Former professional soccer player and The Bachelorette Australia runner-up Michael Turnbull may have found himself a new leading lady.
The 36-year-old was left heartbroken in 2015 when Bachelorette Sam Frost sent him home from the reality show.
Since The Bachelorette Australia, Michael tells TV WEEK he’s had little to do with Sam, 28, who now has a role in Home And Away.
“I haven’t spoken to her,” he says. “We’re not really mates.”
“We don’t text or talk,” Michael says of Sam.
But Michael reveals his time on Bachelor In Paradise in Fiji has led to a special connection with Tara Pavlovic – a contestant on The Bachelor Australia in 2017.
“I spend a lot of time with Tara,” he says. “We were attracted to each other straight away.”
Michael says that while other women on the show caught his eye, he was happiest with Tara, 28.
“She’s an incredible woman – and a bit of a bogan!” he laughs. “We just clicked.”
But after having his hopes crushed by Sam, Michael won’t be putting his heart on the line so readily.
“If I’m going to tell someone I love them, I have to really mean it,” he says.
“I know I said it to Sam, and at that moment I was in love. But I wasn’t going to do the same in Paradise.
“I was mindful emotions get multiplied [on the show] and had to be careful.”
He says he is loving his time in Paradise.
However, Michael says putting himself out there a second time is worth it.
“It wasn’t an easy decision to make but I had so much fun the first time around, so it was a bit of a risk but I’m definitely glad I did it. I had so much fun once again,” he tells Now To Love.
“It was a really positive experience for me and I’m happy with how it panned out, I couldn’t be happier.”
As for finding love the second time around, Michael reveals he is no longer single.
“I’m very, very happy and I do have someone very special,” he says.
