Travel News

The Bachelor Proposes in Queenstown

It was a match made in Queenstown and now wedding bells are in the air for United States reality TV stars Jason Mesnick and his partner Molly Malaney.

The Bachelor’s Jason proposed to Molly last week in Queenstown, the very place they got together, at the romantic Kohara Lodge.

The couple first came to the resort in November last year to film an episode for The Bachelor series – that episode attracted 14 million viewers when it screened in the US.

“When we flew back in here I was like, wow, it’s good to be back,” said Jason.  “Everyone should know how amazing Queenstown is – if there was one place in the world I’d say to visit, it’s here.”

Jason and Molly returned to New Zealand on a special Air NZ matchmaking flight, where 100 singles looking for some Kiwi love flew from Los Angeles to Auckland, but then the pair spent some time on their own touring the country.

Part of their tour included a four day stop-off in Queenstown with a Tourism NZ camera crew in tow capturing footage of Jason and Molly doing more activities around town for distribution in the US.

Their action-packed itinerary included a scenic flight to Milford Sound with The Helicopter Line, a ride on Shotover Jet and skydiving with NZONE, and when there was time for sleeping they stayed at Eichardt’s Private Hotel.

Destination Queenstown General Manager Marketing Graham Budd said Jason’s proposal to Molly in Queenstown is a real coup for the region.

“We’re already seeing huge exposure in the US as a result. The news of the couple’s engagement in Queenstown has been plastered across newsstands all this week,” he said.

“When The Bachelor’s Queenstown episode first aired, visits to DQ’s website from the US shot up more than 260 per cent.  The programme has probably provided the town with its greatest exposure over there since The Lord of the Rings was released.  We just hope they choose to tie the knot here as well.”

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