Viewers of The Bachelorette Australia 2020 will no doubt recall the end of the season premiere, when contestant Ab Sow walked out, declining Becky Miles’ rose and leaving the audience gobsmacked.
At the time, Ab’s first night walk-out was seemingly due to him not having felt a spark with the 30-year-old Miles sister.
“Becky, I’m really sorry,” the Brisbane-based Bachelorette contestant said in the rose ceremony.
“You’re an absolutely beautiful girl but, unfortunately, I cannot accept this rose.”
He then took Becky away from the rose ceremony, where he admitted that he didn’t see a future for them.
“I just don’t think I’m the right person for you,” he said.
“It’s only right that I’m honest with you now instead of only letting you know down the road.”
Becky took the rejection in her stride, and thanked him for his honesty.
“I really appreciate your honesty,” she replied.
Well, at least, that’s how it seemed.
Becky has since claimed that Ab actually left the show for an entirely different reason. Speaking to The Babble podcast with former Bachelor Matty J and co-host Ruby on October 9, the Bachelorette revealed that Ab’s reason for leaving apparently had nothing to do with a lack of connection.
On the podcast, Becky explained that Ab told her off-camera that he just “wasn’t ready for love” with anybody.
“You could just tell by the look on his face. He said, ‘watching you girls do your speech tonight, I realise that I’m not ready for love. I couldn’t continue on this journey knowing how I felt’,” said Becky.
“We were really glad he was honest, as then we were able to spend more time with the other guys who were there wanting to get to know us.”
According to The Wash, Ab’s ‘sudden’ exit was no surprise to the other contestants or producers, despite how it appeared on screen, as the premiere was actually filmed over the course of two nights.
Per the reality TV-dedicated outlet, Ab spent the whole day contemplating leaving the series while discussing his decision with the rest of the contestants.
“The red carpet arrivals were filmed on July 29 and lasted until around 3am, and then the rose ceremony was shot the next night on July 30. So by that point, the guys had already spent their first night in the mansion together and become friendly. Producers just had everyone put the same clothes back on for continuity,” their source revealed.
“Ab spent the whole day discussing his decision with the boys before filming the rose ceremony, explaining how he felt no connection to either Elly or Becky the night before. They all begged him to stay and hoped he’d change his mind—but he was done. Afterwards they kept saying he’s ‘noble as fuck’ for actually quitting, rather than sticking around for the sake of it.
“He got to say goodbye to all of the boys before heading home and was more bothered about leaving them behind, than Elly and Becky.”
