They met and fell for each other on The Bachelor three years ago, only for their fairytale to fade not long after.
And as ex’s Richie Strahan and Alex Nation prepare to come face to face for the first time since their bitter split on Bachelor In Paradise season two (and you can see the first topless photos of Richie on set right here) Alex has finally revealed the truth about their romance.
“I’m going to be real with you and say I did not apply for the Bachelor to find love,” the single mum confessed in a lengthy Instagram post earlier this year, hinting their TV romance was all fake.
“I applied because I’d just had my heart broken and thought what an experience this would be.”
In fact, Alex, 28, admits she’d never even watched an episode of the reality dating show prior to signing up to be a contestant on season four.
“I used to laugh at my girlfriends who would discuss it in our group chat.”
So, did Alex ever love Richie at all or was it just an act?
“At the time, I believed that with every fibre of my being. What we were in that moment was powerful and special and I was on cloud 9 and what we went through and experienced together was unique,” she shared.
“Whilst the show came with some serious lows which led to anxiety and depression…it helped me grow as a person.”
Richie and Alex called time on their relationship back in 2017. A short time later, Alex announced she was dating her female AFL teammate Maegan Luxa and the pair were engaged. It too fizzled out over due course.
And now Richie plans to share his side of the story in front of the whole nation when he appears on BIP.
“He felt like an absolute idiot when Alex left him for a woman and was posting it all over social media,” dishes our spy.
“He now sees this as the ultimate revenge and a way of airing Alex’s dirty laundry once and for all. She’s acted innocent in all of this but she has skeletons in her closet too and he can’t wait to unleash.”
Let the games, begin.
