OK! Magazine Australia — October 16, 2017

enthusiastic approach to dating Sophie Monk

• and he’s far from happy about it.
  Along with enduring online trolls, the
  31-year-old tells OK! he’s received prank calls.
  ‘I had a guy ring up the vineyard asking me
  to blow his tyres up,’ Jarrod recalls of the night
  the show’s ‘real man’ episode – which saw him
  go ‘Robocop’ changing a car tyre – went to air.
  However, while he’s holding his head high
  in the face of some intense criticism, Jarrod’s
  family is worried. ‘[Mum] probably wants to
  jump through the phone or social media and
  physically bitch-slap everyone who is saying
  nasty things about her son, but Mum’s loving
  and caring and just calls me twice a day to
  make sure it’s all good,’ he shares.
  Here, Jarrod talks about his ‘clinger’ status
  and starting a family wine label with Sophie!

You’re the talk of the town at the moment!

I’m enjoying every moment of it. Watching the

show, I’m like, ‘Hold on a second, a lot more

‘I don’t think anything I’ve done is stalker-

worthy at all,’ insists Jarrod, who appears

to have taken up smoking (just like Soph!)

despite previously saying he ‘hates’ the

habit. ‘All I’ve done is made sure I’m on

Sophie’s radar... It’s hard because it’s not

like I’ve abused anyone, belted someone

or said something about Sophie... but

you get judged,’ he explains. And who

can blame him? Especially considering

Sophie’s had a terrifying ordeal with a

cyber-stalker in the past. A Tasmanian

court found James Scott McCabe guilty

of harassing the songstress from 2010 to

2013 with hundreds of violent and sexually

suggestive social media messages. Scary!

‘I’M NOT A STALKER’

happened there!’ But on the positive side, I’m

getting more air time than anybody. [Laughs]

Do you usually go above and beyond

when you’re dating someone?

I need to know I’ve gone that extra mile to be

sure Sophie knows I’m here. I think Sophie

has always wanted a person who could be

emotionally available. When she was in LA

she was happy with how the Americans could

open up to her... I’m trying to be that guy.

You’ve scored the ‘stage-five clinger’

tag. How do you feel about that?

It’s hilarious, I’m far from a stage-five clinger.

I came to show Sophie I’m here and I’m a man.

And you don’t care what anyone thinks?!

I’m doing everything right in my eyes and

if anybody doesn’t like it, they’ll have to deal

with it because they are the ones sitting at

home and I’m the one standing next to Sophie.

Is it tough watching the other guys

giving you a hard time on the show?

Every time they come out of an interview,

they would say, ‘Apologies in advance, but

I bad-mouthed you and don’t worry about it

because we are good mates anyway.’ That’s

the thing – in the house they were fine, but

when they get their alone time without me

around they just open their mouths a bit too

much. Maybe they need to listen to Apollo

or some of the other guys who actually have

some self-respect.

Have they stayed in touch with you?

Believe it or not, I’ve had both Sam and Blake

get in touch to apologise for things they’ve

said. I appreciate it because you’re feeling

down and it’s an uplift in life knowing they are

seeing what they said and totally regretting it.

Have people approached you in the street?

Yes, there are a few selfies and I’ll be walking

and hear people yell out, ‘Sophie Monk.’ They

forget my name, so just call me Sophie. [Laughs]

If you end up winning Sophie’s heart, will

you consider naming a wine after her?

Funny you ask because one of our wines, the

Messana, is the first letter of all of our nieces’

and nephews’ names. So, if Sophie and I end up

together, I’ll definitely name a wine after her.

That means if you have kids, you’ll also

have to rename your Messana, right?

Exactly, or we’d start our own little family logo.

And if it doesn’t work out? Tinder?

Yuck. I just can’t stand it. I tried Tinder once,

and then I was like, ‘Why am I doing this?’

I like that communication and eye contact.

It’s official! Channel 10 has confirmed that

Bachelor in Paradise will hit our screens next

year, promising ‘fan favourites and stand-

out characters’ from past seasons of The

Bachelor and The Bachelorette. While the

line-up is yet to be announced, rumours are

swirling that both Keira Maguire and Tiffany

Scanlon, from Richie Strahan’s season, have

signed on. Tiff tells OK! she has to remain

tight-lipped about the

show. Also staying

silent is Sam Frost’s

controversial

runner-up

Michael Turnbull.

Here’s hoping

he shows up

on the island!

LOVE

MATCH?

Fingers crossed

Florence Alexandra

Sophia and Cameron

Cranley singing and

snuggling last week

was a sneak peek

of BIP.

Nikki Gogan and

Blake Garvey sadly

won’t be making an

appearance on the

show, which will be

filmed at a ‘romantic

tropical destination’

tipped to be Fiji

(^) OCTOBER 16, 2017 2 1
TEXT BY PENELOPE KILBY & CARRISSA LAWRIE PHOTOGRAPHS BY MATRIX, SPLASH
BACHIE IN
PARADISE!
He may ‘hate’
the habit, but
it looks like
Jarrod’s taken
up smoking
anyway – to
keep up with
Soph, perhaps?