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With you it’s easy: The Bachelorette NZ’s Lily says Richie makes her feel understood

I always thought that I was going to clash with my partner in some way but with you I always feel understood, Lily has said of Richie.

Still basking in the afterglow of finally being able to reveal they’re an item, The Bachelorette NZ’s Lily McManus and Richie Boyens have taken to social media to tell the world how much they dig each other.

And while Lily has revealed that Richie makes her feel understood and supported in a way she has never felt before, Richie has said that with Lily he shares a connection that he hadn’t known existed.

“Rich, you’re the kindest, softest piece of work a woman could ever ask for,” Lily has declared on Instagram.

“Before you, the word ‘easy’ was seen as negative word for me when it comes to relationships. I was under the impression that maybe I had to feel a little guarded, restricted, insecure, like I couldn’t always be understood or feel adored every single day.”

She wrote that she had thought that “the free, crass, rough cut, emotional, independent woman” that she is, was never going to be completely understood or supported.

“That I was always going to be clashing in some way with my partner for being and feeling everything that I am.

“Yet this is easy Rich,” she continued.

“You can always seem to understand how I feel…

“You support my choices, space and emotional capacity. You never make me feel like I feel too much or too little. You put every single strung out string inside my brain at ease.

“You’re an incredible man Rich…I’m a very happy woman.”

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Richie, in turn, revealed how excited he was to be able to finally be by Lily’s side as she ‘took over the world’.

“Hey Gorgeous Lily, It’s me, the normie from Wanaka,” he began his Instagram post – referring to the fact Lily had initially thought he might have been too normal for her.

He thanked her for helping him through his moments of insecurity during filming and declared, “It’s the only way we could have met.

“A whirlwind dating show, empanada making, comic book creating and so far from the comfort zone.”

Richie wrote that he felt they had “communicated right from the start, it was easy, and lovely, so f…g natural.

“I’m so grateful you gave me the chance to get to know you, and show me something I didn’t know existed in the world of dating on or off TV.

“A set of values which resonated with me, values just like mine. Honesty, integrity, trust, mindfulness, inspiration, kindness, empowerment to name a few…

“Together we have jumped, driven, cooked, laughed, fished, taken on alta egos, sailed, cried, conversed and surfed our way to the start of something quite special,” he concluded.

“I once said to you, I cannot wait to see what our life would be like out of the bubble, and Jesus f..k it’s been a treat. I want to be right there with you while you take over this world…”

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Going into the final rose ceremony Richie had not been so confident of Lily’s affection.

Lily’s other final contender, Jesse Williamson, had told Lily that Richie had questioned her genuineness, and Lily had also been disappointed to find out Richie had badmouthed Lesina.

“What does that say eh?” Richie had said to Lesina’s two remaining contenders, Aaron and Logan, in reference to the two Michaels quitting the show in frustration.

“For the girl that you guys are supposedly trying to get to know, and other people find it so hard to get to know her?

“Lesina just sort of seems like she turns up and reads off her scripted card sometimes.”

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But their easy rapport and mutual trust prevailed, with Lily telling Richie at the final rose ceremony, “You’re the person that I want to make me breakfast in the morning!”

On the series’ reunion episode the couple revealed that they hadn’t made too many plans just yet. “We’ll figure things out as we go,” Lily said.

Wanaka-based Richie had been staying with fellow bachelor Mike Bullot at his home in Auckland, and Lily was now spending so much time there she wondered if she should start paying rent.

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