When Brooke Blurton decided to leave Bachelor in Paradise, American from season 13 of the US Bachelorette Alex Bordyukov wanted to follow her out the door.

And if it all went down earlier in the day, he just might have, but eager to clear his head and go to bed, he stayed.

Just days later, fellow American Caroline Lunny walked through the doors and changed everything.

The pair quickly hit it off but while their relationship lasted beyond the island, it didn’t last forever.

Speaking to Mamamia, Alex said that when he and Caroline left Paradise, they dated for a few months, and developed a beautiful relationship.

However, in the end, they decided they weren’t going to work as a couple.

“When we left we dated for a few months but unfortunately we ultimately decided that we weren’t going to pursue it. We still maintain a friendship, we speak on a weekly basis but there’s no more romantic involvement,” he told Mamamia.

He added that it was an amicable breakup, and that they enjoyed exploring the relationship away from Bachelor in Paradise.

“For us, I don’t think it was that dramatic. Our relationship was very effortless, even from that first interaction. When we left things actually got better,” he said.

“It was a lot more fun, there was a lot less stress and pressure and no cameras around. We saw each other a couple of times, I flew down there. Things were great, and I think it was a very easy transition for us.”

Unlike the Australian contestants, Alex and Caroline were able to go on dates in public, allowing them to give the relationship their best shot.

“We didn’t have to hide ourselves like people in Australia; we could go on normal dates, it played out very normal. We just pretty much left and said ‘let’s try dating in real life’. We used it as a starting block and jumped into our normal routines, normal pattern of dating,” he told Mamamia.

On Thursday, both Caroline and Alex shared on Instagram that while they had a great relationship, they decided to break up a few months after leaving Paradise.

Alex wrote on his Instagram that getting to know Caroline was a “privilege”.

“You are kind, gentle, compassionate, and nothing less than extraordinary. And even though we agreed that, ultimately, we were romantically incongruent, I’m honored to have been given a chance,” he shared.

 

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Just wanted to take this moment and, wholeheartedly, thank this incredible woman for the opportunity and the privilege of getting to know her. Our time together may have been brief, but its beauty isn’t defined by its permanence or longevity, and its preciousness isn’t lost on me. I’ve cherished every moment, every smile, every touch, and will forever be grateful for it all. You are kind, gentle, compassionate, and nothing less than extraordinary. And even though we agreed that, ultimately, we were romantically incongruent, I’m honored to have been given a chance. You’ll always have a piece of my heart, and have me in your corner. Thank you, Caroline.

A post shared by Alex Bordyukov (@alex_bordy) on May 1, 2019 at 7:15pm PDT

Caroline said that her time with Alex was great, but that they weren’t the right person for each other.

“He’s the guy who brought me breakfast in bed every single morning, kissed my forehead, and respected me like no man ever has before,” she wrote on her Instagram.

“He is the epitome of a true gentleman, and restored my faith that there are good men in this world,” she added.

 

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Paradise is all over! I have nothing but love, trust, & respect for this man. I enjoyed every second of my time with this hunky weirdo. . Alex is unapologetically himself, brutally honest, and drives me completely bananas sometimes. He has the biggest heart, & I would trust him with my life. He’s the guy who brought me breakfast in bed every single morning, kissed my forehead, & respected me like no man ever has before. He would almost tackle me to make sure he was walking on the outside of the sidewalk— so in the event a car comes crashing towards us, he could protect me & the car would hit him first (lol it’s some old-school gentleman thing my nana told me years ago to keep an eye out for, but I never actually saw anyone do until Alex). . He is the epitome of a true gentleman, & restored my faith that there are good men in this world. No one has ever made me feel more beautiful than he did. He helped heal me, & reminded me to love every inch of my “Greek goddess” curves lol. He’s the best cuddler I know, & snores like the Russian bear that he is. Seriously, the second this kid’s eyes close, he’s snoring. It’s like he blinks & he’s snoring. But even those grizzly bear snores made me feel safe knowing you were there. . Lol thanks to everyone who supported us, showed us the love, & “shipped” this ????. We gave it a fair shot!! He’s not my person, but we’re still good friends! . I am so grateful I got to go through this whole experience with you, Sasha. Some people are simply meant to be a chapter in your book, & what a fun chapter we had. We had a good run! I loved the whole thing… even the moments where I wanted to kill you, & the ones where I’m shocked you didn’t kill me. Thank you for teaching me the ukulele, fixing my bike, being patient with me & accepting all my bullshit, and for the experience of a lifetime. You made this whole crazy bachelor journey worth it. And are the perfect person to end my Bachelor journey with. You’ll always have a special place in my heart…. and we’ll always have Susan Boyle. See ya when I see ya. Xoxo, me . He’s going to kill me for all of these… but I don’t even care ????. The guy takes pickup beach volleyball so seriously ????

A post shared by Caroline Lunny (@carolinelunny) on May 1, 2019 at 7:10pm PDT

Earlier in the season of Bachelor in Paradise Australia, Alex was left heart broken when Brooke Blurton decided to leave Fiji.

Speaking to Mamamia, Alex said he wanted to leave Paradise after Brooke’s departure, but by the time he’d processed everything it was around midnight, so he decided to stay.

“I thought [my relationship with Brooke] was going well and we were in a good place. Even with all that other commotion going on,” he said in regard to Brooke’s relationship with Alex Nation. “I was very disappointed to hear [she was leaving].”

“To be honest, the only reason I didn’t leave that night was because it was really late. My mindset at that point, because I was so deflated, was that I wanted to be done with the whole experience.”

After sleeping on his decision, Alex realised he didn’t want his actions to unfairly impact someone else, as his departure would’ve meant less roses at the next commitment ceremony.

But even so, he wasn’t prepared to just uh, ‘jump back on the dating horse’ so to speak. He said it was amusing to see the public’s reaction after he – a very good-looking human who is also lovely and normal and kind and sweet and honestly a rarity on this damn show – remained single for the next few episodes.

It wasn’t that the women weren’t interested in him as we thought, it was just that he wasn’t… ready, which makes WAY more sense.

“There are times where I just completely close off or I don’t acknowledge [a woman’s interest] because I don’t want to lead anyone on. It’s more on me than the girls, because a lot of the girls definitely expressed interest throughout,” he said.

“I think it came off once Brooke left, which at that point especially, I felt like for me to pursue things with anyone else wouldn’t be fair to them as it would pretty much be that they were my second choice and that’s not what anyone wants, that’s not what I’m there for, that’s not why they’re there for.

“So that’s why pretty much anyone that was there during the time that Brooke was there was more or less off the table.”

But there was one great relationship Alex built in Bachelor in Paradise that he wanted the world to know about – the one with his new best mate Richie Strahan.

“Richie and I were really good friends. We had a bromance going, we were roommates, we were working out together every morning, we were eating together, sleeping together, we were joking around. I consider him a friend, a real friend, we’ve spoken multiple times since and I’m proud of how he handled all the tough situations he was in – he was under a little more scrutiny than I was,” Alex told Mamamia.

If that’s not love, we don’t know what is.