I've got your back! - THE BACHELORETTE BABES' DEEP DEVOTION

The girls spill about their special bond

- CLOE WILLETTS

Life is dramatically different for The Bachelorette New Zealand buddies Lesina Nakhid-Schuster and Lily McManus compared to just a few weeks ago. Like the rest of us, the reality TV stars are bunkered down during the COVID-19 isolation period – Lesina at a hospital in Australia and Lily in her parents’ beachside shed in the South Island.

“I haven’t watched an episode of the show for weeks and my brain’s completely Coronabombarded at the moment,” says doctor Lesina, 32, who is working as a locum in Canberra, doing back-to-back surgeries in full protective wear. While she’d planned to come home earlier to self-isolate, Aotearoa’s first-ever Bachelorette was needed for work across the ditch. But she hopes she’ll be able to return after the lockdown to help with the pandemic in her home country.

Lily’s focus in Golden Bay is more relaxed, where she’s set up with a laptop and snacks. “There’s a lot of writing I want to do,” shares the 23-year-old, whose accommodation includes a bed, Wi-Fi and little else. “About two years ago I started putting all the stories in my head onto paper. Then I had more and more and it kind of turned into a book.”

Her writing is truthful, raw and controversial, and she laughs, “Let’s just say I’ll release it when I’m very OK with never having to show up in the media again!”

Her tell-all should likely include adventures from dates she and Lesina shared with 22 single guys on the TVNZ 2 show, which is due come to an explosive end on March 30.