While most reality TV shows are centred around scandal and drama, Beauty and the Geek is a welcomed (and very wholesome) escape.
But the show’s lovable geeks and kind-hearted beauties have left many fans wondering: Could anyone on reality TV be this nice? Or are they paid actors?
Now host Sophie Monk has set the record straight in an exclusive chat with Now To Love, saying what you see is truly what you get with the cast!
Sophie with last year’s Beauty and the Geek winners.
(Image: Nine)“The boys would be so flattered to hear that [people think they’re actors]. Someone even asked me if we geek them up more and I’ve watched their audition tapes, if anything they are less geeked up in the promo!” she tells us.
With the new season of BATG hitting screens this Sunday, Sophie teases this year’s geek makeovers will go down in the show’s history.
“They’re just so proud of themselves. Some of them have gorgeous features that they’ve either been hiding behind a beard or hair and they don’t realise,” she gushes.
“I said to one of them, ‘You could be a supermodel!’ and he goes, ‘I know, I had no idea, I look great’,”
Sophie, 42, assures us that this season’s beauties get just as much personal growth out of the show as the geeks.
Sophie says she takes on a nurturing role with this year’s beauties.
(Image: Nine)“One of the girls reveals something very intimate and I was in tears,” she confessed.
“A lot of these girls have put a wall up and identify as a bimbo because that’s how they fit in. And then they realise they can be themselves. They are just more comfortable in their own skin.”
Sophie admits she can relate to feeling lost and struggling with confidence when she was younger and just getting started in the industry.
“In your 20s you overthink everything and want to be someone else or what you think people want you to be rather than just be yourself,” she says.
Sophie teases several romances this season.
(Image: Nine)“But I think I’m more settled now so I’m more nurturing towards them.
“A lot of the girls have had really bad relationships and it’s kind of explaining to them, ‘You will move on and you will forget about that person’. I wish someone told me that.”
As for her relationships with the geeks, Sophie says they’re like family.
“They come in like I’m their friend and they’re instantly vulnerable with me because they know I want the best out of all of them,” she says.
“They just come in like I’m an aunty. I do a masterclass on how to date… It’s very cute.”
Through the years, many BATG fans have wondered if the romances that form between the beauties and the geeks are organic. And Sophie insists the connections we see are completely real!
“There’s no pressure on the romance but If I see chemistry there then we’re gonna pair them up together and see where it goes,” she laughs.
“A lot of the boys haven’t even had their first date or first kiss. But there’s a lot of romance this season – and it happens quick too!
“I think they’d love to have [romance] or just learn how [to talk to girls]. A lot of the geeks have just locked themselves away and not put themselves out there because they’re scared of being picked on.”
Sophie and Josh love watching Beauty and the Geek together.
(Image: Instagram)After recently tying the knot with her partner Joshua Gross, Sophie says watching the beloved reality show together is one of their favourite past times.
“It’s one of his favourite shows,” she says.
“I think we identify with the geeks. Even josh is like, ‘I need a makeover!’ He gets so inspired. He goes out and buys new clothes and gets a haircut.”
In fact, the whole family can’t get enough of BATG – but Sophie’s never allowed to share spoilers.
“Josh’s parents go, ‘Don’t tell us anything!’ They want to watch it and see what happens,” Sophie says.
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