Brooke Blurton, 26, is the first First Nations Bachelorette.
She's making her third attempt to find love on reality television on the Channel Ten series and is also the show's first openly bi-sexual star.
But while audiences will get an insight into the Yamatji Noongar woman's personal life, she's dealing with her own heartbreak.
After the shoot was completed, she received the worst news possible.
"I just wrapped up filming for the Bachelorette and was kind of in this limbo period, and I received the news that my sister had passed away," she told NITV's The Point program.
"My sister had a long history of mental health and mental illness and really struggled in the last couple of years.
"You are never really prepared for that tragedy."
Brooke Blurton has been a social worker and advocate on mental health, and hopes her latest foray in television will inspire others. Source: Supplied
Why is no one concerned?
Tragically, Brooke's sister Ky was one of a number of women who died on the streets of Perth over winter, although she had a home to go to.
Dozens of people have died so far this year, sparking rallies on the steps of Western Australia's Parliament.
"I just wondered why these deaths are happening and why no one is concerned about them including the government," Brooke says.
"I think my sister experienced homelessness for quite a while and (it's) only in the last couple of years I've been in a place to support her and help her.
"There's a lot of investigative stuff happening at the moment on why those deaths are happening, and I think ... some of the causes really are homelessness - my sister doesn't really fit into that category because she did actually have a home - but we still don't have answers."
Many people died on the streets of Perth over winter. Source: NITV The Point
Sharing her lived experience
Brooke has returned home to be with family, and she says she feels her sister's presence always.
"My sister and I were really quite close... I really cared for her and I spent a lot of time with Ky, I adored her," she said.
"You kind of lose a piece of yourself and I think your family suffers from that loss, but we have a strong family and we stick together."
Brooke became a social worker and advocate on mental health, after some difficult times in her childhood.
She lost both her mother and nan when she was just 11.
"I kind of wanted to give back in some way and I fell into youth work and I kind of fell into doing mental health work because of my experiences," she said.
"I've always been quite resilient... and I've been able to build a life for myself, so I wanted to motivate young people and build them up."
Brooke Blurton says a Welcome to Country ceremony on the set of the Bachelorette helped ground her for the journey head. Source: Supplied
A chance to inspire others
She hopes her presence on television in the Bachelorette will also inspire other young girls.
When she was growing up, there were only a handful of Aboriginal faces on television.
"I was a 10-year-old girl watching these people and idolizing them, (but) I felt they represented me but not whole-heartedly," she said.
"Now in this position, I want to feel like I'm relatable to young girls and they look up to me and I think that's exactly what I've been trying to do, so hopefully I've made some sort of impact."
