Muskego's Cortney Owen never imagined she would wrestle a queasy baby
kangaroo named Romeo on network television, but that's exactly what she
did on the TBS reality TV show, "Outback Jack."
Owen, a University of Wisconsin-Whitewater alumna and former Miss Wisconsin, won a spot on the show last spring when 12 women were selected from more than 2,000 applicants to vie for the affections of East Melbourne, Australia native Vadim Dale (AKA "Jack.")
The women began the show in a Los Angeles mansion where the host informed them the final destination was Australia.
"We were told to pack three things: hiking boots, evening gowns and a passport," said Owen. "All we knew aside from that, was it was going to be an adventure of some sort. I kind of deduced that it would be a cross between 'The Bachelor' and 'Survivor.'"
Owen's speculations were accurate. Soon after their arrival in Sydney, the contestants were told that in order to meet "Jack" they would have to parachute from a small plane to the outback with their evening gowns tucked into flight suits.
In the next five episodes, the hopeful romantics rode camels, paddled canoes, skydived and fished with their bare hands. However, despite Owen's valiant efforts, Jack ousted the wholesome girl-next-door at the end of the fifth episode.
Regardless, Owen has all good things to say about "Jack."
"He is awesome. He's very traditional-minded and has strong ideas about wanting to take care and provide for a woman," she says. "Plus, the experience was more about connecting with the other girls on the show and facing challenges anyway."
After she was voted off the continent, Owen returned to Los Angeles for a month. She planned to return to Milwaukee's Walker's Point neighborhood where she had been living, but instead was offered her dream job as a public relations specialist for a professional racing team in North Carolina.
"Hollywood's not where a small-town girl belongs," she says. "I'm used to places like Milwaukee, where there's a lot of positive energy."
"Outback Jack" appears on TBS on Tuesdays at 8 p.m.
Molly Snyder started writing and publishing her work at the age 10, when her community newspaper printed her poem, "The Unicorn.” Since then, she's expanded beyond the subject of mythical creatures and written in many different mediums but, nearest and dearest to her heart, thousands of articles for OnMilwaukee.
Molly is a regular contributor to FOX6 News and numerous radio stations as well as the co-host of "Dandelions: A Podcast For Women.” She's received five Milwaukee Press Club Awards, served as the Pfister Narrator and is the Wisconsin State Fair’s Celebrity Cream Puff Eating Champion of 2019.
