A thorough investigation into whether The Bachelor 'relationship contract' really exists.

To catch up on all the Bachelorette Australia 2019 recaps and gossip, check out Mamamia’s recaps and visit our Bachelorette hub page.

Well, it happened.

Just two months after the season finale of The Bachelor Australia aired, Matt Agnew and Chelsie McLeod announced their split.

Mamamia speaks to The Bachelorette Australia’s Angie Kent. Post continues after video.

Posting to Instagram on Sunday November 16, the 31-year-old astrophysicist shared the news, writing, “These past six months since filming finished have been a very unique experience.”

“Chels and I have made some beautiful memories together that I’ll always cherish, and I wish her nothing but the absolute best,” he added.

“However, it’s with a heavy heart that I write this. For Chels and me, our relationship hasn’t translated from filming to the real, every day world as we had hoped.”

The 2019 Bachelor concluded his statement, adding: “It’s no one’s fault, it’s just life”.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Matt Agnew (@drmattagnew) on Nov 16, 2019 at 5:45pm PST

Although Matt was clear in his statement that there “isn’t someone else for me right now”, fans have been quick to speculate what may have led to the couple’s break-up.

And in typical Bachelor-world fashion, the topic of “contracts” has come up once again.

You see, since the show first premiered in Australia, there’s been a long running conspiracy theory that the winning couple have ~contractual obligations~ to stay together for a certain period of time after the finale.

But is The Bachelor and The Bachelorette relationship contract actually a real thing… or is it just a rumour? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Here’s what we know:

Matt Agnew and Chelsie McLeod’s split.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Thank you so much to everyone for your support and kind words over what was an incredibly exciting, rewarding, challenging, and emotional journey. Your words have not gone unnoticed. Matt showed me what it was like to be respected in a relationship and I am so thankful for that. However, it saddens me to say that we are no longer together. I wish him nothing but the best. I’m sorry to those that were invested in our relationship. Please remember to be kind online as you don’t know what is going on behind the screen. All my love ❤️

A post shared by Chelsie ???? (@chelsiemcleod) on Nov 16, 2019 at 5:44pm PST

The timing of Matt and Chelsie’s split is… peculiar.

In case you’ve forgotten, The Bachelor finale aired on September 19, meaning Matt and Chelsie’s announcement (which was shared on November 17), was shared almost exactly two months later.

In his Instagram post, Matt also shared that it had been six months since filming on The Bachelor concluded, which is interesting considering The Bachelorette’s Sophie Monk and her winner Stu Laundy also split just three months after the finale aired.

…Interesting.

On the other hand, a former Bachelor contestant has claimed that Chelsie was actually blindsided over her split.

When a follower commented that she’d like to know why the couple split, contestant Rachael Arahill replied with “so does Chelsie”.

When another fan asked whether Chelsie had been dumped without a reason, Rachael responded with a shrugging emoji.

Angie Kent and Carlin Sterritt’s relationship.

Following The Bachelorette finale, Angie Kent and winner Carlin Sterritt have both addressed the contract rumours.

Since the finale aired, some fans have accused the pair of keeping up appearances for money.

But speaking to Mamamia’s daily entertainment podcast, The Spill, Angie refuted the claims.

Mamamia’s daily entertainment podcast, The Spill, speaks to Angie Kent and Carlin Sterritt following The Bachelorette finale. Post continues below.

“I would never in a million years sign a contract that would make me stay with someone and be in a relationship,” Angie told The Spill podcast.

“That’s not my idea of happiness. I would never do a TV show where that was the outcome. It’s all too raw and vulnerable and open.

“I did see people saying we were only staying together for money, for one hundred thousands dollars and I mean, I will take the money but to stay together for a two-year contract? I would never do that.”

Speaking on The Project following the finale, Angie brought up contracts once again after she shared that she still speaks to runner-up Timm Hanly.

“Timm is one of those people, I am one of those people, when I make a connection with somebody, I don’t care about contracts,” she said.

“I don’t care what you are not supposed to do.”

The Honey Badger's season.

After picking no one on his season of The Bachelor, Nick 'The Honey Badger' Cummins seemed to confirm the show's so-called relationship contract.

Speaking to ABC's Radio National after infamously dumping both Sophie Tieman and Brittany Hockley, Nick cited 'contracts' as part of the reason behind his decision.

"I was actually disappointed that people are so brainwashed, you're not going to get your fairytale ending every time," he said.

"And what's more important, me just saying 'yes' and going through the motions and dragging some girl through all this media about how we're in love and then three months down the track after the contract's over, um, we're allowed to break up.

"I'm not going to drag them through that rubbish... and break her heart. Bugger that."

Nick also referred to the contract as being "three months" long on The Project.

Despite his claims, however, Channel 10 told news.com.au that "there is no way" a relationship contract would exist.

We don't know who to believe. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Honey Badger (@nickbadger) on Mar 22, 2018 at 1:42am PDT

Sophie Monk and Stu Laundy

In 2017, The Bachelorette's Sophie Monk and her winner Stu Laundy were accused of staying together for a contract after fans pointed out their obvious awkwardness during TV appearances.

The couple continued to deny the rumours but just three months after the finale aired, the pair announced their split.

"I gave it the best shot I could and my intentions were everything I said I was looking for, but unfortunately it just didn't work out," Sophie wrote on Instagram at the time.

"There were no contracts or pressure to stay together whatsoever from anyone and we remain friends."

Laura Byrne: "There are no contracts."

Laura Byrne, who won Matty J's heart on The Bachelor in 2017, admitted that there are "no contracts".

"You don't have any obligation to pretend to be in a relationship and you also don't have any obligation to pretend to not be in a relationship," Laura told 9Honey last year.

"There's a non-disclosure agreement. You absolutely cannot tell anyone," she explained.

There is also no rule about the winning couple and staying together for three months. If the relationship doesn't work out, it doesn't work out. There's no contract. That's absolute bullsh*t."

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Laura Byrne ???? (@ladyandacat) on Oct 5, 2019 at 11:52pm PDT

Matty J: "There's a contract for being on the show."

Although Matty J and Laura Byrne have both claimed there's no relationship contract on the show, Matty J did confirm there is a contract for being on The Bachelor or The Bachelorette.

After sharing that he was "gobsmacked" by Matt and Chelsie's split, Matty J admitted he thought their split, which came four days after Angie's finale on The Bachelorette, was "a little bit strategic".

"Obviously there's a contract for being on the show. But the contract mainly states that you can't take advantage of being on The Bachelor franchise. You can't use The Bachelor name to make more money," Matty J said on his podcast The Babble with Nat Bass and Matty J.

"There's nothing in there that states you have to be with the person you choose for a certain amount of time," he added.

"Pretty much after the finale, you are released into the wild and Network 10 wave you off and go 'good luck and all the best.'"

Do you think there's a relationship contract on The Bachelor and The Bachelorette? Let us know in the comments.

For more on this topic:

• "The pain was excruciating." Angie Kent on her experience of living with endometriosis.
• A definitive ranking of who we'd like to see as The Bachelorette in 2020.
• "I took Timm's ring off." Angie Kent on what happened away from the cameras.
• A definitive ranking of who we'd like to see on the new season of Bachelor in Paradise.

Sign up to our “Mamamia Celebrity” newsletter for daily updates straight into your inbox, follow us on Instagram at @mamamiaentertainment and join the conversation in our ‘Bach Lols’ Facebook group. We've got you covered.