Earlier this week it was revealed that this year’s Bachelorette Georgia Love’s mother had been admitted to palliative care after suffering from an aggressive form of pancreatic cancer.
As the finale episode approached it remained unclear whether Love would fulfill media commitments.
Airing last night, the finale saw the 28-year-old journalist choose Melbourne’s Lee Elliot, 35, as the winner and this morning the couple appeared on KIIS FM’s Kyle And Jackie O show to discuss their budding new relationship and address concern over her mum’s condition.
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‘We’re all just being as strong and positive as we can be in this situation,’ she explained.
‘So the only thing I’m really thankful for is that I’ve finally got Lee to be by my side through all of this because it’s been extremely difficult going through all this.
‘Just having him on the other end of the phone,’ she sighed.
‘We’ve got a lot of difficult times ahead,’ the brunette beauty added.
Georgia later took to Facebook to share the couple’s first selfie, and a bitter-sweet message about their first day as an official couple.
“What I’d originally thought I’d be posting today was a gushy message all about love, butterflies, fireworks and just how happy Lee makes me every day and how lucky I feel to have found the love of my life through this crazy experience,” she wrote.
“And while all of this couldn’t be more true, it’s not the most important thing to say right now. What should be one of the most exciting weeks of my life has instead turned into one of the hardest with my family going through something no one ever wants to face.
“But a small solace I can find in this extremely difficult time is that I have this amazing man by my side and for that I feel so lucky. He’s been so incredibly supportive and loving and managed to make me smile and laugh every day despite everything else.
Channel Ten confirmed the news earlier this week with a statement just days before the show was set to wrap up.
“Georgia and her family are going through a very difficult time with serious family health issues,” Network Ten told The Daily Telegraph in a statement.
“They are focusing on supporting each other during this hard time and we kindly ask you to respect their privacy.”
Love spoke openly of her mum’s battle throughout the show, admitting it was part of the reason she decided to do the show at all.
“Mum has been such a great role model, she has always been there for us and that is a real inspiration to me and that is the kind of mum I want to be,” Love said of her mother in the first episode.
“I’m doing this because I have realised that family and love is what is important at the end of the day. It really scares me that my mum has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. This came out of nowhere, not only for her but for all of us. Over night finding out that my mum was sick totally changed my perspective on life.”