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"He was out of control": Inside Bachelorette star's battle with addiction

<p>A close friend of Charlie Newling has come forward about his mate's struggles with mental health issues and addiction after his untimely death. </p> <p>Newling, who appeared on the 2018 season of <em>The Bachelorette</em>, <a href="https://oversixty.com.au/news/news/bachelorette-star-found-dead-at-just-36" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tragically died</a> on Saturday night after his car fell from a cliff in Dover Heights, in Sydney's eastern suburbs. </p> <p>He was just 36 years old, and had recently welcomed his second child. </p> <p>As news of his death broke, a friend of Newlings came forward to share the struggles his mate had endured since his new-found fame on the reality dating show.</p> <p>His friend said the tradie was being swamped by addictions, leading to disturbing behaviour that brought a criminal conviction.</p> <p>Despite being dubbed a fan favourite for most of his time on <em>The Bachelorette</em>, his fan base quickly turned on him for his "controlling" behaviour. </p> <p>As a result, he was unable to cope with the backlash and negative publicity that came with appearing on the show, and turned to drugs as an escape.</p> <p>"Charlie's demon was meth a few years back. Because of it he said his wiring in his brain was screwed," a friend told <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-12507507/Bachelerotte-cliff-plunge-death-Charlie-Newling-booze-meth-fame-Kristal.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>Daily Mail Australia</em></a>.</p> <p>"He got off meth in 2020, and he went to Queensland<a id="mol-10e8fde0-5137-11ee-af22-f392a4134fa8" href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/queensland/index.html" target="_self"> </a>to escape the drug."</p> <p>While living in Queensland, Charlie met his on-again, off-again partner Kristal Taylor.</p> <p>However, his demons caught up with him when the pair returned to Sydney and began living in Sydney's east in 2021.</p> <p>"They moved in together but he was out of control with drinking and prescription drugs."</p> <p>He then checked into a rehab clinic in 2022, as friends and family witnessed Newling's declining mental health and alarming alcohol abuse in recent years.</p> <p>"His biggest addiction was booze," the friend said. </p> <p>During his periods of addiction, Charlie had a few run ins with the law, and was sentenced to 13 months in prison for threatening to torture and kill his stepfather in a series of 37 text messages he sent to his mother over a three hour period. </p> <p dir="ltr">He was also convicted of a mid-range drink driving offence in 2021.</p> <p dir="ltr">Charlie's death is not being treated as suspicious, and a report is being prepared for the coroner.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Ten</em></p>

Caring

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Bachelorette star found dead at just 36

<p dir="ltr"><em>The Bachelorette</em> contestant Charlie Newling has been found dead at the age of 36. </p> <p dir="ltr">The reality TV star who appeared on Ali Oetjen's season of the dating show in 2018, died after his car fell from a cliff in Dover Heights, in Sydney's eastern suburbs, on Saturday night. </p> <p dir="ltr">A NSW police spokesperson confirmed to <a href="https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/tv/reality-tv/the-bachelorette/the-bachelorette-australia-star-charlie-newling-dead-at-36/news-story/e75be1c603f493bdeafc6ff133b60f70" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>news.com.au</em></a> that police attended the scene after onlookers alerted the authorities to the location of the crashed car. </p> <p dir="ltr">His death is not being treated as suspicious, and a report is being prepared for the coroner.</p> <p dir="ltr">Newling, who had been working as a builder since his time on <em>The Bachelorette</em>, had welcomed a baby daughter just two months ago with his partner Kristal Taylor. </p> <p dir="ltr">The couple had been together since January 2021 and were living in Bronte. </p> <p dir="ltr">Newling also has a 13-year-old son from a previous relationship.</p> <p dir="ltr">During Ali Oetjen’s season of <em>The Bachelorette</em>, Newling’s charm quickly placed him as a frontrunner and was nicknamed 'Mr Perfect' by viewers.</p> <p dir="ltr">However, he was let go after refusing to introduce Oetjen to his family during hometown visits until they were “exclusive”.</p> <p dir="ltr">After his time on the reality dating TV show, Newling had a run in with the law, and was sentenced to 13 months in prison for threatening to torture and kill his stepfather in a series of 37 text messages he sent to his mother over a three hour period. </p> <p dir="ltr">He was also convicted of a mid-range drink driving offence in 2021.</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image credits: Ten</em></p>

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Jackie O responds to wild rumour following divorce and massive weight loss

