“I just wanted to tell you… I have fallen in love with ya,” he added.
Following Locky’s candid confession, viewers were quick to comment, with one Twitter user writing: “Irena pours her heart out and all he can say is ‘yeah’ and a kiss on the forehead.”
Another person added: “I’m afraid I cannot listen to anything Locky is saying in this scene on account of the fact I cannot stop looking at that bit of froth caught in his beard.”
A third person added: “I’m feeling for Irena – putting yourself out there heart-wise is a huge thing.”
Meanwhile another fan commented on the cringeworthy moment, writing: “There’s no chemistry between Locky and Irena!"
Despite the backlash, Irena was thrilled to hear Locky speak his mind, telling producers: “I completely did not expect for Locky to share how he was feeling about me.
“To hear him finally tell me that he has fallen completely in love with me… I feel like my heart has just exploded. Hopefully I get to do that for the rest of my life.
“Dreams never come true for me, and I feel like they're finally starting to. I just have the best feeling now about the two of us and how our future's going to be,” she said.
Locky later declared his love for the 31-year-old nurse, choosing her over Bella Varelis, 25, who was left broken-hearted.
“Irena, every time I'm with you, I feel so safe and protected and it's kind of weird 'cause I'm a pretty big dude, and not many people can make me feel like that, but when I'm with you, I feel so calm and comfortable,” Locky began.
He continued: “It’s a pretty new feeling for me. I know you're going to make a beautiful girlfriend, wife, mother, everything. You're the whole, whole package.
“However, my biggest fear is you're not gonna be able to put yourself first, or tell me no. And, like, I need my partner, I want, like, drive and ambition. And I think you've got that in spades.
“When I think about our future together, I'm so excited and I can't wait to just travel the world and make all your dreams come true. Irena, I'm so in love with you.
“And I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you,” he added.
While Locky’s decision came as no surprise to many fans, Bella was nonetheless shocked and heartbroken when he revealed he was in love with Irena.
Shattered, Bella fought back tears as she questioned how somebody could profess to loving someone else and then turn around and reject them.
"He doesn't love me. If he loved me, he'd wanna be with me," she said as she drove away.