Todd King, runner-up of The Bachelorette 2018, is nothing short of a bloody legend. The 26-year-old proved that last night in his tender yet pragmatic goodbye to Ali Oetjen.
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“I’m so broken but I’m so happy for her,” he said as Australia collectively sobbed at their tellies.
“It hurts more than I could ever describe” #BacheloretteAU pic.twitter.com/25meR7utU5
— #BacheloretteAU (@BacheloretteAU) November 15, 2018
Even though it’s been some time since filming wrapped, watching the final episode was no easy feat for Todd especially because – as he revealed to PEDESTRIAN.TV – he’s still in love with Ali.
“I would say I do still love her. I was pretty emotional watching it back last night,” he shared. “It brought back a lot of feelings that I thought were fading away but now that the secret’s out and it’s all over, I can kind of start to move on.”
Despite how difficult it may be, talking about the whole experience has really helped Todd forge ahead. Although since he was sworn to Bachie secrecy, no one in his family and friendship circle – save for one person – knew about the end result until the finale aired.
“He caught me in a moment of weakness when I was really upset and crying. So I let him know what had happened,” Todd explained.
“Just talking about it – it’s such a great platform to encourage men everywhere to talk about their feelings. It’s not generally seen as a normal common place thing and it’s good for mental health to just talk about it.”
Legend.
In an Instagram post shared earlier today, Todd thanked his supporters for their love and kindness.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BqOi7VknAV7/
“Men feel & men cry. I grew as a man on the show and I met individuals I’ll hold dear to me for the rest of my life. For those who have supported me and those who i love, you made this so much easier with your kindness. I am so thankful for this adventure and I have Warner Bros. and Channel 10 crew to thank. Thank you for encouraging me to be vulnerable again, to give everything I am. I’ll be forever grateful for this journey.
“Love is something worth fighting for, worth hurting for, worth sacrificing for – and I’ll never regret putting my heart on the line in search of love. Because when you find it, it heals all wounds. I’ll never stop searching.”
*chants* TODD FOR BACHELOR, TODD FOR BACHELOR, TODD FOR BACHELOR.
Speaking of which, Todd is open to ~The Bachelor~ experience.
“I know how the process works now and you can fall in love,” he shared. “You only have to look at Matty J and Laura and you can see that it’s real and it lasts.”
As for the onslaught of new Instagram followers and loving comments he’s received over the past few weeks, Todd described the Bachie experience as “really humbling”.
“It’s absolutely crazy, I’m basically treated like a famous person just for being a normal dude. I’m just me and that’s really humbling.”
But Todd – despite how much the nation froths him – reckons the spotlight life isn’t for him and he’s keen for things to return to “normal everyday life.”
Looking forward, the Perth local is still very much committed to getting that badge and uniform and plans to hand in his application as soon as possible.
Wishing nothing but the absolute best for Australia’s knight in shining armour.
