After months of sitting glued to our TV screens watching Nick ‘Honey Badger’ Cummins on his quest for love (or so we thought), naturally, fans were disappointed when on last night’s finale of The Bachelor, no one ended up with the final rose.
ICY(somehow)MI, the final two contestants, Sophie Tieman and Brittany Hockley, were flown to New Caledonia to meet with Nick’s parents, before they each spent a final date with the Wallabies winger. However, when Nick disclosed to his family – with Brittany still in the room, may we add – he still wasn’t sure who he was going to pick, for the first time in Bachie history, we believed him.
Sorry, Tim Robards and Matty J, you didn’t fool anyone.
But when Sophie stepped out of the limousine first, it became clear Brittany, who was conveniently dressed in a gown that could pass as a wedding dress, was Nick’s winner. The Honey Badger told Sophie he was not able “to wholeheartedly commit” to her, before – and here’s the plot twist – telling Brittany the exact same thing.
While I, like most fans, felt a little disappointed and, like Brittany pointed out, that I’d wasted a lot of time for nothing, upon seeing Sophie’s exit, I couldn’t help but feel elated. In the middle of getting her heart broken – on national TV, no less, the 25-year-old property developer’s first thoughts were of fellow contestant, Brittany. In another move that’s never before been seen on the show, Sophie, who at this point thought Brittany had won, praised her friend, calling her a wonderful person and saying that she truly wished the two of them the best.
Later, through tears in the back of the car, Sophie went on to say that she was happy Nick had picked someone like Brittany and that she could see she had an incredible connection with Nick from the start.
After leaving Nick, Brittany was told by producers that Sophie hadn’t won: Nick had picked no one. She quickly asked them to take her to Sophie’s apartment to make sure she was okay and the pair embraced through tears.
After a season filled with gaslighting, bullying and too many tears, I couldn’t think of a better ending than two women, despite having their hearts simultaneously broken, supporting and empowering each other for the world to see.
Move over Nick, Sophie and Brittany are the real love story here.
