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Could FBoy Island’s Krystal Save Australian Reality TV?
BINGE/Remco Jamsen
Dating shows are in a weird space right now. Pre-COVID, Australia was getting overwhelmed with a glut of romantic voyeurism. In 2024, we’re seeing the impact of that reality TV hangover, with The Bachelor — once the undisputed ruler of all dating shows — getting the swift axe. But, through the rubble rose the Australian iteration of FBOY Island, now on its second season. And this year brings a future superstar that could join the ranks of Molly Mae, Ekin-Su, and even Abbie Chatfield before her — Krystal Thomas.
Now FBOY Island isn’t Krystal’s first foray into dating shows — she was a contestant on the ill-fated swan song of The Bachelors. But, unlike The Bachelors, FBOY Island is a show that knows exactly what it is, leans into the chaos, and never takes itself too seriously (or seriously at all). Krystal, more so than anyone else on either season of the show, intrinsically understands this and exploits it, without ever compromising herself.
To put it plainly: FBOY Island matches her freak.
If we analyse Krystal’s moments on the show so far, she is a breath of fresh air—not just on a dating show, but reality TV in general. She’s fresh and biting but harks back to reality stars of old, including the host of FBoy Island herself.
Related: F-Bye! Here’s Everyone Who Has Left FBOY Island Australia 2024 So Far
The Little Black Book
The premise of FBOY Island is three women (Krystal, Nicole and Ally) attempt to weed through 24 men in order to end up with a self-proclaimed ‘nice guy’ who is there purely for love. However, half of that 24 are the FBoys in question, who are on the show to get to the end, take the $50,000 prize and run. It’s a silly show, and it (rightfully) wears its silliness like a badge of pride. From the opening of Season 2’s first episode, Krystal has her foot on these FBoys’ necks, and she’s not letting up.
Case in point: the little black book.
While all three ladies spend time mingling with the guys, Krystal is there to work. Too smart to be led on by an FBoy, and too fun to care if she flirts with one anyway, she takes notes DURING dates in her little black book like she’s playing Cluedo. Is it the himbo with the muscles on the beach? Or was it the shy muso who’s a good kisser at the bar? Krystal will find out.
Taking notes about your date while on the date is unhinged and chaotic behaviour, but FBOY Island is an unhinged and chaotic series. Sure, Krystal might genuinely be here to find a connection, but she doesn’t need to overlay every interaction she has with an unnatural level of intimacy and sincerity that would be unfeasible with someone you’ve spoken to all of twice. Instead, she goes the opposite way — at once letting everyone know she’s not here to play games, but if she was, she’d win, and you’d have so much fun playing alongside her. It’s a level of self-awareness so charismatic that it comes back around to appear completely authentic.
Krystal Writes Her Own Rules
While ‘authenticity’ on other shows can be surmised with fighting and tears, FBOY Island establishes early on that it’s not a part of this show — at least not in a sensationalised way. Krystal’s authenticity, however, lies solely in her unwavering willingness to have fun above all else.
Take returning contestant Caleb, for example. Caleb appeared on Season 1 as the ultimate FBoy, but in a deeply unserious gag, Abbie and co. have brought him back this season to work the bar. Turns out, however, that Krystal sent him a half-serious, half-piss-take voice message on Instagram while Season 1 aired, shooting her shot but also proving how easy it was to make Caleb feel big.
Cut to Caleb’s appearance in Season 2 and, despite him (as far as we know) not being eligible to date as part of the pool of 24 men, Krystal asks herself and us ‘why not?’
It’s one of the many examples on this season that shows Krystal forging her own path for herself. She’s not fitting any sort of dating show archetype, and she’s not even going for those who you’d expect. In fact, her top three prospects at this point are Doug, the well-intentioned himbo, Jerome, the gardener who wears his mullet, ‘Jerome-isms’ and the fact he looks like a real person like a badge of honour, and Caleb, who isn’t even competing. She said she’s only for ‘mids’ (statistically less likely to be FBoys than traditional 10s, according to her) and she means it. In a way, Krystal keeps us guessing, but never out of frustration — always out of fun.
One of the Girls
Camaraderie between the women is a big part of FBOY Island. As a collective, they need to weed out the FBoys, lest one of them be left at the end alone and cashless. They look out for each other, but they’re also in it for themselves. Krystal, though, is a does-what-she-says type of person and refreshingly takes no issue in directly calling out poor behaviour exhibited by the men toward her FBOY Island sisters.
Episode 4 is all about Joe (TBD on if he’s a nice guy or an FBoy) and his treatment of Ally. Specifically, the other men in the villa have expressed concerns that Joe is possessive over her and has thereby been afraid to talk to her. When asked about possessiveness in general as part of a light-hearted game, Joe went on a tangent about how ‘childhood trauma’ can lead to people thinking they own others, which clearly set off alarms in the minds of all the women.
“Did he just admit to being possessive?” Krystal whispers to Ally and Nicole.
Cut to the group date later that night, and Krystal is once again standing on business. She guns straight for Joe, pulls him aside, and asks him to explain himself. There’s no beating around the bush. Krystal is frankly looking out for her friend, explaining to Joe why she’s getting these (multiple) red flags and letting him know she won’t tolerate it. In short: sort it out, or seeya later.
Did Abbie Chatfield Walk So Krystal Could Run?
If you’re not familiar with the show, but you know about host Abbie Chatfield, you might be thinking that Krystal’s on-screen persona is very similar to what Abbie has crafted for herself as an influencer. Candid, unapologetic and unafraid.
Of course, when Abbie first came into public consciousness on The Bachelor in 2019. She ostensibly received the villain edit on the show for being driven, outspoken and feminist. Now, her appearance on the show has been re-examined through a new lens and has led her to become one of the biggest, if not the biggest, success stories to come from modern Australian reality television.
Edits, audiences and the media demonised her for traits society says they admire, but don’t actually want to see onscreen. Krystal exhibits those exact traits, but FBOY Island celebrates her.
As a host, Abbie doesn’t just lean into the show’s ridiculousness — she facilitates it. Krystal takes her lead like a duck to water and turns it to 11 every time she’s on screen. As a woman of colour, it would’ve been easy for studios to give Krystal an edit we’ve seen so many times before. Instead, FBOY Island does right by her by celebrating the parts of her we all share that other shows would shame.
What’s Next for Krystal?
She’s cheeky, headstrong, unafraid to be sexual, and knows her worth. She is an amalgamation of the best parts of reality stars like Tiffany Pollard, JWOWW and Chrissie Swan, but still firmly her own person. And, just like Abbie Chatfield, Krystal will be herself, regardless of who is watching, and regardless of whether the cameras are on or not.
Krystal represents a type of reality star that feels like a distant memory when casts were made up of personalities and not just those with an Instagram following.
If she gets what she deserves, she’ll not only become a superstar, but she’ll herald producers to cast new types of talent — vibrant, unfiltered, complex personalities with a refreshing, 2024 twist.
FBOY Island Australia is available to stream on BINGE.
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