Advertisement

Mystery as Nick ‘Honey Badger’ Cummins leaves town ahead of The Bachelor finale

"It's hard for people to understand bonds formed," posted Brittany Hockley (centre, with Sophie Tieman and Cassie Wood.)

"It's hard for people to understand bonds formed," posted Brittany Hockley (centre, with Sophie Tieman and Cassie Wood.) Photo: Instagram

Conspiracy theories are ramping up ahead of The Bachelor’s season finale on October 4.

Nick ‘Honey Badger’ Cummins, titular star of the Ten romality hit, has reportedly left the country days before the series finale goes to air, which means he’ll avoid the blanket media scrutiny that normally follows the final episode.

Why would Cummins take off now? Buzz from various media outlets is that he’s already broken up with his chosen love – reportedly Brittany Hockley – and wants to avoid awkwardness.

The usual drill after a Bachelor finale is that the suitor and his newly-announced girlfriend do days of interviews in Melbourne and Sydney, gushing about their romance on Ten shows, including The Project.

Not this year. Former Wallaby Cummins, 30, flew to Papua New Guinea on Monday morning for a Kokoda Track charity trek, according to reports.

“If he can deal with 30 women, then I’m pretty sure walking through the jungle for eight days is going to be a walk in the park,” his friend James Brodie, who will be doing the challenge with Cummins, told the Manly Daily on September 29.

He added that Cummins’ TV experience of trying to find love in highly-produced situations “absolutely helped his mental state and built his mental toughness” to deal with his Kokoda walk.

Ten did not respond to The New Daily‘s request for comment on Cummins’ whereabouts and whether the network is on board with him apparently skipping The Bachelor’s post-season media commitments.

Adding to the plot twist, on Monday morning Brittany – a 30-year-old from Cummins’ hometown of Port Macquarie, NSW – posted a shot of her and the Badger living their best lives.

The photo was a still from an episode last week.

“Fun time hanging with this gentle giant. Rode some camels too,” she wrote, adding the hashtag “This is living”.

While the post could have been a PR double blind to keep intrigue alive ahead of the show’s finale, it drew support from Twitter users who backed Brittany and Cummins as a “beautiful” couple.

“If Nick lets you get away, then he’s a drongo”, said one.

Cummins – said to have attended the Deniliquin annual Ute Muster last Friday – was not so forthcoming.

Normally a keen social media user, by the time he was reportedly due to be wheels-up for PNG, he hadn’t posted to his Instagram account since last week.

Cummins’ radio silence coincided with cracks starting to appear in the dream run he’s had during his stint on the show, which has had strong support from male and female viewers and advertisers.

Last Thursday, he saw the other side of reality fame, copping flak for what fans of The Bachelor slammed as an opportunistic “stringing along” of his most vocal admirer on the show, Sydney student Cassie Wood, 24.

Backlash against his decision was compounded when, even as Cassie made a tearful farewell, Cummins blithely posted a video to Twitter of his underpants campaign.

Cassie told The New Daily on Friday she was “heartbroken” about being kicked off The Bachelor.

“I was really shattered because we just went to hometowns and we had so much fun,” she said, adding that her rejection by Cummins “came out of the blue. I felt like he didn’t explain why. I left a little bit confused.”

Stay informed, daily
A FREE subscription to The New Daily arrives every morning and evening.
The New Daily is a trusted source of national news and information and is provided free for all Australians. Read our editorial charter
Copyright © 2024 The New Daily.
All rights reserved.