Bachelor Locky Gilbert faces fan backlash over rumours he dumped his Survivor ex for the dating show

Fans have questioned new Bachelor Locklan ‘Locky’ Gilbert’s intentions after his seemingly abrupt breakup with Survivor co-star Brooke Jowett.  

Brooke had suggested a relationship with Locky was ‘still on the cards’ just days before the official announcement – and appeared to be blindsided by the news.

‘Obviously that’s the past for a reason,’ Locky told Brisbane radio station Hit105 on Wednesday, as he continues to brush off questions surrounding their split.

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Locklan and Brooke had spoken on Instagram before meeting and becoming close in Fiji during their Australian Survivor: All Stars stint in 2019. 

In a chat with TV Week on Monday, Melbourne-based personal trainer Brooke claimed since filming wrapped in September they had tried their best to keep the romance going.

‘He’s in Perth and Bali, and I’m in Melbourne. His work means he’d want me to go to him, but I won’t leave my family and my dog. I’m also really focused on my career.

She added, seemingly positive about a potential future with Locky: ‘We haven’t completely written it off, it’s just very complicated with the distance.’    

On Instagram on Tuesday night, hours before Locky’s Bachelor news broke, Brooke shared a sweet post labelling Locky her ‘ride or die’ and ‘the greatest big manly blanket I could have asked for’.

When fans began commenting things like ‘so sad’, ‘you could totally take those [Bachelor] girls down’ and ‘I bet you voted him out’, Brooke was seen ‘liking’ the comments. 

One fan Tweeted at Brooke on Wednesday: ‘Locky gets voted out of @Survivor_AU last night and this morning is announced as the new Bachelor. Poor Brooke.’ 

Brooke responded with a comedic clip of The Simpson’s Milhouse looking lonely while playing with a frisbee by himself, captioning it: ‘Me as of today.’ 

Entertainment reporter Peter Ford sensationally claimed on Twitter on Wednesday that Locky had told friends in Perth that he had joined the dating franchise ‘purely for publicity and fame’.

He also suggested Locky would be bringing an ex-girlfriend on the show, so they could ‘reunite’. 

Locky was given an opportunity to respond to the allegations on hit 107 Adelaide’s Bec & Cosi show, to which he claimed they were entirely false.

‘I don’t know where he’s (Ford) getting that from… Obviously a whole lot of stuff is going to come out but I’m definitely in it for the right reasons.

‘I don’t know how I can bring my ex-girlfriend along — I’m pretty sure she’s dating someone else,’ he added.

It followed Locky’s Survivor co-star Mat Rogers jokingly accusing the star of joining The Bachelor franchise for financial reasons.

Speaking to Hit 90.9 Gold Coast’s Breakfast with Lise, Sarah, Dan & Ben, he said: ‘There’s probably a lot of reasons (he accepted to appear on The Bachelor), and they’re all dollars.’  

On Hit105’s Stav, Abby and Matt on Wednesday, he also revealed he wouldn’t be deleting his history with Brooke, or other exes, from his Instagram timeline.

‘I know people do go back and cull all their images, but that was a good time in my life and i don’t want to just delete that from my memory.

‘Obviously that’s the past for a reason, and this is the future.’ 

Locky also dated Love Island star Jordan Cayless until mid-2019, with photos from a 2018 holiday to Bali together still on his feed. 

Speaking honestly about why his previous romances have ended, he told KIIS FM’s Kyle And Jackie ‘O’ Show it was because he’s ‘too excitable’.

‘I get an idea and I just run with it, I don’t really think about the consequences. If I want to go off on an expedition for three months, i’ll go do it,’ he explained.

‘I need to find someone to reign me in.’

The 2020 Bachelor Australia is likely to debut in July/August on Channel 10