The ultimate sacrifice Nick 'Honey Badger' Cummins made for his family

It’s only the second week into this year’s series of The Bachelor and everyone is already obsessed with Nick ‘Honey Badger’ Cummins.

Not only because he comes out with some cracking one-liners – he love a good “yaaaaaarn” – and some fabulous facial expressions.

Exhibit A:

But there’s a side to him that many Bachie fans, or even some of his hardcore rugby fans, may not know about.

Before being a rugby star and The Bachelor, Nick is first and foremost a family man.

So much so, a few years ago he made the ultimate sacrifice for his nearest and dearest just when he was at the peak of his rugby career with the Wallabies.

The 30-year-old is originally from Port Macquarie in New South Wales, but considers himself a Queenslander having grown up just south of Brisbane in Logan City.

He has eight other siblings and they were all raised by their single dad, Mark Cummins who was, in fact, awarded ‘Queensland Father of the Year’ in 2012.

However, two of Nick’s younger siblings were unfortunately diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis when they were little.

That didn’t stop him from pursuing his dreams of one day playing for the Wallabies, eventually moving to Sydney in 2005 to begin playing for a club in Randwick.

Seven years later, in 2012, Nick was drafted to play to play for the Wallabies.

Unfortunately the next year, in 2013, his family was struck with some terrible news again – Nick’s dad was diagnosed with prostate cancer and it was terminal.

Just one year later, the rugby star made the difficult decision to walk away from his career with the Wallabies and the Australian Rugby Union.

After being released from his contract on compassionate grounds, Nick made the decision to move to Japan to play rugby with the Coco Cola West Red Sparks.

While it was further away from home, it would help him make more money to support his family – he wanted to put money towards research to help his younger siblings’ Cystic Fibrosis – and give him more time off to spend with his loved ones.

Nick’s dad Mark praised his son for his brave decision calling it “a remarkable family first” sacrifice at the time.

“He told me that in his heart he couldn’t enjoy himself when he could be doing more for the kids,” Mark told the Courier Mail in 2014.

“Nick said he could kick in more by signing in Japan where he will get more time off to return to the family and also research alternative medicines,” he added.

Two years later, in 2016, Nick reflected on how difficult the struggle had been for his family, but admitted he didn’t regret his decision in the slightest.

“Every day is a struggle, every breath is a struggle…,” he told Sunday Night, adding he wanted to “get a safety net in an account just ready for troubling times”.

Despite the difficult times his family has been through, Nick admitted it had brought them all closer together, particularly after his father’s terminal cancer diagnosis.

Nick eventually retired from rugby in 2016 after playing in Japan for two years.

He now resides in Sydney, is a presenter for National Geographic program Meanwhile in Australia, is an ambassador for Tourism Australia (we wonder if he’s pals with Chris Hemsworth?) and is, of course, The Bachelor.

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