Hamilton’s Blake Moynes becomes the 1st Canadian to get the last rose on The Bachelorette | CBC News

The 30-year-old Moynes proposed to Thurston — a bank marketing manager from Lynnwood, Washington — in the finale.

For those less familiar with the series, The Bachelorette is a reality show where one woman chooses between 25 men to find love. It’s a spin-off of the original TV show The Bachelor, where the gender roles were reversed. 

Bachelor and Bachelorette contestants often go on to enjoy a minor celebrity status with large social media followings. Moynes, for his part, already has 278,000 Instagram followers.

What’s next for Moynes?

Kyle Andrew Skinner, who goes by the name Kyle Andrew, is a former Bachelorette Canada contestant from Hamilton. He says Moynes can expect an onslaught of attention, much of it negative, but will also be able to use his fame and new platform to pursue whatever path he wants.

“He now has to decide whether or not this is the apex of his journey in popular culture and media,” he said. “Is he a Bachelorette franchise guy for life? Or does he want to do other things with this?”

“If he wants to be a famous wildlife guy, it’s right there for him.” 

Andrew, who now has a career as a male model, says he loved his time on the Bachelorette Canada. In his experience, the show was not scripted, although the contestants were guided along.

“I was never told what to say or do. It’s like herding kittens — let’s keep the kittens in a room and see how they scratch each other.” 

Moynes is a “goofy” Hamiltonian

Moynes was an unsuccessful contestant in a previous season of The Bachelorette, but managed to return halfway through this most recent season. 

“I didn’t think that he was going to get selected and that it would work out the way it did,” she said.

This time, the bachelorette, Katie Thurston, had more of a “quirky” sense of humour and they seemed to connect “right off the bat,” she said.

Moynes has advertised his Canadian-ness very openly, including an Instagram account that features plenty of plaid shirts, cottage docks, Tim Hortons, hockey practices and fishing trips.  

“He is a classic Hamiltonian,” Anderson said. “He’s kind of a goofy, athletic Canadian boy.”

The show has had Canadian contestants and bachelorettes before, such as Jillian Harris, the star of the fifth season of The Bachelorette, and this season’s contestant Brendan Scanzano, who is from Toronto. Until Moynes, no Canadian had won, though.

“There have been very few Canadians who have made it very far in the show,” she said. “It’s pretty significant.”

However, Anderson is somewhat skeptical that Moynes and Thurston will stay together — especially given that Moynes lives in Canada and Thurston is in the U.S., and that many other couples from The Bachelorette break up later.

“Many times, I’d say more often than not, the relationship does not end successfully,” she said. “But hopefully, I’m wrong, and hopefully they are very happy.”