Here he is ladies, South Africa’s first The Bachelor SA star.
Lee Thompson is a former Sharks rugby player and an entrepreneur.
The 29-year-old from Port Elizabeth also happens to be an international model, and when he’s not cutting deals or pumping iron in the gym, he dedicates his time to meaningful charity work.
So how did M-Net and production company Rapid Blue recruit Lee as The Bachelor?
“It was a tall order. Literally and figuratively speaking,” said M-Net’s Lani Lombard.
“While the ladies could enter the show, it was up to us to find The Bachelor. After many hours of scouting for Mr Perfect, we came up with a solution – we asked the 25 shortlisted ladies, who come from all walks of life, to list the attributes that would sway them to say “yes” when the question is popped, because after all, the show is supposed to lead to a marriage proposal.”
According to Lombard the ladies all immediately had one very specific request: he had to be tall.
And Lee, at 1.88m, fits the bill.
The next requirement was “kind-hearted”, followed by “adventurous”, “generous”, “financially independent” and “fun”.
And it wouldn’t hurt if he was easy on the eye. Lee ticked all the boxes
Financially independent? Heck, yeah. He owns and operates a cleaning company called Clean Smart and the website development business Skyler Web.
Before he ventured into modelling, he owned a gym. Lee’s other passion is philanthropy. He founded the non-profit organization #LiveHopeLoveSA.
And, how does Lee feel about stepping into the role of SA’s first Bachelor?
“My life goal is to have an amazing family life and, yes, I do know that this is an unusual way to find true love, but something deep inside me tells me that the universe is going to give me what I need right now – the woman of my dreams. I can’t wait to meet and get to know the 25 ladies,” he says.
Lee will only meet the ladies once filming starts. The show will be screened on M-Net from 14 February 2019.