TRIGGER WARNING: This article contains references to suicide and may be triggering for some readers.
The Bachelorette’s Jamie Doran has opened up once again about life after his stint on the series.
The infamous “Stage 5 clinger” from Angie Kent’s season of the hit program and 2020’s Bachelor in Paradise has revealed that he contemplated suicide due to the incessant trolling he received from his portrayal on the show.
“I’m still not dealing well at the moment,” he told So Dramatic! podcast host, Megan Pustetto, before recalling a time he pulled her aside on a night out and said that “he wanted to jump off a balcony.”
The fireman also admitted that the feelings hadn’t subsided and broke down “last Saturday” (at the time of the interview) — an entire year after the series.
“I broke down with her saying things were getting to me again,” he said. “I’m still in the war with things I’m not dealing with well.”
“I said to Marg’s, either “I kill myself or I move overseas’.”
Doran also appeared on KIISFM’s Kyle and Jackie O Show and detailed how he felt “trolled” and “mocked” live on air, despite believing co-host Kyle Sandilands would have “empathy” for him having known Doran mutually through Australian-New Zealand television personality and model Charlotte Dawson.
According to the former reality star, he also used to date the late Dawson, host of Australia’s Next Top Model, who took her own life in 2014.
“I’ve hung out with Kyle in the past and I thought he would have a bit of empathy for me because I used to date Charlotte Dawson, I don’t know if a lot of people know that,” he said.
“I hung out socially with Kyle back when he was with Tamara Jaber. Maybe, Kyle meets a lot of people maybe he doesn’t remember.”
Doran said that Sandilands may or may not remember him but felt the radio personality should not be trolling him over his mental health given his connection with Dawson.
“Charlotte was someone who I was with and for a lot of people who are listening, Charlotte killed herself because of online trolls and now I’m in this situation. Don’t troll me over mental health, especially after my history with Charlotte,” he said.
“I don’t want to go down that same rabbit hole with Charlotte and I feel like I’m close to it. I feel like I’m going down that downward spiral that Charlotte went down. I don’t want to be there, I don’t want to go there. I miss Charlotte and I know many people will miss me.”
Following his stint on The Bachelorette, Doran also received death threats and while vile at the time, the “DM’s have softened.”
During the recording, Doran admitted that he was aware of how he has been portrayed and admitted that he is happy to “own” who he is, however, he feels that “there’s a lot more to me than who they’ve pigeonholed me as.”
However, it’s not only the public who are seemingly giving him a hard time.
“Mum and Dad don’t really talk to me anymore,” he said, before admitting that he now only speaks to his middle sister because the very “private” family — who are Blue Mountains locals — “don’t like this public perception of me.”
“I think they’re just embarrassed,” he said, before adding, “My communication with my family is very limited. I see them once a year at Christmas and that’s it.”
During the interview, which is stage three of five, Doran also revealed that his move from Sydney to Brisbane was to “get away from it all.”
“People that knew me before and know me as a different person and saw my portrayal, it’s kind of embarrassing to then see them in the street or at the local coffee shop.”
Listen to the So Dramatic! Podcast for the full chat.
If you or someone you know needs help, please contact BeyondBlue on 1300 224 636 or Lifeline on 13 11 14.
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