It looks like Australian businessman Mark Bouris is returning to reality TV.
The 68-year-old will take on the role of the first suitor in the highly anticipated series, according to industry rumors reported by Television black box.
Daily Mail Australia exclusively revealed the reboot was heading to Australia in November last year.
The former The Apprentice star and podcast host previously appeared on Celebrity Apprentice Australia for Channel 9 and The Mentor for Channel 7.
Production on the Australian adaptation of The Golden Bachelor is scheduled to take place in Sydney between February and April 2025, with the series expected to premiere in the second half of the year.
The show will be hosted by Samantha Armytage, following her shock exit from Farmer Wants A Wife.
After securing exclusive rights to The Bachelor spin-off, which has seen the franchise’s ratings resurrected in the US, TV insiders say Nine intends to woo Bouris with his first rose.
But the network may have its work cut out for it with the reality TV veteran.
Australian businessman Mark Bouris seems ready to return to reality TV
Bouris, who was born and raised in Western Sydney, is known for selling his business Wizard Home Loans for $500 million and founding Yellow Brick Road Wealth Management.
He is respected as an advocate who built his career on making quality financial advice available to all Australians.
Following the breakdown of his second marriage in 2006, Bouris’s mother, Marsha, told an Australian story that she worried that her son would have nothing else in his life besides work and his children.
The Celebrity Apprentice star has four children from different mothers and split from her last partner in 2015.
“She still cares about me, but she’s stopped wondering why I don’t spend time playing golf,” Bouris told Stellar in 2018 about his beloved late mother.
The former The Apprentice star, 68, will take on the role of the first suitor in the highly anticipated series, according to industry rumors reported by TV Blackbox.
Speaking to Life Uncut hosts Brittany Hockley and Laura Byrne last year, Bouris was more forthcoming about his private life and even revealed his favorite sex position.
‘Can I have more than one?’ he cheekily responded to the first question the podcast duo asked him.
‘Woman on top.’
When asked at what point in his life he considered himself successful, Bouris said, “From my point of view, success is the family you form.”
‘So, I’m only interested in my children and my grandson. My measure of success is what my mom and dad would like to see from me and it’s not about money.’
The businessman said that no amount of wealth he has gained has changed him as a person, but that prioritizing his work “led me to sacrifice my long-term marriage and the mother of some of my children.”
Samantha Armytage apparently took a thinly veiled swipe at her former employers Seven while making a comment about her new job as a presenter on The Golden Bachelor.
Samantha’s comments could be seen as an attack on her former Seven show, Farmer Wants a Wife, after viewers criticized the show’s 2024 season for being “staged”.
talking to 9Entertainment About her new role, Samantha said the show was about finding “true love” in an apparent jab at her previous show Farmer Wants A Wife.
The Channel Seven series has produced longer-lasting relationships than any other reality dating format on Australian television, with nine marriages, seven relationships and 26 children across its thirteen seasons.
Samantha, who started as a guest host for FWAW in 2022, continued to talk about her golden new job: “You’re looking for some romance and you’re looking for true love,” she said in a scathing comment. “It’s about finding true love.”
“I’m really excited about this show, it’s been huge in America and I have a feeling it’s going to be huge in Australia too.”
The Golden Bachelor offers people in their 50s and 60s the chance to find their second chance at love and will premiere on Nine sometime in 2025.
Samantha Armytage pictured at Channel Nine Upfronts last Thursday
Outgoing Farmer Wants A Wife presenter Samantha shocked fans in August when she left Seven after 21 years at the network.
His new television gig on The Golden Bachelor was finally announced. at Nine’s Upfronts, where the network’s 2025 programming schedule was revealed to guests.
‘When I got the call to join the show, I didn’t hesitate. (The Golden Bachelor) has been huge in America and I have a feeling it’s going to be huge in Australia too,” Samantha said.
The first American version of The Golden Bachelor starred widower and father of two Gerry Turner, 72, and a version of Golden Bachelorette was later released with widow Joan Vassos, 61, looking to find love .
The American version of the show has been hugely successful, with its finale earning 6.1 million viewers, making it the most-watched final episode of the American Bachelor series since 2021.
The TV star, 48, was revealed to be the new host of the Aussie Bachelor spin-off series at Nine’s Upfronts event on Thursday after leaving Channel Seven in August.
The first US version of The Golden Bachelor starred 72-year-old widower and father-of-two Gerry Turner (pictured with Leslie Fhima on the show) and was hugely popular on ABC.
