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It’s been six months since Bachelor in Paradise contestants were sipping cocktails and flirting all night long for another shot at TV love, and now Jake Ellis and Megan Marx, who made a connection on the show, thought it best to get everyone back together.
“When we were filming in Fiji, the cast talked about how cool it would be to do a reunion, and when we lost mum at the start of the year, it sort of put Megan and I into overdrive,” says Jake, whose mother Robyn died in January after a 25-year battle against cancer. “We really wanted to do it for a good cause.”
The pair have partnered with The World’s Biggest Dinner, a charity that raises money for Cure Cancer Australia through dinner parties, to throw a Paradise-themed bash at Flamingo Lounge Sydney on Friday, June 8 to raise much needed funds for cancer research. Fans can join favourites such as engaged couple Tara Pavlovic and Sam Cochrane, and best buds Luke McLeod and Davey Lloyd among others, for cocktails, dancing and photo ops with a ticket purchase.
Before the party begins, WHO caught up with Jake and Megan to talk about hosting, coasting and moving in.
Six months into your relationship and you are co-hosting a party. Is this wise?
Megan: I’ve never organised a big event like this before, so it’s definitely been really hard, but, you know, it’s another hurdle for Jake and I and we’ve gotten through it, so that’s a good sign!
WHO: Well, the event is for Cure Cancer Australia, which is something so close for you, Jake. Is this in tribute to your mum?
Jake: Yeah, it definitely is. It’s something I’ve wanted to do, to try and raise some money to put in mum’s name. The whole concept was started when we were filming in Fiji that the cast talked about how cool would it be to do a reunion, and when we lost mum at the start of the year, it sort of put Megan and I into overdrive and we really wanted to do it for a good cause, so yeah, it’s been a lot of work, we’ve put a lot of work and a lot of love into it and we’re really just excited for tonight and really excited to see everyone and looking for it to go well.
WHO: Megan, you got to meet Robyn before she passed?
Megan: Yeah, I did. I was very lucky. I’d come up to the Gold Coast to meet up with Jake—this was the first time we got to meet up after the show—and got to meet the whole family, and Robbie as well, so it was very special.0
WHO: Your family and friends have helped you through these times, and now you have gathered them again for this party. What’s the best thing about hanging out with them and what can we expect?
Jake: We haven’t all been together since filming. I think everyone’s got so much stuff going on with their lives, which is great to see, but this is a way to chip all that back and pull that away and go back to how it was in Fiji when it was just us having fun and there was no outside influence. We thought it was a good idea because we all had such great support from the people who watched the show and without them, the show wouldn’t be what it was, so we wanted to give them a chance to come out and have fun with us and do it for a good cause.
Megan: We’ve got Elora actually doing some fire twirling tonight, which is pretty awesome, and we’ve got makeup stations around, but really I think it’s just going to be mingling with the cast. That’s what people are coming for, to dance and have a good time.
WHO: It’s a chance to see newly engaged Tara and Sam. How are they going?
Jake: Definitely excited to see Sam and Tara.
Megan: We caught up with them on the Gold Coast a long time ago now, yeah, but a part from that, we haven’t really seen them so it will be nice to catch up.
Jake: I got off the phone with Sam this morning and he and Tara are very excited.
WHO: Are they going to be expecting you guys to plan any of their parties now?
Megan: I hope not!
Jake: We’ll see how we go.
Megan: Our relationship won’t last if we do that!
Jake: Oh, come on! [Laughs] Megan can take the hens and I’ll take the bucks.
Megan: No, I’ll take the bucks and Jake can take the hens.
Jake: You know, we have worked well together, though, where Megan is behind the scenes and I am doing most of the admin stuff and being on the phones because of my background, but we have had so much help for the event, from Sophie Muir at Born Bred and our sponsors as well and the people who have come on board at different stages of the planning is what have made the event and we couldn’t have done it without them.
WHO: For you guys, you have to deal with having your medical details scrutinised in public. Are you taking it all in stride?
Jake: It’s been really good. We went to Thailand to escape for a while but we’ve just been doing our thing and really enjoying going from strength to strength with each other. I’m sitting with Megan right now, she just had a spray tan, so she looks …
Megan: I look pretty hilarious.
Jake: She looks ten shades darker [Laughs] It’s been a hell of a ride for sure, but the biggest relief, for me anyway, was we tried to hide our relationship for so long, which was a good thing at the same time because it made us what we are.
Megan: With Jake and I, I’m glad we took it slow. We kind of broke up on the show and then after that it was just really getting to know each other and we just have so much fun together, like, I don’t think I’ve had a relationship where we just laugh, so, so, so much, and we’re best friends and at the same time I’m just totally attracted to him, so it’s the best combination ever.
Jake: Megan was definitely thrown into the deep end at the start of our relationship with my family and I losing my mum, and she was there every step of the way—I really would have been lost without her. We just have so much fun and we are madly in love, that’s for sure.
WHO: Is marriage in the cards for you?
Jake: We know the question will come but …
Megan: We’re doing our thing.
Jake: We’re doing our thing, we’ve got some big overseas trips planned and we are looking at moving in after that together. We’re just taking things as it comes.
Megan: We don’t want to jinx anything!
Jake: We’re excited for the future and just enjoying the ride.
In this week’s episode of WHO magazine’s TV podcast, Binge List, Matthew Denby, Clare Rigden and Gavin Scott discuss and debate true-crime drama American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace, ABC series Mystery Road and Netflix food doco The Magic Pill. Plus, we ask To Binge Or Not To Binge The Good Fight and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, and delve into Hidden Gem Dead Boss. Listen below, or on iTunes: http://po.st/syE3JF or OMNY: http://po.st/Bg4FlU
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