‘The Bachelor Australia’ contestant Areeba Emmanuel has said she’s very proud to be representing her South Asian culture on screen and hopes she can set an example to others in her community.
“It was an honour to be the first Pakistani girl on The Bachelor and national TV,” the 25-year-old told The Liverpool City Champion.
The home loan officer from Sydney said many Pakistani women don’t audition for reality dating shows for various reasons.
“Girls from my country don’t really get to do something like this, or they don’t think they are good enough to do something like this,” she said.
“I want everyone to be inspired and motivated by me, and do whatever they want and not be scared about what ‘other people’ have to say.”
Last month ‘Bachelor In Paradise’ contestant Niranga Amarasinghe encouraged people of colour to audition for dating shows and offered his advice to Areeba.
“The best advice I can give is keep your friends close and your enemies closer throughout this experience, Areeba,” Niranga said during an Instagram Q&A on Wednesday.
“Go enjoy your time, but if you need any help, reach out. I’ll support you where I can.”
He also spoke about being “the only male POC” on ‘Bachelor in Paradise’ this year.
“I had an amazing experience. Everyone’s so respectful,” he said, encouraging other culturally diverse people to apply for the show.
“But if you’re sitting on the fence and you’re a person of colour and not knowing whether you should do it or not, I highly recommend you do it because you’re going to have a lot of support behind you.”
Areeba was one of 20 women who entered the ‘Bachelor’ mansion last week in a bid to find love with former ‘Survivor’ star, Locky Gilbert.
Since then, she’s been one of the most talked-about contestants thanks to her willingness to push the boundaries and speak her mind.
She told The Liverpool City Champion that the only season of ‘The Bachelor’ that she previously watched was Matt Agnew’s last year because she had already been selected for the 2020 series.
‘The Bachelor Australia’ airs Wednesday and Thursday at 7:30pm on Channel 10.