It was arguably the most iconic entrance on The Bachelor 2020, but Rosemary Sawtell’s penguin costume didn’t quite make its intended impression on Locky Gilbert.
The 23-year-old retail manager was in tears when she was eliminated from the competition, but in a chat with Who on the morning after her episode aired, Rosemary was back to her bright and bubbly self.
In this exclusive chat, Rosemary reveals why she donned that penguin costume as she rocked up to the mansion, why there’s more to co-star Roxi Kenny than viewers are seeing and what she thought of those rumours that she asked producers to leave the mansion.
Your reaction to your elimination was heartbreaking, how did it feel to watch it back?
At that point in time I’d actually caught feelings for Locky and I was shocked and hurt because he didn’t like me back and I’d tried so hard. It was really emotional to watch back but I’m in a better place this morning – it doesn’t take me long to get back up when I’ve been knocked down!
What do you make of those rumours that you asked to leave?
I saw that but no, I wasn’t asking to leave the mansion. I was heavily invested and got those feels for Locky. I was like ‘I’ve done a cool rap, this will take me to next week, he’s the love of my life, every chat we have is really good.’ I guess now, looking back at the situation, maybe he knew he didn’t have feelings for me and did me a kind service by not leading me on anymore. He knew that I’d never had a boyfriend or had much dating experience so I think he actually did a kind thing by letting me go at that point.
Let’s talk about that iconic penguin entrance. What made you decide to try out this big move?
There are so many reasons. But the main two reasons were I love penguins and I wanted to show whoever the Bachelor was that I have a really funny side to me. Ideally, in a partner I’m looking for someone who can take a joke and isn’t too serious about life – someone who can laugh at themselves and also occasionally laugh at me. I just really wanted it to be that fun light-hearted moment and take the stress and nerves off meeting a stranger who could potentially be your husband at the end of the show.
Some of the girls seemed seriously annoyed that you pulled it off.
I did hear a few cheeky comments every now and then but I don’t take that stuff personally. In that situation you’ve got 23 girls in a house, we’ve all just met each other, we’re all competing for the same guy, we all want to stay there. Everybody’s gorgeous so it’s so hard to get that attention and I’m glad I did what I did and I’m happy he saw me for who I am and not just my outside exterior. I was never really worried about those sly comments, it says more about them than it does about me.
A lot of past Bachelor contestants say they make great friends from their time on the show. Which girls were you closest to?
I’m very close with a lot of people but in saying that I would say I’m closest with Irena, I’m pretty close with Charley and Roxi too. I’m very independent, in the house I stuck to myself a lot because I like to do my own thing so I still made friends with all the girls and it was a cool sisterhood kind of thing but I definitely talked to those three girls the most, that’s for sure.
Irena’s tipped to be the winner, do you think Locky will choose her at the end?
I really really hope she is because she’s just such a beautiful person. I really hope she finds love with Locky – honestly I would love to see her be happy and get that fairytale ending. If it isn’t her though I’m going to be very annoyed at Locky, I might even come after him! I mean I probably wouldn’t but I’m always sticking up for my girls.
Your final cocktail party was an explosive one to say the least. What was it like experiencing it firsthand?
It was kind of interesting. When drama happens I tend to go into my own little world and stay out of it as much as I can, I was just trying to kick back before the rose ceremony and then all of a sudden all this drama’s happening! Honestly most of the drama in the house was very trivial, it would just come out of nowhere.
Roxi has been particularly emotional at the cocktail parties, is what we’re seeing on TV an accurate depiction of her?
I think that people have got Roxi wrong. She is such a lovely girl, she is the most genuine person that I know and it’s kind of disappointing to see her act out that way. She definitely did act out that way, I won’t deny that but it’s definitely more dramatised than it was. She is such a beautiful girl and I really wish that they would show the other side of her as well.
In the mansion, tensions are crazy high and literally every emotion is amplified, it’s hard to not let that get to you. I let it get to me and would randomly cry but it wasn’t because I didn’t like my experience or anything, it was because of something crazy happening and that’s all your world revolves around. I think sometimes when people watch the show they forget that and it’s really disappointing to see some of these girls get trolled because of that.
Do you have any regrets about your time on The Bachelor or would you change anything you did?
No, I absolutely love everything I did. Honestly, what you see on TV is how I am in real life – I’m very outgoing, happy and optimistic. It was really great to actually see my personality fully played out exactly how I am. I am a bit quirky and spontaneous, I’ll do a rap here and there so that’s very much my personality so I’m so happy and grateful that I got to be a part of this experience. I would do it again if I could.
So could we be seeing you on Bachelor in Paradise next season?
Yes I would be very keen for BIP. In that environment, I feel like I could 100 per cent think I could find love. Ideally I want a husband but I should probably take small steps at a time now that I know I don’t have much dating experience. Even if I got offered The Bachelorette that would be amazing, but who knows. I probably won’t, but I like to put things out there and keep my options open!
Related stories
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
