Even though Carla had prepped Bonnie with questions like this, Bonnie feels herself inwardly sigh. ‘Honestly? Trackpants, takeaway, good wine and Netflix.’

Darcy smiles politely, her pen scrawling something on the paper. Bonnie’s head cranes a little as she tries to see what’s being written, but Darcy pulls the paper a little closer.

‘Not exactly what you’re after?’

‘It’s fine,’ Darcy assures her. ‘It just gives us an idea of what type of activities you crave in a relationship and what dates to put you on if you’re chosen for the show.’

Bonnie tenses at the reminder that this is an audition.

‘Filming a date of you and the suitor watching TV probably won’t be very exciting. Is there anything else you’d like to do?’

Bonnie considers, aware that regardless of what she says, the dates on The One are going to be extravagant and over the top.

‘How would you like to be swept off your feet?’

Bonnie knows Darcy is waiting to be dazzled and feels like she’s about to let her down. ‘I just want to find someone who wants nothing more than to hang out with me. Of course I want the romance. I want that giddy feeling in your stomach and that longing to be with them when you’re apart. But I’ve been in enough relationships to know that eventually those feelings fade. What I want is to be with someone who, at the end of their day, wants to come home to me.’

Darcy doesn’t say anything, and Bonnie is fairly confident that she’s just screwed up her chances of getting on the show. Her relationship ideals must sound so boring. Earlier today on their drive to the audition, Carla had been beside herself with advice. Bonnie’s last-minute acceptance of her audition spot meant Carla, a dedicated The One viewer, had to squeeze everything she knew into their five-hour drive from Port Macquarie to Sydney. Carla insisted they’d cast bright, bubbly personalities, and Bonnie feels nothing but the opposite of that. Now she’ll have to go back home and face Ollie and her mistakes of last night.

She should feel nothing but dread, but there’s a tingle of hope that tries to dance inside her body. She feels her teeth biting into her bottom lip, and pleads with herself to stop thinking about him.

She sits a little straighter, pushing her hair over her shoulder as she waits for Darcy’s next question. But Darcy seems momentarily lost, probably hypnotised by Bonnie’s boringness. The cameraman, his face covered with a scruffy beard, tilts his head to the side so she can see more of him. He offers a little smile before moving back behind the camera and Bonnie realises her response must have been so pitiable that even he feels sorry for her.