A long-standing Bachelor tradition may mean Nikki will be heading home soon.

More than ever, this season of the Bachelor has a strong sense of inevitability about it.

As a collective, we all nodded in acknowledgement about five episodes ago that Nikki has this one in the proverbial bag, and the other Bachelorettes are spending their days in the mansion lapping up as much fame and fortune as their short stints on the show provides.

The only mysteries of these final weeks are the questions of who will be the poor soul strung along to the final with Nikki? At what point will Richie send Alex home so she can be with her son? And will Olena accept the producer’s offer of being the next Bachelorette?

But before we get too ahead of ourselves, Nikki Gogan has one major hurdle to overcome before she wins Richie's heart: The first-date curse.

Will Nikki win? We discuss with former Bachelor contestant Zilda on Bach Chat. Post continues after audio.

As it stands, no other contestant on the history of the Bachelor franchise has manage to win after being given the very first one-on-one date.

If you can cast your mind back a few Australian seasons ago, those who won the coveted first date went on to go close to the end, but have never taken out the show. Last season, Sam Wood took Melbourne girl Sarah Mackay on his first date, with the 26-year-old making it to the final three.

Despite the 'curse', Bachelor host Osher Gunsberg doesn't believe Gogan has anything to worry about, telling the Daily Telegraph he is "happy" to see someone "experience those emotions" of falling in love.

"Nikki shouldn’t worry at all," he said.

"She and Richie got off to a cracking start, and she’s becoming more emotionally invested every day. I’m not taking notes as to when people say they’re in love, but I am very happy for her regardless. It’s a wonderful feeling when I feel it, and I’m happy to see someone so lovely experience those emotions."

Osher might be confident, but perhaps it's too soon to get ahead of ourselves in this one.