'It was full on': Bachelor In Paradise's Florence defends rowdy debut
The most surprising thing about Sunday night's Bachelor In Paradise debut was not that two contestants hooked up mere minutes into proceedings, but that Florence Moerenhout took centre-stage.
The Dutch 27-year-old, among Matty J's final brush-offs in last season's series, found herself caught in a love quadrangle and the episode's most dramatic scene, confronting old flame Jake Ellis over his, uh, "Gold Coast reputation".
"I was definitely not expecting that," she laughs over the phone.
"I thought in the first week of shooting I'd just have fun, try to get to know people, see where it's all going – but the drama started straight away, it was full on," she says.
Ten's producers, it seems, did their off-screen research.
That reality trash is nothing but manipulated theatrics is the go-to criticism from its haters, but the inspired casting made for a riveting cringe-watch – the kinda moment that makes viewers gleefully think, "Ah, I don't know why you'd do that on TV...".
Flo made her mark on the Bachelor In Paradise debut.
"I was completely sober! So was he, it was the beginning of the night," Flo says, when pressed on her confrontational one-on-one over Jake's off-screen antics.
"It's just that I'm very straightforward. If I hear stories about a person, I'd rather confront them then just assume things. That's why I went up to him: 'Oi, mate! I heard this...'. And then it just escalated, as per usual."
She says she has no regrets over labelling the dude a "man-whore" on national television.
"I stand by what I said. Look, Jake is a good person. It's just that if you like someone and you're considering being with them and your friends are like 'No don't, he's so bad...', it's disturbing. It's just shit you need to suss out before you start a relationship," she says.
"I told him it's not illegal to be a man-whore, that's up to you. If you want to live your life like that, that's fine. But it's up to me to decide if I want to be a part of that lifestyle."
Flo and Davey as part of Bachelor In Paradise's love quadrangle.
While reluctant to give away details from Monday night's first rose ceremony, Flo says she's remained close with Jake – and Davey and Leah, the other clunky wheels in Sunday's awkward 'love square' – since shooting ended in Fiji.
"Jake and I are both quite fiery people. And everyone should have those types of conversations more often – communication is key, and just because you're arguing it doesn't mean you can't get along," she says.
Ten's anticipated spin-off made a solid if not MAFS-level debut on Sunday, pulling in 750,000 viewers across the five major capital cities to win its timeslot.
The series faces off against Seven's Australian Spartan and Nine's Young Sheldon on Monday night from 7.30pm.