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Alex and Richie admit feeling blindsided by how they were portrayed on The Bachelor.

When Alex Nation met Richie Strahan’s mother on The Bachelor finale, things didn’t appear to go smoothly.

While Mrs Strahan gushed over Nikki Gogan (Richie’s other girlfriend at the time), she was shown to be apprehensive about Alex’s status as a single mum.

“It’s just a shock, Richard,” are words that will live on in Australian TV infamy for years to come.

But now, two weeks on from the announcement, Alex and Richie have spoken to PopSugar about life as one of Australia’s most public couples, the backlash they’ve received, and whether what we saw on the show was as it seemed.

richie and alex
Richie and Alex at The Bachelor finale. Image via Channel 10.
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And one of the first questions the couple were asked was about how Alex has gotten along with Richie's family since filming ended. Spoiler alert: very well.

"I've absolutely loved ... seeing Kate again," said Alex. "It's been amazing. It's all the stuff you look forward to in a new relationship."

Richie agrees, explaining that the tension we saw in the finale was "a bit of TV 'reality'."

"My mum and my sister just absolutely love Alex and say such wonderful things about her. My sister is so happy — she's found another fashionista girlfriend," he added.

Listen: Our Bach Chat podcast reflects on The Bachelor finale. (Post continues after audio.)

Both Alex and Richie admitted they were shocked by the way their relationship was portrayed on the show.

"We would really have liked to have more of our love story shown, so people could have gotten behind us a lot more instead of going that other angle," Richie told PopSugar.

"But, you know, that's their prerogative. They're making a TV show and you've got to really . . . Well, you like to say you put your trust in them, but yeah we certainly were quite surprised."

Alex added she felt it was "a little bit disappointing" to have so much of their relationship skipped.

In particular, the pair did not expect Alex to be characterised the way she was.

Speaking about the way she was edited on the show, Alex reflected: "I remember my girlfriends were like, 'Oh, everyone gets an edit, but people will love you,' and I was like, 'Yeah, I cracked jokes, I was light-hearted...' and then it came out that I was a stage-five clinger like American Psycho and I was like, 'Jesus! Where did that come from?'"

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"I just laugh it off, though. They're making a TV show and there's a lot of content there."

Alex and Richie on their final date. Image via Channel 10.

Despite the challenges, both Richie and Alex said they'd do it all again.

"I absolutely loved my time on the show," said Alex.