Nikki Gogan says the healing process is only just beginning after Bachelor breakup

IT’S NOT that surprising that after being publicly dumped by the man she loved, Nikki Gogan is still in the mourning phase.

IT’S NOT that surprising that after being publicly dumped by the man she loved, Nikki Gogan is still in the mourning phase.

The bubbly blonde, who was sent packing by Richie Strahan in The Bachelor finale last night to make way for his relationship with Alex Nation, confessed today that she’s only just beginning to get over the heartbreak.

“At least now that it’s all out, I can start the healing process. Now I can go home and my friends and family can put the pieces back together — I’m lucky with the people I have surrounding me,” she revealed.

Despite the fact the show wrapped months ago, and second runner-up Olena Khamula hasn’t wasted time jumping back into the dating pool, Nikki says she’s just not ready yet.

“I’m nowhere near that [dating] yet,” she said.

“I’m going to let everything settle down and heal first ... I’m going to be fine.”

The hardest part for Nikki, it seems, was keeping it together after she was dumped in the explosive finale.

Nikki stayed pretty composed throughout the whole tragic scene.

“I was trying to hold it together, even crying in the limo,” she admitted.

“I was trying to get all the words out before hyperventilating. I didn’t want to be a complete mess.

“Half of me was so happy for them ... the other half was crushed.”

The real estate agent also revealed she was surprised and overwhelmed by the public outpouring of support for her in the wake of Richie’s decision.

“Obviously I had the ‘Team Nikki’ supporters, but I don’t think I could have ever imagined just how much support I had,” she said.

“It was really heartwarming to see all the comments today — it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.”

However, she‘s aware that the flip side of that support has been a lot of negativity directed at her former love rival, Alex.

“I think people are just in shock, hopefully it will calm down when people say I’m OK ... I think in the next couple of days everyone will start to come around.”

We guess only time will tell.

Alex won Richie’s heart.