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- Beauty and the Geek: Kiran Opens Up About His Emotional Transformation After the Makeovers
Beauty and the Geek: Kiran Opens Up About His Emotional Transformation After the Makeovers
Channel 9
It’s become one of the most heartwarming shows on television as we’ve watched worlds collide on Beauty and the Geek this season.
Last night, Kiran and Bryanna won the Comic Con challenge, and the reward was an emotional makeover for Kiran.
Chatting to POPSUGAR Australia, Kiran opened up about why he applied for the show, what he’s learned, and the friends he’s made along the way.
Having “been a bit of a loner” and having moved countries multiple times, Kiran found it hard to build up his social circles and maintain his friendships. Then, COVID happened.
“I’ve always kept my own company,” Kiran explained. “I live quite an insular life.”
“During lockdown here in Melbourne, I effectively spent a year by myself, or 112 days I believe, by myself,” he shared. “I had my 30th birthday alone in my studio apartment and I thought that if I ever want to start a family or if I ever want to meet someone, I need to make a big change.”
Motivated, Kiran decided to “stop doing the things that make [him] comfortable” and to find things that would “challenge [him] and make [him] grow” as a person.
“I wouldn’t trade my experiences for anything, but it has meant that I haven’t been able to plant deep roots and that’s what I’m looking for in the next stage of my life,” he said. “The opportunity to do Beauty and the Geek seemed like a perfect, perfect opportunity for that.”
Although it’s been a challenging and emotional journey, Kiran says that he’s “glad he did it”.
“Ultimately, being lonely is quite a shameful thing,” he shared. “There’s a lot of shame around being lonely, and being alone and wanting not to be, so I’m not surprised that it got quite emotional.”
“I tried to keep my cool!” he laughed.
Crediting the “best cast” with making the journey such an incredible one for him, Kiran said that he’s made “lifelong friends” along the way.
“100 percent it’s the best cast,” he said, laughing as he added: “I’ve only been on one reality show, but it’s the best show.”
Kiran credited the cast, and especially his beauty Bryanna, with helping him along the way in his journey, especially through the makeover.
“It’s honestly been quite terrifying, but everyone involved in the makeover was so lovely and so supportive,” he said. “I was lucky in that I’m in this experience with the people I’m in it with, particularly Bryanna.”
He continued: “I don’t know if I could’ve had that confidence going into those experiences without her.”
Nervous about the reaction to his makeover, Kiran recalled the moments leading up to the big reveal.
“I was standing behind those boards and I could hear them on the other side and my heart was beating through my chest, it was a lot!” he said.
Of course, being met with the support–and rapturous applause–of his castmates, and in particular, Bryanna, helped him to feel encouraged and supported.
“It was a good feeling!” he exclaimed. “It was really nice. I’m not used to having that kind of spotlight being put on me, and for the moment it was just really special.”
For Kiran, the makeover was about more than just clothes and a haircut, though, but rather, was “evidence of the growth” he’d made as a person, and about setting him up for more personal development in the future.
“I think in terms of the competition, it’s all about building a connection and learning from each other, and I think more so than anything the experience of having that makeover was a turning point for me in terms of what can I bring to the table,” he said.
Kiran went on to share what the makeover has taught him about himself.
“Part of what I’ve been learning is that it’s okay to want to feel attractive or desirable,” he said.
“I always lean toward comfort when making decisions about the way I look and the way I present myself, and that extends toward the clothes I wear, the places I live, the items I have, it’s all about utility and comfort,” he explained. “Part of me feels like I don’t necessarily deserve to have nice things, but part of the journey that I’ve been on is realising that I don’t need to deserve nice things, I can just have them.”
Beauty and the Geek airs Sundays at 7pm, and then Monday to Wednesday at 7.30pm on Channel 9 and 9 Now.
