Ten women to a room, X-rated accessories and hormone replacement therapy: The Golden Bachelor stars reveal what life is REALLY like inside the mansion

The Golden Bachelor premiered to much fanfare this week and viewers are lapping it up.

Barry ‘Bear’ Myrden is the object of affection for 20 over-50 women, and after just two episodes he already has them swooning.

During the course of the series, the women are sequestered in the ‘Bachie’ mansion – an impressive spread in the swanky Sydney harbourside suburb of Elizabeth Bay.

Designed by colonial architect Thomas Rowe and constructed between 1867 and 1883, the home, known as Tresco, has long been a symbol of elegance. 

So, just what is life like inside the idyllic mansion?

For 56-year-old interior designer Catherine Kirwin, the reality of cohabiting with 19 women for the duration of the series definitely presented its own challenges.

After much anticipation, The Golden Bachelor premiered to much fanfare this week and viewers are lapping it up. So, just what is life like inside the idyllic Golden Bachelor mansion?

For 56-year-old interior designer Catherine Kirwin, the reality of cohabiting with 19 women for the duration of the series definitely presented its own challenges

‘It’s quite confronting at first because you’re so used to your own space and, you know, using your own bathroom,’ Catherine told Daily Mail.

‘All of a sudden, you’ve got 19 other women you’re sharing a room with.’

Catherine added that one of the challenges was synchronising 20 very different timetables to achieve a cohesive unit.

‘Everyone has their own timetables and their own habits,’ she said.

‘It took a little bit of adjusting, but I think that once we kind of realised that this is not going to change, this is how we are going to live our lives for this period of time, we were quite good.’

Catherine added that the biggest surprise was the sleeping arrangements, which she believed would be a little more private.

‘I wasn’t expecting the 10 women in one room situation,’ she said.

‘I mean, they’re pretty large rooms, but I wasn’t expecting that.’

‘It’s quite confronting at first because you’re so used to your own space and, you know, using your own bathroom,’ Catherine told Daily Mail. ‘All of a sudden, you’ve got 19 other women you’re sharing a room with.’

‘I wasn’t expecting the 10 women in one room situation,’ Catherine added. ‘I mean, they’re pretty large rooms, but I wasn’t expecting that.’

While she was initially nonplussed with the sleeping arrangements, Catherine revealed the one item that proved to be her saving grace. ‘I had noise cancelling headphones because, you know, some people are a little bit louder in their sleep than others and those headphones were such a saviour.’

While she was initially nonplussed with the sleeping arrangements, Catherine revealed the one item that proved to be her saving grace. 

‘I had noise-cancelling headphones because, you know, some people are a little bit louder in their sleep than others and those headphones were such a saviour.’

When it comes to life-saving items in The Golden Bachelor mansion, fellow contestant Bianca Dye went for a more risqué approach.

‘I snuck a buzzy (vibrator) in, but you know, they check your bags so I had to wrap the buzzy up in a few pairs of things so no one knew what it was,’ the radio veteran, 51, revealed.

She added that she was surprised to discover that she wasn’t the only hopeful to smuggle the X-rated item into the mansion.

‘Then I saw the other girls were like: “Oh yeah, I did, too,” and then I’m like: “Hold on, we’re sharing a bedroom so nobody is going to be using any buzzies – we’re getting close, we’re not getting that close.”‘

Bianca added: ‘It’s normal for women over 50 – we’re still horny and we talk about sex – just because we’re 50, we’re not shrivelled up and dead.’

She added that being an over-50s reality star comes with its own necessary set of unique accoutrements.

When it comes to life-saving items in the Golden Bachelor mansion, fellow contestant Bianca Dye went for a more risqué approach

‘I snuck a buzzy in, but you know, they check your bags so I had to wrap the buzzy up in a few pairs of things so no one knew what it was,’ the radio veteran, 51, revealed

‘My bedside table in the old days was like a bottle of lube and some Chapstick,’ she said.

‘But on Golden Bachelor, you’re dealing with perimenopausal women so, it was like I’ve got my HRT (hormonal replacement therapy), my earplugs, my mouthguard, my lavender oil, my eye mask, my orthopaedic pillow.

‘It was so funny watching all of these women unpack all the s*** that we need – like magnesium tablets.’ 

For Bianca, one of the biggest surprises  was experiencing the wildly different personalities of the 19 other women vying for Bear’s affections – not least of which 54-year-old Elizete.

‘She’s just her absolute authentic self – she hasn’t got a bad bone in her body and she’s reality TV gold because she just doesn’t care – in the best possible way,’ she said.

Despite being a self-confessed ‘nudist’, Bianca added that she was shocked at Elizete’s laissez-faire approach to flashing the flesh.

‘I’m a nudist, so I would leave the door open in the mansion and I didn’t care. I’m running around in the nude having a shower and I don’t care who sees me.

‘But I remember walking in [to the bathroom] one day and Elizete was sitting on the floor of the shower just shaving her pubis, and she just didn’t care,’ Bianca laughed. 

‘She’s like: “It’s fine, it’s okay, you clean your teeth, Bianca.”

Bianca added: ‘Golden Bachelor, you’re dealing with perimenopausal women so, it was like I’ve got my HRT, my earplugs, my mouthguard, my lavender oil, my eye mask, my orthopaedic pillow. It was so funny watching all of these women unpack all the s*** that we need – like magnesium tablets.’

For Bianca, one of the biggest surprises for her was experiencing the wildly different personalities of the 19 other women vying for Bear’s affections – not least of which 54-year-old Elizete (pictured)

‘But I remember walking in [to the bathroom] one day and Elizete was sitting on the floor of the shower just shaving her p***s, and she just didn’t care,’ Bianca laughed. ‘She’s like: ‘It’s fine, it’s okay, you clean your teeth, Bianca.

‘But that’s what I love about her. I adore her like a sister. To me, things like that are the highlights of being on the show, meeting women like her. She’s a loose unit, but in a good way.’

While both women admitted they had made strong connections with their competitors during their mansion stint, the reality is that they are all there to win Bear’s affections.

So, just what did they think of their potential beau on first impressions?

‘Oh, he’s definitely my type,’ Bianca cooed.

‘He really is a silver fox – they chose well. Tall, handsome, mysterious – which I find sexy. He holds back a bit in a way that’s not aloof but in a way that’s sexy. Who doesn’t love a man that’s possibly a little bit hard to get? He’s a dirty big spunk.’

Catherine concurred with Bianca’s assessment.

‘I loved the fact that he was lovely and tall,’ she said. ‘He had the silver hair and the beard and everything, and of course that beautiful smile.

‘That’s the first thing I noticed about him. As I got closer to him, I realised that he had really, really kind eyes,’ Catherine added.

‘I really, really like that about him.’

The Golden Bachelor continues on Monday at 7.30pm on nine and 9Now.