Bachelor star Emily Simms says she’s ‘so glad’ Sam Wood rejected her – and reveals family’s chance sighting before his arrest

By ALI DAHER, SENIOR SHOWBUSINESS REPORTER, AUSTRALIA 03:22 10 Oct 2026, updated 03:23 10 Oct 2026

Former Bachelor contestant Emily Simms has said she is glad she was rejected by Sam Wood, who remains behind bars after being charged with domestic violence-related offences, and claimed her family spotted him just hours before his arrest.

The former reality TV star, who famously clashed with Wood during his season of The Bachelor Australia in 2015, said she stands by her criticism of him 11 years later.

Speaking to the Herald Sun, Simms said she had no regrets about her dramatic departure from the Channel 10 dating series, which saw Wood ultimately choose his now-wife Snezana Markoski.

‘I’m so glad Sam Wood didn’t choose me. That he didn’t give me a rose,’ she said.

Simms, who now lives in Noosa with her husband Pierre and their two children, made headlines during the show’s third season when she abruptly walked out of a rose ceremony.

At the time, the Melbourne advertising executive questioned Wood’s behaviour and refused to continue pursuing a relationship with him.

Her departure became one of the season’s most talked-about moments, with Simms making it clear she was unimpressed by Wood.

‘I’m horrified obviously about what has allegedly happened to Snez,’ she said.

Simms claimed her husband spotted Wood enjoying a family outing at Noosa Main Beach just hours before his arrest on October 3.

The former Bachelor star had been holidaying in the popular Queensland destination with Snezana, their three young daughters and his 21-year-old stepdaughter Eve.

Simms’ husband saw Wood looking happy and relaxed on the beach with his daughters while the family enjoyed the school holidays, she said.

The two men had previously met before she appeared on the dating show, although they were no longer in contact.

Just hours after the sighting, police were called to the luxury apartment where Wood and his family were staying following an alleged domestic violence incident.

Simms reflected on her experience filming The Bachelor, claiming she had been left hurt by Wood’s suggestion she had failed to open up emotionally.

Simms said she had confided in him about her late brother’s mental health struggles, only to feel that her vulnerability had been dismissed.

The former contestant also claimed that, following her dramatic departure from the reality series, several people who knew Wood had contacted her.

While she did not elaborate on what she had been told, she made it clear her opinion of the former Bachelor star was unchanged.

‘I have nothing pleasant to say about him. I didn’t then and I certainly don’t now,’ she said.

Her comments come after a court heard on Thursday that Markoski allegedly feared her celebrity fitness trainer husband was going to kill her during an alleged domestic violence incident at a beachfront apartment in the La Mer complex in Noosa.

Police also told Queensland’s Maroochydore Magistrates Court on the Sunshine Coast of an earlier ‘similar’ incident in Victoria, which did not proceed further at the time.

Wood was denied bail and will remain behind bars after his arrest on Saturday night when police were called to the family’s luxury apartment on Noosa’s Hastings Street.

Sergeant Janette Grigoris told the bail hearing that Wood’s stepdaughter Eve, 21, called Triple Zero and ‘referred to the victim having been choked’.

The prosecutor told the court Markoski allegedly thought she was going to die and is now living in fear of retribution from the former Bachelor star.

Sgt Grigoris said Markoski had not made a formal statement to police but had given a version of events in a video recording.

She told police the alleged attack ended only when one of the children called out.

The court was shown photographs of her alleged injuries and was told Markoski supported the criminal charges against Wood.

Sgt Grigoris told the court of a ‘previous’ incident in Victoria that was ‘similar in nature’, to which police were called, but the victim did not make a complaint.

Sergeant Grigoris alleged Wood’s behaviour had been ‘escalating’.

Wood’s solicitor Mathew Cuskelly said his client denied strangling or assaulting his wife.

The court heard Wood may rely on self-defence if domestic violence charges over an alleged attack on his wife go to trial.

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