Helena Sauzier was sent home from The Bachelor Australia on Wednesday night, with Matt Agnew deciding not to give her a rose after their countless ‘will she walk out?’ moments.
Following on from their disastrous hometown date – where Matt forgot their red carpet meeting in front of her family – the pair struggled to reconnect. Ultimately, she was sent home over Abbie Chatfield and Chelsie McLeod, whose relationships with Matt have been less complicated.
Though Helena says she’s moved on from their ‘relationship,’ she admits she did find it tough to watch him frolicking on the beach with Abbie in last night’s episode.
“I couldn’t watch it,” she tells TV WEEK.
As many of us have wondered, Helena says it would be “hard” for Chelsie to get over seeing Abbie and Matt together if she’s the winner. After all, their strong sexual chemistry has been at the forefront of the season.
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“It must be so hard, I don’t know. My heart breaks for Chelsie if it is her. Having to watch that back, I would feel so unwell,” the 25-year-old star says.
“It was too much [for me] and I’m not even in love with him, so I can’t imagine what it could be like for Chelsie.”
Helena admits it’s been “tough” to see Abbie’s strong connection with Matt.
Though she found it difficult to watch, because of her romantic history with Matt, Helena has condemned those trolling Abbie on social media.
She points out that Matt has different connections with both women, and that one isn’t necessarily “better” than the other.
“No matter what a person does, I think it’s so unacceptable to treat someone poorly online,” she says.
Helena has also been subject to criticism, following on from her hometown visit.
“It’s amazing, it shocks me that these people take everything they see at face-value. And then go on to find your profile, comment on your photos.
“The worst part was that I would click on their profile and the bio would be like ‘mother of two.’ Like, you’re actually joking? I’m quite a resilient person, so I’m okay. But it’s crazy.”
Helena has been criticised for her tumultuous relationship with Matt.
Amid the wave of criticism, Helena points out that there is more going on behind-the-scenes than fans realise.
“There was a lot more to that [hometown visit] than you guys got to see. He got a few things wrong in succession and they were all pretty key things about me, which we’d spoken about many times. When that happened my heart just kind of dropped.”
Having Matt act somewhat uninterested in their relationship in front of her family, made Helena question why she was still on the show.
“It’s hard to explain, but it’s almost like I was going through a break up then and there. You just feel rejected and you feel completely unimportant.”
Helena says it was a “lot to handle” when Matt was constantly pushing her to open up, because at the same time there were “signs showing he’s clearly not interested” in her.
“At the end of the day it wouldn’t be a show if he just let us go out of the niceness of his heart. But, I think a few weeks in an advance he probably had a good idea of who was ‘the one’ and then the rest of us kind of just have to go along with it,” she says.
“I guess this is what The Bachelor is, but it’s harder than you’ll ever imagine to be in that position where you just have to go along for a ride.”
Helena and Matt in happier times before their hometown dinner with her family.
Months on from filming, Helena is currently single and still looking for love.
Though she tells us she’s “going to try and give it a proper crack now,” she’s not sold on the idea of finding love on another reality TV show after her experience.
“Never say never to [returning to reality TV], but it’s just something I would really have to sit down and think about.
“I think people can fall for each other [on these shows], but I don’t think you can really, truly, fall in love.”
Helena says that every time she saw Matt he’d been perfectly manicured, and that you’d need to see your potential partner in the real world to really know each other and fall in love.
“Like when he’s got Bali belly,” she jokes, adding, “If you get through Bali belly you can get through anything.”
The Bachelor Australia finale airs Thursday night at 7:30pm on 10, and Helena, along with the rest of us, will be on the edge of her seat waiting to see who Matt has chosen.
“I just hope he makes the right decision and picks someone he does see a future with,” she says. “They both have such a different connection. I genuinely have no idea, I’ll be on the edge of my seat… with a big glass of wine.”
