Dating the Bachelor sounds like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity – but that’s not quite the case for Bella Varelis.
WATCH: The Bachelor stars Locky and Bella’s ‘awkward’ first kiss
Turns out, the brunette beauty who landed the first kiss of the season is rumoured to have previously dated The Bachelorette’s Sam Johnston.
It is believed Bella, 25, and Sam, began dating in late 2015 and that the couple even lived together for a few months.
However, the relationship ultimately fizzled out after less than a year and Sam, 30, subsequently signed up to appear on Georgia Love’s season of The Bachelorette.
Opening up about her past relationships, Bella tells New Idea: “I always manage to attract men who aren’t ready for relationships.”
“I had my heart broken pretty badly, being cheated on and yo-yo’d has made it really hard for me to trust again,” she says. “But I’m trying to not let my past affect my future.”
She’s now hoping Locky is the one. “Even when the cameras were off, we’d have to be basically pulled away from each other because we didn’t want it to end,” she says of their first kiss.
After sailing around Sydney Harbour on the pair’s one-on-one date last week, the 25-year-old locked lips with Locky, 30, while bobbing up and down in the water, after he presented her with a rose.
Despite labelling the moment as “perfect”, back at the mansion, Bella chose not to tell the other girls about the pash – with the brunette beauty saying a “lady never tells”.
But if the fan reactions are anything to go by, perhaps Bella chose to stay silent about the intimate moment because deep down she felt “awkward” about their lacklustre performance.
Taking to Twitter, several fans pointed out that the kiss looked “awkward” and appeared as though Locky and Bella were struggling to make the magic happen.
“That first kiss was very awkward for watch,” one Twitter user wrote, while another seemingly bemused person asked: “Locky is a closed-mouth kisser?”
For more, pick up a copy of New Idea. On sale now!
