Australia’s collective hearts broke when The Bachelor’s Vakoo Kauapirura did not receive a rose last week.
After spending some very giggly one-on-one time with Matt Agnew, it was clear that there was no chemistry between them and he sent her packing.
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In an emotional interview with Now to Love, model Vakoo revealed that going on the show wasn’t as easy as strutting her stuff on an international catwalk.
In fact, the bubbly 24-year-old was really nervous about how she would be portrayed or received by an Australian audience.
“I don’t mean this in a bad way, but it’s [The Bachelor] a very white audience, so I wasn’t sure how they’d receive a black African girl on screen,” Vakoo said.
“I was like, all the girls are so different to me and I don’t belong here and I felt really sh—y.
“I’ve been in the position where I’ve felt really bad about my skin colour and I felt like I wasn’t good enough and when you see someone on a big show, you kind of feel like you are – not that you need validation from someone else, but seeing that on TV makes me feel like ‘I could do that’ or ‘I can get the guy’. My skin type doesn’t matter.”
Vakoo became emotional when talking about her time on the show.
(Source: Supplied/Now to Love)While we saw a very bubbly Vakoo on television, there were points during her journey that she felt quite low – and even more so, watching the episode back when she didn’t receive a rose.
But now the show has wrapped, the Sydney local was emotional for another reason.
“I’ve had so many messages from girls that are younger, black girls that are just reaching out to me, and just being like ‘Just seeing someone on TV that looks like me, makes me feel like I can do anything’,” Vakoo revealed.
“And I feel like, when you don’t see someone representing what you’re like, you feel like there’s something wrong with you and it’s like, ‘Well why can’t we have that’?
“I’ve actually had so many people messaging me and being like, ‘You did so well’ and ‘You really represented us so well’.”
WATCH NEXT: Vakoo models for the mansion on The Bachelor
Even though she and Matt weren’t quite right for each other, Vakoo thanks him for “raising her standards” when it comes to men.
“I’ve always gone for guys who treat me like sh– and guys that don’t respect me,” she revealed. “So that’s why I respect Matt so much, because even though it didn’t work out, he was so respectful towards me and he was very kind and he put the standards up to what I deserve in life.
“Once I realised what I deserved, I was like ‘I’m not going to settle for less’.”
Vakoo’s standards have now risen thanks to Matt.
(Source: Network Ten)Before going on the show, Vakoo believed she was content with who she was.
“[But] when you’re in a house with so many amazing women you kind of start to doubt yourself by the end of it,” she said.
“You start to think, ‘I’m literally so amazing’ – not in a conceited way – but I kind of realised all the values I have about myself that I didn’t see I guess in other people, that I was like ‘You have this’.
“It made me realise who I am.”
For more The Bachelor Australia 2019 content, check these links out below!
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Who is Matt Agnew? Get to know Australia’s 2019 Bachelor
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A definitive list of every girl who DOESN’T win The Bachelor’s heart
Snakeskin, cut-outs and A LOT of sequins: All the fashion hits and misses on Bachelor Australia
Here is Matt Agnew’s entire diet and exercise regimen
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