ABC’s The Bachelorette got a dose of SFU this season.
SFU alumnus Jon Hamilton appeared on the season 12 opener of The Bachelorette. Sporting traditional Scottish garb, complete with a kilt, he went all out in what he described as a “make or break” opportunity to impress Jojo Fletcher, this season’s bachelorette.
“[Jojo] was either going to like it or hate it [. . .] [and] I have no regrets doing it,” Hamilton said in an interview with The Peak.
At first, going on The Bachelorette wasn’t Hamilton’s idea. A past girlfriend nominated him to be on the show, and it was apparent that his Canadian charm appealed to the show’s producers, as they reportedly bombarded Hamilton with a number of calls while he was out to dinner one night.
“I was having dinner at Local [in Kitsilano] when I got a call from LA,” Hamilton recounted. “At first I thought it was a crank call, and I clicked decline at least three times. But then I finally answered and found myself talking with a girl from ABC [. . .] it kinda snowballed from there, and turned into like ‘holy shit, you have to do it!’”
An avid follower of the series, Hamilton was curious about the experience of being on a reality TV show. After going through a series of interviews and flying down to LA for further meetings with show executives, filming began. This enabled him to experience the other side of a show that he watched so regularly.
While Hamilton lived with his parents, he would watch the show every Monday night with his mom: “It was a bonding experience for my mom and I. When the show was on, I knew exactly what I was doing every Monday night.”
When asked about his choice of attire, Hamilton laughed and admitted that while it was unique, he was used to it. Hamilton, who is half-Scottish and half-Chinese, takes great pride in his heritage thanks to his dad, a proud Scotsman.
“I wore a kilt to my high school graduation and my sister’s wedding, so it’s kind of commonplace for me,” Hamilton remarked. As for the show, he had his doubts, but in the end some of the producers asked him to wear it to add extra interest.
Before his stint on The Bachelorette, Hamilton graduated in 2009 with a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in history and minoring in economics. During his time at SFU, he also played with the hockey team and made a lot of friends through the program, some of whom he still keeps in touch with to this day.
When asked to describe a perfect date with money being no object, Hamilton described a grand picture of going to Italy via private jet, wine tasting in Tuscany, and having Mario Batali cook him and his date dinner.
But for Hamilton, the best way to really get to know someone is to have easy and flowing conversation. “The perfect date [for me] would be getting pizza and watching movies,” Hamilton said. “It’s easier to talk that way.”
Even though Hamilton was sent home by Jojo Fletcher, this handsome alumnus likely won’t have any trouble finding a girl willing to take him up on that offer.