<p dir="ltr">Jackie O has responded to rumours that she will appear on <em>The Bachelorette</em> following her 18 kg weight loss and divorce.</p> <p dir="ltr">Speaking on <em>The Kyle and Jackie O</em> show on Tuesday morning, the radio host was quick to shut down the rumours after her co-star Kyle Sandilands poked fun at her alleged new gig.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Congratulations on your new TV gig,” Kyle cheekily remarked.</p> <p dir="ltr">“That's all untrue Kyle. That's bulls**t. No, I'm not doing that,” Jackie O immediately quipped back.</p> <p dir="ltr">“That's great, because I wouldn't have been happy about that,” Kyle replied, and then went on to say why Jackie O was too good for the show.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I put you up on a pedestal. You are a great woman that has achieved amazing things in your life, [you] raised a great daughter... And you're an award-winning, wonderful friend,” he said.</p> <p dir="ltr">On their Wednesday show, Jackie O shut down the rumours further by saying that no amount of money would have convinced her to go on the show.</p> <p dir="ltr">She confirmed that the <em>Channel 10</em> producers begged her to appear on the dating show, but has firmly said no, because she didn’t want to be around a “bunch of gronks”.</p> <p dir="ltr">“It came through my manager and I said "absolutely not". No way would I ever do something like that. It is great for your entertainment, but what about me,' she said.</p> <p dir="ltr">She also hinted that the producers were willing to pay her anything she wanted, hinting at a possible $300k salary, which is the same amount her friend, Sophie Monk, got paid.</p> <p dir="ltr">“They asked how much would it cost. Nothing, I wouldn't do it. I would just not do it. Not the Bachelorette. They are just making TV in the end and you are just going to get gronks, get weirdos... I just don't think it is for me,” she justified.</p> <p dir="ltr">This comes after <em>Woman’s Day</em> magazine alleged that Jackie had signed up to the franchise in hopes of finding the right one on Monday.</p> <p><em>Images: Youtube</em></p>

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Georgia Love slammed for promoting Saudi Arabia

<p>Former Bachelorette and TV journalist Georgia Love has come under fire after promoting Saudi Arabia as an "incredible" travel destination. </p> <p>Georgia and her husband Lee Elliot, who found love on Network Ten's <em>The Bachelorette </em>in 2016, sparked controversy after sharing photos to Instagram of themselves promoting tourism in the hard-line Islamic nation. </p> <p>“After only opening to tourists in 2019, we can’t state how excited we are to be among the first Aussies to tour Saudi,” Love wrote on Instagram on Thursday.</p> <p>“To us, it is important to see, experience and learn about all cultures around us and to see how much and how fast our world is changing. We can’t wait to bring you along on this incredible experience with us.”</p> <p>Lee also shared a series of photos to his Instagram story thats showed the pair trying Arabic coffee and snacks in the town of Diriyah, posing in front of buildings and enjoying a meal in the Riyadh Front shopping area.</p> <p>After adding the hashtag "Visit Saudi" to their Instagram posts, the couple have been subject to heavy criticism, with commenters calling the trip "immoral".</p> <p>The autocratic regime of Saudi Arabia has long copped heavy criticism for their human rights abuses, including its treatment of women and its LGBT community, and for repressing political opposition.</p> <p>Just this week, the country's regime executed 81 people in a single day, as pointed out on Twitter by journalist Peter Ford. </p> <p>Ford added, “This is the country Georgia Love accepted a free trip to visit. Of the 81 you can be sure there is a disproportionate number of women, gays &amp; possibly journalists. Did you really need a freebie trip that badly Georgia?”</p> <p>Fans of the couple also turned on their travel destination choice, with one person saying, “Why not use your influence/platform to promote somewhere that doesn’t have an atrocious record of human rights violations.”</p> <p>In response to the backlash, Lee posted a series of Instagram stories saying they “truly hear and understand what you’re saying and where you’re coming from.”</p> <p><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/03/georgia-love-insta.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p> <p>He said, "We thought long and hard about coming and we decided to come as the world is changing for the better and Saudi along with it."</p> <p>“We strongly believe by Saudi opening up to the rest of the world and by tourists being here it has to be more accountable and hope this is a change for the better."</p> <p>"Trust me we looked into it before coming and believe many things have changed for the better in more recent times and hope they continue to do so.”</p> <p><em>Image credits: Instagram</em></p>

Travel Trouble

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Woman takes to Bunnings to find husband

<p><span>One single lady is on a hunt to find something a little more niche from her local supply store after turning into Tinder for the hardware store in a hilarious bid to snag herself a true Aussie husband.</span><br /><br /><span>NSW-based Leesh Cunningham went viral after sharing a two-part video of her quest on TikTok, in which she is showing herself wandering through the aisles and even asking a Bunnings employee if they had any men left in stockS</span><br /><br /><span>“So, I’ve given up on Tinder and online dating and I’ve gone for a more traditional approach … I’ve come to Bunnings to find a husband,” she says in the clip.</span></p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7839198/bunnings-warehouse-2.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/6bfd53bd41834e26a993c5270743ae43" /><br /><span>After walking through each aisle, Ms Cunningham gives up, saying she “must have picked a bad day”.</span><br /><br /><span>She then gave it another crack a few days later, except this time she had come with a stack of flyers (listing a series of phone numbers) in hand.</span><br /><br /><span>She turned to an employee for help when she couldn’t get find a suitable candidate.</span><br /><br /><span>“I’m just looking for a husband and was told you guys had them here,” she says to the staff member.</span><br /><br /><span>“They’re flying off the shelf, if we have any they’ll be in the back corner on the left,” the Bunnings worker responded.</span></p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7839199/bunnings-warehouse-1.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/385afdbb23ab48b9a1c2be975a9b5d20" /><br /><br /><span>However when Ms Cunningham raced to the back corner, she found herself alone again.</span><br /><br /><span>The hilarious clips have raked in over 180,000 views and some wise words from other women, including the Bunnings store itself who told her to come“between 6-8 am and 5-9pm, that’s when the tradies get their supplies”.</span><br /><br /><span>“Don’t give up, I got a man from there, he’s alright,” another wrote.</span></p>

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