Abbie Chatfield's brutal Bachelor prediction: 'Franchise is dead'
Former Bachelor star Abbie Chatfield has declared the reality TV franchise 'dead' after the finale of her friend Brooke Blurton's Bachelorette season became the least-watched in Aussie history.
A record-low 439,000 viewers tuned in to the final 15 minutes of Thursday night's episode to watch Brooke choose Darvid Garayeli over runner-up Jamie-Lee Dayz.
Abbie: 'Bachie is dead'
And in Bachie veteran Abbie's opinion, the once-popular dating show's glory days are over for good — despite efforts to be more inclusive with Brooke's season.
She made the call on the most recent episode of her podcast, It's A Lot, which was released the day after the Bachelorette finale.
"That was an interesting season," she Abbie mused. "I loved the representation, obviously, we loved it, it was wonderful seeing all the diversity on screen."
"Do I think the franchise is dead? Yes. Because if Brooke couldn't bring back the ratings who could? If this Bachelorette [season] couldn't bring back the f***ing ratings, who could?"
Abbie noted that there was 'no reason' in particular for the show's flailing figures and refused to place the blame on anyone specific, such as the producers.
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Bye bye, Bachie?
Abbie isn't the first former Bachelor star to question the future of the franchise. In an exclusive chat with Yahoo Lifestyle, Brittany Hockley and Laura Byrne shared their thoughts on why people just weren't tuning in this year.
Laura, who won Matty Johnson's heart on The Bachelor in 2017, said it was 'unfortunate' that The Bachelorette was failing to rate when Channel 10 and Warner Bros. had done a 'great job' with diverse casting.
She speculated that Aussie viewers are suffering from 'reality TV fatigue' that is only intensified by the wealth and variety offered by streaming services such as Netflix and Stan.
Britt, from Nick 'Honey Badger' Cummins' infamous Bachelor season, thinks that the Bachie franchise still has legs.
"I think people love the idea of The Bachelor still because everybody loves love. You know, everyone loves a love story and people also like the drama."
Abbie and Konrad's dating bombshell
Viewers may not have been watching The Bachelorette on TV, but there was plenty of drama going on off-screen to keep them entertained.
Most of the attention centered around former star, Abbie Chatfield who sent shockwaves through the Bachie verse when she was caught kissing one of her pal Brooke Blurton's suitors.
Konrad Bien-Stephens was very much still in the running for Brooke's heart when he was snapped on November 10 getting hot and heavy with Abbie in a Byron Bay bar.
A week after his PDA with Abbie went viral, Brooke sent Konrad home on the show which was no surprise to anyone.
Abbie made it Instagram official with Konrad on Wednesday, just hours before the penultimate episode of The Bachelorette was set to air — at which point Brooke appeared to 'unfriend' Abbie on Instagram sparking rumours of a rift.
Brooke addressed the speculation in an exclusive chat with Yahoo Lifestyle on Friday morning, saying that Abbie is still her friend and that she's 'very happy' for her and Konrad.
As for her Instagram move, Brooke responded cryptically, saying that people can 'interpret it however they want'.
Another Bachie alum, Angie Kent, was less coded when discussing the timing of Abbie and Konrad's public romance, calling it 'opportunistic' in her finale recap for Yahoo Lifestyle.
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