As Australia prepares to watch the fresh batch of singles arrive on Bachelor in Paradise, newcomer Abbie Chatfield dishes on all the behind-the-scenes gossip.
WATCH: Abbie Chatfield reveals she had an abortion before The Bachelor
NO RELAXING!
The Bachelor alum and first-time Bachelor in Paradise star Abbie says there is absolutely no downtime during the dates – and the 24-year-old says she wanted nothing more than to just wear a skirt and sneakers instead of donning a gown and having perfect hair and makeup every minute.
“All I want is to go and have dinner in a denim skirt and a T-shirt and sneakers. I was so sick of wearing gowns!” Abbie tells New Idea. “I was so sick of going sunbathing with my hair curled and a full face [of makeup]. I don’t wear foundation usually. Very stressful!”
PRODUCERS ON DATING APPS
While the islanders are looking for love at the resort, Abbie says she and other cast members were jealous of producers going on real dates via dating apps such as Hinge or Tinder. There’s no online dating in paradise!
“During filming one of the minders was going on Hinge. And it was when it was just starting to become big in Australia. And because we didn’t even have phones for three months, I was like, ‘What’s Hinge?’” Abbie remembers. “I literally got teary when she was organising a date with this
guy, to go to dinner. I was like, ‘I’m so jealous’.”
EDITING TRICKS
It’s no secret the editors of The Bachelor franchise know how to work their magic in post-production.
Abbie says she hated the way she was portrayed during her season with Matt [Agnew], and knows the same thing will probably happen on the island. “I already am worried about how the edits are going to go,” Abbie admits.
“Unless you see it come out of someone’s mouth, word for word on camera, assume it’s edited. And when you notice that one thing, you notice all the bad things people say are voiceovers! I only know when I was edited because I knew what I had said. So I was like, ‘That’s not what I said in that context!’”
FAKE OR SCRIPTED?
While sometimes it’s hard to believe the words coming out of the contestants’ mouths, Abbie swears nothing on the show is scripted. But she reveals there is a secret trick called ‘frankenbiting’, where post-production editors cut words together.
“No [it’s not scripted] … that’s sort of what the perception is and that’s why I thought it was going in, but it’s literally cutting up single words called ‘frankenbiting’,” Abbie says. “Then they turn the music up so you can’t notice as much. They’ll put on really intense music. And there were some sentences in there that were grammatically incorrect, and I wouldn’t say it like that!”
SECRET anxiety
Constantly being filmed and judged by fellow contestants and viewers can lead to a lot of anxiety, Abbie confesses. And having to compete with a group of other women for a man’s attention certainly doesn’t help either.
“All I want is to find love and my only motivation is this, I feel like you can get a lot of amazing things out of it, and you can have a great time and meet some great people as you go,” Abbie says.
“I just feel like there are easier ways and a less anxiety-ridden way, because I was probably in a three-month long anxiety hole.”
The promos for the new season show Abbie has eyes for Bachelorette alum Ciarran Stott – so could he break her heart all over again?
For more, pick up the latest issue of New Idea. Out now!
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