special experience,” Blurton said in a statement, according to ABC. “I’m so excited and hope that I finally find that person I’ve been waiting for."
Blurton is also the first indigenous woman to be the Bachelorette.
Blurton's mother is Aboriginal-Malaysian, her father is English and her grandmother is Noongar.
During a TedX Talk in 2019 she said, "I was fairer than some of the Aboriginal kids and they would call me a 'half-caste' ... meaning I simply wasn't Aboriginal enough for them."
Blurton has been through truly difficult times.
In the past, she's spoken about the hard times she experienced during her childhood in Western Australia, including losing her mother, who died by suicide, when she was just a young girl.
"I grew up in a country town in Carnarvon. I spent my childhood there up until I was about 11, when my mum, unfortunately, passed away," she said.
"My nan actually passed away a month later so us kids had to separate," Blurton continued. "All my brothers and [me], we didn't really have a lot of strong role models so creating that myself was my inspiration."
Blurton is a youth worker, as well as a social media influencer.
She currently has 231,000 followers on Instagram and has a popular reputation on reality TV shows.
She took to her popular social media accounts to announce the news, posting an image of herself wearing a red dress and holding the infamous red roses from the show.
Her post was captioned, “I’m ready, I hope you are too!” along with a rose emoji and the pride flag emoji.
It was rumored that Blurton was dating rapper G Flip.
Blurton and the rapper, whose real name is Georgia Flipo, were seen together at the Australian open, sparking rumors the two were an item. She has since said they are just friends.
"You'd be photographed with a footballer or with any girl, like I was with G Flip," she said, "and people want to assume you're automatically linked, but I'm not dating."
Blurton isn't entirely sure Austrailan audiences are for a bisexual bachelorette.
Blurton told The Daily Telegraph that she’s excited about the season but isn’t sure if her home country feels the same.
“I am not too sure if Australia is ready for it — I certainly am,” she said. “If it makes people feel uncomfortable in any way, I really challenge them to think about why it does.”
In 2017, Australia began recognizing same-sex marriage, which was just two years after the United States federally legalized it. The show’s change in tradition could come at no better time, and other reality shows may begin to follow in their footsteps.
“We are a nation of people from so many different backgrounds, so many different cultures and so many different experiences, yet we all have one thing in common — we all want to be loved in a way that is meaningful to us,” said Osher Günsberg, host of the Australian version of “The Bachelor,” in a statement.
The news of Blurton’s casting comes after former “Bachelor” lead, Colton Underwood, came out as gay and revealed his struggles with his mental health.
A recently conducted Gallup poll shows LGBT identification in the U.S. rose to 5.6% in the latest U.S. estimate with a majority of LGBT adults (54.6%) identifying as bisexual. This may explain the show’s decision to diversify their cast to be more inclusive of people of all genders who are searching for love.
When will Blurton's season of "The Bachelorette" start?
The show's premiere date has not yet been announced, so all we know is that Blurton's season is "coming soon" and casting is currently under way.
As the show casts its men and women who seek to capture her heart, Blurton said she is just excited to find the right person for her after years of trying.
“My perfect person is someone that loves me for me. I hope they offer shared values and compassion for others. All the dreamy things! I’m so excited and hope that I finally find that person I’ve been waiting for,” she said.
As many people begin to look at Blurton as a figure of representation for LGBTQ+, she will be looking to find love and being the face on television for people who identify themselves the same way.
Tomás Diniz Santos is a writer living in Orlando, Florida. He covers news, entertainment, and pop-culture topics.