Izzy, how does it feel now that your Bachelor experience is done and dusted?
It’s a really weird feeling. Watching back last night, even though I’m really happy with where I am, it got a bit emotional. So much time has gone into the whole experience – that moment when it all ended was overwhelming.
Locky was saying all these great things about you before you left like how you bring out the best in him. How did it feel to hear him say that?
When he was trying to reassure me, I was like, ‘You don’t have to say this, this isn’t going to make me feel better, I just need to go home and see my friends and family.’ I appreciated that he was comforting me but at the same time I was like, ‘It’s fine, that’s what this whole experience is and I had to prepare myself as it was a very probable outcome.’
When people say nice things to me after doing something like breaking up, it’s like, ‘You clearly don’t think all these things otherwise you wouldn’t be ending it.’ I was probably a little bit cynical about the nice things he was saying. I always feel like when someone breaks up and tries to say something nice things to try and comfort you, I feel like they’re trying to make themselves feel better about the fact they just broke your heart.
Are there any feelings for Locky still?
No - watching it back has been weird. I feel almost like I’m watching something back and not feeling the feelings that I had at the time. I’ve been able to be really objective watching it back. I think as soon as I got home and was back in my environment and thought about whether we would really be compatible, I was very comfortable with the decision. I think I even felt a bit of anxiety about what it would mean if he did choose me because there would’ve been expectation on me to move and put my life on hold in a lot of respects. When I got home there was this sense of relief that I wasn’t just going to do something because that’s what he wanted me to do.
Your mum became a breakout star during hometowns. What did she and your family make of Locky?
She’s really upset actually! She sent me a few messages and said on the phone saying, ‘I smiled more than that!’ I loved watching that part back and hearing some of the questions she asked. Something that wasn’t shown is she asked Locky if he’d pitch and change a dirty nappy so she’s great.
Was she pleased with his answers?
She kept saying, ‘He’s answering everything almost too perfectly,’ but she takes people at their worth so I think in that moment she believed that. When I didn’t get a rose, though, she said ‘I knew his answers were too perfect!’
Probably looking back I think she thought he had the right answers for everything because he was prepared for the situation but she wasn’t particularly happy about how he answered the nappy question. I think he said he wouldn’t know how to change one and she said ‘I don’t think Isabella knows either!’ I don’t think she liked how he tried to dodge that question.
The other notable moment was when she asked Locky if he'd donate some sperm as a consolation prize...
She told me that as soon as we sat down for dinner and I was like, ‘Mum, you did not say that!’ But at the same time I wasn’t that shocked because she’s said to me that maybe I’d consider freezing some eggs, you don’t need a man if you want to have kids at some point. Mum is 5’11’’ and she looks for height when she’s looking for a potential partner for herself! It didn’t shock me but I was like ‘Did you really have to say that?’
So would you?
No! Mum keeps pushing for grandchildren but I’m definitely not ready for that yet. [Laughs]
Your laugh has become something of a viral hit, have you received many messages about it?
There’s been a mix. For the most part, people have been positive but there has been some negativity about my laugh. I shouldn’t even complain because people have been really kind but there have been a few comments where people have said how annoying my laugh is or how I put it on and I don’t know why I took it to heart so much. It’s literally me being happy!
But it didn’t shock me to see montages of my laugh or anything because also when I was watching I was thinking, ‘Do I laugh that much, is that really how much I laugh?’ My friends remind me that people must be so miserable to make fun of your laugh, literally the thing that shows you’re happy and joyous. And I’m not going to change it - I couldn’t if I wanted to!
You made it to the final four, or three depending on how you look at it. What was your Bachelor highlight?
That’s a tough one! It’s not a moment from the show but definitely a highlight from the whole experience has been the friendships that I’ve made with some of the girls throughout the whole journey. Coming back into the mansion after isolation as a smaller group, I did feel more myself at that point. I could genuinely have great friendships with the other girls without thinking about the fact they were dating the same guy. I also loved the alpacas – I’d feed them from my hand and there was one that was more shy and timid than the others and it was my goal throughout for him to eat out of my hand and he did!
Which contestants are you still in contact with?
Steph was my bestie throughout the whole experience. She moved up from Victoria and was living with me for the last six weeks or so. I’m still really close with Bella and Bec and a few of the girls who went home earlier on like Charley, Marlaina and Leilani.
I feel like we didn’t see a lot of the friendships play out this year. You get so close with someone – you literally don’t have a moment to yourself in that mansion. You do share everything and the things that you start talking about – if Locky was there for some of the conversations…who knows!
Was there one conversation in particular that stands out?
Yes, but I’m not going to tell you about it!
Was there anything you were surprised about how it was portrayed on air or anything that wasn't shown?
There are a couple of things. There was one moment I was expecting to go to air – I had told Locky I’d wet the bed until I was 13 at a cocktail party and I was bracing myself for it, I let my boss know and then it never went to air! I was like ‘Cool, I just told everyone about it anyway!’
Also I think from a drama perspective watching what happened with Bella and Irena play out has actually been quite frustrating to watch because there’s so much that happened off air. There was a lot we girls had spoken about and it didn’t show what caused Bella to react in the way she did that would give some context and justification for her behaviour. The poor thing has copped a lot of negativity.
It seemed like it happened all of a sudden...
It actually didn’t. There was a whole bunch of stuff that happened while we were filming love in lockdown that didn’t go to air at all and that was the start of their friendship ending. At the end of love in lockdown they’d called their friendship and then there was a month before we went back into the mansion. There was a long period and there were a lot of things that were said to other people. The things Irena said about Bella, I made the decision that wasn’t the kind of friendship I wanted to have if that was how she’d talk about her best friend.
With Bella and Irena as the final two, who do you think will win?
Since filming stopped I’ve been flip flopping between the two but based on the relationships and connections I saw in the mansion I without a doubt thought it would be Bella. But then watching it and seeing what he says in his interviews about Irena makes me realise he has stronger feelings than I think I realised. But I’m still really close with Bella – I don’t want to see her get her heart broken and I can see how much she loves Locky.