Two more ex-Bachelor NZ contestants are headed to represent New Zealand on the international stage, and Alex Casey is bloody excited.
Following the news that Gollum impressionist and second AD Jordan Mauger will be representing New Zealand in The Bachelor Winter Games, The Spinoff has learned that the Kiwi contingent will be bolstered by Lily McManus and Ally Thompson, both of season three of The Bachelor NZ. The Bachelor Winter Games is the latest spinoff of the romance reality series and will pit international personalities from past seasons of the franchise against each other in sporting situations (presumably with a side of romance).
As evidenced in some excitable social media posts from people in Vermont, where the series has recently begun filming, this week The Bachelor Winter Games held a bleak-looking public parade to introduce the international teams to their adoring local fans. Literally tens of people lined the street in ski-wear to welcome the contestants and celebrate their cultural mascots, which included a sad statue of Liberty (USA), a morose Viking (Sweden) and a humiliated koala (Australia).
I am hoping and praying and screaming that this hula-skirt nightmare is not the New Zealand contribution to the festivities, but I fear the worst.
There was also host Chris Harrison getting mobbed…
…Along with a rare sighting of Bachelor Santa, raising serious questions around the stability of his relationship with Mrs Claus.
And, of course, waving and smiling in the thick of it all were Kiwi heroes Lily McManus and Ally Thompson, two of the Bachelorettes who attempted to woo surf life saving coach Zac Franich in the last season of The Bachelor NZ. Franich remains in New Zealand, and was last spotted at the New Zealand TV Awards asking The Real Pod about their plans for summer. There was no sign of rumoured contestant Naz or Jordan ‘Pordy’ Mauger, who was recently photographed at Burning Man dressed as a genie.
Both Lily and Ally are welcome athletic arrivals to the New Zealand squad in whatever the hell competition this is. Lily showed her sporting prowess earlier this year while doing a shaka on a skateboard, and Ally frequently led the Bachelor mansion in morning yoga classes. I have already written at length about how crucial it is to get beer-guzzling, sweary Lily back on TV by any means possible, and her experience as a snowboard instructor lends itself well to balancing out Jordan Mauger’s adverse attitude to the cold.
Neither Lily nor Ally responded to The Spinoff’s request for comment, but their own social media contains crucial clues to their casting. Earlier this week, Lily posted a black square and announced that she was “leaving the universe for a while,” and Ally posted the inspirational quote “be scared and do it anyway,” accompanied with an emoji of a snowman and a snowflake.
We wait with bated breath for the series to air in 2018.
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