When she first stepped into the Golden Bachelor mansion, Catherine Kirwan didn’t expect to spark controversy – but her refusal to stick to the women’s newly created ‘permission to push’ rule set her apart from the start.
“That’s not my style,” Catherine, 56, tells TV WEEK. “That time with Bear [Bear Myrden, the Golden Bachelor] is really short and precious, so that new rule didn’t sit well with me.”
The interior designer from Sydney explains that some of the women set the rule when she wasn’t around and, while it was designed to ensure everyone got a chance to chat to Bear uninterrupted, she didn’t fully understand it, so she refused to compromise her values and continued to approach Bear whenever she saw fit.
“There are 20 of us in the house,” she says. “We’re all going to have different views and opinions. Most of the women supported me, but some didn’t.”
Despite the tension, Catherine says there was genuine sisterhood in the mansion – even during moments of emotion at the first group date of the season, which we see this week.
“Shamsie was quite emotional,” Catherine recalls. “There were obviously a few things that reminded her of a past experience.”
Catherine has also had her fair share of emotional times in her life, having married and divorced twice. She has managed to maintain great friendships with both of her exes, despite some tough times.
“I first married my childhood sweetheart,” Catherine explains. “But over time I wanted more. And with my second husband a few things broke along the way.”
Catherine, who is from a big Greek family, found healing through fitness. “My fitness journey really escalated while my marriage was in turmoil and breaking down around me,” she says.
“I went from not going into a gym for 30 years to doing a bodybuilding competition at 55. I felt incredibly empowered.”
Today Catherine feels stronger than ever – she is just missing having a permanent ‘plus one’, and now she’s searching for him in a very unique way.
Will she find him in Bear?
