After The Bachelorette, Brooke Blurton’s sister died. It profoundly impacted her relationship

Brooke Blurton is best known for starring on reality TV shows The Bachelorette and The Bachelor . Here, the 31-year-old talks about the important men in her life, including a father-figure, Uncle Pete, and how grief affected her relationship with Darvid Garayeli after their appearance on TV.

I didn’t know my paternal grandfather, John, as he died before I came along, but I have memories of my maternal grandfather, Malcolm, who was born in Malaysia. Growing up, I didn’t get to spend a lot of time with him. His house was so aromatic – the smell was amazing. My grandfather taught my mum, Seanna, a few rich rice dishes that she used to cook. He died when I was around eight.

I was born in Carnarvon, north of Perth. It had a small population, mostly Aboriginal. Everyone knew everyone. That is what I miss most, having my cousins and aunties next door. We moved between there and Quairading, east of Perth – the Country of my people, the Noongar.

We lived in housing commission properties, as Mum was a single mum with five kids – Kyandra, Eden, me, Troy and Ronald Jerome. We all have different fathers. My family was poor, but we loved each other.

As kids, Troy and I were inseparable. I may have missed out on a lot of education, but I loved what I learnt, and I loved teaching. I would force Troy to sit with me and I’d teach him the alphabet or how to count. My mum and Nan, Charlotte, taught him about culture. Troy is engaged now and has kids. He has turned into a beautiful man. I’m proud of him.

Mum had addiction problems, so there were things I was exposed to that weren’t the most positive. The hardest thing was having to grow up fast and to parent my siblings. It didn’t allow me to do a lot of things, which is why I chose a career in youth work.

I was 11 when Mum died in a car crash, so I had to live with Dad, who was very distant in my childhood. I actually lived with his ex-partner – my stepmum, Leanne – as he didn’t have the stability to care for me at the time.

My Uncle Pete became like a dad to me. He is not a blood relative, but he knew Mum and Nan growing up and had photos of Mum he wanted to pass on, which is how we connected. He would tell stories about her, which was very healing. He made me realise what a father could be.

Losing Mum and Nan as a teenager was quite traumatic, and for a couple of years I went a bit mute. I was very shy and only started to come out of my shell when footy became something that I thought I could do. I believed that one day I might be a footy star.

My first significant relationship happened when I was 10 or 11, as I was in love with my best friend, Sam. She had such an impact on me in terms of figuring out my identity. That experience unlocked a door for me very early on.

I was a contestant on The Bachelor in 2018. My time with Nick “Honey Badger” Cummins was lovely, an awesome experience until our last date, when he said he wasn’t going to pick anyone. What I didn’t anticipate on the show was that my whole life would be exposed.

Three years later, I starred on The Bachelorette .