The winner of The Golden Bachelor, Sunny Long, has set gossip mills into overdrive after she was spotted at a high-profile Sydney event without her new television beau, Barry 'Bear' Myrden.
A Solo Appearance Sparks Questions
The 58-year-old attended the season two screening of Fallout in Sydney on Monday, looking stylish and confident on the red carpet. Sunny chose a chic lace dress, which she paired with a studded leather jacket and strappy heels. Completing her ensemble with a matching black handbag, she appeared in high spirits, smiling broadly for photographers. She wore her hair pulled back and opted for a natural makeup look that accentuated her youthful complexion.
This public outing came just weeks after the dramatic finale of the Channel Nine show, where after eight nerve-wracking episodes, the 61-year-old engineer Bear finally found his match in Sunny.
Bear's Rocky Road to The Golden Bachelor
However, the couple's televised fairytale almost didn't happen. In a surprising twist, Bear initially quit the show after being cast as the new Golden Bachelor because he had reportedly found love off-screen.
An insider revealed that the Canadian-born Sydneysider was the one who had originally auditioned for the role. 'He applied, they liked him instantly, then he pulled out because he'd met someone,' a source told Confidential. This last-minute exit left the show's creators scrambling for a leading man.
'But once they saw the rest of the candidates… let's just say Bear suddenly looked like a rock star, and they lured him back,' the production insider explained, adding that the other potential bachelors were 'spectacularly underwhelming.'
A Controversial Past Surfaces
Further complicating the narrative, Woman's Day uncovered that Bear's relationship history differs from what was presented on the programme. Despite claiming on the show that he had remained single since his wife Audrey died in 2014, it was revealed that Bear was engaged to millionaire heiress Jo Kinghorn in 2016.
Details from their engagement party paint a less-than-flattering picture of the reality star. A source claimed that Bear was commonly described as a 'tosser' by Kinghorn's friends. 'Bear spent most of the engagement party showing off in the ski boat Jo bought him,' the insider told Daily Mail.
In another startling claim, the source alleged that Bear did not pay for his fiancée's engagement ring. 'It should be known that the engagement ring was purchased by the bride-to-be,' the source stated. Bear is now said to be 'loving all the attention' his stint on The Golden Bachelor has brought him.
