Bach star responds to low ratings

After months of hype and widespread praise for Brooke’s selection as the show’s star, audience numbers dwindled week by week, with last night’s finale pulling in the smallest audience on record with just 439,000 metro viewers for the final 15 minutes.

But despite the disappointing result, Brooke, a proud Noongar-Yamatji woman from Western Australia, has praised the Ten Network for “trusting her” with a season of monumental firsts.

The 26-year-old, who chose Darvid Garayeli in the final rose ceremony on Thursday, was both the franchise’s first Indigenous Bachelorette and first bisexual woman at the helm.

Speaking to news.com.au, she made it clear she wasn’t bothered by the audience numbers, given what a huge step forward for mainstream television her season was.

“I don’t like to think that I was just focused on the ratings, I was more focused on the progression and what that season meant for mainstream television,” Brooke said.

“We don’t see this type of representation happen for one, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people and two, minority groups like the LGBTQI+ community. I was really just focused on providing the right representation for both with integrity and the utmost respect, and I feel like I did that.

“I feel so proud of the ground we made on this season. It was a real step forward. The network had a lot of trust in me, I had a lot of trust in the network. We wanted to produce something that all about getting the love back into the brand.”

Darvid echoed the sentiment, agreeing that being part of a “landmark” for mainstream television filled him with pride.

“I knew that it was going to be a massive landmark and pivotal for mainstream TV but once I got there the energy was so good, everyone got along so well. The dynamic was great, we all got along and it just had this pure feeling to it,” he said.

For those who did tune in, one moment in particular during last night’s finale struck a chord with viewers, with a number taking to social media to react, sparking a powerful conversation.

Grilling the final two ahead of the rose ceremony, Brooke’s friend Amy had asked Darvid: “If I said to you, whose land are you on, where you live, can you tell me?

“So it would take dating an Aboriginal woman for you to start to consider that you live on Aboriginal land?

“Do you know who Brooke’s mob is? Where are you at with your, like, cultural literacy in general?”

Responding, Darvid had admitted he wasn’t sure.

“I’m willing to learn, and I’m willing to be a part of it all,” he said. “I think that’s important, regardless. I’d actually really step into it. Like, I’d love to learn about it. I do feel pretty naive and ashamed that I haven’t done the research.”

Taking to Twitter, viewers continued the discussion, with many revealing family members had been quick to Google the answers for themselves during the episode.

When asked about bringing such an important conversation to lounge rooms across Australia, Brooke praised her friend Amy.

“I invited Amy to come into those conversations because I knew she was a realist. She’s an absolute powerhouse of a woman and I wouldn’t expect any less from her. I felt really proud to call her my friend and a sister for life,” she said.

“She just broke through and showcased a beautiful conversation that should be had about land and culture. I feel proud every day and it’s just a part of me, and we got to show that on mainstream TV. It was pretty special.”

Weighing in, Darvid — who has moved in with Brooke in Melbourne since the show wrapped — admitted he felt “quite naive” not knowing the answer, but added that he’s been committed to educating himself since.

“Amy asked the question in such a respectful way. It was quite intense and confronting but I didn’t feel attacked. It actually just made me feel like ‘Oh wow, I really need to know this things.’ I felt quite naive, and it’s been really interesting learning all about Brooke’s culture since.”

“We’re always learning,” Brooke added.

Despite the rich chatter online, Mumbrella reported last night’s closing episode had only 439,000 metro viewers for the final 15 minutes, with 361,000 metro viewers tuning in for the lead-up.

Last year, sisters Elly and Becky Miles were only slightly higher on finale night with 573,000 metro viewers, while Angie Kent’s finale drew 992,000 metro viewers.

Before Kent, Ali Oetjen’s finale had 926,000 metro viewers, Sophie Monk’s pulled in 1.604 million metro viewers, Georgia Love’s had 972,000 metro viewers and Sam Frost’s had 1.52 million metro viewers.

Premiere night similarly pulled in the lowest audience in history, with just 397,000 viewers (5-city metro) – losing easily to Nine juggernaut The Block, which attracted an audience of 851,000.

But the shockingly small audience may well have been part of a larger Bachelor/Bachelorette fatigue.

The 2021 season of The Bachelor, starring pilot Jimmy Nicholson, premiered in July to a dismal 482,000 viewers from metro cities across the country, barely scraping into the top 20 TV shows of the night.

Just 629,000 metro viewers tuned in for the final winner reveal, down from 879,000 for the show’s seventh season last year.

Originally published as Brooke Blurton praises Ten for her season of The Bachelorette despite low ratings