The Bachelorette's Courtney : 'I'm not happy with the way I've come across'
His first impression may have been his best of the season.
- by
Nicholas Fonseca
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You got dumped before the rose ceremony last night—and Georgia had quite a mouthful for you. What happened?
I’m not really happy with the way it’s come across. Georgia knows I did have strong feelings for her. I told her multiple times I was very much in like with her. The problem I found was that to be able to fall in love in that short period of time was hard for me, and unfortunately given the situation we were in, that was the level we had to be at that stage. I kept saying to her: we have such an amazing connection! We get along so well! I like so many things about you! I’m definitely in like with you. And if this had been the real world we’d have second, third, fourth and fifth dates. We’d have coffees. We’d have phone calls. And we could see how things developed organically. We weren’t in that situation. I was very much treating the whole thing as—very seriously—I wanted to be in a long-term relationship. I don’t do short-term relationships. I never wanted to say anything to her that was enhanced by the show. I didn’t want to look her in the eye and say, ‘Yes, I do love you’ just because I’m on a television show. I didn’t want to build a relationship built on lies. She kept asking how my feelings were developing, if they could get to that level. And she said to me she knew that at the end of this, she’d know she could tell the person she chose that she loved them. I wasn’t just going to say that.
What did you learn about yourself?
That I am someone who is, I suppose, a slow burner. I didn’t know that before went into the show. I need to develop the relationship first. I want a best friendship that continues to grow. Maybe it’s not after three dates, maybe it’s after three months.
What surprised you most about your time in the house?
Oh… was I surprised by anything? I wasn’t expecting to make the group of friends that I did. I wholeheartedly went into this with the aim of trying to fall in love and finding a life partner. I did not expect to come out of it with so many great friends, Georgia included.
And who were you closest with?
Oh… um, I became very close with Ryan, Matt D, Sammy, Jake, Matty J, Lee, Cam, Clancy…
So everybody.
I didn’t really clash with anyone! I wasn’t as close with the guys from Brisbane: Aaron, Dale, Tommy, Rhys... I probably haven’t kept in contact with them as much as I should. But the other guys I keep in contact with pretty much every day. It’s interesting: you have an experience like this that no-one else can understand it other than the group of guys you did it with. So it’s nice to have that circle of friends.
When WHO spoke to you a couple of weeks ago after you threw the medieval challenge, you said you were going to go all in, that it was “no more Mr Nice Guy.” What happened? That fight never seemed to materialise.
Well, yeah! Mate, they didn’t show it! The very next challenge—and look, I can’t blame editing because you saw what you saw—but there was a challenge in the very next group date. It was the World Games challenge. We all dressed up in horse suits and were on the track, and I thought, all right. Racing. I’ll run this time after walking in the last challenge and getting myself into trouble. This will be my redemption. I’ll give it 110 per cent. And mate, blitzed it. Absolutely blitzed it! And I won, and had a conversation with Georgia about it, and people were saying, do you feel good now? You’ve won this one! I felt fantastic. It was my retribution. But of course, it didn’t make the cut. And if you saw the singing challenge two nights ago, I’ve never sung in front of anyone. I tried my hardest. So my response is that I did give every challenge after that 110 per cent in the name of winning extra time and spending it with Georgia. So I’m sorry if it didn’t come across like that. They’re too busy trying to make it look like I didn’t like her. [Laughs]
So looking back, would you have done anything differently?
No, absolutely not. I was myself. I was honest. All of my conversations with Georgia—we had a running joke we had the most deep and meaningful conversations. I opened up to her more than I have to anyone. And, look, I don’t regret any of that. Georgia knows exactly how I felt about her.
So who do you see her taking to end?
I’ve always had my money on Matty J. He’s the dark horse, and we saw a lot of his personality very early on, and immediately thought that if Georgia saw that side, that whole person we got exposed to, he’s going to be pretty hard to beat. And I think some of his personality is starting to shine. He’s opening up a lot more, falling very hard for Georgia and isn’t afraid to voice it. So I think he’s in a pretty good position.
Courtesy of Network Ten
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