Courtship & Counselling Zac & Viarni's Secret Dates

The lovebirds’ Bachelor romance just got real!

For most couples, counselling is a last-ditch effort to save a strained relationship, but millennial lovebirds Zac Franich and Viarni Bright sought the help of trained professionals just weeks into their blossoming romance.

While the besotted duo – who simply can’t stop gazing into each other’s eyes and smiling sweetly at one another during our exclusive shoot – know their experience on The Bachelor New Zealand couldn’t have worked out better, they are candid about the difficulties that come with finding love in front of the nation.

“It presented challenges to us in different ways,” says 28-year-old Zac. “I know Viarni found it hard to deal with the way the show played out in the end. It was a two-horse race – some people wanted person X to get the final rose and some people wanted person Y. I felt a little burnt-out after filming. I was constantly ending relationships, but wasn’t able to properly process those feelings.”

While the Three series finished up on screens only last week, in reality filming ended back in May, meaning the couple had to keep their relationship top secret for over a month. With very few people to confide in, Zac – who used therapy to overcome his battle with depression in 2015 – says their counsellor offered an independent perspective and helped them make sense of their unique situation.

“It was really important to us that we could both be across what we were feeling and how it was impacting our relationship,” he says. “And V was super-supportive through all of that – she truly is incredible.”