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Bachelor background gets media talking

Shirtless waiter, gay mag photos, it's all ok ....as long as viewers believe the sincerity of The Bachelor.

2013-09-11_1514When TEN announced Tim Robards as its leading man for The Bachelor Australia there were media articles about his former background as a model.

Although TEN had focussed on his chiropractic career, Robards acknowledged his earlier days as a model to help pay the bills at university.

During his modelling days he’d been a cover boy on gay mag DNA and was the subject of a Tumblr fan website. Social media has even been copping an eyeful of some very exposing photos…

It’s also emerged that he was a shirtless waiter for hire with male model agency Topless Events.

Fairfax notes:

Although The Bachelor has carefully portrayed him as a simple, somewhat sheltered fellow looking for the girl of his dreams, Tim, now a chiropractor, is no stranger to the advances of massed female predators.

For a while, we both made our living attending the extravagant bashes at which this city excels. I was the Sun-Herald’s party columnist; he was one of Topless Events’ most popular assets.

On any given week you might have encountered Tim half-dressed as a sailor, doctor, teacher, cop, gladiator, lifesaver; painted gold, adorned with feathers or glitter; scrawled on or daubed; in a cage, on a podium. He was an obliging and fetching canvas.

More importantly it notes he was also popular and presented well.

Sarah Smith, a Sydney-based nurse, fondly recalls Tim as the highlight of her 2009 hens’ night. “He was our topless cocktail waiter, wearing just a bow tie and pants,” she says.

“He gave the best shoulder rubs, and some of the girls enjoyed doing shots off his chest. We were all struck by what a gentleman he was; he made everyone feel very special. The girls all raved about him afterwards.”

It’s a pretty safe bet that both TEN and Shine would have scrutinised their man pretty thoroughly, after all there’s a lot of money riding on this show. His background as a model, whether for underwear shots or shirtless parties, would be well-known to those that matter.

What it does allude to however, is the sincerity of the subject. If Robards has been looking for a career profile -and that’s an assumption- viewers may doubt whether he is indeed looking for love or just looking for fame. For the show to work, it’s integral that they buy into the former.

Many straight models have appeared in gay magazine photo shoots, so there’s nothing salacious there. But if it emerges he went home with the stylist there could be a problem (and no, I’m not hinting at anything).

So far it seems he’s caught the eye of a few journos without digging up too much dirt. Getting some chatter out there is good for the show.

Now he just needs to get a few more viewers on board.

5 Responses

  1. @J Bar – There’s only one person in the photo that’s being talked about. It’s not the photo linked above. The Age couldn’t print the others. And it’s quite a bit more than ‘topless’ (although ‘not much’, if you get the drift). LOL.
    “…a model to help pay the bills..” Riiiight. How many times have I heard that. “I was young…I needed the money”.

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