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Meet the first batch of Kiwi men who’ll be vying for The Bachelorette’s affections

Let the sweepstakes begin!
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A builder, a student and a personal trainer feature in the line-up of contenders for New Zealand’s hotly anticipated first season of The Bachelorette.

The reality TV show kicks off on January 27 and TVNZ has released details on eight of the 22 bachelors who will compete for bachelorette Lesina Nakhid-Schuster’s love.

If you’re into star signs, you’ll also note that a disproportionate number of Tauruses have made it onto the show.

Lesina is a Taurus too, and horoscope enthusiasts agree that Earth signs (Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn) “vibe best” with other Earth and Water signs: Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces.

Lesina is a 32-year-old Auckland-based doctor who has dabbled in acting. She has been single “for a while” after a seven-year relationship ended. After completing her medical degree in 2012 she moved to Australia where her focus was her career. She worked as a locum and has now returned home to find love.

She hopes to meet someone driven, kind and good in the kitchen. A love of travel wouldn’t go amiss.

She believes in “something at first sight” and her only deal breaker would be that her future partner needs to share her desire to have kids.

With no further ado, let’s get into who Lesina’s contenders are:

Aaron McNabb

Food technology teacher from Hamilton

Taurus

Aaron, 27, is a “bit of a romantic” who has been single for about 12 months. The longest relationship he’s ever had lasted a year and he has two ex girlfriends. He is “sick of the dating scene”.

When he kept getting tagged in the memes circulating about the show he decided he might as well apply, “so it was probably a bit of peer pressure”.

His celebrity crush is Kate Hudson and he’s spent a bit of time travelling; he worked in American summer camps for three years.

Aaron is aiming to achieve a little personal development on the show. As well as finding ‘the one’ he also hopes to learn more about himself so he can be better in relationships in the future.

Originally from Tauranga, Aaron is quick to point out that if he makes it to home town visit stage, he’ll definitely be showing Lesina around Tauranga, not Hamilton. Smart guy.

Elliott Gilchrist

Painting company owner from Wanaka

Aries

Elliott, 32, is into magic so we’re looking forward to watching him pull a few rabbits out of the hat.

Always up for an adventure and one to not take life too seriously, he admits he loves to have a good time and “a bit of a party”.

His celebrity crush is Ariana Grande and he had never watched a season of The Bachelorette before signing up for the show.

Our quesion is, is Elliott over his first love?

“My first girlfriend was a long-term one, five years, and that sort of set the bar,” he says. “Since then, I’ve not met anyone who’s matched up.”

Will Lesina make the grade?

Flynn Palmer

Student/track and field athlete from Auckland

Taurus

If Flynn already looks familiar to you it’s because he is the series’ wildcard. Radio station ZM did a call-out for a wildcard to enter and the public voted Flynn the winner.

Flynn is a model by day. At 20, he admits he’s “still quite young” but is nevertheless looking for someone to “do life with”.

His celebrity crush is Emily Ratajkowski and his longest relationship lasted 10 months.

“It ended about a year and a half ago,” Flynn explains. “We just grew apart and I was going to go to Europe for four months to train.”

The pair remain good friends.

Glenn Richards

Personal trainer from Auckland

Cancer Leo (on the cusp)

Glenn, 28, is the proud owner of a rock-hard set of abs and he’s hoping that these, combined with his confidence and larger-than-life personality, will win Lesina over.

Glenn has tried dating the “norm” way and is excited at the prospect of giving something different a go. He even likes the whole idea of the show’s elimination process and the ceremony of the rose ceremonies.

His celebrity crush is Scarlett Johannsson and he’s ideally looking for someone to travel with.

Glenn is admirably open about the fact he went through a period of depression after coming out of a three-year relationship in his early 20s.

“But that led me to be the strongest version of myself, through self–development and working on myself.”

Jonathan Wedge

Designer from Auckland

Libra

Jonathan, 26, is at that point in his life where he wants to get married and have a family.

He admits to having had his heart broken before but is excited at the prospect of finding true love.

While he fears his mum might be a bit skeptical about the concept of finding it on a reality TV show, overall his family is right behind him.

His celebrity crush is girl-next-door Jennifer Aniston and his secret weapon in his quest to win Lesina’s heart? Barry the pug dog. Awww.

Kurt Johnston

Business development manager from Auckland

Taurus

We sure hope Lesina is a Warriors fan because first and foremost on Kurt’s mind is the prospect of taking his dream girl to a Warriors game.

Kurt, 30, even has an impressive collection of Warriors memorabilia to show her.

Not one to be stereotyped, however, Kurt also likes to bake. According to his profile, Kurt takes to the kitchen to create sweet treats whenever he’s stressed.

Having never watched a series of The Bachelorette before, Kurt was put forward for the show by someone else.

“So it came as a bit of a shock when I got the phone call asking if I wanted to complete it!” he laughs.

However, he was looking for a new challenge after dedicating recent months to taking on opponents in the boxing ring he says, “This was the perfect opportunity to get out of my comfort zone”.

A self-confessed “hopeless romantic” whose longest relationship lasted seven years, Kurt says, “The ideal outcome would be to find someone to spend the rest of my life with and create memories with.”

Liam Cochrane

Product development manager from Perth

Scorpio

Liam, 28, may have spent most of his time living across the ditch, but he was born in Hawkes Bay and has returned home to find love.

He says he “puts a lot of pressure on relationships and strives to have his partners live life to the fullest”.

Liam is ideally looking for a beach babe and if he gets the chance to plan a date with Lesina, he’d take her for a romantic picnic on the beach.

His celebrity crush is Hailey Bieber and in his spare time he and his friends like to hold gratitude circles “where we tell each other what we are grateful for”.

Steve Masters

Account manager from Auckland

Virgo

Steve, 35, is serious about finding a wife.

“That’s what we are all here for and if you’re not, then I don’t know what you’re doing,” he states.

Steve has been “a long-term relationship guy with no marriage and kids” he says of his dating history, having had two serious relationships – one lasting seven years and the other, nine.

But he’s been single for two years now and is excited at the prospect of finding new love.

The self-confessed karaoke-loving romantic values love, trust, kindness and humour in a partner and his celebrity crush is Jennifer Lawrence, who he likes because she seems down to earth.

Terence O’Brien

Builder from Waipu

Sagittarius

Terence, 25, is an adventurer who is looking for someone to share adventures with.

He’s been travelling the world for the past few years and was actually entered on the show by his sister.

“I’m the kind of person who would do alright on a show like this,” he says, though.

“I’m pretty outgoing and I’m not afraid of embarrassing myself. I think my sister wanted to make the most of that!”

Terence’s dating history is brief owing to the fact he’s never in one place longer than a couple of months.

“I’ve had one girlfriend for about five months and a couple of little flings,” he says.

‘Work hard, play hard’ is Terence’ motto in life – he’s even had the mantra tattooed on his backside.

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