When it comes to reality TV, there’s no denying Aussie does it best.
From shock finales where no one wins, to whirlwind romances ending in disaster on island paradises… there’s no mistaking our thirst for a darn good train wreck romance, and a fairy tale happily-ever-after of course!
Australia hasn’t been short of witnessing some dramatic reality TV romances!
And as another jam-packed year of reality TV gold comes to an end, what better time to look back and reflect on some of the very best couples to grace our TV screens – and Instagram feeds – over the years?
Keep scrolling as we round up the best and worst Aussie reality TV romances of all time.
The best: Sam and Snezana Wood
There’s a reason these two lovebirds are the first ones that come to mind. Having just gotten married in a stunning Byron Bay ceremony in November 2018, the Bachelor flames are front and centre in the social-verse at present, and we can’t get enough of it!
The couple met in 2015 on the third season of The Bachelor Australia, and in a poetic moment, Snezana was the first bachelorette to meet the then-single Sam.
READ NEXT: Sam Wood and Snezana Markoski’s love story in pictures
These two! Almost four years later the Bachelor flames are making us giddy! (Image: Instagram @snezanawood)
How could we ever forget the moment Snez stepped out of the limo and introduced herself as parmigiana to help him remember her beautiful Macedonian name, which means Snow White? From then on it was clear that sparks were flying between the duo.
Snez and her daughter Eve, now 13, relocated from Perth to join Sam in Melbourne and formed their own family, with Snez giving birth to Australia’s first Bachelor baby, Willow Wendy Wood in October 2017.
Now, Sam and Snez have made it official in a stunning Bryon Bay wedding with their daughters Eve and Willow taking centre stage as bridesmaids.
Long may their love story continue!
We’ll be riding the Sam and Snez bandwagon for a long while to come. (Image: Instagram @snezanawood)
The best: Tim Robards and Anna Heinrich
This good-lookin’ couple are the OG Bachelor sweethearts, taking us right back to season one.
But a lot has happened since Anna stepped out of the limo at the brand new Bachelor mansion back in 2013.
Tim was just a 30 year-old chiropractor dating 25 women at once and Anna was a 26-year-old criminal lawyer who’d never had a serious relationship.
Anyone who watched the series will agree that Anna was a clear favourite throughout the series. She had an unmistakable connection with Tim, despite being woo-ed by dozens of other women (including one rather familiar face – Ali Oetjin who later starred on Bachelor In Paradise and The Bachelorette).
READ NEXT: The Bachelor’s Tim Robards and Anna Heinrich: Their love story in pictures
The pair hit it off immediately on the first season of The Bachelor. (Image: Network 10)
After the show, the couple didn’t hold back on showing their affection on social media, with the two regularly posting loved-up pics to assure us they were rock solid.
Anna also made a few sacrifices in the name of love – after going back to her career as a criminal lawyer, she admitted that it did take some adjusting.
“It took probably a good year or so. I was still wary of the fact that we were in the limelight and people wanted us to be together, so we had to separate that from our real relationship.”
In May 2017, Tim popped the question, and the couple married in a stunning ceremony in Italy in June 2018.
In light of the above, you can’t say the The Bachelor doesn’t pull out the goods when it comes to love!
WATCH: Tim and Anna’s road to love:
Story continues after video…
The best: Rachael Finch and Michael Miziner
This fun-loving couple are a staple in rock-solid Aussie TV parings.
Miziner was a Russian-born ballroom dancer, and met Finch, a former Miss Universe Australia on Dancing With The Stars in 2010.
“When I first saw Misha, I remember thinking ‘He’s gotta be gay,'” Rachael told Nine Honey.
“I just thought, ‘No man can be that perfect from top to toe.”
Well, she was proved sorely wrong – Michael turned out to be every bit her perfect partner, and their professional relationship soon blossomed into a full-on romance.
In 2013, the pair married, and have since had two adorable kids together.
READ NEXT: Rachael Finch discusses life, love and raising two adorable kids
Rock-solid: The former Dancing with the Stars couple have been married for five years. (Image: Instagram / @rachael_finch)
The best: Barry Hall and Lauren Brant
These two former I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here stars delighted us all when they were spotted sharing a passionate kiss in the Gold Coast in 2016, a year after they appeared on the hit reality TV show together.
At the time, Lauren told The Daily Telegraph: “We have been spending a lot of time together and we have been enjoying each other’s company.”
And things escalated quickly – they welcomed their first child together, a son named Miller, in May 2017.
Things are still going strong between the couple despite doing long distance.
Taking to Instagram in December 2018, Lauren shared a sweet family photo along with the caption: “Family photos are a little rare these days with Barry living in Melbourne… but if any of you saw any newspapers around Aus today you would have seen we have been working hard.”
She finished by saying: “It’s been tough and I am so proud of my little family as we take on this next chapter of our lives.”
The tight-knit family are close, despite doing long distance. (Image: Instagram / @laurenbrant)
The best: Brad Crane and Stacie Marmion
It seems like only yesterday this Farmer Want’s a Wife couple hit it off on season four of the beloved Aussie show.
After falling in love on our screens in 2009, the pair were quick to the alter tying the knot in 2010. They’ve since had three young girls – Darcie 5, Bobbie 3, and Frankie, 1.
The pair are still going strong to this day, despite a couple of challenges when it comes to their expansive Gunnedah farm.
