"I don't know what happened." The Bachelor's Kristen on her portrayal as 'China Girl'.

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For The Bachelor contestant, Kristen Czyszek, there are two words Australia will unfortunately remember her by: China Girl.

In the season premiere we saw the China researcher make her way to the bachelor mansion to the tunes of stock oriental music, before telling the camera: “Hopefully I remember how to speak English,” and that “fun fact, sometimes my friends call me the China girl!”.

Watching at home, some were offended, myself included, while others were shocked, or just plain confused at the questionable cultural appropriation happening on our screens.

Watch makes her cringe-inducing appearance on The Bachelor:

However, speaking to Mamamia on the day after her eviction, the 24-year-old is adamant this wasn’t a true reflection of who she is as a person. Kristen says that watching herself in those initial episodes were confronting, and she is quick to clarify that the words: “China girl” were purely a joke.

“This is reality television and we are put into characters and little did I know that that would be mine,” she says.

“It was a little bit confronting for the first couple of episodes. I had no idea this was the plan for me, and it’s disappointing to see that the only conversations that were shown of my time on the show was when I had something to say about China or speak in Mandarin, because that was what was vaguely relevant to the show or the story line.

“I shot myself in the foot by saying that’s something my friends joke about, and they kind of just ran with it, and here we are… now I’m Australia’s China Girl.”

While her passion for China was definitely exaggerated, this also meant audiences weren’t able to see her and Matt Agnew’s genuinely “intimate and close” connection.

“I knew we had such a strong connection and it was ready to be explored further with another date, but we never got to see that,” says Kristen, the disappointment evident in her voice.

“I’ve been watching the episodes, knowing they aren’t a true reflection of the situation, or my time on the show. There was so much more of me having a connection with Matt that people haven’t been able to see.

“I don’t know what happened.”

 

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Dearest people, my apologies for all the things you cannot unsee… I hope you can still walk into Bunnings and look at buckets the same way… For those that are wondering (no one) our skin really did feel silky smooth after!! The day was simply perfect ???? 亲爱的大家,我想告诉你们我真的对不起，很多看到过的事情很难“看不到”了！我希望你们依然想去Bunnings，也想你们依然想买一个“桶“。那天我们的皮肤真得感觉很光滑。那一天真得太美好了！

A post shared by Kristen Czyszek ???? (@kristen_czyszek) on Aug 23, 2019 at 6:30pm PDT

For example, while we watched her and Matt give each other sea salt and coffee body scrubs on their first and only single date, Kristen says there was more to their encounter than flirty banter and innuendo.

“After that we had time to talk over wine, and it was really wonderful to learn so much about Matt’s life and open up about mine. We talked about who we are, our interests, and what we’re looking for in a partner. It was so wonderful and intimate,” she says.

“I think that because our time together was really intimate, and we got very close, if they had shown that footage, it wouldn’t have made sense to viewers why I left when I did.

“And it doesn’t really make sense to me, but it is what it is.

 

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Just checking in to say HAPPY SUNDAY EVERYONE! Sending all our love ???????? 大家周日愉快！爱你们。

A post shared by Kristen Czyszek ???? (@kristen_czyszek) on Aug 10, 2019 at 8:46pm PDT

Reflecting on her time on the show, Kristen’s glass half full attitude shines through, and her regard for Matt and the other contestants, Abbie included, is evident.

“All the girls are really lovely and I’ve formed special bonds with all of them,” she says.

“As viewers there’s a lot you don’t see, and there were a lot of wonderful parts of everyone’s personality that people weren’t shown.

“I got to know so many incredible people, and that goes beyond Matt and girls. From the production team, to every single person that walked through those doors, they all made my experience so positive.”

For more Bachelor goodness, listen to the latest episode of Mamamia Recaps The Bachelor: Moon Baths and Bitter Rivalries, where Rachel, Keryn and Renny debrief on what happened this week on The Bachelor.

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