South graduate on “The Bachelorette”

Alex+Bordyukov+was+convinced+by+his+friend+to+accept+an+offer+to+be+on+The+Bachelorette.+Photo+from+Erica+Fossee+19+and+Katie+Costello+19.

Alex Bordyukov was convinced by his friend to accept an offer to be on The Bachelorette. Photo from Erica Fossee ’19 and Katie Costello ’19.

The popular show, “The Bachelorette” features Grosse Pointe South graduate, Alex Bordyukov, in its thirteenth season.

Born in Protvino, Russia, Bordyukov did not become a Grosse Pointer until 2001.

“My dad was actually recruited from Russia to work on the particle accelerator at Wayne State University back in 2000,” Bordyukov said.

According to Bordyukov, he was supposed to be in ninth grade when he moved to Grosse Pointe, but he attended Pierce for a half semester in order to pick up English. He then attended South for four years.

Bordyukov said his most memorable experience at South was taking programming classes.

“I actually took one every semester; I ended up taking 16 of those classes,” Bordyukov said.

According to Bordyukov, he also participated in swim and track and field at South.

After high school, Bordyukov said he swam at Wayne State and got a bachelors in business and is now an accountant.

In high school and prior to going on the show, Bordyukov did not really know what “The Bachelor” and “The Bachelorette” were.

“ I’d heard about it [“The Bachelorette”] back in the day. But I’m gonna be honest, I wasn’t sure if it was still on,” Bordyukov said.

According to casting.bachelor.warnerbros.com, people can apply to be a contestant on “The Bachelorette” or can nominate someone else to be a contestant. Bordyukov said he was contacted by “The Bachelorette” company in fall 2016 and did not try out.

“I thought it was funny that I got asked to do it. I didn’t really wanna do it, to be honest. It was just not my thing. I’m not trying to be an actor or anything like that,” Bordyukov said.

Bordyukov’s best friend, who he swam with at Wayne State University, eventually convinced him to go on to the show, according to Bordyukov. He then had to send in a video interview.

According to Bordyukov, it is still a mystery as to how he was found by “The Bachelorette” company.

“I asked them [“The Bachelorette” company] and they’re not sure either how they found me,” Bordyukov said.

There were not many preparations for the show, according to Bordyukov. He said he needed to bring a lot of clothes and figure out how to get time off of work.

Bordyukov said he did not tell his family that he was going onto the show until he got further into the process.

“I just went over to my parents one day and told them, ‘hey I think I might be on the show..’ They thought it was pretty funny,” Bordyukov said. “Nobody was really taking it seriously, like ‘oh cool, you’ll have a great time,’ because it is a once in a lifetime opportunity.”

According to Bordyukov, he did not know that Rachel Lindsay would be “The Bachelorette” until after he was cast and then had the option of dropping out.

“Most people come in very skeptical about the process,” Bordyukov said.

Before going on the show, Bordyukov did not believe that it would be possible for anyone to develop a relationship strong enough for marriage.

Bordyukov was also nervous about giving up privacy before the show, but was most nervous to be around Lindsay.

“You do have to consider that you are going to give up your privacy for an extended period of time, you are putting yourself out there and you’re bringing a lot of other people into your life,” Bordyukov said. “You’re inviting people to comment on you, so sometime it’s bothersome, sometimes it’s negative. You’re opening yourself up to it.”

Bordyukov said that the first night when he arrived at the bachelor mansion was surreal and crazy.

“I was calm the whole time until I sat down and talked to her, and it was just a lot of different emotions at that point,” Bordyukov said.

Bordyukov compared being on “The Bachelorette” to being in high school.

“Some people you get along with, some people you don’t. Some guys will try a little harder to be liked by everyone, others kind of just stay back and see what everyone’s about,” Bordyukov said.

Many of the men will try to get attention, show off, or intimidate other men, according to Bordyukov.

“Everyone deals with the situation differently. Some guys wanna be the center of attention, others stay back a little more. But you [the viewers] don’t see all of it,” Bordyukov said.

Bordyukov said only around two percent of everything that is filmed is actually shown on the show.

“That’s the difference between watching it vs being there,” Bordyukov said.

According to Bordyukov, many friendships develop that aren’t necessarily shown on TV.

“We did spend a lot of time together,” Bordyukov said. “There’s a lot of down time.”

Bordyukov did not see “The Bachelorette” as a competition and was not there to beat the other guys.

“I never took it as a competition. I was there to say, hey, if this was something for me and her [Lindsay],” Bordyukov said.

A lot of the guys are still friends, according to Bordyukov, and he has spent time with some outside the show.

Bordyukov said he did not know about some of the drama on the show until the show aired.

“I’m learning a lot of things, myself, watching it [the show]. I thought I was there but I still didn’t know what was going on behind scenes,” Bordyukov said.

Bordyukov believes that the show only shows Chris Harrison, “The Bachelor” and “The Bachelorette” host, during dramatic scenes, but off camera he is a funny guy.

One aspect of the situation that Bordyukov said he was not crazy about was all the attention and lack of privacy. Bordyukov said there is a lot of exposure.

“I hid pretty well from the camera for the first couple weeks,” Bordyukov said.

Despite the lack of privacy, Bordyukov said he does not regret going on the show and it was absolutely worth it.

According to Bordyukov, his favorite part of the show were the dates.

“The dates were by far the most fun I probably have ever had. It’s not something you can ever replicate or prepare yourself for or do yourself,” Bordyukov said.

While on the dates, people don’t usually eat because they want to spend that time talking with Lindsay, according to Bordyukov.

Bordyukov was worried that things would change in his life after going on to the show.

“I haven’t really gotten any [reaction], my life hasn’t really changed much,” Bordyukov said.

According to Bordyukov, if you have a good base of family and friends and know that the show won’t change you, then it is a great opportunity to take part in. Bordyukov said he definitely doesn’t regret going on “The Bachelorette.”

Bordyukov said he was a big nerd in high school and carried that over to the show.

“I just want to let all the nerds know there’s hope for us,” Bordyukov said. “If you stick with those AP classes, video games, programming and coding and that stuff, at the end of the day it makes you more interesting.”