Two years ago, we watched in shock as Nikki Gogan got dumped by Richie Strahan on The Bachelor.
Gogan – along with Australia – went into the final rose ceremony confident she would be his chosen one, only to be robbed at the very end.
After we recovered from the trauma, we assured ourselves Nikki would be just fine: she’s lovely and smart and funny – and truly, you can’t get much worse than being ditched on national TV.
Alas, it now turns out her luck in love went from bad to bloody atrocious.
The 30-year-old West Australian real estate agent has revealed that after the show ended, she was 'catfished' for eight months.
The term 'catfishing', made popular by the MTV show Catfish, refers to a person who pretends to be someone they're not, usually on social media, to pursue a deceptive romance. In other words, a 'catfisher' is an A-class ratbag.
Nikki told New Idea she had been working in her home town of Northam when she was contacted by a prospective buyer named 'Matthew'.
He attended at least four property inspections, each time arriving in a different luxury car. Before long, they started dating.
"I had no reason not to believe what I was seeing and being told. But I was very wrong," Nikki said.
"It makes you really wonder how trusting you are when you realise how you accepted this big, elaborate story that ended up having so many holes."
Matthew claimed to be a property developer, and would drive Nikki around Perth showing her several mansions he said he owned.
It took eight months for his lies to come undone.
After spending Christmas Day with Nikki's family, she discovered he was conning her when she randomly met another woman who had the exact same experience.
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Nikki did some digging and found out Matthew was a restaurant chef. The designer gifts were fakes. And the flashy cars were in fact borrowed or rented.
"I am a very trusting person, that is how I have been raised," she told New Idea. "When I meet someone I will always give them the benefit of the doubt and accept what they say."
Nikki is certainly not alone in having fallen victim to catfishing. Singer Casey Donovan was dating a 'man' she met online without meeting for six years, who later turned out to be a woman who tricked her into having sex.
Today, Donovan is in a happy, healthy place with a sparkling career. And we're sure the very same is in store for Nikki.