The new Golden Bachelor Barry ‘Bear’ Myrden has dropped a big clue about who he’ll choose in the finale, as details of his heartbreaking past emerge.

Australia’s first-ever Golden Bachelor says fans will be shocked by who receives his final rose, as details emerge of his emotional backstory.

Barry ‘Bear’ Myrden, 61, told SkyNews.com.au that his choice at the end of the series will catch viewers off guard- but he’s confident he made the right call.

“It will be totally unexpected to everyone, I think,” he said.

“All I can tell you is, I made the right decision.”

Samantha Armytage and the Golden Bachelor Barry Myrden on the red carpet of the 65th TV WEEK Logie Awards 2025, held at The Star in Sydney. Picture: Jonathan Ng

The Canadian-born, Sydney-based widower will front The Golden Bachelor Australia next week, with 20 women vying for his heart in the local spin-off of The Bachelor franchise, hosted by Samantha Armytage.

Among the contestants are familiar faces such as radio host Bianca Dye, 51, and 64-year-old Laura, the mother of media personality Abbie Chatfield.

Bear, who appeared at SXSW Sydney’s opening night premiere of Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere, said it was “hard to put [himself] out there” but praised the women on the show for doing the same.

Bear Myrden at SXSW Sydney’s opening night premiere of Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere on Monday, October 13, 2025. Picture: Scott Ehler

“It wasn’t just me, it was 20 other women who put themselves out there,” he said.

“They’re all such great and incredible women. It was really tough to say goodbye to any of them. I wanted to take all 20 of them.”

Bear admitted both he and his three sons, Declan, 17, Jack, 20, and Charlie, 21,  who appear on the series, are “nervous” ahead of Monday’s premiere.

“I’m nervous, excited, I’m feeling a lot of emotions. It’s very surreal… The boys are the same as me,” he said.

“They saw a very revealing commercial today and it was like, ‘Oh wow’. They were quite young, and they were like, ‘We never had to deal with this before’. But anyway.”

 

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This isn’t Bear’s first time on Aussie television.

Back in 2013, he and his late wife, Audrey, appeared on A Current Affair in a moving two-part series called Audrey’s Wish.

At the time, Audrey was battling a terminal brain tumour and had been given just months to live.

Her final wish was to see her family in their own home, a dream made possible by the show and countless tradespeople and volunteers who rallied behind her story.

Barry ‘Bear’ Myrden and his late wife, Audrey Myrden, on A Current Affair. Picture: YouTube

“The peace of mind that it gives me knowing that the boys, that Barry, have a place of their own,” Audrey said tearfully in the episode.

She went on to say the generosity of those who helped gave her “an extra year of quality with my kids”, allowing her to spend one last Christmas with her family in their new home.

Audrey tragically died the following August, aged 44.

“[She was] more than one in a million; she was one in six billion,” Bear said in a recent promotional clip for The Golden Bachelor.

“It’s been 14 years, and I’m ready to find my next love story.”

The Golden Bachelor Australia premieres Monday, October 20 at 7:30pm on Channel 9 and 9Now.