When it comes to A-list wedding watch, Bachelor season eight couple Locky Gilbert and Irena Srbinovska are on the top of the list.
“Going off all the tabloids, I proposed to her every single day,” Locky laughs in an exclusive interview with Now To Love.
However last week, the pair did little to quell the persistent whispers they’ve become secretly engaged after a very telling photo of Irena rocking an enormous rock on that finger popped up on adventure guide Locky’s Instagram Story.
Setting the record straight, the pair insist the engagement ring is in fact the $30K commitment sparkler by Larsen Jewellery Locky gifted to Irena in last year’s emotional Bachelor finale.
And according to Locky, there’s a reason why there was such a misunderstanding about it.
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“When we take selfies with the phone, it reverses the image. We’re just travelling at the moment, we’re still getting to know each other. I definitely want to marry Irena but when the proposal comes everyone will have to wait for that one,” he tells us.
This latest twist in the are-they-or-aren’t-they saga comes months after Rottnest Island Tourism insisted Locky popped the question during a visit to Rottnest Island in November last year, which the couple denied at the time.
Case closed: It turns out Irena was wearing the Larsen Jewellery promise ring Locky gave her during The Bachelor finale.
(Image: Supplied)For now, the duo are living their best life on the open roads of Australia and making the most of open borders allowing them to travel from their Perth base to Locky’s hometown of South Australia.
While it sounds like one long extended Bachelor date, the couple reveal they’ve learnt a lot about each other on their romantic road trip.
“Irena’s the best at saying no! On the show it was all like, ‘She’s so nice!’ My mum was like, ‘Will she be able to say no to me?’ She doesn’t let me get away with anything,” the 31-year-old says.
Locky also admits Irena has inspired him to make some major life changes – including visiting a doctor and a dentist for the first time in his life.
“I have just realised that before Irena, I’d never been to the doctor, never been to the dentist. And now in the last three months, I’ve been to the doctor’s twice, I’ve had my wisdom teeth pulled out, I’ve had my eyes checked,” he chuckles proudly of getting on top of his life admin.
“And you’ve done all of that on the road,” the 31-year-old nurse adds.
The intrepid couple want to spend the rest of this year exploring Australia.
(Image: @outboundtrvl/Instagram)“She’s amazing! But I don’t know how I feel about it because I’m turning into a bloody grown adult now. I’m a completely changed man. It’s a big change but I’m loving it,” he laughs.
“I told him he’s got to survive another 50 years! I want him to live a long life with me, we’ve got to make sure he’s healthy,” the Melbourne local admits.
READ NEXT: Take a look back at Locky and Irena’s road to romance on The Bachelor
Irena and Locky say they’ve learnt so much about each other during their road trip around South Australia.
(Image: @outboundtrvl/Instagram)The reality TV lovers spent one month together in South Australia and for Locky, it was getting to show his partner where he grew up that meant the most.
“I’m originally from Murray Bridge in South Australia so I thought it would be a great chance to take Irena back to where I grew up. I took her back to my school, then we did pretty much everything possible you can do in South Australia,” he says.
“My highlight was diving with the great white sharks,” he says.
“Mine was swimming with the dolphins on Kangaroo Island,” Irena reveals.
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But like any normal couple, being cooped up in the small confines of a four-wheel drive has its limits and make sure they spent time away from each other was just as important as being together.
“The one thing I’ve found useful is just getting away from each other for an hour every couple of days. Go for a run, listen to music. We’re so in love with each other and we love being around each other but we do still have our fights,” the 2020 Bachelor star explains.
However there’s a very sweet silver lining of spending the better part of the last six months travelling around the country together.
“It’s definitely cemented our relationship. We’re in each other’s pockets 24-hours a day… And the highs and lows of travelling, the highs and lows of COVID and me being away from my family for so long and being away from work – it’s definitely been an emotional roller coaster but Locky’s been my biggest supporter,” Irena beams of her boyfriend.
She adds: “Because I’ve got no one else to talk to he’s the person that I vent to, he’s the person that I cry to… It’s definitely made our relationship a lot stronger.”
“It’s definitely made us stronger. Our fights are so quick now because we know exactly what to do to push each other’s buttons but then we get over it super quick,” Locky explains.
With their South Australian road trip done and dusted, the Bachie duo, who are currently based in Perth WA, can’t wait to spend the rest of the year exploring their own backyard while getting back to their respective roles as a nurse and adventure guide.
“I’m trying to get back into nursing but because we’re not in the one place long enough, it’s just really hard with permits to work as a nurse. When we go back to Victoria soon I’ll spend a bit of time working at my old hospital. I’m definitely missing nursing,” Irena admits.
“She’s dying not nursing! She’s nursing me,” Locky explains.
“I told him he’s got to survive another 50 years! I want him to live a long life with me, we’ve got to make sure he’s healthy.”
(Image: @outboundtrvl/Instagram)
