Thursday, May 9, 2019

First season of M-Net's The Bachelor South Africa ends with Lee Thompson picking Gina over Jozaan although that romantic relationship didn't work out.


In the final episode of the first season of The Bachelor South Africa on M-Net (DStv 101) on Thursday night, the bachelor Lee Thompson ended up picking Gina Myers over Jozaan Dique, although a late episode final plot twist revealed that the relationship fizzled out.

Some viewers were shocked to see Jozaan Dique, a 28-year old lawyer, get dropped first after which some viewers started to guess from the body language between Gina Myers, a 32-year old make-up artist and Lee Thompson that the relationship since their get-together in Mauritius from the previous episode didn't last.

Thursday's episode of The Bachelor SA on M-Net was a 90-minute Women Tell All and After the Final Rose special with host Jason Greer that concluded the 13-episode season of the local version based on the Warner Bros. International Television Production (WBITVP) format.

Many DStv subscribers were upset and ended up unable to watch M-Net's The Bachelor SA finale after MultiChoice's DStv Now app once again crashed from just before 19:00 for the entire duration of the episode, with DStv's customers unable to stream the episode online or through their mobile devices.

In the finale viewers saw Lee tells Jozaan that "It hurts me to say this, but my heart is with someone else. I have to say goodbye to you today, I'm sorry". The intense and emotional ending left Jozaan confused and in tears.

In the studio Jozaan said that it was difficult to reflect on the outcome, as she still didn't have any closure. "I’m not angry,"  said teary-eyed Jozaan. "I understand where he came from. Gina is a fantastic woman and I wish them the best. It's not me, and I am completely okay with that, it is just not easy."

Lee told Gina in Mauritius that "You have the most beautiful heart I have ever come across in anyone, ever. And I would like to take your heart and look after it, and give you mine in return. Gina, my Gina, when I’m with you, I feel like I am home. And I don’t want this fairy-tale to ever end."

"Gina, I love you," he said. Gina said "I love his heart and I think that is the most important part. I feel like this is all surreal. I feel like I am going to wake up from a dream."

At the end of the explosive tell-all evening however, jaws in the room dropped when Lee revealed that "After that final day, I was extremely confused mentally and emotionally. Back in the real world, our relationship got off to a rocky-start and I wasn’t fully there for Gina when she needed me. That’s the bottom line and that affected our relationship".

The couple, once so madly in love, decided to call it quits. Gina believes that she and Lee were meant to cross paths, as they have both grown from the experience. 

"I walk away with incredible friendships. I’m a much stronger person for it. Beautiful memories. Lee taught me things about myself that I didn’t know. And I still believe in fairy-tales."

Lee said "I can’t say I think I made the wrong decision, because in that moment and in that fairy-tale, I followed my heart".

M-Net didn't announce plans for a second season of The Bachelor SA or a version of The Bachelorette SA.


ALSO READ: TV CRITIC's NOTEBOOK. How M-Net's The Bachelor South Africa set up a TV fairytale ending - but ended up breaking our hearts.
ALSO READ: Some interesting behind-the-scenes secrets of the finale of M-Net's The Bachelor South Africa that viewers didn't see.
ALSO READ: IN IMAGES. 10 photos behind-the-scenes of the recording of the finale of M-Net's first season of The Bachelor South Africa.
ALSO READ: 'ERROR 500'. Subscribers furious as MultiChoice's DStv Now streaming app again crashes for the second time in a month, and once again during a much-anticipated M-Net show - this time the finale of The Bachelor SA.
ALSO READ: INTERVIEW. Lee Thompson of M-Net's The Bachelor SA speaks after the final rose: 'I'm sure love will find its way to me'.