He was a clean-cut, golden boy in his Bachelor days but Richie Strahan is now sporting a much more rugged look – and not everyone is a fan.
In an Instagram post shared on Monday, Richie shared a series of images as part of a paid promotion with Starbucks at Home.
The Perth-based 35-year-old smiled as he sat on a lounge in the first snap and in the second, posed with a mug and frying pan in the kitchen.
“All smiles this morning,” Richie captioned the snaps. “There’s nothing better than pairing pancakes with @starbucksathome_au”
But it was his longer hair and beard that had fans in a tizzy in the comments section.
“Have a shave,” one simply stated.
“Richie ya scruff 😜 Have a shave and get a haircut 😘😂,” jokingly penned another.
This isn’t the first time Richie has undergone a dramatic hair transformation.
In June, the 2016 Bachelor shared a photo that featured his girlfriend, Jenayah Thompson in which he sported a shaved head.
“Oh noooo your hairrrrrrr,” one fans exclaimed at the time.
“How’s the Mick fanning vibes!? Love it,” remarked another.
Richie first rose to fame on the first season of The Bachelorette Australia when he made it to Sam Frost’s final three.
He then starred as the Bachelor the following year when he fell for winner Alex Nation and three years later had a dramatic starring role on the second season of Bachelor in Paradise in 2019.
On the spin-off show, Richie was not only reunited with his ex for the first time in 18 months but he also had a disastrous romance with contestant Cass Wood.
Shortly after the second season of BIP, co-star Rachael Gouvignon revealed that Richie had put his Bachelor experiences behind him.
“I knew that he struggled at the end so I asked him how he was going and I really don’t think he wants anything to do with the show anymore,” Rachael claimed during an Instagram live video in May 2019.
“He’s gone M.I.A, that ship has sailed,” she added.
Meanwhile, Richie’s ex Alex Nation has also admitted that she’s done with reality TV.
“I enjoyed my experience, I learned a lot and I grew a lot, but I’m done with the whole dating side of reality TV,” Alex told New Idea of her time on The Bachelor and Bachelor in Paradise.
“In my season and before, it was all about romance and finding love. Sure, there was always a bit of drama but it never overshadowed the love stories.
“Now, it’s just promoting women tearing down women and toxic masculinity, and that’s not healthy for our youth who are watching, which is predominately girls.
“I’m not sure if that’s to keep up with the likes of Married At First Sight – because their ratings are high – but I really do miss the real love stories,” she added.
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