Taite Radley won Ali Oetjen’s heart in Thursday night’s Bachelorette finale and the couple are still going strong.
“I came in to this journey to find love and I can honestly say I have found it with you,” Melbourne bank manager Taite, 28, told Ali, 32, before giving her a commitment ring.
Text messages now published by the Daily Mail (you can see the exchange here) from before Taite made the decision to apply for The Bachelorette.
Taite previously appeared on First Dates, where he met a woman who went on to join season 17 of Geordie Shore, filmed on the Gold Coast.
According to the texts from October 2017, Taite sought the woman’s help after finding out she was going to be on TV again. He told her he would “love to apply for a few other [shows]”.
The woman then mentioned that she was thinking of applying for The Bachelor, to which Taite responded: “Haha I want to apply for that too hahaha how funny would that be.”
After she said he should apply, Taite said, “Yeah I looked at the application the other day.”
While it’s being suggested that Taite applied for fame, not love, we’d argue it’s pretty hard to draw a conclusion from texts like this out of context and of course, a lot can change in a year.
What’s more, desiring a loving relationship and wanting notoriety are not mutually exclusive.
This is a year-old text conversation between two people that should have remained private. Its relevancy is questionable.
Judging by Ali and Taite’s lovey-dovey Instagram posts after the finale and their super sweet interviews so far on Thursday morning, the two are very much in love.
Top Comments
Look, I don't think that Taite should be get too far ahead of things, but you know, if they ever share a place, it's just best that it's single storey. It would be nice to get a place that they can live in for the rest of their lives, and later on, mobility is an issue. I've heard that getting up stairs is fine, but going down's a problem.
You win
I can't seem to pull away from this franchise even though it bewilders me so. Anyone who applies for reality TV is seeking fame. Surely people can see it's a given? Attention seekers, the lot of them! But I agree, seeking attention and fame is not mutually exclusive from seeking love either and I actually trust that these connections are genuine. It's not really hard to believe. Two attractive people meeting, banter, chemistry...falling in love/lust often comes after that. The thing that I can never get over is that the Bachelorette/Bachelor seems to fall equally head over heels with at least two other people. That would be the thing I would find I could never get over if I was in the final two's position .... knowing that that magical falling in love time of limerence is actually being experienced with your 'one and only' was also happening with her/him and at least one other person at the same time. Apart from the sheer boredom, the cringe-worthiness of the final three - two dates and seeing all that is the reason I usually give the finals a miss!