5 years ago, Nick Cummins was Australia's Bachelor. Now his life looks very different.

Five years ago, Nick 'the Honey Badger' Cummins became the first Bachelor in Australia's history to not choose a winner.

He had the country hooked with his larrikin-esque charm and cheeky jokes – with fans well and truly strapped in for his journey to love and a happy ending.

So when he flew his final two – Brittany Hockley and Sophie Tieman – over to New Caledonia, dumped them both and fled into the jungle, it was… a lot.

"Right now, I can't give 100 per cent to you. My head is very clouded. Right now, I'm a little bit lost," he told Hockley, before delivering a similar speech to Tieman. 

In 2023, however, Cummins' life looks very different to the way it did on The Bachelor. He's in a long-term relationship, for starters, and he and his partner have a child together. 

And now, Cummins has hit the South African jungle for I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!.

Watch: Nick Cummins chat about heading into the jungle. Post continues below. 

What Nick Cummins' life looks like now.

A life of adventure is exactly what the Honey Badger is living and breathing now, five years on from his Bachelor days.

He's shied away from the usual post-reality route of event launches, public romances and sponsored social media content. Instead, he's been travelling the world and raising awareness for not just men's health but also other causes close to his heart. 

In South Africa, he educated his 439,000 followers on the horrors of rhino poaching.

National Geographic TV snapped up Cummins for his own travel series Meanwhile in Australia with Nick Cummins.

And in 2020, he joined Schapelle Corby, Merrick Watts, Candice Warner and Roxy Jacenko on Channel Seven's SAS Australia.

In April 2021, the Honey Badger went 'Instagram official' with girlfriend Alexandra George.

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The couple reportedly began dating in 2020, and have been together ever since. 

In December 2021, the pair announced they were expecting their first child.

"My darling and I look forward lovingly to the arrival of our little badger cub," Cummins captioned his post.

George added, "We decided to create a little hybrid!! Can’t wait to share this next chapter with the love of my life welcoming our little badger cub into this world shortly."

In 2022, the pair welcomed a son, Billy George Cummins, saying he was their "not so little treasure".

Reflecting on the joys of parenting, Cummins said his now-seven-month-old son brings a lot of joy to him and his partner.

"Becoming a parent is a game-changer. You realise all the immature things you thought were important actually mean nothing. All that matters is a smile on the kid's face and a happy, healthy family," he said to TV Week.

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Now, Cummins is on I'm A Celebrity..., and shared that he was approached more than five times to go on the show before he eventually said yes. 

As for what made him want to give it a go, he told TV Week: "After doing a different show [The Bachelor], I never thought I'd do something like that ever again. Now with I'm A Celeb..., there's no drama or make-believe stories, just people taking on new experiences together."

There are some moments he'll miss, though, while battling it out in the jungle. "My son is on the edge of crawling so I'll miss that, which is incredibly hard," he told the publication.

But to get through all the nasty challenges and trials, he told The Project that he will "think of my son and my family to get through that".

"My life has done an absolute 180 [since I became a dad]. It's a new set of responsibilities and teaches you what's important in life. I'm super stoked with it, and I can't wait to get out there [on I'm A Celeb] and do the family proud and give it a go."

And he's already doing just that, working alongside fellow campmate Liz Ellis to earn the group 13 stars (and a whole lotta food) in his terrifying first challenge, which saw the pair climb onto a structure jutting out over a 2km high cliff face.

What happened after The Bachelor.

Need a refresher of all that went down after Cummins turned down both his Bachelor finalists? We've got you. 

A few months after the finale aired and the public scrutiny had somewhat died down, Cummins finally spoke.

"People are so brainwashed, you're not going to get your fairytale ending every time," he told ABC Radio National in December 2018.

"What's more important: me just saying 'yes' and going through the motions and dragging some girl through all the media about how we're in love and then three months down the track after the contract’s over, we're allowed to break up?" he continued, seemingly confirming there is a contractual agreement to stay together after The Bachelor.

In June 2019, we received more answers and a bit of insight into how the fallout from the show affected the former Wallaby.

In a chat with Stellar, he explained that The Bachelor took a huge toll on his mental health and he said the environment didn't foster the conditions necessary to fall in love with someone, because they were never allowed to be alone.

"It really gave me direction and forced me to understand that meaning is a non-negotiable. You have to have that in your life," he said.

"We are on this earth for a reason, and that’s to make a difference in someone else's life."

After being shaken by the experience, Cummins found himself heading back to the bush and nature. It was this journey that led him to establish Rogue Gentlemen's Club – a group-therapy business that provides excursions for men who want to unplug and reconnect with themselves and nature.

A quick peek at the website will tell you the club is the former footy player's "passion project", a way to "share what he has learned about manhood from a life packed with adventure and challenge". The missions to farms, islands and mountain ranges last between two nights and 10, and are all about off-grid freedom. Think hiking, foraging and camping in the Australian wilderness.

This article was originally published in October 2020, and has since been updated with new information.

Feature Image: Instagram @nickbadger / @al_george.

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