When 29-year-old Michael Frood made his Bachelorette debut last month, he said he was looking for respect in a potential partner.
He wanted to find someone who was “willing to step out of the comfort zone.”
What he got instead was a leading lady who not only struggled to leave her comfort zone, but wouldn’t let him leave the bachelorette mansion either.
Rather than the adventure of a lifetime he’d dreamed about, Michael found himself holed up inside an Argentinian compound waiting for a chance to get to know bachelorette Lesina. A chance that would never eventuate.
Last night, after 15 days of waiting and still no single date, Michael put his foot down, he’d had enough.
“How can you let someone go this far into the process without ever having a one-on-one date? It blows my mind,” said Michael, clearly frustrated by his experience.
“I feel like I’m stuck in a limbo.”
While he’d spent short bursts of time with Lesina during group dates, Michael felt that a lack of quality time was getting in the way of him forming a deeper connection with the bachelorette. Which isn’t unreasonable, given we are one week out from home town dates.
“I’ve got to know her as much as I can on obviously a social level or a group level and I’m stuck there. I need to go into a date and start moving forward on a private level and if she’s not interested then send me home,” he explained.
Hoping to get some clarity on his situation, Michael voiced his frustrations to Lesina at the cocktail party.
“I’ve been here for a little while now and I developed to like you, and I’ve developed feelings for you and to not go on these dates when all these other guys have gone on a couple of dates, it’s really emotionally draining.
“I’m not an angry person but it gets to the point where I’m like why am I here? I know you’ve said to me a few times everybody’s gonna get a fair chance and stuff I just feel like I haven’t had a chance at all.”
The straight-talking Dargaville based kumara farmer made it clear to Lesina that while he wanted to make a go of it with her, if she didn’t feel a connection she should make her intentions clear and set him free.
“I’ve been mucked around enough in my life. This is not the story I wanted at all.”
Although Lesina sympathised with Michael’s predicament she seemed unwilling to provide him with any answers.
“l can totally see that you’re really upset by it and I’m really sorry, that wasn’t my intention.
“Thank you for being honest, can I take what you’ve said and go and think about it?” Lesina asked.
However she was more forthcoming in her to camera interview.
“I’ve taken Michael on almost all of the group dates and I didn’t see a spark big enough that I felt warranted a single date,” she justified.
Later in the evening when speaking to host Art Green and fellow bachelorette Lily McManus, Lesina opened up more about how she felt about Michael’s confrontation.
“It’s interesting because if he has developed feelings for me we must have spent enough time together, or he doesn’t really have true feelings and he’s not being that honest. So I don’t really know what to make of Michael,” Lesina revealed.
Safe to say Michael’s questions took Lesina by surprise.
Sensing that the bachelorette was never going to give him a fair suck on the kumara, Michael took actions into his own hands, interrupting the rose ceremony to reveal he was bowing out from the competition.
“I’m sorry, I feel I haven’t been given the respect I deserve. So with that I’m ending my journey,” he announced.
“I feel that if I’m not getting the respect from day one how are we going to build a relationship on anything?
“Enough’s enough for me. My journey’s done I feel I’ve given 100 per cent and that’s the end of the road for me.”
Fellow bachelor Richie Boyens agreed that Lesina had treated Michael poorly.
“Michael’s a very great honest guy and he hasn’t had that one-on-one chance to show Lesina that he cares for her.
“He would have given it his all if Lesina had given him a chance and he didn’t get that.”
So how does Lesina feel about Michael’s decision to leave?
“I felt a moment of relief when Michael did that. It was really hard and he made that decision so I guess I don’t have to make that decision.”
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