In a sign that there is something real between the duo, the Darwin resident tells New Idea that she and Chad have been speaking every single day since they left the Big Brother house and joined the rest of Australia in lockdown.
She also reveals she’s planning on moving to Chad’s home town of Sydney once the nation’s borders reopen.
“The feelings are definitely genuine. We were [already] playing a game … It’s too hard to play a game and play someone else in it. Well, for us it was. Chad looks like this big man, but he’s really quite soft and gentle on the inside. I loved how he talked about his dog Buddy so much and his mum.”
Sophie and Chad are both hot favourites to make it to the final three, and she’s confident that their relationship is strong enough to withstand one of them beating out the other.
“At the end of the day we came here to win. If Chad won, I’d be happy for him, and I think he’d be happy for me. We can share the money. What’s mine is yours [laughs].
“I think we have played a very nice, genuine game. I don’t think I deserve to win more than him. We deserve it equally.
Chad is doing it for his dad, who passed away about 10 years ago. He wanted to make his dad proud and honour him because it was his dad’s favourite TV show.
For me, it was my dream; my be-all and end-all. In 2012 I actually applied for Big Brother and made it a few rounds in [the audition process]. I grew up watching it and always thought I’d be perfect for the show, as vain as that sounds.”
Indeed, Sophie has craved the spotlight ever since she was a little girl, telling New Idea, “I’ve always been a show pony and I love being centre of attention.”
In Year 2, she was enrolled in her first gymnastics class after a teacher told her mum that she was having problems with gross motor skills, and suggested the sport might help.
Sophie proved to have a natural ability and soon started competing.
At 18, she had qualified for the 2012 London Olympics team, but was forced to pull out after fracturing her back due to overuse.
“I was an all-rounder, where as most of the other girls were specialists. They’d only train [on] one apparatus but I had to do them all. It was just overloading … I couldn’t do it any more, both physically and mentally.”
Following the end of her gymnastics career, Sophie won Miss Supercar in 2017 and served as an ambassador for the sport.
She’s quick to “set the record straight” that she wasn’t a grid girl, as has been suggested, but says she enjoyed the exposure the gig gave her.
Now, she’s keen to build on the celebrity status that being on Big Brother has given her, and sees herself settling in Sydney with Chad.
“I want to take this and run with this,” she confirms.
“No matter what happens after the finale, I want to use this. I studied media and communications, and would love to use this and help set up a career.”
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