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The Bachelorette's Courtney explains why he gave up one-on-one time with Georgia Love.

Courtney has been labelled the ultimate player of this year’s season of The Bachelorette.

Sure, there were Rhys and Sam who admitted to being on the show just for their careers. But at least they were upfront about it.

On the other hand, Courtney had viewers (and Georgia Love) confused from the minute he walked in.

For many women, he epitomised the man who you so desperately wanted, and yet never quite wanted you back.

However, according to Courtney some masterful editing has completely misrepresented how he acted in the show.

In an interview with Mamamia, the 30-year-old says he was left completely shocked at who people thought he was.

Listen to our latest debrief of The Bachelorette, including our feelings on Courtney. (Post continues after audio.)

“I definitely didn’t expect it [the backlash from fans],” he said.

“I knew walking into reality TV that they look for characters. I thought there were enough characters in the house for me to just go through being my honest and true self without being painted in any different way than I am,” he admits.

“At the end of the day, it’s television, it’s entertainment. It sort of blindsided me a little bit.”

Part of what spurred on fans to believe he just wasn’t that into Georgia Love was when he gave up time to spend with her. Not once, but twice.

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First, he gave up time for another contestant, Tommy, but there was a whole lot we didn’t see.

“The truth is, at the single date when I gave the time to Tommy… he was my roommate, he’s someone who’s been in the army and hasn’t been in love for 10 years or had a girlfriend,” Courtney explains.

Check out some of Courtney’s moments on The Bachelor. (Post continues after gallery.)

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“There’s people who sacrifice a shitload to put themselves out there and be vulnerable and fall in love.”

When Courtney decided to let Tommy spend time with Georgia, he had barely even spoken to her, which Courtney felt was incredibly unfair.

“I’d come off the back of the single date and then the group date which I planned. Georgia was my partner on that group date. We did off-camera stuff you don’t see … We had two full days together. I had the boys calling me ‘Georgia hog’,” he recalls.

“The extra time you get is literally 10 minutes … as if you would want to go home and not even have a chance to say, ‘Hi, this is my name and this is who I am’, it’s pretty ridiculous. That’s why I gave the time to Tommy and I didn’t feel like 10 minutes was going to make any difference in the relationship that Georgia and I had.”

Tommy during his elimination. Image via Channel 10.
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So, that explains the first case. But what about the second time he passed on Georgia?

"The same thing with Ryan. They were both my roommates – we had these big deep and meaningful nighttime chats before we’d go to bed and they would open up massively about how concerned they were about not having a conversation with her before they went home, or feeling like they were going to go next," Courtney says.

"It’s hard to hear that when they’ve put themselves out there so much. Definitely wanted to do a little bit for my mates… it definitely backfired and I came off looking like I didn’t like her. Which was a shame."