“…that’s about as far as it went.”

The Golden Bachelor’s Barry “Bear” Myrden has made a cheeky remark about his relationship with host Samantha Armytage, hours before the first episode airs.

Hear is looking for a second chance at love, and the rumour about him dating the TV host has been in overdrive.

In August, the rumour mill was sent into frenzy when they stepped out at the Logie Awards together, just weeks before the Channel Nine show is set to premiere tonight (October 20).

When asked about any potential romance between them on The Kyle & Jackie O Show, Bear surprised Sam with his answer.

“Ah, that’s totally up to Sam, I think,” he said.

“Were the producers worried?” Sam asked on air. “They never said anything to me. I don’t think we could do, like, ‘Plot twist, Armytage runs off with Golden Bachelor’. It wouldn’t work very well.”
Samantha Armytage has once again insisted that she is not involved with Barry “Bear” Myrden after they attended the 2025 Logie Awards together. (Credit: Getty)
The pair then cleared up their relationship while filming the show.

 “She was a great mentor to me, but that’s about as far as it went,” he said.

When asked what that meant, the former Sunrise star said: “As the hostess, I gave him advice because you know how I’m really good at love. I’ve got it all worked out. So, I just guided him through the process.”

This isn’t the first time that they’ve addressed the rumours.

Sam firmly previously shut down speculation that something was going on between them, insisting they are just friends.

Speaking to Stellar in September, she gushed over widower and father-of-three and revealed why he stood out to her in the casting process for the reality dating show.

“He stood out to me from the start. He’s raised three boys, pretty much on his own; his wife died when the youngest was quite young,” she told the publication.

“He’s been to rock bottom, he’s experienced one of the worst things anyone could go through in a marriage, so he’s got this enormous understanding of emotion, which is good for a man. He knows grief, which I think is quite valuable as an adult – to have been to some low places. It makes you a better person.”

Despite her kind words, recently single Sam made sure to once again clarify that she is not dating Bear herself.

“I promise you, I have not been dating the Golden Bachelor; I would never do that to the ladies,” she added.

Speaking to hosts Chrissie Swan and Jack Charles, Sam insisted that the rumour was ridiculous.

“Well, you can’t host the show and then steal the Golden Bachelor. Hello. That wouldn’t be much fun, would it?” Sam said on Nova’s The Chrissie Swan Show.

“He’s a friend, and I’m the host, and he’s the golden bach. And there are 20 wonderful ladies who were just so excited to meet him.”

Sam has been single since splitting from her husband Richard Lavender late last year, and there has been much interest in her dating life since.
Sam has been single since splitting from her husband Richard Lavender in December. (Credit: Instagram)
Speaking with Kyle and Jackie on her divorce from her now ex-husband Richard Lavender, she explained that nothing dramatic happened.

“People drift away. So, it was lovely. We gave it a good go, and it didn’t work out, so we move on,” she explained, saying she was a relationship person.

Meanwhile, Bear’s wife, Audrey, sadly died in 2011 from brain cancer after a two-year battle with the disease. The couple shares three sons, Charlie, Jac,k and Declan.

The 20 glamorous ladies vying for Bear’s attention on The Golden Bachelor were unveiled by Channel Nine on September 15 ahead of the show’s premiere.

Sam also told Chrissie and Jack insisted none of the women came on the show for “fame” but all genuinely wanted to find love.

“This is not like any show I’ve done before or seen before, because they’ve really, they’re not just coming into this for Instagram fame,” she said.
Sam is hosting The Golden Bachelor, where 20 women will be fighting for Bear’s heart. (Credit: Channel Nine)
“They really are looking for love, all of them, and they all have these wonderful stories to tell. They’ve lived a life. So they’ve got, you know, plenty of miles on their tyres, so they know what it’s about. They know what they’re looking for. They know what they won’t put up with.

“Some of them have had pretty horrible things happen in their lives. You know, they’re divorced or they’re widowed, and, of course, no one expects in their 50s and 60s, that’s where they’re going to be.

“So these women find themselves in these situations now, and they go, you know what? These boomers, they’re really powerful.”

As well as being linked to Bear, Sam sparked romance rumours with another man at the start of September.

When she was pictured smiling alongside a male companion, fans hoped that Sam might have found love again.

However, New Idea exclusively learned that the man pictured with Sam was just a friend.