Hearts across Australia collectively broke when Konrad Bien-Stephens was eliminated from The Bachelorette. But they were quickly mended when moments after his exit aired, he confirmed he’d found love not with this year’s bachelorette Brooke Blurton, but with another reality TV star.
Yes, Konrad is officially dating Abbie Chatfield, a Bachelor alum turned empowering Instagram influencer. Pictures of the pair kissing at a Byron Bay bar (after he’d wrapped filming) initially sparked rumours several days before his exit aired, but the confirmation came not a moment too soon after Australia watched him tearfully leave the mansion.
It’s the Bachelor love story we never knew we needed—though interestingly, the infamous reality TV franchise had nothing to do with the origins of their relationship.
Speaking to marie claire the morning after his elimination episode aired and his new relationship finally out in the open, Konrad revealed he and Abbie actually met in a much simpler way.
“It was totally random,” he told us.
“I was out to lunch with a friend of mine in Byron—I wanted to take her out for some cocktails because she’s been helping me out with a place to stay there.”
Incidentally, this friend happened to know Abbie Chatfield, which is where things took a turn for the better.
“While we were having lunch [my friend] got a message from Abbie saying ‘I’m in Byron, let’s catch up for a drink!’ So My friend was like, ‘let’s go down and meet her,'” Konrad explained.
“We just hit it off straight away,” Konrad said. “She’s just an amazing girl.”
A clearly besotted Konrad also elaborated on all the reasons why he’s crazy about Abbie.
“I just think she’s got something so special about her. She’s so smart and witty and hilarious. And aside from the fact that she’s stunning—she’s got beautiful eyes—she’s super smart and the banter is great.”
Of course, the pair haven’t had a lot of time to settle into their relationship given Konrad was under a strict contract with Channel 10 to keep everything about his life under wraps until his exit from the Bachelorette mansion had aired. But now, he and Abbie are ready to go public.
“I’ve got a little special date planned,” Konrad told us without giving anything away.
“I do have something in the pipeline for her. It’s something a little different to we’ll see how that goes.”
Abbie herself didn’t comment on the relationship for a few more days after Konrad’s very public announcement—but it wasn’t long before she gave into fate.
Not even trying to make it a soft launch, the reality star shared a carousel of pictures of Konrad to her Instagram with the caption: “Me: I’ll never talk about who I’m dating publicly. This mf: 🧍”
In the images, Konrad is seen beaming into the camera in a bunch of couple selfies, videos and candid profile snaps. Just gonna say it, this couple is cute as hell.
Konrad quickly gained the public vote on The Bachelorette for his kind-hearted nature and happy go-lucky attitude.
While he and Brooke quickly formed a sweet connection, she had hesitations when Konrad admitted he wasn’t entirely sure what he wanted to do with his life after the show.
When he was left without a rose in the show’s penultimate week, Konrad told the cameras: “I suppose she’s done the right thing by not letting it go any further and not letting me get anymore invested. I’m glad she’s done this now.”
Despite the dignified goodbye, Konrad admitted he was a little heartbroken: “It just makes me not want to put myself out there anymore.”
We’re glad he did, because not long after he filmed that fateful scene, he met another inspiring bachelorette.
Abbie, who is currently the host of the Love Island Australia aftershow, has seen her career flourish since going on the Bachelor in Matt Agnew’s 2019 season.
The 26-year-old held nothing back during the season, and rightfully so. But when she openly talked about sex on the show, the reception was woeful with many people shaming her for being so open about her sexuality.
Empowering as ever, Abbie had a thick skin and used the experience—and her social media platform—to open up the dialogue around sexuality, as well as holding others accountable for the double standard against women.
At the time, she wrote a scathing statement directed at the criticism: “This is something I did not expect in 2019. Sex is essential to a successful relationship for me, as is sexual chemistry and the ability to express that comfortably with my partner.”
She continued: “It’s okay to not like me—it is not okay to assume that I am less of a person or less worthy of love because I like to have sex and can talk freely and openly about it.”
We couldn’t love this (and Abbie) more—and we’re glad she’s out here calling it out.
Now with a thriving career, an empowering voice for women and even launching her own line of sex toys, Abbie seems to have found her happy place.
With Konrad now slotting into the mix, it looks like they both got that happy ending The Bachelor franchise supposedly promises. The universe really must have some kind of divine plan…
