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Home / Hawkes Bay Today

Thirsty Whale to host Hawke’s Bay version of The Bachelor - The ‘Bay-chelor’

Michaela Gower
By Michaela Gower
Multimedia Journalist·Hawkes Bay Today·
27 Jan, 2024 05:00 PM3 mins to read

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Former Cabinet minister Kiri Allan opens up on her night of shame, marine heatwave pushes temperatures up and how kiwifruit could benefit your mental health in the latest NZ Herald headlines. Video / Supplied / NZHerald

The Thirsty Whale has put out a call to find the next Bachelor and Bachelorette, and Hawke’s Bay Today spoke to the organiser to see what it takes to be the first “Bay-chelor”.

After Cameron Wattam’s friends complained of nothing to do in Hawke’s Bay, the 25-year-old decided to have some fun.

With the popularity of reality TV shows such as Love Island and Heartbreak Island, he decided it was time to bring The Bachelor and The Bachelorette to Hawke’s Bay.

“There is no such thing as a boring town, there’s just boring people and a lot of people in my generation feel like nothing is going on here. I feel like they don’t realise they can be the things that are going on,” he said.

Cameron Wattam is excited and hopes that someone will find love. Photo / Michaela Gower
Cameron Wattam is excited and hopes that someone will find love. Photo / Michaela Gower
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He teamed up with Thirsty Whale bar and restaurant and put out a casting call on social media to find Hawke’s Bay’s first “Bay-chelor” and people had questions.

How does it work? What does it take to participate? Am I good-looking enough?

Wattam said the event, designed for those aged between 21 and 32, would be filmed over one day after the bachelor and bachelorette were selected.

The first round would be blind dates, and the bachelor and bachelorette have to eliminate half of the competitors without knowing what they look like.

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In the second round, the bachelor and bachelorette get to see their competitors and ask three questions with two more people eliminated.

Finally, the third round offers up a twist with humour and competitors have one minute to “woo” their bachelor or bachelorette in any way they feel would crown them the winner.

The winner would receive a free dinner at the Thirsty Whale and then a bar tab at Roxof, and a special surprise.

“My definition of a good bachelor would be someone who has strength, but knows kindness,” Wattam said.

“We are looking for some real characters that don’t mind saying the first thing that comes into their head and people that don’t take life too seriously.”

He hoped the competition would take place in four weeks. In the meantime, he is open to all applications.

* Video submissions can be sent to chasinglifemedia365@gmail.com and include a 1-2 minute introduction video about who you are, showcase your personality and state whether you wish to be a bachelor or bachelorette. It is important to include that, if you are not selected, indicate whether you are happy to be a part of the process as a contestant or an audience member. Submissions close on Valentine’s Day.

Michaela Gower joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2023 and is based out of the Hastings newsroom. She covers Dannevirke and Hawke’s Bay news and has a love for sharing stories about farming and rural communities.

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