The Bachelorette Australia‘s surprise double season has well and truly begun, roses have been handed out and drama continues to unfold.
Naturally, we’ve gone done a deep, deep lurk on all of this year’s hopefuls looking for love with sisters Elly and Becky Miles.
But, even before we fell into the deep dark hole of their online history, there was one eligible bachelor who stood out from the crowd – professional rugby player Joe Woodbury.
Rumours began swirling well before his official confirmation of joining the show that Joe would be a frontrunner this season thanks to an already established and strong connection to younger sister Elly.
Fans immediately discovered a connection between Joe and Elly.
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The 25-year-old is a mechanic by trade and made his first-grade debut as a winger with the Cessnock Goannas back in 2014.
He’s also a Newcastle native and sure did surprise Elly when he arrived at the mansion.
The first clip, released by Channel 10, showed Joe greeting the sisters during the show’s premiere in a black and gold checked shirt.
“No! It’s a small world!” he says, visibly surprised to see her.
Elly’s shocked to see Joe.
(Channel Ten)Eagle-eyed fans were quick to note that Joe and Elly were already following each other on Instagram.
In fact, Elly commented one of his recent posts (as shared by the So Dramatic! podcast IG account.)
Eagle eyed fans spotted this interaction.
(Instagram/So Dramatic!)“Oh what an iso crew,” she wrote on the pic, which shows a shirtless Joe posing with his housemates.
“Elly already follows him?? Pre-arranged perhaps? Or well-known man about town?” one viewer weighed in on a Facebook fan forum.
“Elly is following Joe but already was (it’s not recent) so both being from Newcastle, clearly know each other. He’s also followed by Josh from MAFS who is from here [Newcastle] too,” another added.
Could there be more to Elly and Joe’s connection?
(Instagram)Not long after entering the mansion, Joe admitted to his fellow bachelors that he did know Elly before coming on the show. In fact, Joe lived with Elly’s best friend, Katie, for six months.
While Joe was tight lipped about exactly what had gone on between himself and Elly, the Bachelorette spilled further details to The Daily Telegraph.
“I was very shocked [to see him on the show],” Elly revealed.
“I was speechless. I had no idea … We had a bit of a casual romance.”
Only time will tell if they spark they shared prior to the show will give Joe the upper hand on his competition.
This story has been edited after appearing on our sister site, Who.
