Married At First Sight star Sam Stanton has addressed the social media campaign to have him cast on The Bachelor, as scores of fans continue to urge him to join the rival dating show.
ICYMI, Sam became a fan favourite on the current MAFS season in the midst of a tumultuous on-screen relationship with Chris Robinson that ended after a frosty Home Stay and Commitment Ceremony last week.
Naturally, Sam leaving the experiment single had some fans eager for him to find love elsewhere on reality TV, with a TikTok suggesting he join The Bachelor going viral last week.
“The least we can do for him, after subjecting him to the torture that is being married to Chris on Married at First Sight, is give him his own damn show where he can date like 20 men and pick the one that’s nicest to him,” TikToker Bella Hodgman said.
The efforts were given a boost when Sam reshared the TikTok clip and @MAFSfunny, a popular social media page dissecting the show, claimed producers at Channel 10, the network behind The Bachelor, had “seen the demand”.
But before you go prepping those roses, Sam has poured cold water on the Bachie rumours. “Please stop tagging me in this,” the reality star said in a TikTok on Tuesday.
“I was an anxious wreck dating one guy on television, imagine if I had to date 10 guys at once,” Sam said. “I’m not doing it.”
Sam elaborated on his thoughts in a statement to PEDESTRIAN.TV, saying the fan support is “flattering” but The Bachelor isn’t his cup of tea.
“Unfortunately dating more than one guy at a time is something I’m not interested in,” Sam told us.
However, you shouldn’t count Sam out of reality TV altogether, because he did tease he’d be open to shows that “feel right and align with where I’m at”, like The Traitors or Survivor.
“Never say never to reality TV, but I don’t think I want to go through a relationship on TV again,” Sam said.
Though Sam went ahead and debunked it, the campaign might’ve been doomed from the jump for a few reasons.
For starters, Sam’s casting would mark a bold leap for the Aussie Bachie-verse since it has never had a gay male lead, but there’s also the fact that… it simply doesn’t exist.
Channel 10 announced the cancellation of the series in 2024, and we’ve only gotten the spinoff The Golden Bachelor since then.
Perhaps in a few decades time, Sam can front that show, but given his whirlwind reality TV experience — complete with brutal unseen moments, broken friendships and a truly problematic fellow participant — he’d be forgiven for leaving TV screens forever.
In the meantime, we can still watch the remaining MAFS participants on the current season, which is expected to wrap up after a Final Vows ceremony next week.
Lead images: Channel 9 and TikTok
