Two lucky singles had the unique opportunity to find love while being filmed in what is set to be Hawke’s Bay’s first reality dating series.
For the two contestants, who met with numerous people wanting to win their hearts rather than with each other, the experience was about weeding out the weak and finding a potential love match.
Michaela Gower spoke to bachelor Levi Zuscar and bachelorette Paige Wilson about their experience on The Bay-chelor.
Levi Zuscar, a retail worker and author, had a clear outline of the woman he wanted to find when he signed up for a show called The Bay-chelor.
Firstly, he wanted a “traditional” woman who pushed herself, as he chose to focus on internal rather than external qualities throughout his selection.
“For me, it’s more about the internal workings of the girl than the external. I like a girl that has some sort of self-worth and respect.”
The 26-year-old felt his single relationship status was the result of a decision to travel the country and focus on himself.
The former military man also said a generational problem with social media didn’t help in his quest for love.
“If you look at the past and how we used to date, you would have friendships and relationships with women, you would have them in your day-to-day life.”
Based at Westshore, he never pursued love through online platforms; rather, he felt the strongest relationships were found when he wasn’t looking.
Zuscar was selected for The Bay-chelor and said it was his tough yet compassionate personality that won him the spot on the show.
He was pleased with the variety of contestants he could select from — he had meetings with eight women — and said a diverse range of jobs and ethnicities were represented.
However, he faced an unexpected challenge with a week-long wait to see his matches between weekend shoots.
Despite the wait, he said finding love was important because he wanted to fulfil a “male role” and provide and care for a family while “pursuing excellence with a partner”.
Paige Wilson is a hairdresser from Hastings who decided to apply to be The Bay-chelorette when her sister tagged her in a social media post.
She was motivated by other friends settling down and starting long-term relationships.
The 22-year-old said she didn’t expect to be chosen and, when she found out, decided to see where it would take her.
“I was quite shocked to be honest, I didn’t expect it — I’m just a small-town girl.”
Wilson, who described herself as a bubbly comedienne, had been single for over a year and defined her type as “tall, tan, and active”.
“I want to start setting myself up for the future. Being able to experience life with someone by my side is important so I can share the moments with them.”
Wilson, who said she cherished relationships, looked for a match that could hold a conversation, had similar interests to hers, was family oriented, and emotionally available.
“Some of the conversations ran pretty dry, pretty quick. It would have been good to keep them talking.”
When asked if she had found love with one of the five men that she met, Wilson was hesitant to reveal too much information.
“I guess you will just have to wait and find out.”
The Bay-chelor is the brainchild of 25-year-old Hawke’s Bay man Cameron Wattam, who decided to have some fun with it when his friends complained of nothing to do in the region.
With the popularity of reality TV shows such as Love Island and Heartbreak Island, he decided it was time to bring his own unique version of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette to Hawke’s Bay.
The show had Paige meeting five men and Levi meeting eight women, due to the fact more women had expressed an interest than men in the application process.
The show is now being edited and will be available to watch on YouTube on the channel Chasinglife365 in the next few months.
Michaela Gower joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2023 and is based out of the Hastings and Central Hawke’s Bay newsrooms. She covers Dannevirke and Hawke’s Bay news and has a love for sharing stories about farming and rural communities.
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