No more hiding for happy couple

ROMANCE: Hawke's Bay resident Fleur Verhoeven made it through numerous rose ceremonies to be chosen as the one for Bachelor Jordan Mauger. PHOTO/File

A "surreal" experience has come to an end for Bachelor New Zealand winner Fleur Verhoeven and her Waipawa family.

Since filming ended six weeks ago, Fleur has had to remain tight-lipped about the show's outcome, keeping the secret from even her close friends.

Luckily she didn't have to hide it from her family, as her mother Ellen Verhoeven said "when she came home it was obvious".

The secret was revealed on Monday night, when Jordan chose to give a Michael Hill ring to the Dutch native over Naz Khanjani. Going into the final ceremony, Fleur said she was realistic.

"I knew Naz had a very strong connection with Jordan as well, so I felt it was definitely a possibility Jordan would pick Naz over me," she said.

"However, I went into it trying to stay positive and focusing on what we had, and hope for the best."

While her mother said it had been great to have her home, she had seen her eldest daughter struggle since "the second filming stopped" because the new couple couldn't see each other.

Fleur said, "We tried to talk on the phone every day or so and managed to have one weekend together up in Auckland. [It] definitely wasn't easy to not be able to see Jordan."

With the secret now revealed, Fleur said, "We can finally go ahead and date like normal people. It's a great feeling.

"No more hiding and living with a massive secret over my head."

Her mother said the reality of the experience had sunk in for Fleur after returning to Hawke's Bay and settling back into her normal life.

As the show progressed, Fleur said she did start to get recognised more, "even in small Waipawa".

"There were days when she was like 'this has been crazy'," Mrs Verhoeven said.

It had been crazy for her family, too.

"We're like a normal, down-to-earth, working family - we've never been involved in anything remotely like this.

"It's been surreal, especially living in Waipawa - it's such a small community," Mrs Verhoeven said.

"Going to the supermarket with Fleur, getting bread, milk, eggs ... it took almost a few hours."

The 26-year-old won't be in Waipawa for much longer.

"I'm planning on moving to Auckland in a few weeks' time and really just want to spend time with Jordan, get to know him better and start hanging out - doing normal, everyday things," she said.

Mrs Verhoeven said Fleur had also been offered opportunities involving helping youth in Auckland, which had been her goal since struggling with depression and anxiety as a teenager.

"She said to me 'mum, all of a sudden your life can change'.

"She's over the moon, finding true love and then fulfilling her dream career."

With the number of passions that Fleur and Jordan shared, Mrs Verhoeven said it was great to see they were on the same page.

"They're such a nice couple."