Models, pilots and champion water-skiers have been up for grabs in previous series of the dating show – but surely nothing tops the Ukrainian series’s new offering
Since its first season in 2002, The Bachelor has spread like the plague itself. Not only has the American original been spun off into a dizzying number of streams – The Bachelorette, Bachelor in Paradise, Bachelor Pad, The Golden Bachelor, The Bachelor Winter Games, the absurdly titled 2020 show The Bachelor Presents: Listen to Your Heart – but it has also been remade in 36 different countries.
Clearly, something about the premise (in which several women throw themselves at one single man in the hope that he will eventually propose) has enormous appeal. Key to its success is the eligibility of the bachelor himself. If a normal schmo like you or me took part, nobody would be interested. But the shows have a habit of picking extremely impressive men. The original bachelor was Alex Michel, an athletic, multilingual Harvard graduate. Others have been racecar drivers, airline pilots and professional athletes. The Australian version chose a man who split his time between professional modelling and chiropody. The Hungarian version (titled The Great One) picked Gábor Gyursánszky, the most successful Hungarian water-skier in history. The German version once hired an insurance specialist, which must be very sexy in Germany.
And yet, despite this cavalcade of unchecked testosterone, The Bachelor now has to up its game. This is because the Ukrainian version of The Bachelor has just unveiled its newest bachelor. Ladies, he is a catch.
In the past, the series has gone with some relatively lightweight choices – Dancing with the Stars professional Maksim Chmerkovskiy fulfilled the role in 2011 – but Ukraine has become a dramatically different country in the ensuing years. The nation is now defined by war, and according to Variety the newest series of The Bachelor has chosen to reflect that by hiring soldier Oleksandr Budko as its lead.
Budko has become something of a figurehead for the war effort. In February 2022 he signed up as a volunteer soldier to defend his country from the Russian invasion, and was promoted to platoon commander within six months. But during the battle of Kharkiv he lost both of his legs when a shell exploded near him.
That alone would be impressive enough, but Budko’s output since then has been even more impressive. He won a medal in Prince Harry’s Invictus Games, and appeared in a film that was produced by Sarah Jessica Parker. He wrote a book entitled The Story of a Stubborn Man. He performed alongside The United Ukrainian Ballet in California. He hosts a travel show called Leg Dump, which checks Ukrainian cities for ease of accessibility. Plus, as of March this year, he is also a standup comedian. By way of comparison, in 2012 the UK version of The Bachelor hired Spencer Matthews from Made in Chelsea as its bachelor.
Clearly, we all need to up our game considerably. A multi-hyphenate war hero like Budko, tough enough to fight for his country but sensitive enough to dance ballet, is about as Bachelor-y as you can get. Honestly, there’s a small part of me that wants to slip into some uncomfortable shapewear and try my chances on the show with him. How on earth are other countries meant to compete? In the future, when we get to look back at the long and weird history of television in the first quarter of the 21st century, there is every chance that we will see the Budko season of The Bachelor as the high point of the entire franchise. Maybe the best thing would be for The Bachelor to shut up shop in its entirety after this season ends.
Of course, for that to happen, the show really needs to stick the landing. The appeal of The Bachelor is the promise of true love, of finding The One in a sea of admirers. Which is statistically a stupid thing to believe in, since overwhelmingly the couple who form at the end of The Bachelor tend to stagger on for a few months and then split up. But this time, who knows? The Ukrainian version of The Bachelor has higher stakes than most. The love life of Budko is now part of the war effort. Nothing will improve the national mood like seeing everlasting love blossom between him and whichever contestant he picks as the winner of his series. That isn’t too much to ask, is it?
