The Bachelor & Chelsie Gush About Just How Strong Their Relationship Is
Dr. Matt chose Chelsie as his perfect woman on last night’s The Bachelor finale.
They seemed like a perfect match right from the beginning, when Chelsie temporary-tattooed the chemical structure of oxytocin on Dr. Matt’s bare chest in the first episode. Turns out they’re both big science nerds, an astrophysicist and a chemical engineer walk into a bar, etcetera, etcetera.
Their relationship blossomed over a series of dates, from their very floury baking date, to their misstep into rag jumping. By hometowns, which was really just a pub sesh, it looked like Chelsie could fit right into Dr. Matt’s life, and vice versa.
But Dr. Matt had misgivings, which his friends assuaged, that she might be too good to be true. Not true! She’s just a real nice lady who loves nerd shit too!
Ultimately, after opening up to Dr. Matt over the course of the series about her past toxic relationships, Chelsie was able to be totally vulnerable with the astrobanker Bachy. And it was true love!
Punkee spoke to the loved-up couple who are “looking forward to the easy and normal” of a regular relationship and about how awkward it is to watch their love story play out on TV.
Here’s what Chelsie and Dr. Matt had to say about their experience on The Bachelor.
Chelsie on how it’s not that bad watching Dr. Matt get intimate with other women
“[It’s] not too difficult. I mean, it’s not the most comfortable situation. But, you know, I am not oblivious to what went on on other dates. I think it’d be weird if he wasn’t kissing other girls. I mean, there is a TV show to produce at the end of the day. And I chose to watch because I’m very comfortable with my relationship with Matt. I’m not gonna watch it again, but it is what it is.”
Dr. Matt on how the strength of their relationship means none of that stuff matters
“There’s probably a couple of awkward moments in there. Obviously we can’t watch it together, last night was the first episode we could actually watch together. I think it’s a case of, you know, we’ve had discussions about what happened, but at the end of the day, we’ve got a really healthy strong relationship, we’re both very confident in that. I didn’t watch most of the second half of the show, but Chels decided that she wanted to and that’s completely fine. I think it’s about not looking backward about what’s happened when we were single, but the fact that we’re now we’re together in a relationship looking forward and navigating this new part of our lives.”
Chelsie on going on The Bachelor as a bit of a drunken dare
“To be honest, it was a bit of a drunken joke when I initially signed up. Obviously it was not something that I would normally do and I tried to pull out quite a few times. And then I guess I was convinced predominantly by one of my best friends in the end. Thank God for her, or I wouldn’t be in this position.”
Matt: “I think I owe her a bottle of wine actually, your mate.”
Dr. Matt on never expecting that he might actually end up the star of the show
“I didn’t actually want to be the Bachelor. I applied thinking that maybe they’d be like, ‘He’s all right, we can throw him on The Bachelorette. I was kind of just exploring it for another avenue to meet someone. I was continually surprised when they called up and they said, ‘Hey, yeah, loved your application. Do you wanna come in for an interview?’ And they just kept calling me up for more and more interviews, and I was like, surely, they’re gonna call up and say, ‘Sorry mate, you’re great but you’re not what we’re looking for.’ But that phone call never came.”
Dr. Matt on being shirtless all the damn time
“I was basically asked, can you pop your top? And I didn’t really push back very much.”
Chelsie on being caught in footage with dumped contestants – something the winners rarely do
“I didn’t know where these videos were going, to be honest, because they were with contestants that had been eliminated already. I just caught up with them because I wanted to, not really thinking of any outcomes or media attention that it would get.”
Chelsie on finding the courage to be totally vulnerable with the Bachelor
“I think for me it all came down to how receptive Matt was of my feelings. I am obviously someone that finds it quite hard to open up but he made me feel incredibly comfortable to do so, which is probably why it worked out between us in the end.”
Dr. Matt on whether he knew it was Chelsie before she finally said ILY, or after
“I was pretty confident in my choice prior to the opening of how Chelsie felt. But obviously it just really reaffirms that decision, knowing that’s exactly where she stood. It just kind of really vindicates the decision and where I was at.”
Dr. Matt on not being able to reciprocate the women’s feelings
“It’s tremendously difficult, because you can’t really say much. You’ve got to try to say enough that it provides some form of reassurance, but with a degree of vagueness I guess almost that it doesn’t give anything away. It’s hard saying that to the person you want to say more to, but it’s almost unfair saying some of those things [to other contestants] because you have to do it contractually. But you know that people are going to get hurt as a result of it all. So it’s really hard in all aspects.”
Dr. Matt on how Chelsie and the other women shared their toxic experiences – and what he took away from that
“It’s important to know about someone’s past because it helps you understand the experiences that have shaped them as a person. Things like that really toxic, manipulative, gaslighting behaviour, it’s really hard to hear when you’re with someone that you care about and you know they’ve gone through that, because it’s really hurtful stuff that often when you’re on the receiving end of it, you have no idea that it’s happening.
“A lot of the women actually, throughout the experience, shared stories where, yeah, they’d been hurt in some kind of manner like that. The saying that I always kind of stuck to is like, ‘When you’ve got the rose-tinted glasses on, red flags just look like flags.’ I think that happens a lot in relationships where things that, from an outward perspective, you’d say this is horrible, when you’re in the scenario it’s hard to see, and you can get really, really broken by that.”
Chelsie on how The Bachelor helped with her sense of self-worth
“I was no longer hurt by anything [my ex did]. But I think [being on The Bachelor] helped me overcome my fear of being vulnerable and being open and able to be who I am and not have the fear that that’s not good enough. Which is a huge thing that I took away from this experience.”