“Between farming, business and three kids we are well and truly exhausted!!” Stacie told New Idea.
“We are currently in intense drought so it’s been a very hard year.”
The weather hasn’t altered the way these two former Farmer Want’s a Wife stars feel about each other!
The worst: Sam Cochrane and Tara Pavlovic
It’s safe to say these two have well and truly done their reality TV dash, but even so, the results haven’t yielded.
Indeed Sam and Tara, who both appeared on The Bachelorette, and The Bachelor respectively, made headlines for their ensuing whirlwind romance on Bachelor in Paradise in 2018 which ended in a surprise engagement.
Watch the moment in the video below!
Story continues after video…
But things soon went downhill for the pair, who sensationally and very publicly split a few months later.
Tara came forward with a few shocking truth bombs about the pair’s “toxic” relationship one month after the couple had split, and Sam followed suit by revealing that Tara had been verbally and physically abusive throughout their relationship, which she later admitted though said it was very out of character for her.
Safe to say these two won’t be reuniting anytime soon – but as for any further stints on reality TV? That much remains to be seen for both parties.
READ NEXT: Tara Pavlovic finally shares the truth behind her split with Sam Cochrane in new Instagram post
These two (very publicly) entered splitsville in 2018. (Source: Network 10)
The worst: Nick Cummins and… no one
In a bombshell twist, Aussie Bachelor for 2018 Nick Cummins dumped both Sophie Tieman and Brittany Hockley in the grand finale, and we’re still reeling.
Opening up about his explosive decision, The Bachelor said he was simply following his heart.
“I just know in my heart, I’ve done the right thing,” Nick explained. “They are two amazing women who are walking out of my life right now. It wouldn’t be fair to enter into something and a few months later, break her heart.”
“I came here for a chance at love and now I’m going to have to start again.”
In a bombshell Bachelor finale, Nick picked no winner! (Images: Network 10)
Sophie and Britt have seemingly taken the blow with a grain of salt and remain close today.
Sophie told Now to Love: “Britt and I are so extremely close. We are honestly best friends and we’ve told one another when he’s reached out to us, what he said, how we feel about it but that’s kind of where it ends.”
Meanwhile, Britt said she felt no hate or anger towards Nick.
“I do feel a bit sorry for him, he’s obviously very lost and I hope Australia’s not too hard on him because I don’t think anyone deserves any bullying.”
WATCH: The Bachelor: Brittany finds out Sophie doesn’t know that Nick picked NO ONE:
Story continues after video…
The worst: Jess Hardy and Nathan ‘Marty’ Martin
Here’s one that’ll take you back. As the second season of Big Brother kicked off in 2002, Jess and Marty quickly became informally known as ‘The Country Couple’, hitting it off immediately before our very own square-eyes.
In 2004, the couple married in their own spin-off reality TV show named Marty & Jess: An Outback Wedding (gentle reminder that yes, this ACTUALLY happened).
However 15 months later the pair divorced, with Jess going on to focus on her career studying law and becoming a radio host. Marty meanwhile went on to remarry, and now has three children with his second wife Lexi.
Jess and Marty of Big Brother didn’t quite go the distance. (Image: Getty)
The worst: Blake Garvey and Louise Pillidge
To start a relationship by meeting on The Bachelor, realising that you picked the wrong woman and then starting a life with the second runner-up instead isn’t exactly the best way to start a romance, and maybe that’s why Black and Louise didn’t manage to go the distance.
In April 2016, Blake Garvey and Louise Pillidge announced their break-up, with the pair citing the constant scrutiny from public being a leading cause of their issues.
“I’ve gone through bouts of depression and I know we’ve both gone through some acute anxiety,” Blake told Today Tonight.
“You get looks and you know that you’re starting a series of conversations in the room just because you’ve entered it. That and many [other] factors make you really very self-conscious.”
Louise added: “I was just sad. You think you’re going to spend the rest of your life with this person.”
READ NEXT: The Bachelor and Bachelorette couples: Where are they now?
The former Bachelor couple announced their split in 2016. (Image: Getty)
Louise also pointed out that the public disapproval made it very hard to “celebrate their love”.
“When you’re trying to move forward, it’s hard to keep on being reminded about what happened,” she told KIIS.
WATCH: Blake and Louise announce their break up:
Story continues after video…
The worst-ish: Carly Bowyer and Troy Delmege
Just so it’s not all doom and gloom, we’re including this Married at First Sight couple who made all the efforts, but it just wasn’t meant to be.
Carly, who was originally paired with millionaire Justin Fischer on the show in 2018, and Troy, who was matched with flight attendant Ashley Irvine, were the couple we never saw coming and were first spotted getting a little bit frisky in a Melbourne park before the show’s finale.
They went on to date for a PDA-packed nine months, but despite the split, the two have seemingly ended on great terms.
The pair announced the break up on their respective social media accounts, with Carly writing: “Troy, my darling, you are something special. You’re my best friend and I will always be here for you. It’s the end of this chapter but it’s not goodbye.”
Meanwhile Troy also wrote a sweet message: “She was my rock during the experiment and has been ever since… I’ll treasure the memories forever… Carly, I wish you all the happiness in the world.”
We can’t help but think it’s refreshing to see such an amicable reality TV breakup!
READ MORE: All the details on Married At First Sight‘s Carly Bowyer and Troy Delmege
The Married At First Sight pairing split amicably in 2018. (Image: Instagram / @carlybowyer)
