Emily finds her soulmate on The Bachelor

Posted on 27 September, 2018

… and it’s not the Honey Badger.

She might not have captured Nick Cummins’ heart, but the whole HerCanberra office has fallen for Canberra dance teacher Emily Dibden.

Safe to say, we were heartbroken after her departure last night. We caught up with Emily to get the goss on all things Bachie.

Hi Emily, it’s so nice to be talking to you again!

[Choking noises]

Are you alright?

I’m choking on my avocado toast – classic. Serves me right for spending the money on it.

It’s funny chatting to you this time around,  I feel like I’m personally invested in the Bachelor. I was devastated to see you go.

It was interesting, watching that back. Hilarious and also very daunting, reliving that. It felt like so long ago so it was pretty intense.

Have you been watching much of the show?

Yeah I have, I’ve been trying to fit it in as much as possible. I teach dance so in the afternoons, I’ll either finish it in time or I’ll have it there ready on tenplay to watch when I get home, so I never miss an episode.

What’s that been like – to watch it back and to see the girls on their one-on-one dates?

Yeah look, being on the show is one thing, and then watching it back is like a whole different kettle of fish. Even though I was there and a part of it, there’s still a lot of stuff that I didn’t hear or see, so seeing that all happen and arise after the fact is so interesting. It’s definitely been such an incredible experience in terms of just watching yourself on TV.

How do you feel about the way that you were portrayed?

Well, I wasn’t the red-hot favourite for air time, that was pretty apparent – I promise I was there and giving it a good crack! In terms of the way I came across, I really tried to stay true to myself. I wasn’t involved in any drama, I loved all the girls, I just gave everything a hundred percent. I think I did come across as myself. I’m hoping it is as true to myself as what I think.

I did want to ask you about your one-on-one date with Nick – you had such a good time and then it seemed to be a bit awkward afterwards…

First of all, never in my wildest dreams would I have expected to think that Nick would get into a pair of tights to do ballet with me, it’s beyond hysterical. I was so excited, because I was being very patient, because he took his bloody sweet ass time to give me a go! I was raring to go and pick up where we left off. In that first part of the date I really felt like we did connect and it was exciting for me. At that point, we’d had great conversations leading up – every time we did, it was very easy, free flowing, never awkward. So, I was quite confident and relaxed going into it, thinking ‘great, we’ll just chat like we normally do.’ And then it wasn’t’ the same. It did come across as really awkward.

Obviously, they can’t show everything, but I did ask him a lot of questions. So unfortunately, they didn’t show that, but we were able to have enough of a connection, even share a kiss. There was a bit of that date that kind of made me feel like ‘oh no, there is more to grow from here’ – because if I didn’t think that, I would have gone. I didn’t want to waste my time.

Even all the way back to the first extended date that I got, I told him that if he just wasn’t that into me, to let me go, because I did find the experience very challenging. But ultimately, even though we’d had that connection, there was a little bit of those awkward moments mixed in between and I thought maybe he wasn’t feeling it. Obviously watching the show now, you and I watch it and go ‘oh it’s so clear that this girl has got a strong connection and this person doesn’t’ but when you’re in there, I’m not there sitting on the dates eating popcorn watching it all unfold – we hear whatever the girls want to share once they get back into the house. I guess I was hanging onto that little connection that I had and I thought maybe it’s enough to build on. You know, ultimately in the end it just wasn’t meant to be, and that’s ok.

Now that you’ve been through it and had some time to process things, do you have any regrets?

Absolutely no regrets! I didn’t’ get a lot of air time, which for me doesn’t matter because that wasn’t the reason that I went on. I went on because I had given the dating scene a red-hot crack. I even moved overseas for love, I’d given it a really good go and I really wanted to find someone. I thought well if it wasn’t going to be the Bachelor, then at least I’ll be able to open my network of people and maybe meet someone through that way, by putting myself out there.

In terms of regrets, I just was myself the whole time. I came out of it alive and smiling, and I’m ok, I don’t think I would have changed anything.

Did you discover anything about what kind of person you might be looking for?

Absolutely. The experience as a whole was very challenging – you’re completely out of your comfort zone, you’re putting your emotions out there, and putting your heart on the line. It can be very difficult, but it’s those moments where you are pushed out of your comfort zone that you learn so much about yourself. There’s not that many opportunities that you get in your lifetime to be able to do that. What a great learning experience.

Do you think that it is possible to find love in that kind of situation?

Yes, I do. I was feeling a connection with Nick and while I didn’t get enough time to fall in love with him, but it was definitely enough to make me feel like we could have a potential future. One of my very close friends is Georgia Love, and watching her go through the experience and now she’s with Lee [Elliot] and they’re just a gorgeous couple and very much in love. Seeing the others like Sam and Snezana, they’ve got a kid together, I absolutely believe that it can work. You know, I’m interested to see who Bachie chooses in the end! I’m really excited and I just wish everyone the best.

Speaking of the other girls, it seems like the real love story of the show is between you girls – you all seem to adore each other.

It’s been a phenomenal season, I think ours has been very unique in terms of the girls – obviously there was some drama in the beginning – but most of us get along really well. It’s bizarre because even me, I used to watch the show before I was on it and I absolutely love The Bachelor, and I thought ‘how can they be friends? That’s just ridiculous’, but you know I guess once you’re in it, you kind of understand that it’s got nothing to do with the girls, it’s ultimately his decision. You just focus on your own relationships. You know, it can get a bit tough and it’ really the support from the women and they lovely friendships that you make that are so special. I feel like I’ve come out of the house with some beautiful friends.

Do you still talk to each other?

Absolutely. I’m friends with everyone, I was really lucky. I feel like Dasha’s my soulmate. We’re complete polar opposites but I bloody love her. It was just so special that we got eliminated together, so we really had each other’s backs.

My last question – we all want to know what it’s like to touch Nick’s hair.

Woah, I’m trying to think of some textural descriptions. Look, there’s definitely curls, but it’s not as voluminous as it looks. If you touch it you’re not getting the ‘fro feel, you’re getting like the soft individual curl feel. It’s very unique. But you know, they say curls get the girls, so we’ll find out.

Is there anything else you want to add before I let you go?

Just thank you for your support! The thing I love the most about Canberra is that everyone there backs Canberrans. Everyone’s been so lovely and supportive throughout the journey for me and I just really appreciate it.