"I was pretty shocked." The Bachelor's Emma on being this season's 'stage five clinger'.

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In this season of The Bachelor, Emma Roche has been put in the very unlucky box labelled ‘clinger’.

It’s a trope as common on the reality TV show as the ‘villain’ and ‘wifey’ edit, and it usually leads to some pretty unnecessary social media bullying (You only have to cast your mind back to the horrible comments directed towards last year’s designated ‘clinger’ Cass Wood for proof).

List to Mamamia recapping the hometown drama of The Bachelor. Post continues below audio.

It’s an uncomfortable portrayal, no doubt down to some crafty editing, but speaking to Mamamia after bachie Matt sent her packing on last night’s episode, Emma said she decided to just embrace it.

“Oh, I just have to own it don’t I?” she laughed. “Look, it’s not ideal to be labelled as a clinger but they have to paint it on someone every season, don’t they, and this year it was me. It is what it is and I just have to accept it and ride the wave.

“Initially I was pretty shocked, but I just need to accept it for what it is and laugh along.”

Emma’s lucky that this isn’t Australia’s first Bachelor rodeo, and we’re pretty in tune with how good (or… bad) ~editing~ can make a person come across.

Perhaps that is why Emma has, more than any ‘clinger’ before her, received such a warm response from viewers.

“You know what, even though there’s been people calling me a clinger the majority of people have been really supportive. They’ve been sending me lovely messages and that’s just meant the world to me and it’s really helped me throughout this whole experience.

“People have been coming up to me on the street and telling me ‘Just be you’, and that’s been really, really comforting and I’m so grateful for that, it makes me really happy.

“I’ve gotten so much support, even from last night’s episode just saying that I did a good job and that’s really lovely.”

Despite clearly having strong feelings for Matt (and spilling to her friend that she loved him on her hometown visit), Emma was amazingly composed when she did not receive a rose.

“That was pretty hard to watch,” she said about seeing her exit on TV, but she wasn’t surprised by it at the time.

“I was pretty realistic going into the rose ceremony. There was a one in four chance of me going home and I wanted to leave with a bit of dignity. I respect Matt, he laid his cards on the table with how he was feeling towards me and if those feelings are reciprocated, I just need to accept it and move on. Yeah, I was sad, but I felt like I needed to compose myself.”

 

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Breaking news: I love love! Lol! But seriously, what a ride! This journey has been a very emotional one for me. I want to thank all of you who have sent such lovely and positive comments. You have no idea how much it’s meant to me and has helped me throughout this journey. At the end of the day I went on this show for genuine reasons and to find….wait for it….love! ???? I did find love and that was with the beautiful women I met on The Bachelor. My fellow bachelorettes, you have been there for me throughout the highs, the lows, the tears, the laughs and everything else in between ???????????? Here’s to the next chapter!! ???? @thebachelorau #thebachelor #thebacheloraustralia

A post shared by Emma Roche ???? (@miss_emma_roche) on Sep 12, 2019 at 4:42am PDT

And there’s no hard feelings towards Helena.

During the cocktail party, a late Helena arrived and whisked Matt outside to apologise for her disastrous hometown date. While they talked outside, the other bachelorettes Emma, Abbie and Chelsie questioned whether it was appropriate.

But watching just how dramatic Helena’s hometown visit was put it all into perspective for Emma.

“We were all surprised [when Matt and Helena chatted before the rose ceremony]. The three of us, it was written all over our face. We were like ‘What has happened?’, we had no idea what had happened on her hometown which is why I think we all got as upset as we did. But watching the episode last night, watching her freak out, I can definitely understand why she was so eager to pull him aside and clear the air. I accept that, but at the time I remember being confused and I didn’t think it was fair, no.

“I was definitely eager to see how the other girls hometowns went and it all makes sense now with Helena.

“It is hard, we are all wondering what is going on and unfortunately we don’t have the chance to chat with each other in the rose ceremony so that’s why we were as flabbergasted as we were.”

Despite the short straw editing-wise, Emma said she had a great time on The Bachelor and she’s doing really well now that her time is up.

“I went in there with an open mind and I didn’t really know what to expect, but you know what? I had a great time filming. I didn’t get involved in any drama, I made a lot of friends, I made sure not to get into a clique either, made sure to get along well with everybody. I definitely enjoyed my experience there,” she said.

“I’m living the single life and I’m loving it… My friends have been such a good support system. We have been hanging out, drinking wine, going out and that’s definitely helped me during the last couple of months.”