The Bachelor has been rocked by the shock exit of fan favourite Megan who left the mansion because she felt the environment was too intense and competitive.

Wednesday night’s episode of the Network Ten dating show saw three new contestants join the battle for Richie’s heart, upsetting several of the existing girls and immediately pitting the two groups against each other.

It was all too much for Megan, a 27-year-old from Western Australia, who felt her time with Richie, 31, was becoming dangerously limited.

“I had been thinking about it for about a week,” Megan told The New Daily of her dramatic departure.

“I was biding my time a little bit because I didn’t want to leave in haste.”

Despite rumours she left because she felt resident villain Keira was being kept in the show to please producers, Megan said no one else factored in her decision.

“I only spoke to Alex about how I was feeling, none of the producers knew,” she said, adding that she and Richie had a lot more “banter” than was shown on screen.

“I got along with him very well, apart from that awkward kiss! But having watched the show and seen him go on dates with other girls has certainly changed my perspective.

Megan said she and Richie got along well, “apart from that awkward kiss!”. Photo: Network Ten

“Watching it back Richie probably wasn’t the right guy for me,” she said, adding that she had no intention of catching up with him in Perth after the show.

“We don’t have similar friendship groups or anything.”

The seeds of doubt were planted early on in last night’s episode when Megan compared dating Richie to a game of lawn bowls.

“All us girls are playing a different game every week and you never know how close you’re going to get to Richie,” she said to Alex.

This was before three new women, Khalia, Steph and Sarah, arrived on a variety of different vehicles (quad bike, motorbike, horse) to give a confused Richie even more opportunities to stammer awkwardly.

https://twitter.com/shirasri/status/765879581492387840

The backlash was swift and brutal. The existing ladies commented that sharing one man with each other was fine, but for some reason sharing him with three others was unacceptable.

Megan felt like Richie was playing lawn bowls with her heart. Photo: Network Ten

Megan’s anxiety was visibly rising with the unabashed bitchiness slowly engulfing her, dropping hints like, “the environment that we’re trying to get to know each other in is not a very conducive environment for romance”.

Keira, meanwhile, was not relinquishing her throne for any common “peasant” (her word, not ours) that walked through the door.

She managed to make the cocktail party about her, even despite the new additions, throwing a tantrum and accusing Kiki of bad-mouthing her to the new arrivals.

Megan could not accept the rose. Photo: Network Ten

It wasn’t about Keira for long, however, when the time came for the rose ceremony and Megan saw her moment and seized it.

“Megan, will you accept this rose?” Richie asked, expecting the usual starry-eyed “yes”.

“I can’t,” Megan shot back. Cue slack-jawed stares from the girls and a concerned “s**t” from Richie.

“I’m coming to terms with the fact that I’m finding this harder than I thought I would,” Megan told Richie, earning the respect of the nation.

“From the moment I met you, I felt like you’re someone I could fall in love with but … I just can’t fall in love with such competition and intensity.”

Mad respect for Megan right now! Good for you! Now I'm trying to decide if I want to be her or date her. #TheBachelorAU

— Melissa Elias (@MelissaJElias) August 17, 2016

Richie muttered something about hoping she’d be patient but all Megan could hear was the distant sound of freedom … and maybe a hefty deal with Network Ten as the next Bachelorette?

“I would say no,” Megan told TND, shooting that rumour down before it even started.

“I really enjoyed doing reality TV I just don’t think it would be right for me to put other people through something I couldn’t do myself.”

Megan left in a waft of sparkles and sass, leaving the other women to consider whether they should do the same.

Meanwhile, Richie summed up this season of the dating series perfectly…

The best. #TheBachelorAU #Richieisms pic.twitter.com/gxa9QXnrM9

— Edwin Smith (@edwin_smith1) August 17, 2016