Over a year after it was first announced, Channel 9’s brand new reality show The Golden Bachelor finally premiered on Monday night. The series, which was hugely popular in the US, follows 61-year-old widower Barry ‘Bear’ Myrden as he dates a group of 20 mature-aged women in the hopes of finding love for a second time.
The Golden Bachelor is also hosted by Samantha Armytage, who recently told Yahoo Lifestyle that she believes the show is “absolutely going to resonate with Australians” on an emotional level. While viewers took to social media during the episode to praise the women and their moving backstories, many people said they thought it was “strange” that Australia’s first Golden Bachelor is originally from Canada.
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“Why is the Australian Golden Bachelor NOT AUSTRALIAN?” one person wrote, while another agreed, “I actually thought the same thing. They couldn’t find an Aussie?”.
“Look, love him. I’m sure he’s a great man… but why have we got a Canadian as the Aussie Golden Bachelor?” a third shared.
“Clearly the producers think we don’t have any polished suave Australian men in Australia,” a different user remarked.
“Golden Bachelor Australia, so they have an American/Canadian speaking guy,” someone else commented in reference to his strong accent.
However, others pointed out that Bear has been in Australia for over 20 years and raised his three sons here, and he very much deserves to find love following his wife’s passing 14 years ago from cancer.
Barry ‘Bear’ Myrden has been cast as the first-ever Golden Bachelor. Photo: Channel 9
Bear reveals what he’s looking for in a partner
Bear told Yahoo Lifestyle at the show’s launch event on Monday that he only gave one ‘dealbreaker’ to producers before they began casting the women.
“The only thing pre-shoot we talked about was I said that I’m active and I like sport and I like skiing and sailing, so it would have to be someone who can keep up with me, and I think the producers did a great job,” he said.
“I said other than that, you get beautiful women all shapes and sizes — you’ve just got to put yourself out there, it’s not too late.”
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Does Bear find love on the show?
Bear remained tight-lipped when asked about his current relationship status, but said that he was sure to follow the advice former Bachelor Matty ‘J’ Johnson offered him at the 2025 Logies.
“He just said ‘Follow your heart’, and that’s what I did and I made the right decision,” he teased.
The Golden Bachelor airs Monday and Tuesday on Channel 9 and 9Now at 7:30pm
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