The Bachelor NZ's Viarni - ‘I'VE FINALLY FOUND LOVE!'

The reality winner has discovered a lasting romance after leaving the spotlight

In an office overlooking an avocado orchard in the rural Bay of Plenty, you can find 2017’s The Bachelor NZ winner Viarni Bright. Just over a year ago, the reality star walked away from life in the spotlight and a high-flying PR job in Auckland to become a brand manager for The Avo Tree in quiet Te Puna.

But it wasn’t just an exciting job offer and clean slate away from the buzz of her failed relationship with TV hunk Zac Franich that guided Viarni back to the region in which she grew up. The 26-year-old also returned for love.

“Basically, I fell in love and wanted to move back to the Mount,” she grins, chatting to Woman’s Day about the love of her life Patrick “Paddy” Torr, 28, who works in orchard construction.

“In the summer of 2018, I bumped into Paddy, who I knew here through friends, and we got to talking and hanging out, and very quickly became smitten. Luckily, he was working in Auckland, so he lived with me in early 2019 and it was going really well. It became very evident we didn’t want to be without each other.”

When Paddy was set to return to a more relaxed life in Mount Manganui, Viarni contemplated following her surfy beau back to her beachside roots. Then, via a friend, the job at The Avo Tree came up.

“The owner was looking for someone to take the reins of the brand and further develop the skincare they were dabbling with in-house,” tells Viarni, who helps manage the company’s two sides – avocado deliveries and its recently launched range of beauty products.