After a four-year break from tv, Sam Armytage is back on our screens, playing cupid and making her own fresh start
After years away from the city lights, Sam Armytage has swapped the quiet of the NSW Southern Highlands countryside for a new network and a sparkly new gig.
She’s stepping into the host role on Nine’s The Golden Bachelor – and the warm glow she’s felt has surprised even her.
“In a strange way it’s been like coming home,” Sam, 49, tells TV WEEK.
“My first ever job was at WIN Television [a Nine Network affiliate] in Canberra as a cadet reporter.”
Life on the land gave Sam the reset she needed, but returning to the studio floor, and to a different broadcaster after 21 years at Seven, has produced a jolt of joy the former Sunrise and Farmer Wants A Wife host didn’t even realise she’d missed.
“It was nice to be back at work,” she admits.
“I missed playing a TV cupid. This show suits me well as a host, because I’m a journalist, but also because I’ve lived a life.”
The Bachelor franchise has long had a familiar face at the helm – Osher Günsberg – and will now be taken in a new direction with Sam as its first ever female host.
“I tried not to overthink it,” she says.
“My background is in journalism and my key skill set is storytelling, so I was able to bring that over and help the ladies and Bear [the Golden Bachelor] tell their own stories – and they are extraordinary stories to tell.”
Sam saw, from the very first rose ceremony, just how powerfully the 50-plus age group lands on screen. Those dating in their 50s and 60s have lived, loved and lost much more than the people appearing on your average dating show.
“This is a group of people in their older years who have been ignored on television,” she says.
“And now we’re bringing them to life. The ladies, in particular, know what they will and will not put up with.
“They’re there for the right reasons, so the show is quite strong from a female empowerment perspective.”
Sam also looks forward to seeing how the stories of the 20 ladies and the Golden Bachelor himself – 61-year-old widowed infrastructure engineer Barry ‘Bear’ Myrden – resonate with the show’s audience.
“For instance, one of the ladies talks about the day her divorce came through from her first husband and that she was on the kitchen floor in tears,” Sam recalls.
“I think there are probably a lot of women out there watching who have been in the same position.”
The ladies and Bear have survived all of life’s events – from being widowed to going through tumultuous divorces – and that’s something Sam herself can relate to.
Sam found her own fairytale romance turned into a very public separation from her husband, Richard Lavender, last year.
“When you first go into a marriage you don’t expect to get divorced or be widowed,” she explains. “I too know about grief; I know about trauma. Last year I went through a lot of changes and it was difficult at times. But now I’m back – I feel good and I’m really excited about the future.”
With tough times calling for resilience and reinvention, Sam has done just that. She’s excited about her next chapter, but isn’t quite ready for The Golden Bachelor herself.
“I take my hat off to these ladies and to Bear,” she says.
“They’re incredibly brave to put themselves out there in this public way. I don’t know if I’d be that brave.”
Sam also opens up about the friendships that were formed on set, and the support network she found with this group of women.
“It’s this lovely thing that comes to women as they get older – they really do look out for each other,” Sam says.
“In many respects, some of the women were looking after me more often than I was looking after them! There was a nice camaraderie there.”
And as the ‘golden’ in the title hints, there’s a joy in getting older that Sam is happy to claim, although she is in no rush to get there.
“Hey, I’m still 49, I’ve got 12 months left,” she says with a laugh.
“But I really am having such a ball at the moment – I’m loving this phase of my life.”
