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Sophie Monk and Stu Laundy face real life challenges after reality TV romance

Sophie Monk and Stu Laundy only saw each other twice after <i>Bachelorette</i> filming wrapped.

Sophie Monk and Stu Laundy only saw each other twice after Bachelorette filming wrapped. Photo: Network Ten

The Bachelorette star Sophie Monk and her chosen man, millionaire publican Stu Laundy, have spent their first day as a public couple detailing the bizarre nature of their post-television dating life.

Having left the comfort of cameras, producer-constructed date nights and tropical island holidays, Monk, 37, and Laundy, 44, must now contend with a new reality: media scrutiny, his four teenage children, pregnancy speculation and intimacy.

The transition can be so jarring that Monk addressed it in one of her first media outings after naming Laundy as last man standing.

She admitted to The Daily Telegraph that since the filming of their Fiji beach declaration of love two months ago, she and Laundy have hardly spent any time together.

“We’ve only seen each other a couple of times, that’s it,” Monk said.

“And that’s hard for two adults – it feels like you’re in high school.

“We will figure it out,” she said.

“It will be fun just to do normal things, like go to the supermarket together.”

It’s been so challenging that some reports have claimed the pair broke up even before Monk handed out her last rose.

They were together after the finale to do the usual rounds of radio and print media, but failed to post the now-traditional “we’re a happy couple” social media announcement of past pairs in the franchise.

Before she chose Laundy – a married father of four daughters – Monk was not physically intimate with him, she said, adding she was glad he didn’t propose to her as cameras rolled on the last scene.

“’You’ve got to remember you haven’t slept with anyone at that point, so to propose … how can you do that without having sex?” said Monk.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BatSrRpgIIT/?taken-by=stulaundy44

Since filming ended, the pair’s limited contact has been mostly via phone, with reports Monk had Laundy in her phone under the pseudonym ‘Uncle Dave’ to protect his identity.

Even now, they can’t dive into blissful togetherness and get to know each other.

With Monk a Gold Coast homeowner, and Laundy the lord of a flash Sydney apartment, the pair will have a long-distance romance.

“A base on the Gold Coast and a base in Sydney doesn’t seem that unrealistic,” Laundy said, before pulling back a bit.

“I have children, though, and I will always be around my kids.”

Monk told The Daily Telegraph the idea of shuttling between cities “just doesn’t bother” her.

“I am never home, I am always in Sydney,” she said.

As for other domestic matters, Laundy, who is not yet divorced from wife Rachel, confirmed that “Sophie has not yet met” his daughters.

But the couple has said they might start a family of their own.

Monk, who made clear on the show her desire for a baby, is looking into IVF treatment, adding the publicised issue of Laundy’s vasectomy “doesn’t really matter” because “it can be reversed pretty quickly”.

Laundy also went public with the news he has sperm frozen which could be called upon.

“I could go freeze my eggs and chuck ’em over to wherever he’s got his sperm banked,” Monk said.

Laundy said the pair hasn’t really discussed their “two options” yet: “We should probably go out and have a meal first.”

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