Family lukewarm on TV quest

ADVENTURE: The cast from TV series The Bachelor NZ, which includes Kerikeri woman Gabrielle (Gab) Davenport, centre back.

Kerikeri woman still in running to win Bachelor's affections

A Northland woman who is in the final 12 of reality television show The Bachelor New Zealand admits she didn't get the reaction she expected from her family when she told them she was applying for competition.

Gabrielle (Gab) Davenport grew up in Kerikeri and spent her childhood at beaches around the North.

Now the 29-year-old is appearing on television screens around the country as one of 12 bachelorettes still vying for the heart of The Bachelor NZ's Jordan Mauger.

On the show, Mr Mauger whittles down a group of women vying for his affections, until there are two left - one of whom he will choose as his partner.

"I had applied to go on The Bachelor Australia when I was living there but changed my mind when I decided to move back to Auckland. When I heard applications were open in New Zealand I thought 'why not?' This could be a great, albeit crazy way of meeting someone amazing," she said.

When Ms Davenport told her family she had applied, she did not get the reaction she had "hoped for".

"They weren't as excited as I was about the adventure, however I understand that they were just looking out for me and no one wants their daughter or sister to get hurt in life, and going on The Bachelor, there is a real chance that could happen.

"They knew at the end of the day it was my decision and were supportive in accepting that this was something I had thought about and chosen to do," she said

Ms Davenport lived in Kerikeri until she was 18 and moved to Auckland to attend university. After graduating, she moved to Melbourne where she lived for five years and returned to Auckland about 18 months ago.

"There really is no place like home," she said. "I get up to Kerikeri as much as I can to see the family, relax and unwind."

She said her only intention on The Bachelor NZ was to meet "a really genuine and down to earth guy" and the experience on the show so far had been "indescribable".

Ms Davenport has emerged as a potential winner, and impressed Mr Mauger with her open, honest personality. "The highs and lows are very real, the sense of reality becomes very distant as you focus on one thing, or person, for an intense period of time," she said.

The Bachelor New Zealand screens on TV3, Monday and Tuesday, from 7.30pm.