Brooke Blurton is having a rough start to 2022, revealing that she has contracted COVID-19 almost exactly one month after her split from Darvid Garayeli.
The 2021 Bachelorette star revealed she had tested positive on Thursday, cuddling up with her dog Cobar to begin her isolation period.
“Cobar cuddles with Covid 🥺 I’ve managed to escape it for this long. It was only [a matter of] time,” she announced on Instagram alongside three cosy photos.
“A long week isolating with pup and lots of Admin to look forward too. Please stay safe everyone, wear masks 😷 and isolate if you notice any symptoms.”
Though she was bare-faced and dressed down, Brooke didn’t look too worse for wear as she shared her health update with friends and fans.
2020 Bachelor winner Irena Srbinovska was quick to wish her a speedy recovery, commenting: “Aww look after yourself x”
“Hope you feel better soon. Maybe enjoy the downtime,” added Melissa Walsh, who appeared on Married At First Sight’s fifth season.
Though Brooke only revealed she had tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday, the 27-year-old let slip a telling hint that she was unwell on Wednesday night.
To mark a friend’s birthday, she shared several photos of them together through the years before adding a video to her Instagram Stories that included the clue.
In the clip, Brooke’s friend Jarrad could be seen standing in her driveway and waving, while he waited to collect a bouquet of flowers and a gift Brooke had left outside her gate.
The pair clearly had to keep their distance, suggesting one of them may have been experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and social distancing.
That person turned out to be Brooke, who wrote on her Stories today that she is planning “lots of cuddles and rest this week” with her dog Cobar.
It’s been a difficult few months for the reality TV star, who split from her Bachelorette winner Darvid only a few days into 2022 after “losing herself” during the show.
Prior to breaking up, she and Darvid had moved in together in her Melbourne home and even exchanged commitment rings on the Bachelorette finale – but their romance didn’t last.
“It was my choice to end the relationship and I had been thinking about it for a bit towards the end. My reasons for that are completely valid to me,” Brooke said of the split in January.
She also revealed that she was still grieving her sister, who tragically died in the family’s native Western Australia while Brooke was filming The Bachelorette in Sydney.
WATCH: Brooke Blurton opens up on grief. Story continues after video.
Due to lockdown restrictions, Brooke was unable to return home to her family immediately, though she eventually organised an exemption and made it back for the funeral.
In January she told Instagram followers that the loss was still incredibly raw for her, admitting: “I still can’t even say my sister’s name without crying.
“I don’t think a break up can really even compare to losing a sibling if I’m honest … I grieved the break up much quicker than I grieved my sister.