
You know what I did last night?
I sat on my couch in my PJs with a cup of tea and cheered on Sophie Monk.
I know that The Bachelor/The Bachelorette is a contentious TV series. Sexist. Clichéd. Highly scripted and edited. Contrived. I know. WE ALL KNOW. But I tuned in anyway.
Why? Well for starters because I’m 45 and at the end of the day when my kids are in bed and I’ve picked up 3,274 toy trains – frankly – I watch whatever the hell I want.
But also because I just really love Sophie Monk. I love how funny she is. How normal. How self-deprecating. I love that she doesn’t try to be someone or something that she’s not. That she embraces her inner dag. And I love that at 37 she is brave enough to go on national TV, is willing to be vulnerable and say, “I really want someone to love. I want to find someone to love who will love me back.”
And dammit, ever since she strolled down a footpath holding a balloon to a Queen soundtrack in that Channel 10 promo I have felt invested in Sophie Monk finding a good man.
Why is Australia so head-over-heels in love with Sophie Monk? Mia Freedman, Holly Wainwright, and Jessie Stephens discuss on Mamamia Out Loud. (Post continues after audio).
I remember watching Popstars on Channel Seven three trillion years ago (maybe it was 2000). It was like the poor man’s Australian Idol except the auditions for Bardot looked like they were held at the Dunder Mifflin Paper Company.
Anyway, even back then when Sophie was a 19-year-old Marilyn Monroe impersonator from the Gold Coast she dazzled. Not because she looked like my childhood Barbie doll (and still does) but because of her wit and charm and spark. Her sense of mischief. Her sense of humour.