“We’re actually feeling a bit dusty,” chuckles Angie Kent over the phone.
It’s mid morning, the day after the finale of The Bachelorette Australia. Angie and her bachelor of choice, Carlin Sterritt, are well into their day of press.
Angie tells me the finale was the first episode of the series the two had watched together.
“We had some wine to celebrate,” she says (hence the “dusty” feeling).
This year’s finale topped the night’s ratings, with close to a million viewers tuning in to watch Angie reveal it was Carlin she was falling in love with. Since the episode aired, runner up and fan favourite Timm Hanly has received an outpouring of love (and sunflower emojis) on social media.
With their relationship finally out in the open, Angie and Carlin say it’s an absolute relief.
“It’s so great,” says Carlin. “It’s so surreal.”
“It’s going to be weird when we go to the airport,” laughs Angie.
They are, in fact, on their way to the airport whilst we chat, about to take their first flight together. One of the many “normal things” the two are excited to finally be able to do as a couple.
I ask Angie the all-important question, has Carlin has met her dogs yet?
“No he hasn’t,” she exclaims. “It’s our first day being a normal couple. He’ll probably get to meet one of them this weekend.”
The two have had to keep their relationship under wraps for around three months, achieved with covert catch ups and code names in their phones.
“I called him Noah, or Noh Noh,” says Angie “Like Noah and Allie from The Notebook.”
She reveals she was still petrified every time he called, worried someone might pick up on who it could be.
Carlin says he shared her concerns. He initially had Angie’s number saved under “Allie” but then decided it looked too much like her real name, so would constantly change it.
When Carlin says this, Angie erupts in laughter, and the two exchange easy banter about Carlin’s paranoia. It would seem they’re pretty damn excited about finally being able to enjoy their relationship in the open.
“I’d only told my Mum,” says Angie of choosing Carlin. “She then told my brother.”
“I told my immediate family,” says Carlin. “We really wanted to protect what happened in the finale.”
According to the couple, their phones were blowing up with messages from friends after the episode aired.
“The general gist of the messages was that we’re good liars,” chuckles Carlin.
“You’ve gotta sell them sweet nothing,” says Angie.
Next for the new couple is a holiday, with a good dose of normalcy.
For us, now begins the wait for next year’s televised search for love.
Applications for The Bachelor and The Bachelorette are open. Apply here.
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