EXCLUSIVE: Former Bachelor Matt Agnew is hosting a YouTube space special kids will love
The astrophysicist also weighs in on whether or not aliens exist.
A year ago Matt Agnew found love with Chelsie McLeod on The Bachelor. The two split a couple of months after the finale and since then, the 33-year-old astrophysicist has been keeping a rather low profile.
Following a tough lockdown in his hometown of Melbourne which Matt describes as “really hard” the self-confessed space geek caught up with Bounty Parents to chat about his love life, whether he’ll be tuning in to watch The Bachelorette, and the Cartoon Network Space-tacular he’s set to host this weekend.
How have you coped with lockdown in Melbourne?
I was in the WA at the start of the year and I came back just before all the restricitons much to my dismay. It was unfortunate timing. It is really hard and living alone makes it that next step in the challenge that you face. But the worst of it is behind us now. We can start having a friend over and start getting some social contact again which sounds like such a little thing but it makes a massive difference.
Our 2019 Bachelor, Matt Agnew has found lockdown in Melbourne tough.
What has helped you during lockdown?
I adopted my dog, Pluto when I got back from WA so I’ve had him about three or four months now. He’s a four-year-old lab and he’s very lovable, very cuddly and he has definitely carried me through living alone during lockdown. We’ve bonded very strongly and he’s not getting tired of the fact that I’m always here.
Since starring on The Bachelor last year, you’ve kept out of the spotlight. How did you find being in the public eye?
Obviously, it has its challenges. You are putting yourself out there and you are subject to a degree of scrutiny and commentary. Being in the public eye with things I am passionate about like science and space, means that I’m not opening up about the private parts of my life so much, it’s a more controlled degree of exposure to the public.
Matt says his dog, Pluto has carried him through living alone during Melbourne’s tough restrictions.
Does that mean you don’t want to talk about your love life?
No, not particularly. I’m not shy about or anything like that. There’s just honestly not much to say really. I take a while to bounce back from break-ups, so it’s just something that hasn’t been a priority while I’ve been looking after myself.
Are you still in touch with Chelsie?
Aah, no.
Elly Miles from your season is the new Bachelorette, along with her sister, Becky. What advice would you give the girls?
Give it your best shot. There’s always a critic of everything you do and every decision you make, so hopefully they just ignore them. Hopefully, it’s the start of their love story.
Will you be watching?
No, I didn’t even watch my own series, so no I won’t be watching.
How would you have felt about sharing the role of the Bachelor?
Probably having that someone who’s in your inner circle and who knows you quite intimately and who can support you would be quite welcome. The whole process is a lot more challenging than potentially what is shown. There are a lot of challenges so I think the two of them having one another will help them get through a rather high pressured and full on experience.
Matt gave his final rose to Chelsie McLeod but the two split a couple of months after the finale aired.
Tell me about your involvement in the Cartoon Network Ben 10 special.
Something that I’ve been quite loud and vocal about is my passion for space and science. I probably come across as a bit of a nerd, a bit of a dag and I do love cartoons as well so it’s of a natural fit.
The movie itself premieres on the 10th and just prior to the airing at 9:30am is the Cartoon Network Space-tacular which is what I’m hosting.
We’ll be doing a Q&A and I really love hearing questions from kids as they don’t hold back. Kids always ask about aliens and if they exist. I think they do but maybe not in the traditional little green men kind of way and not coming down and UFOs. But with very simple microbial or bacteria type life forms I think are probably quite abundant throughout the galaxies and within our own solar system where these kinds of life forms could exist so there’s some moons within our own solar system that look like they would be quite ideal locations for life to develop and thrive.
Ben 10 vs. The Universe: The Movie premieres on the Cartoon Network on Saturday, October 10.
To celebrate the premiere of the “out of this world” movie, Cartoon Network will be hosting a special live fan event on their Australian YouTube page.
The Cartoon Network Space-Tacular launches onto the Cartoon Network YouTube channel at 9:30am on the 10th of October.
Hosted by Astrophysicist Dr. Matt Agnew, and YouTube influencer Tom Smallwood the Space-Tacular will take viewers on a journey of space exploration with lots of fun science facts and experiments.
