It’s been a week since The Bachelor finale saw an emotional Locky Gilbert send Bella Varelis home and give his final rose to Irena Srbinovska. In the aftermath of the events, Bella has been providing answers to the looming questions we’ve been asking all season long—from what exactly initiated her and Irena’s feud to whether or not she was appearing on the series to land a starring role on Home and Away.
Talking to two women who know the Bachie experience all too well, Laura Byrne and Britanny Hockley, on their Life Uncut podcast, we finally got Bella’s perspective on the last several months, and the revelations paint a very different picture than what we were originally given of the 25-year-old marketing executive.
Below, an outline of everything Bella touched on during the in-depth interview.
On Locky Gilbert Saying “I Love You”
One of the most contentious moments to come from The Bachelor’s finale week was watching Locky proclaim his love for Bella, before telling her a mere 12 hours later she was his second pick. Of that experience, Bella admits even she was shocked she didn’t receive his final rose.
“During lockdown, we were talking about engagement rings,” she explained. “He [Locky] even asked me what I would do if he proposed at the end. The one thing that really got me is when he said ‘I can’t wait to make you happy for the rest of my life’.”
When production was halted, Bella explains she began communicating with Locky daily, something he said he wasn’t doing with any of the other women. “He told me I was the only one he was talking to every day,” Bella said, adding he had also been saying the same to Steph and Irena.
One word: Shady.
On Her Friendship Breakdown With Irena
A confusing storyline that emerged from the season this year was the out-of-nowhere feud between Bella and winner Irena.
“Let’s put it this way, I wouldn’t have had a reaction like that unless I was not only pissed off but devastated,” Bella explains to Laura and Brittany. “I was upset and that’s why at that moment my emotions got the best of me. I think, obviously, what you’re not seeing is that yes, I said these things, but you’re not seeing the things I was asked to get these answers.
“I was being prompted and its kind of like these emotional reactions that I am having are reactions, they aren’t just me throwing my arms up in the air and having a cry.”
Other moments that we didn’t get to see also contributed to the breakdown, as Bella explains. From Irena kissing Locky at a cocktail party (which was edited out) to him saying things like, “Are you here for me or are you here for the girls?” when she tried to ask him about it.
One moment that sparked a major shake-up between the two came over an alleged “body-shaming” incident, something Bella explains never, in fact, happened.
“She [Irena] tried to tell a few of the girls that I had body-shamed her, which literally never happened,” Bella said. “So when Steph and Izzy told me that I had body-shamed her, I obviously got really upset. She also told Locky that I had a big fight with Areeba over who was a bigger socialite… Locky then questioned my integrity.”
On How She Responded To Locky Post-Finale
Talking to Brittany and Laura about the moment she walked away from Locky, Bella admits she sent the former Survivor star an ‘angry message’ in the days following the emotional experience.
“I sent him a message, I haven’t told anyone that,” she explained to the hosts. “I did send him a message after just to be like, I mean, it was like two days after, I was devastated, I was shattered, I was upset, I was angry. It was a pretty angry text, to be honest.
“The first part was like, ‘I feel like I’ve lost my best friend not just my boyfriend. It was a relationship for me.’”
On Rumours She Was A Paid Actress
When Bella was quickly branded as this year’s frontrunner, rumours began to swirl that she was a hired actress who had signed a contract with Network 10 to appear on other series post-Bachelor filming. The answer, as Bella puts it simply, is “no”, she has never been paid to act.
“I have never tried to act, I’ve never done an acting lesson, I’ve never been paid [to act],” the reality star said.
Finishing off the episode, Bella admitted she’s just excited to put the experience behind her and “move on.”
You can listen to the full Life Uncut episode here.
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