After months of build-up, Channel’s Nine’s The Golden Bachelor finally premiered on Monday night.

And there are early signs that the dating show may be struggling to emerge as a ratings reality show juggernaut to rival Married at First Sight.

With a national average of 749,000 viewers tuning in, it was a solid debut – but it was no match for Seven’s My Kitchen Rules.

Seven’s cooking competition saw 1.032 million fans across the nation tune in to watch controversial couple Michael and Rielli exit the season, after a one-point loss in the elimination round.

MKR also beat out The Golden Bachelor in the all-important metro ratings, with Seven’s foodie franchise winning 533,000 viewers in the major cities, while The Golden Bachelor managed a not-so-impressive 476,000 fans.

Still, The Golden Bachelor performed better than any other entertainment program in the Total TV National Reach rating.

After months of build-up Channel’s Nine’s The Golden Bachelor finally premiered on Monday night. And there are early signs that the dating show may be struggling to emerge as a ratings reality show juggernaut to rival Married at First Sight. Pictured: Star Barry ‘Bear’ Myrden

With a national average of 749,000 viewers tuning in, it was a solid debut – but it was no match for Seven’s My Kitchen Rules (pictured)

It was the number one entertainment program across the 5 City Metro ratings, with viewers aged 25 to 54 and 16 to 39.

The National Total TV Reach clocked in at a healthy 1.908 million.

The show, which stars Canadian-born Barry ‘Bear’ Myrden, 61, had 1.91 million people tuning in at some point across all available platforms during its debut episode.

The show’s video-on-demand (VOD) – which typically indicates a younger demographic – managed a national average of 142,000, which was bested by MKR’s 187,000.

It comes after viewers were stunned by a bizarre detail about leading man Barry ‘Bear’ Myrden.

The debut episode introduced viewers to the engineer who has lived in Australia for over two decades.

Despite residing in Australia for over 20 years, the North American-born father of three still speaks with a thick Canadian accent.

Shocked viewers took to social media to share their thoughts about the Samantha Armytage-hosted series featuring a Canadian-born Bachelor.

‘Why is the Australian Golden Bachelor NOT AUSTRALIAN?’ one person asked.

MKR also beat out The Golden Bachelor in the all important metro ratings, with Seven’s foodie franchise winning 533,000 viewers in the major cities, while The Golden Bachelor managed a not so impressive 476,000 fans. Pictured: A scene from The Golden Bachelor’s debut

‘Look, love him. I’m sure he’s a great man… but why have we got a Canadian as the Aussie Golden Bachelor?’ another added.

‘The accent… Could we not find an Aussie accent?’ a third chimed in.

‘Clearly the producers think we don’t have any polished, suave Australian men in Australia,’ someone else sniped.

Bear has lived in Australia since 1998, when he moved to Sydney with his wife Audrey, who tragically died 13 years ago after a long cancer battle.

At the start of the episode, Bear was introduced to viewers as a father of three boys – Charlie, 21, Jack, 20, and Declan, 17 – who had emigrated from Canada to Australia with Audrey two decades ago.

Bear also admitted that while he was more than open to finding love on the Channel Nine series, the ladies vying for his heart had a lot to live up to.

‘Audrey was more than one in a million; she was one in six billion,’ he said.

‘It’s been 14 years since her passing. I know deep down no one can replace her, but with the boys’ love and support, I know I can possibly find love again.’

Bear is looking for love with 20 different women on the show, aged between 51 and 66.