Zac Franich and Viarni Bright have opened up about what they expect from life now that the Bachelor is over.
After weeks of drama, kisses, roses and intruders, the winner of Zac Franich's heart on The Bachelor NZ has been revealed as Viarni Bright.
Franich chose Bright, an account manager from Mount Maunganui, over Lily McManus, from Wellington, in a topsy turvy final episode that felt like it could havegone either way.
" I feel like I've fallen for both Lily and Viarni," declared Franich at the beginning of the episode.
Zac Franich and Viarni Bright celebrate their win on The Bachelor NZ.
At the end of it, Franich presented Bright with a ring and told her she was a "confident, driven, kind, caring and beautiful girl ... that's the kind of girl I want to walk down the street with and hold your hand."
He also revealed he'd had feelings right from the start.
"From the first moment I saw you I felt this little spark. By the end of the night, you'd stolen away my heart," he said.
A shocked Bright replied: "I can't even deal right now ... it's amazing."
Zac gives Lily the bad news.
In comparison, Franich told McManus, "right now I don't think I'm the right guy for you" and he believed dating her would be like trying to "cage a butterfly".
Straight after the episode, McManus took to Instagram to call her experience on the show "twisted".
"Not a lot hits me hard but this sure did," she said. "This whole twisted experience is going stay inside me for a real long time."
At the show's live screening in Auckland, Franich and Bright cosied up together and answered questions straight after the reveal.
Bright called it "the biggest relief in the world" and said keeping their relationship secret had been "really difficult".
Franich continued: "We are just looking forward to normal life walking down the road... holding hands and going to get a beer."
Bright was always the favourite to beat McManus, a 20-year-old free spirit and skateboarding fanatic whose kooky charm and off-kilter sense of humour captured Franich's attention.
But Bright seemed to have a connection with Franich right from the moment they met, and she was the first contestant to receive a white rose.
Viarni Bright receives the good news.
The Orewa surf lifesaver's decision came after a final episode that included both Bright and McManus being grilled by Franich's family, as well as one last date with each girl that included long, passionate kisses.
Franich admitted he'd developed strong feelings for both finalists and his decision had been hard.
"Am I surprised that I've fallen for two different women?" he asked. "Yes."
Lily McManus and Viarni Bright were the final two bachelorettes vying for Zac Franich's heart.
During family visits, both contestants faced some tough questions from Franich's family.
Franich's mother Deb at one point asked Bright, 22, if she was ready to have children. His sister Brearna continued to grill her, asking: "Are you the one for Zac?"
Bright replied that, "I think I could make him really happy and I think it could grow so much more".
But that wasn't enough for Brearna, who told Franich that Bright seemed "too perfect" and she thought, "Lily might challenge you more".
His mother disagreed, saying she'd liked Bright from the moment they'd met. She told him she thought McManus was "too young".
