‘It sucks’: Megan Marx ‘offended and upset’ over ‘Bachelor In Paradise’ treatment

BACHELOR In Paradise contestant Megan Marx has revealed there was an on-air moment during this season that “sucked” and left her frustrated with Ten.

BACHELOR In Paradise contestants Megan Marx and Jake Ellis might have bowed out of the show before last night’s commitment ceremony, but it turns out the pair are a surprise success story: they’re still together several months after filming.

The news should surprise viewers who watched last night’s finale and saw the pair decide not to go ahead with their commitment ceremony like the other three remaining couples, with Megan telling Jake she didn’t love him and quickly leaving the resort.

“We both felt we hadn’t had enough time together to say ‘I love you’ ... we wanted to give each other space to figure that out, outside reality TV. We basically picked up where we left things, and hey — we’re still together,” Marx told news.com.au today.

Megan couldn't go through with the commitment ceremony last night.

And while Ellis seemed rather dejected in last night’s episode, Marx insisted the decision to put a hold on their relationship until they were free from the confines of reality television was in fact mutual.

“I think Jake understood where I was at. To be honest, he was in the same place — I know they made it look like a breakup, but it wasn’t like that,” she said.

Marx made headlines after appearing in Richie’s season of The Bachelor when she entered into a very public relationship with another of the female contestants from the show, Tiffany Scanlon.

She said some fans of the franchise still seem to have a hard time understanding that she is attracted to both men and women.

Marx (left) and Scanlon enjoyed a very public romance.

“It’s very frustrating. Even now, I’m seeing comments about Jake and I being together: ‘Oh, she’ll always want to be with a woman.’ And if I’m with a woman, it’s: ‘Oh, she’ll want a man soon.’ It is very frustrating that some people can’t grasp the idea of bisexuality and think it’s a girl who can’t make up her mind,” she sighed.

There was much speculation whether Marx’s entry into Bachelor In Paradise would finally see some same-sex romance in the franchise — speculation fuelled by Ten, who ran promos that showed Megan announcing “She’s absolutely gorgeous ... she’s definitely my type of girl,” over footage of her kissing a long-haired brunette.

Many fans were furious, then, when it was revealed on the show Marx was actually kissing male contestant Thomas Perras. Some accused Ten of ‘queerbaiting’ — drawing in viewers with the suggestion of a same-sex storyline, without actually having to depict one.

Reminder that the initial promo literally pretended that a dude with long hair was a girl so that they could play on Megan’s bisexuality without actually validating it just for viewers I’m MAD #BachelorInParadiseAU pic.twitter.com/N1Hwnf1djw

— GRACE (@GraceGarde) April 17, 2018

OMG MEGAN IS KISSING A WOMAN!

...A BEARDED WOMAN!?

Oh no wait, that’s right Channel 10 just queer-baited us for 2 months.

Soz. #BachelorInParadiseAU pic.twitter.com/aHzmDV2NwB

— Mark (@markp_) April 17, 2018

It was a frustration Marx shared as she watched the promos air.

“I was frustrated, and Channel 10 knows that. It’s definitely queerbaiting, and I hate the idea of the queer community being offended and upset. I definitely was. I don’t have control over editing or promotion or any of that stuff, so it was frustrating. Not a whole lot that I could do about it but make a public statement and say that it sucks.”

Perhaps unsurprisingly given this experience, Marx offered a firm ‘no’ when asked if she’d ever appear on another season of the Bachelor franchise.

“I’m done with reality TV. Not keen on doing any more shows. Two is enough,” she said.

But she promised fans that fellow Bachelor In Paradise contestant Ali Oetjen, who was announced as the next Bachelorette last night, would be “awesome” in the role.

“Out of everyone on the show, she was genuinely there looking for a husband. I think she’ll handle it well,” said Marx, who admitted Oetjen was one of her “girl crushes” during filming.

For now though, Marx is focused on her fledgling relationship with Ellis.

“We haven’t worked out a long-term thing yet, it’s just been visiting each other — I travel a lot. I’m going on a work trip to Thailand and Jake’s coming along with me. We just take it day by day.”