When Abbie Chatfield joined Brooke Blurton on The Bachelorette last year to help her make a decision about her final two suitors, they were the picture of friendship.
But nearly a year on, Brooke has revealed she didn’t originally pick Abbie to appear alongside her in the finale’s “meet the friends” segment.
Speaking on her new podcast Not So PG, the 27-year-old said she had planned for her best friend Matty Mills to join her instead, but due to COVID restrictions he wasn’t able to film and Abbie was called in at the last minute.
Brooke said Abbie was great on the show, but admitted she “kind of got stuck” while deciding who to bring on due to COVID.
(Image: Instagram)“I was so upset,” she said.
“So a lot of people don’t know this, that my original friends, I guess who I had chosen specifically to be you know, my point of reference in that last decision making on The Bachelorette was Matty and Amy and I didn’t originally choose Abbie.”
As fans will remember, Brooke’s long-time friend Amy Thunig and Abbie appeared in the finale episode where they met her final two suitors, Darvid Garayeli and Jamie-Lee Dayz.
Brooke said Abbie was great on the show and meant no disrespect towards her, but that she “kind of got stuck” while deciding who to bring on due to COVID.
Abbie appeared on The Bachelorette to meet Brooke’s final two suitors.
(Image: Ten)Matty, an actor and TV presenter, said he was “heartbroken” that he couldn’t help Brooke make her final decision.
“I was so excited to be able to help you make that decision. And I know that, I would have had your best interest at heart and backed you 100 per cent. And I know that it would have just been a look from you or, you know, to know which person you were going to choose,” he told Brooke on their podcast.
Brooke said having Matty and Amy, who are both also queer and indigenous, on TV alongside her would have been a step forward for First Nations and LGBTQIA representation.
“It would have been an incredible moment to have three indigenous people on mainstream TV, within that franchise of The Bachelorette to be able to help you,” Matty added.
“Obviously no dis to Abby. But Amy really made a mark on that show as well. And there was so much incredible press that came out after it based on her questions and based on her insights when she was grilling the final two. So I wish that I could have been there, obviously couldn’t be there.”
The pair’s friendship infamously imploded last year after Abbie started dating Konrad Bien-Stephen, a contestant on Brooke’s season of The Bachelorette.
Though the couple waited until Konrad’s elimination to post about their relationship on social media, Brooke called Abbie out for displaying “white privilege” and “narcissism” and unfollowed her on Instagram afterwards.
Brooke said she was “literally pained” by Abbie and Konrad going public prior to her finale airing.
“I’ve reached out to this person to resolve this ‘conflict’ which in fact, classic naive me, adult went to this person to communicate openly about the layers of complexity that this persons actions show and take away from NOT only me but what it meant for a queer woman of colour. If this wasn’t me, I’d still have this stance,” she said at the time.
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