Georgia Love: Why it was ‘difficult’ to see her love story hijacked

Five years ago, Georgia Love went public with her now-husband Lee Elliot after The Bachelorette - at the same time, her mother passed away. Today, she reflects on the “most traumatic time” of her life.

September marks five years since your season of The Bachelorette debuted, Australia got to know who you were and you ultimately met and fell in love with your now-husband Lee Elliott, who was a contestant on the show. Does it feel like it was that long ago?

In some ways it feels like it was last year and then I can’t believe it was that long ago. It feels like I have known Lee my whole life.

It was such a transformative time for you off-camera, as well. Your mum Belinda was in the final months of her fight with pancreatic cancer, and she passed away a day after the finale aired.

How do you reflect on that period in your life now?

It is really strange to look back on. So much happened in such a short time that it’s all a bit of a blur. I left Tassie to start filming in June and by October, I was in a new relationship, had been on national TV, moved back to Melbourne and lost my mum.

In that short time everything in my life changed so quickly that it’s almost like my mind couldn’t really comprehend that all that happened at once.

(Picture: Cameron Grayson)

How did you try to deal with so much change at the time?

I threw myself so heavily into doing The Bachelorette. I took the whole experience really seriously; I thought I would meet my person that way. It’s almost like everything else in my world was happening on the outside. That was probably a coping mechanism, too, knowing that my mum was unwell.

So coming out of that afterwards, I went, “Oh wow, everything is different.” By the time I got out of that haze, I was already in the new life and just kept rolling with that, I guess. I don’t know if I have still properly stepped back and really reflected on how much changed all at once. You’re not given a choice when life throws something like a death at you. You just have to deal with it.

After your season finished airing, the media narrative around the finale was less about you finding love and more your having turned down Matty Johnson (Matty J) in that final episode. How did you navigate that?

Georgia Love with her husband Lee Elliott on their wedding day in March. (Picture: Instagram)

It was difficult, actually. Because The Bachelor and The Bachelorette have always been about the love story, and our season did end in one. So feeling like it was less our love story and more so someone else’s heartbreak was a bit difficult. At the same time, that’s when my mum was sick, so it was a blip on the radar for me. It was like, whatever. I’ve got the man I love by my side helping me through the most traumatic time in my life. That’s what matters.

It doesn’t matter what the TV shows or what anybody as an audience member sees and thinks, it’s our life and we came out of it together [and] happy. I have spoken to quite a few people who have gone on to be the Bachelorette or the Bachelor since, and that’s my best advice for them: at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what anybody else thinks, because it’s your life.

This is going to affect you. When the cameras turn off and the Instagram likes stop, this is your life and you need to be happy. I still really stand by that.

If your season aired now, do you think that narrative would have played out the same?

It’s hard to know. We’re five years further into the show – things change, people get bored of the same formula. I haven’t changed since then, so I like to think I wouldn’t react to it any differently now. One thing that would certainly change is social media. When we did it, we weren’t allowed social media at all. We were on a ban.

Georgia Love with her late mum Belinda. (Picture: Instagram)

Do you think that change has impacted the show?

The way that social media has changed in the past five years, and the way that the girls and the guys from these shows are scrutinised and trolled is just horrendous. I am so, so thankful that I didn’t have that experience. I don’t think I would do the show now because of that – and only because of that. People just treat anyone who is on reality TV as if they don’t have feelings or as if they don’t matter. And it’s really awful.

Do you still watch The Bachelor and The Bachelorette?

Yeah, absolutely – I’m a mad fan, I’ve watched every season.

Georgia Love features in this Sunday’s Stellar.

You’ve also signed on for a new role with Melbourne shopping centre Chadstone, as a “Friend of the Fashion Capital”. What is your connection to the brand?

When I was a little girl, it was a Saturday out at Chaddy. I have fond memories of shopping there with Mum, which is particularly special now that she is no longer with us. And one of my first jobs was working at Chadstone, at [accessories chain store] Diva.

I’d be dripping with costume jewellery walking through Chadstone going, “Look how grown-up and cool I am!” I worked [at Chadstone] for five years all-up. And all the Christmases and 24-hour trade that I worked, my mum would drive me and drop me off two blocks away because it was always so busy. I think of her every single time I am there.

In March, you and Lee tied the knot in Tasmania. Has your relationship changed since you became Mr and Mrs?

I started a new job [at Seven News] just before we got married, so I have been go, go, go. Nothing has really changed in our relationship. He loves using the word “wife”; it’s still a bit novel. It still feels like a really grown-up word... and I don’t feel grown-up.