Bachelor finale week is finally here!
It’s usually a joyous time that should feel like a reality TV fans’ Christmas/Super Bowl/Easter/birthday all rolled into one glorious Bachie bonanza.
But in a salacious plot twist no one ever could have predicted, our 2018 Bachelor Nick Cummins is believed to already have ended things with his numero uno chosen one.
According to fevered reports, after Nick handed his final rose to Brittany Hockley, their romance quickly combusted.
“Things fell apart soon after the series ended and he refused to ‘fake it’ to appease the Network,” an onset source from The Bachelor told Woman’s Day last week.
But the drama doesn’t end there.
Just yesterday, NW revealed Nick had chucked a Blake Garvey and shortly after he dumped Britt, he reunited with fourth place winner Cassandra Wood, 23.
Now Cassie and Nick are expected to announce their emotional reunion after the finale airs this week. Anyone else getting Blake Garvey and Louise Pillidge flashbacks?
“It’s going to be intense – but they’re happy,” NW‘s insider dished.
So while you may feel like you want a full refund on this year’s season and love is all but a lie, this week is actually going to be fascinating to watch unfold.
The proof will be in the way Channel 10 handle the show’s publicity in the aftermath of the grand finale.
In the coming days, it’s going to become abundantly clear if A) Nick Cummins and Brittany Hockley are indeed kaput, B) Nick and Cass really are together, or C) Nick Cummins is back to being single.
As we countdown to Thursday night’s explosive episode, here are all the clues so far that signal we’ve got the mother of all Bachelor scandals brewing…
That was quick! Nick and Britt didn’t even make their Bachie romance last until the grand finale.
Clue #1: Nick isn’t even in the country
If you were a man in love, surely you’d want to be with your beloved on the night your romance is broadcast to the nation.
But in a rather curious move, on Monday October 1st, Nick Cummins flew out of Australia bound for Papua New Guinea to embark on an eight-day charity trek on the Kokoda Trail with his good mate James Brodie.
Confirming their trip, James told the Manly Daily that Nick’s time on the show would no doubt help prepare him for the challenging week of trekking.
“If he can deal with 30 women then I’m pretty sure walking through the jungle for eight days is going to be a walk in the park,” James told the publication.
“I think it [The Bachelor] absolutely helped his mental state and built his mental toughness to deal with all these sorts of things.”
As the nation tunes in on Thursday night, Nick will be off-the-grid meaning poor Britt will have to handle the heartache, humiliation and media hype alone.
Usually after the finale airs, the Bachelor and his chosen one are wheeled out on the publicity trail to spruik their blossoming new romance with back-to-back radio interviews, TV appearances and interviews with media (including us!).
But with Nick literally MIA, it will be interesting to see how Channel 10 handle this delicate situation. Perhaps they’ll address the elephant in the room immediately after the finale airs, with a pre-packaged message from Nick. Or maybe poor Brittany will have to make a solo appearance on The Project‘s Friday night show to explain what the hell went down.
Either way, we’ll be watching very closely!
Insiders say Nick going overseas is a move to avoid public scrutiny.
Clue #2: Nick’s radio silence
With 459K followers, Nick Cummins is a bonafide Instagram celebrity and knows how to use his profile to promote his work.
But throughout the whole season of The Bachelor, the 30-year-old hasn’t shared one post acknowledging his time on the dating show.
One thing we do know from Nick’s social media presence is that he is an in-demand man constantly on the move, criss-crossing the country thanks to his National Geographic travel show Meanwhile In Australia.
So how exactly would a significant other fit into his chaotic schedule?
Well, according to evictee Dasha Gaivoronski, Nick’s definitely not ready for a serious relationship.
“I don’t think he’s ready for any sort of relationship because it takes a lot of commitment to be present,” she told PEDESTRIAN.TV last week.
“I really believe that you can’t really focus on two things at once if you want to succeed in both. He’s heavily focused on his career and his whole thing, he’s like travelling the world. Today he is here, tomorrow he is like in a completely different spot. It looks like his lifestyle doesn’t really have any room for a partner,” Dasha concluded.
WATCH: Who is Cass Wood? Post continues…
A Badger on the move: Nick is always travelling interstate for work.
Clue #3: He’s defending Cass on social media
Cass Wood is yet to address explosive claims she’s secretly reunited with Nick, instead fleeing to Bali to escape the media circus.
But over the weekend, the former rugby union player broke his Bachelor-imposed social media silence to defend Cass after a nasty troll commented under one of Cass’ posts about her confrontation with Britt.
“If you weren’t so immature and your small lips didn’t make you look like the grinch then maybe you’d have a stood a chance with @nickbadger,” the cruel quip read.
To which Nick replied: “This makes me lose faith in humanity.”
Nick also clapped back to another user who hit out at the show for supposedly setting Cass up to be bullied.
“I didn’t expect the same people that tell kids bullying is bad to then do exactly that on social media. We shouldn’t let a show separate us (including those who were NOT involved sitting on the couch). Love and light,” a fired up Nick penned.
Are these the actions of a gallant boyfriend sticking up for his partner? Only time will tell.
The Badger breaks his silence to defend Cass.
Clue #4: Brittany keeps dropping hints things haven’t worked out
While the radiographer can’t officially share her side of the story until later this week, she’s been leaving us little hints along the way that something’s amiss.
In a recent interview with TV WEEK, Britt addressed what a future for herself and the Honey Badger may look like.
Although she eventually wants to settle down and have kids, travel is her priority for now.
“We both want kids and marriage, but in a few years,” Britt said.
“Neither of us wants to settle down just yet. I’ve told him I want to see more of the world, and he definitely wants to get on board with that.”
In a separate interview with a local publication, the brunette beauty insisted she wasn’t in love with Nick.
“For me, it’s not easy to throw the word ‘love’ around, it’s also hard to get to that point when you know there are other people involved,” she mused.
Adding: “I know it’s happening, the feelings are really strong, I want to be with Nick – but I just feel like it would happen really quickly for us if it’s me at the end – so it’s just hard to cross that line when there are three other people left.”
Indeed, last week Britt reached boiling point when she confronted Cass over her history with Nick in the outside world.
NW reported that after the ladies’ heated discussion, Nick “felt compelled to let Cassie go after Britt’s hometown date.”
“The pressure was on for him to prove that Cass wasn’t planted on the show for him, and he made a rash decision – but it wasn’t a decision that he sincerely wanted to make.”
Britt says she’s not ready to settle down yet.
Clue #5: Keep a close eye on the Bachelor social media accounts come Thursday evening
After the finale airs, it’s Bachie tradition for the official social media accounts to share a loved-up first video of the new couple thanking fans for their support.
They smooch, they squeal and they confirm they’re head-over-heels in love (even if they end up breaking up six months down the track… Ahem, Riche Strahan and Alex Nation)
Interestingly last November, we didn’t get a video like this from Sophie Monk and Stu Laundy, who were plagued with break-up rumours from the get-go.
Instead, the Bachelorette page posted a photo from Soph’s final rose ceremony. Sophie and Stu also weren’t available for that many media interviews either and their appearance on The Project was slammed as staged and awkward. Lo and behold they announced their split just three months after the show’s finale.
Come Thursday evening, all eyes will be on The Bachelor Instagram page to see if we get a loved-up message from Britt and Nick… Or perhaps, in a Bachelor first, it will be a break-up message broadcast during the finale!
