The Bachelor In Paradise has been thrown into a huge scandal by former contestant Brett Moore – who has lashed out at the allegedly false way he was depicted on the show, claiming that producers have seriously misled viewers. It’s a claim that producers Warner Bros. have this morning been forced to publicly deny.
Taking to Instagram after his scandalous ejection from the show – where he was arguably depicted as a dishonest scammer who had supposedly gone on the show while having a girlfriend back home – a furious Brett now wants ‘the truth’ to be known.
Confirming he is indeed in a relationship with Stephanie Boulton, he says the truth of the situation was very different to the way it was depicted on the show.
Claiming that both he and Stephanie were approached to go on the show while in the early days of their relationship, he suggests producers knew all along that they were an item, and indicates that the expectation was that they would play out their romance on TV.
‘IMAGINE: you were in the really early days of dating someone and after a hectic year filming two tv series – along with some personal travel – leaving little time together since meeting,’ he wrote on Instagram.
‘IMAGINE: you were both asked to then go on a show in Fiji, sip cocktails with your mates from the last two series and, more importantly, spend time with THE girl your interested in, all the while being paid.
‘Then imagine you arrived on the island first, her contract only then to be ripped up; leaving it too look like you went on a dating show without her.
‘Imagine then airing it too Australia portraying you as a s*** bloke and as always, forever putting production over humanity, despite never changing our story that we had been seeing each other in the lead up and couldn’t wait to be reunited in Fiji.
‘Now you have “reality” TV.’
Stephanie has backed up Brett’s claims, telling Kyle and Jackie O: ‘They already knew about me and Brett.’
‘I actually got the call first for Bachelor In Paradise, and I first said no, and they already knew about me and Brett.
‘Later Brett texted me and said he just got a call for Bachelor In Paradise, and I was like “Sorry? I just told them no because I’m with you”.
‘Then it turned out they were interested in him going on the show, so I texted back to them and said “Hey, I spoke to Brett…I’m keen too. (So) we both got casted.’
Production company Warner Bros. has denied Brett and Stephanie’s allegations that producers knew the couple were an item, claiming, ‘Once it was confirmed during filming that Brett and Stephanie were actually dating, Stephanie was no longer eligible for the show.’
Producers also cast doubt on the couple’s claims about how they came to be cast on the show.
‘Being single and available to find love is a prerequisite for being on Bachelor in Paradise. Brett and Steph were originally contacted as individuals but said they were seeing each other, so we wished them the best and moved on. They both then separately contacted us saying they were now in a position to go on the show, we had no reason to doubt what they said was true.’
This article originally appeared on New Idea.