Don’t put the Pinot Grigio down just yet, Bachelorette Nation—Bachelor in Paradise may have just wrapped but here in the Great White North, one woman’s tear-stricken search for love is just getting started. And if you’re worried about Canadian reality TV not living up to its flashy, all-American counterpart (we’re looking at you, season one of The Amazing Race Canada), fear not!

If a recently unveiled sizzler reel is any indication, the inaugural season of The Bachelorette Canada has all the picturesque sunset dates, far-flung locales, and petty bro drama we’ve come to expect from Monday-night—now Tuesday-night—television. (Although, we’re not gonna lie, there could have been more tears. In fact, there could always be more tears.)

Ahead of The Bachelorette Canada’s premiere this Tuesday (September 13) on the W Network, we sat down with Jasmine Lorimer, the 27-year-old Ontario-born, B.C.–based hair stylist now known as Canada’s first Bachelorette, at Vancouver’s Metropolitan Hotel to talk her new gig, her favourite Bachelorettes, and why her onset experience was nothing like UnReal.

Georgia Straight: The Bachelor/Bachelorette franchise seems to love B.C. women. How did you land the gig?

Jasmine Lorimer: It’s kind of weird because this wouldn’t have happened if I didn’t move to Pemberton. I met a girl when I moved up there and I had just finished doing her hair. We had kind of clicked and gotten to know one other.

She liked a photo of me on Facebook and her cousin, who’s a casting assistant for the production studio, saw it and he just asked her if I might be interested in doing the show.

At first, I was in disbelief. I couldn’t imagine that I was being asked to do it. But, of course, I still went through the entire audition process after that. I had a Skype call first, met with the production studio, and then it just went from there.

GS: Prior to participating in the show, were you a big fan of The Bachelor/Bachelorette franchise?

JL: I used to be when I was in high school; I used to watch all the time. And then I went through a period where I kind of missed some seasons and then I binge-watched a lot of it before going on the show. Now I watch Bachelor in Paradise, too—I get so into it. It’s like, it takes one refresher and then you’re back in the game.

GS: Of the men and women who have appeared on the U.S. and Canadian versions, who is your favourite? Who do you hate or love to hate?

JL: I really liked Kaitlyn. I feel like that’s a typical answer, but I do like her. Kaitlyn and Jillian—they’re both so goofy, so funny, and down-to-earth Canadian girls.

I loved to hate Chad, of course—everyone loved to hate Chad. But I could also see that a lot of it was being put on and he was trying to be funny. So it was hard to really hate him that much because you could tell that he was just trying to get people’s reactions.

GS: Did you reach out to either Kaitlyn or Jillian for advice before filming?

JL: I wasn’t allowed to talk to anybody, so I didn’t do that as much as I would’ve loved to. But there might be a little bit of something on the show—you’ll have to tune in to see!

GS: How would you describe your experience onset? Was it like anything you had expected?

JL: I was just nervous that the producers wouldn’t have my best interests in mind, but they did. That was comforting to me and put me at ease, so I was much more willing to go through with everything because then you realize that it’s real.

Everyone just works so hard. They put their heart and soul into it and you become like a family, and that’s what I really loved—the positivity.

GS: So, it was nothing like UnReal [the Lifetime show created by a former Bachelor showrunner that takes a dark look at the behind-the-scenes manipulation of such programs]?

JL: It’s not accurate; it’s just ridiculous. They’re trying to make something that’s already entertaining and dramatic even more entertaining and dramatic, so you have to take that with a grain of salt, I think.

GS: Were there any memorable dates or destinations that you can reveal?

JL: I can’t say, but there is a place that I was really excited to go to—one no Bachelor franchise has ever gone to before.

GS: What has the whole Bachelorette Canada journey taught you?

JL: I learned so much about myself throughout the whole thing; I was basically in therapy for a couple of months. That’s how it felt, because you’re sitting there and you’re always talking about what you went through and how that made you feel, and what you want out of this.

Do we ever really look at ourselves in-depth at that level? I know that I have tried to be pretty self-aware, but this made me even more so. And I really figured out, aside from what I want out of a relationship, what I really need out of a relationship in order to have something that’s going to last in the long-term and, hopefully, forever.

GS: Is this a process that you would recommend to others looking for love?

JL: I think so. Vancouver can have a really tough dating scene—I’ve lived in it, I know—and one of the things I’ve learned from this that anyone can apply to his or her dating life is to just try dating people who may not necessarily be your type.

You might not think you’re going to like them at all, but do it anyway. You’re bound to meet somebody and you’ll probably surprise yourself, because I certainly surprised myself. Many times, actually.