Brooke Blurton - Big Love: Reclaiming myself, my people, my country

This book was written on the traditional lands of the Wurunjeri people of the Kulin nation, and on the traditional lands of the Noongar people living on Whadjuk Noongar Boodjar.

The author acknowledges the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the lands on which she works, and pays respects to Elders past and present. Sovereignty has never been ceded. It was and always will be Aboriginal land.

The author supports the Uluru Statement from the Heart to achieve justice, recognition, and respect for First Nations people and a referendum to enshrine a First Nations Voice in the Constitution.

For Charlotte, Seanna,

Kyandra, Eden, Troy and RJ

Id be lying if I said I wasnt emotional. Standing here on the red carpet, in front of three Elders from the Darug nation, witnessing the first ever Welcome to Country performed to open a season of The Bachelorette, the tears coming from my eyes are genuine.

Ive never been able to fake it, anyway. Everything I feel is always clear to anyone around me its just how I am.

But this moment is so much bigger than I anticipated. Its not my first rodeo Ive been on this carpet before, and its difficult to think back to that younger Brooke without feeling a pang of heartbreak for her. At twenty-three, I had no idea what a rollercoaster I was stepping onto as a contestant on Season Six of The Bachelor.

I remember walking up the red carpet to meet Nick Cummins, the suitor, two footballs tucked under my arm while I tried to navigate high heels and a fancy dress, my heart full of hope and excitement. I thought Id already given everything I could to television when I left that season, heartbroken and still single.

But here I am, back again. I guess you could call me a hopeless romantic.

In this moment, listening to Uncle Colin Locke welcome us to country alongside Uncle Peter Williams and Uncle Wayne Cornish, Im reminded that this season of The Bachelorette, its seventh, is about so much more than my own quest for love. Its about representation. Its about community, and claiming a space for my people.

As the first Aboriginal Bachelorette, Im making my own mark on history. Im taking a step forward for my people by showing that we can and we should take up space everywhere in Australia, including on one of the biggest spots on free-to-air television, as the Bachelorette.

Ive spent my entire life fighting the stereotypes and misconceptions about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, which have been our cross to bear since invasion. To be standing here now as a hero in my own story, knowing that this Welcome to Country will be screened to hundreds of thousands of Australians across the country, I am filled with pride.

You cant be it if you cant see it, Osher says in his introduction. And its so true. Growing up, I never saw anyone like me in the public eye. I had to use all of my imagination to dream big dreams for myself. I think of the little girls who might watch me when this season airs, who might feel just a little less alone seeing someone like me on their screens, and I feel the certainty again that Ive made the right decision by coming back on the show.

I havent taken this decision lightly. Ive had my heart broken twice on national television, and it hasnt been easy to bounce back. The last two years, off screen, have been big ones. I have loved again, and I have lost again, but I have also healed.

Im ready to find the person I can share the rest of my life with.

And although its my third time in front of the cameras, its my first time being here completely and authentically as myself a proud Noongar-Yamatji woman, and also a proud and open bisexual woman. I will be the first queer Bachelorette, and I cant exaggerate how privileged I feel to be able to take this step forward for the LGBTQIA+ community.

I think about the years I spent trying to fit into a heterosexual identity the love I gave up and denied myself because I was afraid to confront the truth of my sexuality and how much of a relief it was to claim my true identity. I think about how hard that might be for young people today battling with the same questions I have, and I know that this is and will be a historic moment. I feel so honoured to be given this chance to represent the communities I belong to. But Im also not taking the responsibility lightly. Im nervous. I try not to fidget on the carpet, to push my nerves aside.

I hug the Elders who have welcomed me to country, and they give me strength in that moment. Now were waiting for the first contestants limo to pull up.

The sky is blue-black above me, and I suddenly feel a long way from home.

My country is Noongar and Yamatji in Western Australia, on the other side of the continent. Right now, I am so, so far away. I can feel that tug, calling me back to country. My mother and my nan are both tethering me to home, their bodies buried in the soil of our ancestors.

People who watch this season will see one side of me, a young woman well used to the camera, gliding across their screens, wearing beautiful clothes, meeting beautiful people, living a sort of dream life. But they dont know where Ive come from. They dont know just how high the odds were stacked against my survival, let alone my arrival on this red carpet as the first Aboriginal, bisexual Bachelorette.

I have survived so much to be here racism, poverty, sexual assault, the loss of my mother and my nan when I was so young, the separation of my family, the deterioration of my own mental health, and too many heartbreaks for me to count. I have overcome all of these adversities, and somehow Ive kept a small spark of hope alive inside me, which has led me to be here now, a woman in a black dress with an open heart, waiting to find love.

I can hear the sound of a car now, and my heart is thudding again. I take a deep breath, and let it out gently, grounding myself in the moment. I look up at the sky, and set my intention.

This is for you, Mum and Nan, I think, calling on the two strongest women I have known, who have made me who I am today. Whatever happens now, I will stand in my truth and take it in my stride.

Love has guided me here, and love will be with me, no matter what happens next.

The limo pulls up. I can hear my heart beat as if theres a microphone at my chest. The door opens. It begins.

Every story starts somewhere, and parts of mine have been told by a lot of others so far. So this is me taking it back. This time, its just me and you here no camera, no make-up, no screens. The real Brooke, barefoot and uncomplicated, with my whole truth to share.

It starts long before anyone knew my name, other than the mob and family who loved me and knew me from the day I was born.

Compared to others, my childhood was an unusual one. There are two stories that I could tell about it. One could be about all the things we didnt have, like food in the fridge, clean beds to sleep in every night, stability and the routine of breakfast, school, homework and dinner that most kids take for granted.

But that wouldnt be a true story, because that isnt what has made me who I am. It isnt what took me from a girl with very little to a woman with power, passion and skills to give to her community. The other story the true story about what has made me who I am is the one thing that I never went without. Love. Big love, which filled me up and made me feel like there was a future for me. The kind of love thats unconditional, and that lasts across time, space, and even death.