The 2018 Bachelor finale will go down in the history books as the most shocking and unexpected moment in Australian TV.
But behind the hype, hilarious twitter reactions and headlines lie two very real, very hurt women.
As Brittany Hockley tries to pick up the pieces and move on with a life without Nick Cummins, the radiographer couldn’t be more graceful and composed in what is shaping up to be a truly bizarre situation.
In this wide-ranging and exclusive interview with Now To Love, Britt talks to us about that surreal moment Nick decided to walk away from the show a single man, how she’s healing her heartbreak and her reaction when he called her a few weeks after the finale.
READ NEXT! EXCLUSIVE: Sophie Tieman on the finale: “Brittany and I weren’t there by default”
Brittany is still coming to terms with what Nick did.
Britt, how does it feel to finally be able to share the truth? Especially when the nation was convinced you were the winner?
I cannot tell you how hard the last four months have been. I think it was Sportsbet that started that, they put me on as the winner at the start and then everyone thought it was me. There’s been so much pressure to have this responsibility to keep this secret because Australia gets so invested.
You want to give them a happy ending but unfortunately we didn’t. It is just such a weight off my shoulders today to let everyone know it wasn’t me! It’s time to get on with it.
How surreal was that final encounter with Nick, what was going through your mind and what the hell did you think when he told you “thanks for sharing” as his final words?
Yeah, what even was that sign off?! I was just left so confused by that. I think you actually see the moment my heart breaks… From that point, the reason didn’t matter. I just thought, OK it’s not you. Get out of here! And I think I just said, “Is that all? Take care and bye!”
And then yeah, I got my “thanks for sharing” line. I thought that was a cop-out but who knows what’s going on inside that guy’s head?
That seems to be the question on everyone’s lips today. You know Nick better than most, what do you think his true intentions were going on that show only to walk away single?
Well, it’s questionable of course. There’s absolutely no doubt that from day one, Nick and I connected on another level. Unfortunately you didn’t see all of it [on the show] but it was like it was meant to be.
So to get to that point, and the things he would say to me were like that! Like “it’s crazy, it’s meant to be that we’re like this!” To then turn around five hours after saying that and to say, “You’re perfect, but you’re not perfect enough!” I just left more confused than I’ve ever been in my life.
At this point, it’s about acceptance and there’s nothing you can do to change the situation. Put your head up and walk out with some dignity.
WATCH: Nick’s final words on The Bachelor. Post continues…
“It is just such a weight off my shoulders to let everyone know it wasn’t me,” Britt tells us.
Talk me through the incredible turn of events afterwards when you got to break the news to Sophie? Your beautiful friendship with Sophie is the true winner of the show!
I absolutely adore Sophie and I just think she’s such a beautiful soul. She was heartbroken and she was still happy for me that she thought I’d won. I just think that it was almost meant to be and people were supposed to see women supporting women.
I just feel like it came at a really good time. Whoever ends up with Sophie is a very lucky man.
You and Sophie have to have a pretty intense day talking to the media and reliving the situation. Meanwhile Nick is off-the-grid overseas. What do you make of that?
He went to the depths of the jungle I guess as far away as you could possibly go. We are told that he had this commitment prior and the good in me believes that. I think that even if he was here, he would have gone away somewhere in Australia and tapped into the phones and had a chat but I’m just lucky that I have Sophie.
How do you feel about Nick now and have you had any contact with him?
You get to a point where you do finally move on. It’s been four months and I don’t have any ill feelings towards him. There’s no hate and anger anymore… I do feel a bit sorry for him, he’s obviously very lost and I hope Australia’s not too hard on him because I don’t think anyone deserves any bullying.
We did have some contact at the beginning. I think he reached out to most of the girls that were left at the end, just to check in and see if they were OK. He did reach out to my brother before he reached out to me. What he and I had was just so raw and real that I think he wanted to see if I was OK, but he didn’t want to contact me directly because he didn’t think I was there yet.
So he messaged my brother because they hit it off at hometowns and said “hey, heads up this didn’t go to plan. Please look after Britt.”
The real winner? Brittany and Sophie’s beautiful friendship.
Did he eventually get in touch with you directly?
Yeah, a little bit down the track. After he spoke to Sophie, Sophie messaged me and said, “Oh my god! He’s trying to call me. Is he trying to call you?” And I said no and I was a bit upset about that.
When she spoke to him she said, “Have you spoken to Britt?” And he said, “No, I need to give her more time.” And Sophie said, “No, you need to call her.”
I did finally get that call, which was nice but it was pretty uneventful. It was just a check-in.
There’s a lot of talk today that Nick’s final choice was Brooke. But I’ve seen that you and Sophie said there was actually a deleted scene after Brooke walked out and Nick came and told you guys you were always going to be his final two?
Nick just makes his own rules, he does what he wants and nobody can coerce him into doing anything. You cannot produce him! He’s just his own strong-headed man. If he wanted anyone there at the end, they’d be there. And if he didn’t want them, they wouldn’t be. No one can make him do anything.
He evidently just didn’t see that it was going to go all the way with Brooke because she needed reassurance and he couldn’t give it to her and there were so many opportunities when he could have.
When he did walk her to the car, he came back in to Sophie and I and told us both individually and reassured us, “this was always supposed to be you, this was always the plan, you guys were always going to be here.”
All we can do is accept that. Whilst he didn’t beg Brooke to stay, he didn’t want either of us to stay so we’re all in the same boat.
WATCH: Nick struggles to open up. Post continues…
Another theory is that he’s reunited with Cass?
There’s zero truth to that in my eyes. Cass, Sophie and I are all the best of friends and we see each other every day. That’s definitely not true but I have no doubt they will maintain a friendship when the time is right.
How have you been healing your heart in the months after the show?
Well, obviously by talking to Sophie at the start because we were the only people who really knew so we’ve been each other’s rock.
My sister is my absolute best friend and she knows me better than anybody. I was so lucky to have her through this whole thing. I got back into my health and fitness. I work around 60, 70, 80 hours a week, going to the gym and a lot of hiking. Just trying to get in a good, happy place.
Has this time given you a chance to think about what your next relationship may look like?
My views haven’t changed after this experience. I still just want that person that knows where they’re at and is ready to have this amazing adventurous, fun-filled, light-hearted life. It’s basically everything Nick would have provided but he just didn’t know where he was at.
I just want somebody who is confident in themselves and is ready [for commitment].
Onwards and upwards: Britt says she has no regrets about her time on the show.
Looking back on your whole experience, would you have done anything differently?
To be honest, I don’t think I would have. I was so honest and true the whole time, I just put my heart on my sleeve and I took a risk. I don’t think you can have any regrets. There have been so many positives for me on this.
Australia would love to see you get your happy ending. Would you be open to more reality TV. Say Bachelor in Paradise or Bachelorette?
It’s hard because it’s so fresh. I think at this stage, Bachelor in Paradise is a no! I’m not sure it’s my thing. Bachelorette, if I was in the right headspace and the opportunity presented itself I would consider it.
To round it out, what was the best and worst thing of your whole Bachie experience?
The best thing was walking into see Sophie! I just can’t tell you the feeling… just letting her know that it was OK because it wasn’t me either. The worst thing was obviously ten minutes before that when it wasn’t me [laughs.]
Good luck with whatever comes next, Britt.
