Bachelor in Paradise Canada host: ‘It’s a very exciting season’

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What do operagoers and Bachelor fans have in common? Sharleen Joynt.

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In concert halls from here to Germany and Hong Kong, the Ottawa-raised soprano is known for her decadent coloratura. On televisions within a similarly international range (if not broader), Joynt is known as a reality TV star — specifically, the woman who dumped Juan Pablo Galavis on season 18 of The Bachelor.

After nine years away from the Bachelor franchise, The New Yorker is revisiting both her TV roots and her actual roots as she returns home to Canada to host the second season of Citytv’s Bachelor in Paradise. She’ll guide 27 Canadian and American singles (many of them recognizable to Bachelor fans), through their search for a happily ever after amid the sparkling waters, lush foliage and twinkling stars of a private cottage-country resort.

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“Prepare to be on the edge of your seats,” Joynt says of the 10-episode instalment of BiPC. “It’s a very exciting season — I’m not just saying that.”

We recently chatted with the singer/podcaster/TV host about coming full circle, what the infamous Galavis taught her and why she’s glad her husband swiped right.

Q: The Bachelor in Paradise Canada location is top secret, but what can you tell me about the setting and the vibe there?
A: It feels very Canadian in that it’s very green and lush, right on the water. You have a bit of beach but it’s not like Miami Beach. You’re more likely to hop in a canoe. Honestly, filming was a highlight. My husband (Andy Levine), came with me and we would stroll around the grounds and look at turtles. It was such a stunning location. It felt right for love.

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Q: You’ve been married to Andy for a few years now. How did you meet him and know he was the one for you?
A: It’s one of those stories that I look back on both fondly and it also makes me a little bit uncomfortable. We weren’t supposed to meet. I happened to sit next to him at a fundraiser but it was more like a bar setting. I was invited by a guy I had gone on two Match dates with years prior. We had stayed platonic friends and Andy was there to meet a girl he had swiped right on Tinder. But if it were not for online dating we never would have met. I happened to sit next to him and that was it. We were pretty much together from then on. The story though … I’m like yeah it’s nice, but it kind of gives me the heebie jeebies.

Q: How has married life prepared you for helping the singles on this show?
A: I think it helps to have been exactly where they are. Not only in terms of being single and looking for love, but also the being a contestant on a reality show experience. I always will have empathy for people in that situation. I think contestants on these shows get a bad rap for just wanting to be famous and wanting attention. But actually they’re doing things that most of us can’t, especially when it comes to emoting and sharing their feelings. I think in that sense I’m qualified. Also my husband and I, when we met, we had dated a lot. We co-host this podcast called Dear Shandy where we give relationship advice. I’ve had lots of boyfriends and lots of great loves and lots of flings. In a weird way, the way I’ve lived my life has prepared me for this.

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Q: What advice would you give the contestants?
A: I think that it’s easy to succumb to the expectations of how long you should last on the show. I think it’s important to see where your experience takes you. And if that experience takes you only one episode then that’s still a worthwhile experience. And most importantly when you are looking for love on TV, focus on what goes beyond this, do you have something that’s going to last and not just something that’s going to last until the end of the show? It sounds cheesy but it’s true.

Q: What level of drama can we expect?
A: Honestly, I think people will be surprised. Canadians have a reputation for being maybe not as dramatic as the Americans, and more polite. I think people might be surprised by the amount of action. The thing about all of the action that happens this season with this cast is that it all comes from an authentic place. It doesn’t feel performative like it’s for the sake of creating TV. There’s a lot of personal choices that are made that lead to drama, but it doesn’t feel fabricated. It’s a very exciting season.

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Q: I had to do a double take when I saw a contestant named Juan Pablo on the list of contestant names.
A: I did too. I’m not going to lie!

Q: Thankfully it’s a different Juan Pablo. But what did you take away from your Bachelor experience?
A: It’s funny how time flies. I feel like even though that experience didn’t directly change the course of my life in any way … It sort of got me in touch with who I am and made me feel seen by so many people, especially Canadians. I’ve always felt like a bit of a misfit. I did my best in high school to assimilate and fit in. What I learned about that experience being my awkward self is a lot of people resonated with me and followed my show journey many years later. I’ve had people come to operas because they saw me on TV. It’s like I have thousands of friends that my high-school self would only have dreamt of having. It made me love myself a bit more.

Bachelor in Paradise Canada debuts May 8, Citytv, Citytv.com, Citytv+

lward@postmedia.com