Sophie Monk and Stu Laundy split: Did we see the signs?
SOPHIE Monk and Stu Laundy’s relationship was one of Australia’s most scrutinised relationships from reality TV. Many claimed they saw the cracks early on.
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SOPHIE Monk and Stu Laundy’s relationship was one of Australia’s most scrutinised relationships that blossomed from reality TV.
Monk, 37, has been upfront with her fans, telling them today on Instagram that they are “very different people” and it “just didn’t work out”.
Both of them did multiple interviews where they were forced to repeatedly confirm their love was real.
But Australians claim they saw the flaws in the couple’s relationship after The Bachelorette ended last year.
These are some of the signs that viewers, experts and celebrities saw before Monk and Laundy, 44, officially called it quits.
1. TROUBLE AFTER A WHITE CHRISTMAS?
Laundy and Monk were spending their Christmas and New Year in Canada at SilverStar Mountain Resort where her BFF Oscar Gordon works. While fans saw several Instagram posts of the couple looking cosy and playing house together, gossip magazines including Woman’s Day reported that they allegedly had a fight while on holiday. Laundy also stopped appearing on Monk’s Instagram after early January. Laundy also stopped posting about them around the same time.
2. THAT ARIA AWARDS JAB
Monk and Laundy made their first red carpet appearance at the ARIA Awards last year in November. When she got on stage, Monk didn’t hold back as she made a joke about Laundy’s marital status.
“It’s a special day because Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have announced their engagement so I thought this was the perfect opportunity to tell you all that ... Um ...” she said, pausing as viewers wondered if she was about to confirm is he she engaged or pregnant or any other rumour that had been swirling for months.
She then told the audience: “ ... Stu is still married,” as the audience laughed.
Monk was left shell-shocked when the “bachelor” revealed he was still married to his wife of 15 years, Rachel. Laundy said he was still finalising his divorce settlement four years after she instigated a separation.
Monk will have to wait a bit longer for her fairytale wedding.
3. HAVING KIDS
Monk has always been very clear that she wants kids. And at 37, the former Bardot singer has said she doesn’t want to mess around with picking the wrong man.
Laundy eventually admitted he had a vasectomy to the Bachelorette star during a very awkward boat date on the show, however the couple told News Corp Australia they were considering IVF as a way around having a reversal.
Laundy also confirmed he had “planned ahead” when undergoing his vasectomy a decade ago.
While there were options for the couple to have kids, it was not going to be straightforward.
4. MONK ‘FELL FOR THE OLD GAME’
Leadership influencer and body language expert Louise Mahler watched every episode of Monk on The Bachelorette.
While she previously told News Corp Australia there was “no question” about the authenticity of their relationship, she had serious doubts about whether they’ll go the distance.
Dr Mahler said Monk went on to the show to find someone to love and care for her but instead chose a partner who wants the same thing.
“Stu is all about Stu and she went on the program for her. Stu is all, ‘You helped me, I have changed my life since you came into my life, I’ve been depressed, you were there to help me’.
“I think their relationship is absolutely genuine, no question about it. I think she’s a sucker for looking after a man, as we all are, and she fell for the old game,” she said.
“We all say, ‘I want someone to look after me’ and now she’s looking after him.”
5. THE AWKWARD CHEMISTRY
They claimed to be head over heels in love, but some fans did not buy it, saying couple’s on-screen chemistry is lacking.
Monk called the Have You Been Paying Attention panellists “a**holes” after they roasted her and Laundy on rumours they were no longer together.
“Can I just say, sincerely, there’s a lot of cynical people out there but congratulations,” host Sam Pang told Monk and Laundy.
“Finding love is a very difficult thing to do and I wish you all the best. I just wanted to ask Stu, what does your wife think?”
What should have been a routine interview on The Project became increasingly awkward when the couple were grilled on whether they were still together.
Radio host Kate Langbroek was also among those sceptical, taking to social media to deliver a devastating assessment of their relationship.
Langbroek posted a snap of the couple’s appearance on The Project last year with the words: “She hates him”.
The next day, Monk later posted a bizarre video on Instagram in defence of her relationship with Laundy.
The strange post featured a woman named Jan defending the couple following rumours they’ve split days after The Bachelorette finale went to air.
Radio star Em Rusciano has also come out criticising their relationship, saying she thinks Monk “played everyone” and had no real intention of finding love on The Bachelorette.
“She, to me, looked uncomfortable and cagey and like she didn’t want to be there,” Rusciano said of Monk’s appearance on The Project.
“I think Sophie Monk has got exactly what she wanted to get out of this show”.