Moses Mackay to be New Zealand's next Bachelor. Video / TVNZ
New Zealand's next Bachelor has been revealed, and he's a very familiar face.
Moses Mackay of Sol3 Mio fame and co-host of Flava's Breakfast show will be dishing out roses in the hope he meets someone special on the new season of The Bachelor NZ.
Speaking to the Herald, Mackay spoke about the moment he decided to go on the fourth season of the reality show - and it wasn't an instant yes.
"Definitely not. That was the first thought that came through my head when I got the phone call," Mackay says.
However, the 30-year-old musician changed his tune when he thought more about the opportunity and putting himself out there, plus the pandemic means he is not travelling as much playing international gigs.
Moses Mackay says his bandmates "laughed and laughed" when he told them he was asked to go on The Bachelor NZ. Photo / Supplied
"I sat with it, I processed it, and thought, 'life is about adventures, so why not?'"
He admits his bandmates and cousins Pene and Amitai had quite the laugh when he told them the news.
"They laughed, and they laughed, and they urged me to do it. Mainly because they wanted to watch the show and laugh," but adds his Sol3 Mio bandmates are "100 per cent supportive" of his decision to go on the show.
This particular adventure will see Mackay look for love in a very public way, but in some ways, he is used to the spotlight. Mackay competed on Celebrity Treasure Island in 2019 and it gave him a taste of being on reality television.
"I don't have any control over how I get portrayed," he says, speaking about his attitude going into filming the show.
"I just told myself, 'if I'm just me', all they can portray is the version of me that they see."
When asked if there's a serenade in store when he meets his special someone on the show, Mackay admits he has not watched The Bachelorette NZ, the female-led version of the show screening now, so can't speak to the unsuccessful song from this season.
"With me being me, you're probably going to hear me sing!"
Will Moses Mackay serenade someone special on the show? Photo / Supplied
Mackay shares he has been in love before, so he knows how it feels when he connects with someone special.
"A lot of creatives will connect with this - we live a very unique life I suppose," Mackay adds.
"I'm thankful enough that I've travelled the world and I've seen a lot of cool things and performed all over the place. I've potentially not had a lot of time to give to being in a relationship.
"I feel like I spend a lot of time giving to my family, and my friends and I'm always giving to other people.
"But I've never really given myself the chance to be in love.
"I know what the feeling is. So I'm not shooting in the dark. But, life does this thing where you kind of move on and you grow, you evolve. So yeah, so now I ended up doing a TV show, which is still bizarre to me!"
What is Moses looking for on The Bachelor?
Mackay has given readers some idea of the kind of woman he is looking for on the show.
"For me, I look for kindness and compassion, and all those wonderful traits in people."
"I'm quite an empathetic person, so I can pick up when someone's just not really viable."
He tells the Herald his ideal first date is one where two people can get to know each other well, and is not a fan of going to the movies for a first date for that reason.
Instead, a "cool dinner or adventure" is more his style.
Art Green is returning to host the new season, following his hosting gig on The Bachelorette NZ season two, which is streaming now. He married Matilda Green (nee Rice), who he met on the first season of the NZ version of the franchise.
If he finds the right spark and perhaps some soulful singing, Mackay might be lucky in love too.
• The Bachelor New Zealand premieres on Tuesday, March 2, at 7.30pm on TVNZ 2, and tune in to hear Sol3 Mio weekday mornings on Flava's breakfast show.
Can't get enough of The Bachelorette NZ on TVNZ 2?
Catch up with ZM's Carwen Jones and Celia Whitley as they break it all down in the official podcast, Can I Steal You For A Second? After each episode airs, join the girls as they do a recap and dissect what's going on. They're the binge-watching friends you never knew you needed.
