Areeba From Bachy Has Called Out Her Castmates For Not Being Their True Selves

Tell us you love Punkee without telling us you love Punkee. Sign up to our newsletter, and follow us on Instagram and Twitter. It'll mean the world.

Areeba Emmanuel took the crown for being the outspoken, divisive contestant on this season of The Bachelor. Some fans loved her brash manner, while others criticised her for stirring the pot and causing drama.

Regardless of whether you were Team Areeba or not, there’s no denying she made the show entertaining and worth watching. Whether it was laughing through her sheer anger, her commentary on the ongoing drama in the mansion, or calmly eating a sandwich while being yelled at, the show won’t be the same without her.

areeba bachelor in paradise

Areeba was left roseless in last night’s ceremony, just before production shut down because of Covid-19. She didn’t go without one last iconic line though. “This is the first time I’ve ever been rejected by a guy, I don’t care because he obviously likes basic girls,” she said as a way of bowing out.

We chatted to Areeba about her thoughts on this season of The Bachelor. 

On Zoe-Clare’s rant about her in the first episode:

“It’s really funny there was no apology from Zoe-Clare. She still thinks I should be apologising to her for what I did, by interrupting the chat. But I think she forgets what she signed up for, it’s the bloody cocktail party on the first night, everyone interrupts everyone. It wasn’t about her, I wasn’t going in to ‘interrupt Zoe’ it was just whoever he was talking to at the time, who would’ve thought it’d cause so much drama?!”

“It’s really funny and embarrassing for her. You want to talk about the colour of your hair, look at the complexion of my skin. Usually I’d be the person to stand up and say ‘what you’re doing is wrong’ but the whole thing didn’t look right, she just didn’t look right to me. So I was like, ‘oh God, it’s 3am or something, let me just eat my sandwich in peace.’ I just had to laugh at it, she was just making a fool of herself.”

On whether she was shocked to get kicked out before the top 10:

“Yes and no, the week before we were told about Covid and what happened. That whole week, the only thing I had in my head was my family. What they didn’t show was that I was telling Juliette and Kaitlyn, I said, I’m going home. I feel it. I had it in my head I was going.”

On her connection with Locky:

“There was no chemistry between me and Locky. I didn’t have enough time with him for starters, so there was no connection. To me, it’s boring. Like watching the dates, I’m not talking bad of it, but I need someone who’s funny, I need someone who can say ‘shut up Areeba, sit down’,  do you know what I mean? I need someone to challenge me! There was none of that. A lot of people have asked me if I was sad to leave, but I knew him for a month and each week I’d get five minutes, so that’s 20 minutes with him? Do you think I’m going to be heartbroken? Do you think I’m going to sit there and cry? No thank you!”

On life in the mansion and the tension in the house:

“Being at the mansion is like, you’re in this magical place that fucks with your mind. I understand the emotions, but you’ve got to make the most out of it. Every two seconds someone’s crying?! There was so much tension in the house, I’m so glad I don’t have to deal with any one of them. I’d say hi, hello, but I’ve got my girls, Kristina and Juliette, I speak to them almost every single day. Apart from that, I don’t need anybody else. From day one, with what happened with Zoe-Clare, nobody supported me. I was alone. I had Juliette and Kristina, but no one really supported me, no one came my way.”

On whether everyone had genuine intentions:

“Every year you get people there not for genuine reasons. The funny thing is, all the girls were too scared to say anything ever. They were like ‘if you be like Areeba or Juliette, you’ll be hated’. They’d be like ‘You’ll be the Abbie of this season and I want to be the Chelsie of this season.’ So they’d have characters, they were too scared to be who they were. I personally don’t think I saw true people, a lot of them weren’t true to themselves. I’m not scared to say how I feel or I’m not scared of what the world is going to say when watching us.”

On whether she’d do Bachelor In Paradise:

“Never thought about Bachelor In Paradise, I don’t think so. There have been no guys from other seasons that have interested me in all honesty, I don’t think I’d want to involve myself in that way.”

On who she thinks will win Locky’s heart:

“I think Irena will win. She’s ready for her love story. I know a lot of people think it’s Bella, they do have a great connection. I don’t know who won, but I have to say Irena. He is looking for a wife, and Irena is like that.”