Made In Bondi is one of those reality shows that you either love or hate and I can understand why. It’s a reality show, which isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. The cast is so ridiculously good-looking that it’s basically not fair, and there’s so much drama happening in one friend group that it makes yours seem boring by comparison. But if you’re open to a little bit of silly gossip, pretty people and a splash of the Sydney coastline, Made In Bondi is worth the watch. The only thing that makes it better? The drama that happens when the cameras stop rolling.
And, if you are just as invested in this beautiful bunch of Sydneysiders as I am, you’ve come to the right place.
Here, I’ve got all the behind-the-scenes goss that I can get my grimy little mitts on. You’re sooOoOoO welcome.
All the Made In Bondi goss in one place
Lawson Mahoney’s accent is actually real
From the moment the first episode of Made In Bondi hit our screens, one of the biggest takeaways was that 22-year-old male model Lawson Mahoney has a very interesting way of speaking. It’s kind of like he heard the Aussie accent, added an English or South African inflexion and then made goddamn meals of those vowels.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s entertaining. So much so that it made me, the viewers and even his fellow co-stars suspect that Lawson was hamming it up for the cameras.
“I think I was apprehensive about Lawson because obviously he was sort of toying with Molly when I first met them, but also I couldn’t get around the accent,” Made In Bondi star Jai Kaldor tells PEDESTRIAN.TV.
“I was like, You’re a fuck boy putting on this accent.”
Jai even admitted asking Molly Paradice —Lawson’s girlfriend at the time — whether it was legit because she was convinced he was a fuck boy.
“I said to Molly, ‘is he for real? When you go home with him at night time is he still like this?’ And she’s like, ‘Yeah, he’s just like that’. Once I sort of grew to understand that that’s just how he is. So now, we’re fine, and I love him.”
Lawson also jumped on Instagram to respond to the critique of his voice.
“I’ve heard the whispers. I’ve heard them all through the grapevine and I wish to address these allegations. I have a unique way of speaking. My L’s are a little strange — a little South African,” he said. Lawson also noted that he puts emphasis on his T’s because his grandma told him to — cute!!!!
“At the end of the day, if you’re hating on my voice then you must be watching it which is good in my books,” he concluded.
Fair enough, King!!!
Is the show scripted?
No matter which reality show you watch, there seem to always be rumours that the series is made up or scripted. Jai says that couldn’t be further from the truth.
“I can hand on heart, swear on my mother’s life and my Nan’s grave that none of it is scripted,” Jai vows.
“It’s so wild to me when I hear that because you can’t make that shit up. None of it is scripted.”
However, she does note that it is a constructed reality. The cast is told where to be and when and often don’t know who they’ll be encountering when they get to the location. Everything else just happens naturally over 12-hour shooting sessions and the editors pick and choose the good stuff to make the final cut.
There are two core friendship groups amongst the Made In Bondi cast
Just like the British reality series Made In Chelsea which the Aussie version is based on, the series revolves around a group of “friends” and the drama that ensues. But on Made In Bondi, not everyone knew each other.
Coming into the show, Perth native Billy Daniels had met Paul Versace, Emma Pillimer and Jai in passing through his work as a PR agent. But it wasn’t until the show actually began filming that he got to know everyone properly, hitting it off instantly with jewellery designer Emma.
While he says he became mates with everyone pretty quickly, he bonded with Charlie Moore and Lawson from the get-go.
“I think Charlie and Lawson are such great boys,” Billy told PEDESTRIAN.TV.
“I know Lawson’s made some mistakes, but I think they’re a good representation of males that are able to talk about their emotions and have each other to confide in, not that toxic masculinity that we see on on other shows. So I really liked what they represented, and I liked them as people.”
While Billy had some connections in the group already, Jai didn’t know anyone.
“I was the only cast member going in blind,” she laughed. Very quickly though, she hit it off with Pippa Hanum and formed a tight-knit group with Pippa, Molly, Lachy McLean, and secondary cast member Harley Christie.
Shit is about to hit the fan
The first five episodes are currently out on 7Plus, with the sixth being released tonight. But apparently we’re in for a treat in a couple of weeks when episode eight lands on our screens.
“Oh my God there is something in episode eight and I’m still not over it,” Jai teases.
Although she’s vowed to secrecy (most likely in the form of an NDA) the talent rep did spill that the drama has “rocked everyone to their core” and involves a “very loved character”.
“God, I’m getting really riled up thinking about it,” she continued.
“I am never speechless but when this dropped, I was. Even the producers were like, ‘We’ve never seen you like that before’. It’s still very present in the group right now.”
Billy also confirmed that Episode Eight was the one to watch.
“I can tell you shit does hit the fan,” he says. “I don’t know what I’m allowed to say but I think it was seen in the previews that some of them go on a trip, and I know there are some tears, some shocking allegations.”
I can’t bloody wait!!!
Where the cast stand after filming the season
After everything that went down, I wouldn’t blame the Made In Bondi cast for having a rough time moving on with their press commitments. According to Jai and Billy, there’s certainly a lot of tension between them all — but they’re trying their best to put it aside.
“Obviously, the fallout from what happened in episode eight is still, as I mentioned, very present among the group,” Jai spills.
“There’s always tension because that’s their real lives and then we’re all together in a room. So it is high tension, but it is one of those things where we’ve just got to let it go and move forward together as a group because this is quite like a strange, unique journey for all of us,” Billy explains.
Who will be able to kick off a solid influencer career after the show?
As a public relations expert, Billy has a heap of experience when it comes to influencers and what it takes to make a star. Despite coming on Made In Bondi as talent himself, he’s got thoughts on who he thinks has enough star power to make it.
“I would love to see Lawson, but I just worry he’ll get himself in trouble at some stage. He’s so handsome and so natural and charismatic, I think he has such potential to have an amazing career, if he just learns to, you know, rein it in when he has to.
“He just needs a bit of media training. I might try and sell that service to him through my agency,” Billy says with a laugh.
Another potential breakout star is Jacob Faour who appears as a suitor for Paul in Episode Five.
“He is so beautiful. He has this long, curly hair, and He’s so charismatic and such a good vibe. So I think he has huge potential as well. I love that,” he says, noting that cast members like Bella, Lachy and Isabella are already thriving influencers.
Well, there you have it! That’s all the tea I could extract from the cast so far.
I’ll make sure to keep you updated if more juicy stuff comes in. And if you’re in the cast reading this? Firstly — hello, love you all. Feel free to hit me up if you want to dish some dirt!!!!
You can watch Made In Bondi on 7Plus or Channel Seven.
The post Made In Bondi’s Jai Kaldor & Billy Daniels Spill All The Behind-The-Scenes Tea appeared first on PEDESTRIAN.TV .
