The Bachelor: Viewers livid at Locky's 'incredibly cruel' breakup

Fans of The Bachelor have taken to social media to slam Locky Gilbert for his "incredibly cruel" breakup with Bella Valeris just one day after telling her he loves her.

The 31-year-old ended up choosing Irena Srbinovska, after also telling her he loved her on their final date.

When Bella first walked up to Locky, he was unable to contain his emotions and immediately broke down in tears.

He told her that even though he loved her, he didn't see them having a future together.

He said, "I fell in love with you the first day I saw ya and I saw those big brown eyes.

"Like, they just make me go crazy. And, like, when I told you I love you, like, I meant every single word. But… ..like, I have fallen in love with two girls. And, like, I know…you don't, like, sort of see where your future is at the moment.

"I think I need just a little bit of certainty… I just don't know if I can see us working."

Bella responded, "This is it? I just don't get it. Yesterday, you told me you were in love with me."

"I AM in love with you," he replied.

When asked why he wouldn't follow through with a relationship if he was in love with her, he responded, "Because I asked you in the pool... what do you see our next year looking like? And you were so..."

"I said to you, as long as we're together, that's all that matters. We can nail out the details," she said.

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Bella then turned to the producers, "Can I leave? I'm going."

Locky had been unable to figure out who was the right girl for him up until the final moments, he told the cameras he was in love with Bella because "she's my best friend. And I've never had that before in a girlfriend".

And when it came to Irena, "She's everything you want in a girlfriend, in a wife, in a mother, in someone to grow old with."

Fan reaction

Fans were swift in sharing their thoughts on the breakup, and they were not impressed.

"Telling both girls you’re in love with them before having to break up with one is so incredibly cruel. You’ve outdone yourself," wrote one user.

Another noted that Locky kissed Bella on the lips right before the split, writing, "you don’t kiss someone on the lips and then break up with them."

Someone else wrote, "Tell a woman you love her, then break up with her. Locky just goes down and down in my estimation, which to be fair, didn’t start too high."

"I don’t blame her in the slightest for reacting that way [to be honest]. That was a really s**t breakup, even by this shows standards," one user added.

Another said, "Imagine a guy is about to break up with you and he expects you to comfort him while he has a tantrum."

One user couldn't hold back their anger, and wrote, "THIS IS THE WORST BREAK UP EVER I MEAN I DON’T LOVE HER BUT HOW COULD HE DELIVER THAT MESSAGE IN SUCH A MANNER I AM LIVID."

"Bruh don’t tell her you love her again before you break up with her," someone else said.

Bella hits back

Bella took to Instagram on Thursday night to hit back following the brutal breakup, saying she had "trusted him whole heartedly" before the split.

“When Locky told me he loved me and couldn’t wait to make me happy for the rest of my life, I believed him and trusted him whole heartedly,” she wrote.

“We connected on so many levels right from the beginning, some you saw, but most you didn’t. Having three months outside of filming completely changed the aspect of the show, it brought normality to the connection and we grew into what felt like a real relationship.

“Looking back; I’m proud of myself. I gave it my all, I was true to myself and I wore my heart on my sleeve. Whilst it’s not my fairytale ending, the laughs and the memories will last a lifetime. I want to say thank you to my on-set Bachelor family who were with me up until the very end, thank you for making me laugh through my endless tears that night.

“I’m a firm believer that things happen for a reason and now was not my time, I’ll never stop being a hopeless romantic and I’m sure my happily ever after is still out there. Hopefully I don’t need to kiss too many more frogs,” she concluded.

Fans responded to the heartbroken reality star, with one user writing, "Can’t believe YOU were the one f***ing consoling HIM."

"You dodged a bullet babe! He doesn’t deserve you," another said.

Someone else said, "I’m glad you didn’t win, you’ve got such a bright future ahead of you, and you are FAR too strong for him. You held yourself just beautifully. How goods dodging a bullet."

Others suggested she should be the Bachelorette next year, "Bachelorette 2021, you deserve someone wayyyy better."

Are Locky and Irena still together?

Locky took to Instagram after the finale aired to show that he is, in fact, still with Irena.

He wrote, "I have always listened to my heart and it has lead me to this point. As hard as it was to say good bye. I was also saying hello to my future wife, baby mumma and best friend.

"I cannot wait to spend the rest of my life with you. Here is to one crazy adventure and so so many more with you babe."

Irena commented on the snap, "I love you so much baby xxx bring on forever with you."

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