The Golden Bachelor and whether women should 'act their age'.

The Golden Bachelor has turned out to be a breakout success for Nine.

Compared to the final seasons of the Ten version — which faced a dwindling viewership — the rebooted reality show has been a ratings success.

There's a lot to love about this show: Bear is every bit the vintage hunk you want him to be, and there are already a bunch of sweet love stories starting to grow.

But it's the women and their stories that are proving to make the most compelling moments to watch as a viewer. From their stories of heartbreak, divorce and grief, it's a refreshing change of pace for reality TV that often lends itself to trashy, contrived drama.

And look, I'm enjoying all that stuff, but at the same time, I do hope we see a bit of conflict and a bit more chaos.

A little more drama wouldn't go astray, right? Image: Nine.

Aside from a momentary tiff between Kim and Sunny, it's all been smooth sailing.

There's been an underlying message lingering throughout The Golden Bachelor that these women are different from the slew of Bachie contestants we've met in the past.

These women, whose ages range from 51 to 66, have more 'life experience' but some of the dominant messaging has been that they're not petty, immature and they are going to 'keep it classy'.

And already, we've seen a dramatic pivot in how the ladies approach dating their Bachelor. Gone are the days when women would hysterically fight over their their Bachelor at the cocktail party, clamoring to make a powerful impression to secure a rose at the rose ceremony.

For the ladies on The Golden Bachelor, they agreed to abide by a 'permission to push' rule, which would allow for the women who had spent less time with Bear to have the first conversations with him at the party.

Sure, Catherine didn't exactly follow this rule, but for the most part, it was an effective strategy to avoid any drama.

"I'm really proud of us all because the sisterhood in this mansion is so strong," one contestant, Bianca, reflected.

Watch the contestants admit what their real first impressions of Bear were. Post continues after video.

When I spoke to some of the contestants at the premiere, they all played down the drama from the season, emphasising how their ages meant they didn't get caught up in petty feuding.

"We are all so individually comfortable with who we are — we are big people now and we don't care as much as when we were in our 20s," Katrina told me.

"I'm not a drama queen," added Elizete.

"We became sisters and we loved each other so strongly, and there wasn't much drama — no fights."

Okay, what am I missing here? Does this sound a little too wholesome? Am I meant to believe that women over the age of 50 never fight?

As someone who has excessively watched The Real Housewives franchise — including every episode of the New York City, Beverly Hills and Salt Lake City versions — I have to disagree that as women get older, they become less dramatic.

In my experience, it's the opposite. The women I've watched for years are truly some of the most unhinged people I've ever seen on reality TV.

And these women are frequently aged in their 40s, 50s and 60s.

I'm talking about Kim Richard shouting across the dinner table that Eileen Davidson is a "beast" before Lisa Rinna smashes her wine glass in an Amsterdam restaurant.

I'm talking Luanne de Lesseps and Bethanny Frankel shouting obscenities at each other in the Hamptons over who is 'the bigger slut'.

Give the people what they want! Image: Bravo.

I'm not saying that I want The Golden Bachelor women to be acting like the cast of Jersey Shore, yanking each other's hair extensions out or pushing each other into the pool.

But at the same time, I resent the idea that women should 'act their age' on reality TV.

This is an expectation almost never applied to the men who surround us every day.

On talkback radio, we have men in their 60s shouting at each other; on TV, middle-aged male politicians are hurling insults in parliament; or at a sports match, an older coach is verbally eviscerating a player for all to hear.

But for women? They need to 'act their age', which means always taking the high ground and being grateful and graceful.

I'm really enjoying The Golden Bachelor but I do hope that we get a little more conflict and chaos because to me, petty drama is ageless.

Feature image: Nine.