Sharna Burgess Was Being Considered for ‘The Bachelorette’ Australia Pre-COVID

After a season away from Dancing With the Stars, professional dancer Sharna Burgess is back for season 29. Burgess and her celebrity partner, actor Jessie Metcalfe, have raised eyebrows for their on-stage chemistry and some are wondering if there’s potential for romance between the two.

While Metcalfe is linked to model Corin Jamie-Lee Clark, Burgess is currently single. In fact, Burgess was actually considering starring in Australia’s iteration of The Bachelorette before the coronavirus pandemic shut down film and television production around the world.

During a Zoom interview with Entertainment Tonight in April, Burgess revealed, “The Bachelorette has been postponed, 100 percent. We’ve had to, for safety reasons. I mean, you just can’t take that risk. All of the other exciting opportunities that may have been possible [for me] have now been put on hold until further notice.”

Burgess Said She Was ‘Ready for Love’ & ‘Open to Being The Bachelorette’

Back in November, Burgess told ET that she was in contention for the leading role as Australia’s next Bachelorette. She said, “This is a conversation that keeps coming back to me. I am absolutely looking for love. I am ready for love. I am getting more and more open to being the Bachelorette. I just got back from Australia and it became a pretty hot topic over there on whether I could be the next Bachelorette in Australia, so that’s an interesting thought for me. I’m excited by it! I would maybe do it here, I don’t know. It’s up in the air, but I’m definitely looking for love.”

When asked about the possibility of Burgess being the next Bachelorette star for the franchise’s Australia-based dating show, a representative for Channel 10 told Daily Mail Australia, “We welcome speculation about the identity of the new Bachelorette. We are thrilled that so many talented and accomplished women have expressed interest in appearing on the show. We are in the very early stages of casting and an announcement will be made in the coming months.”

Burgess Turned Down the Offer Because She’s Currently Living in America

Ultimately, Burgess was not cast as the next Bachelorette; the coveted spot went instead to Bachelor franchise alum Elly Miles and her sister Becky.

As a guest on Demi Burnett’s podcast, Daily Mail reports that Burgess revealed that she turned down the offer to be the next Bachelorette before the Miles sisters were cast. She said, “They offered it to me a couple of times actually because I judge Dancing with the Stars in Australia,” and that she really thought through the opportunity before deciding that it wasn’t right for her at this time.

The show would have matched her with contestants from Australia, which complicates things as she lives and works in America, as a cast member on Dancing With the Stars. Of the timing, she added, “It didn’t feel like it lined up right, but who’s to say that that next year it won’t? If I’m still 36 and single next year, I’ll be calling The Bachelor like, ‘Okay, let’s do this! I need some help.’ … It didn’t feel right for me this year, and then the pandemic hit and it’s postponed and all the things, but I was really excited about it for a period of time.”

Nevertheless, Burgess seems to be actively seeking love. Of the traits she’s seeking in a future husband, she told ET she wants “Someone who already has gone through their own journey to themselves and their career and is ready to build something with someone else now. And just love and support each other, honestly. I just wanna share life and memories and moments.”

New episodes of Dancing With the Stars season 29 air on Mondays at 8/7c on ABC.

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