One half of Australia’s favourite – and now finished – love story, Tiffany Scanlon, has published a blog post explaining the reasons behind her split from fellow ‘Bachelor‘ contestant Megan Marx.
Theirs was a whirlwind romance that caught up most of the country, and it seemed almost too good to be true: two reality TV contestants competing for the heart of Some Bloke™, who found themselves falling for each other. They embarked on a relationship that seemed perfectly timed to teach all of us that sexuality is fluid, Love is Love and sometimes it shows up in unexpected places.
Obviously we were devastated when news of their split was confirmed.
Now Tiffany has launched a personal website called The Tiffany Times. The very first blog entry is a heartbreaking explanation of what tore Australia’s darlings apart.
According to Scanlon, the short answer is: fame.
The 2000-word post goes into detail about the toll the public attention took on both women, from the difficult decision to respond to calls from the press to go public with their relationship, to the demands placed on their time by sponsored partnerships, to the invasion of their privacy when just trying to go about their business.
“We were going to a tonne of events and I was finding it more and more difficult to enjoy myself now that we were more recognisable to the public. Strangers grabbing at us for pictures, not even introducing themselves or talking to us, men asking for threesomes, people accusing us of faking our relationship.”
Scanlon’s difficulty with her fame was exacerbated by depression and anxiety, which she says she has “struggled with for the better part of [her] adult life“. After worsening panic attacks compounded by a fresh wave of scrutiny after other Bachie contestants accused the two of faking their relationship, Scanlon and Marx realised that they “were both very unhappy.”
Scanlon says that the decision to split up was mutual, that it happened about four weeks ago, and that hopefully they’ll be able to reconnect as friends once they’ve had time apart to recuperate.
Since the split, Scanlon says that she’s “felt a weight lift“, and is back to “exploring and adventure” and feeling hopeful about the future.
She also says that the fame she and Marx received was “probably not” worth it.
“We made the decision (mistake) … to share our relationship with the public mostly via our Instagram accounts. This, I believe, would eventually cost us our relationship.”
There you have it. We built them up, and we tore them down. Now if you’ll excuse me I’m going to go pat my cat and try not to cry because love is dead and the world is a bleak, sad place.
Image: Instagram / @tiffany_janes.
