Brooke Blurton has confessed there has been an “unspoken” connection between her and Bachelorette contestant Jamie-Lee Dayz since they met on The Bachelor.
The two women first crossed paths in 2018, when they both appeared on Nick ‘Honey Badger’ Cummins’ season of the show.
Though Brooke and Jamie-Lee definitely connected in the mansion – sparking rumours of a romantic entanglement – both women denied it was anything more than friendship.
Now, with Jamie-Lee set to return on Brooke’s season of The Bachelorette, Brooke has admitted they had an “unspoken” relationship outside of the show.
“It kind of never really played out in the outside world, but I think in the years that we had known each other, there was always a connection,” she told Yahoo! Lifestyle.
The new Bachelorette was clear that nothing happened back in 2018, as she and Jamie-Lee were both in the Bachelor mansion “for Nick” and wanted to form genuine connections with him.
But that all changed when Jamie-Lee stepped out of a limousine and onto the red carpet on the first night of Brooke’s season of the show.
Though seeing Jamie-Lee again was “such a surprise”, Brooke was actually glad when her former Bachelor co-star turned up.
“I didn’t expect it, but it was kind of a nice feeling of familiarity and knowing that you have a connection with someone already,” she said.
As for Jamie-Lee, she confessed on Instagram that she knew she had to take another stab at the franchise the moment Brooke was announced as the Bachelorette for 2021.
“When I found out Brooke was the next Bachelorette, I knew it was now or never,” she wrote yesterday.
“I strongly believe things happen for a reason and I feel like this timing has been nothing short of fate.
“I feel proud and excited to be part of this season, for more reasons than one.”
Brooke’s season will mark the first time the Australian Bachelor franchise has had an openly queer woman in the role of Bachelorette, and the first Indigenous woman in the role.
It will also be the first time that male and female contestants will be in the mansion together, as Brooke will be dating both guys and girls this season.
While many fans are excited to see her in the role, Brooke recently admitted to TV WEEK that she was “petrified” when producers first approached her to be the Bachelorette.
“I was scared. The last two times, I didn’t come out of this how I would have liked to,” she said.
“But being the Bachelorette, I thought, ‘This is my chance to actually define who I want in a person.'”
The Bachelorette 2021 premieres on October 20 on 10 and 10 Play on Demand.
For more on Brooke’s groundbreaking season of The Bachelorette, check out these stories
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Meet the guys and girls Brooke Blurton dated before becoming our 2021 Bachelorette
The truth behind Brooke Blurton’s tumultuous childhood and how it made her stronger
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