After racking up quite the list of former lovers willing to publicly dump on him, news of another may not seem that shocking for The Bachelor‘s leading man Locky Gilbert.
But Charlie Octavia’s jaw-dropping story as the girl he has on the go – right up to the day before flying out to woo 23 other women – may be the most surprising of all.
For months now, the 28-year-old Perth mother-of-two has held her tongue about her time with the man who asked her to “marry” him three weeks before he joined the mansion.
But after watching the first episode, Charlie says it’s time the world knew about the man behind the tuxedo.
“To be as intimate as we were, then see Locky on TV trying to win the hearts of so many other women was surreal,” shares Charlie, who met the Survivor star two years ago, before they dated from January.
“Watching him, I could see it was all an act. He’s not looking for love on the show, more fame and attention. Locky used to tell me he loved me all the time, but I’m glad I didn’t fall for him before I found out who he really was.”
The brunette beauty is no longer holding back
(Image: Woman’s Day)The Perth-based pair enjoyed going to bars, watching Survivor together, partying, dancing and cuddling up in front of Netflix.
Then one day, a month before filming started on The Bachelor, the reality TV hunk said the strangest thing as he lay in bed hugging Charlie.
“He asked me if I’d ever go on a reality show,” says Charlie, who answered probably not, because it wasn’t her style.
“Then he said, ‘Yeah of course… you know I’m the Bachelor this year!’ I thought he was joking, but he looked me in the eye and promised me it was true.
“I didn’t know what to say. I could feel myself choking up so I got up to leave.
“After seeing how upset I was he pulled me towards him, said sorry and promised it was all a joke. Then he blamed Survivor for making him such a good liar!”
The declarations of love continued from Locky, right up until the day before he took off to Sydney, where he said he needed to be “for Survivor interviews”.
“We were at a festival on his last night in Perth, when he finally confessed he was flying out to be the Bachelor,” sighs Charlie, who refused his offer to join him on the show as a contestant.
“How dare he think I’d leave my job, children and friends to follow him across the country to fight for his love, after he’d lied to me for so long,” flares Charlie.
Locky sent secret messages to Charlie during filming!
(Image: Woman’s Day)It was the last time they would see each other, but not their last contact.
Locky, 30, continued to bomb Charlie with messages over the first six weeks of filming.
He even sent a picture of himself in the mansion!
“What hurts me deeply is we started seeing each other at the end of the worst year of my life and he encouraged me to be vulnerable with him, only to lie to me,” she says.
“People need to know it’s not OK to toy with people’s emotions. I feel sorry for him. I believe he’s empty and tries to fill the void with constant attention.”
All the pictures
Things were so close between the couple, Locky confessed to wanting to marry Charlie.
(Image: Woman’s Day)
Earlier this year, he told Charlie he was “in love” with her.
(Image: Woman’s Day)
Things were very intimate between the pair.
(Image: Woman’s Day)
The pair spent Valentine’s Day together.
(Image: Woman’s Day)WATCH: From Survivor to Farmer Wants A Wife, Locky has had a fling with a stack of familiar faces!
