We may not have a season of Bachelor in Paradise to enjoy this year, but at least we can delight in the knowledge that season three’s Alisha Aitken-Radburn and Glenn Smith are still together and very much in love.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Sydneysider Alisha packed her bags and moved over to Perth to be with Glenn and the couple haven’t looked back since.
“We’re in a great routine, I’m having the best time in Perth,” Alisha, 28, tells WHO exclusively.
“We’re having fun and I think it’s really nice that we’re still taking really important steps in our relationship.”
“I love Sydney but for me it was becoming a bit hectic and hyper competitive and I really like the slower pace of Perth. I know this is terrible to say because I never would’ve believed it but now I’m like ‘Perth has the best beaches!’”
The BIP star adds that their next exciting milestone is coming up at the end of the month when they (hopefully) take a trip to Sydney.
“I think the challenge of COVID has been that he still hasn’t met a lot of my people so he’s going to meet my whole friendship group which is awesome.”
However, Alisha says it’s not likely that she’ll move back to the east coast.
Not only is Glenn’s air conditioning business also based in the WA capital, but in exciting news, another BIP baby could be on the way in the next two to three years.
“It’s not going to happen tomorrow but I think starting a family is definitely in our future and I think Perth is the place we want to do that,” Alisha says, adding that she’s in no rush to walk down the aisle.
“I think that’s still a little bit away for us. I’m not super big on marriage – I definitely want it to happen one day but I’d be happy to do some babies first.”
As for how many kids, Alisha doesn’t want to stop at just one.
“It was just me and my mum growing up and Glenn has such a big family. I want my kids and grandchildren to all be running around.”
It may be a while before they have their own little ones, but Alisha admits she’s loving seeing her co-stars Mary Viturino and Conor Canning’s baby content after they welcomed daughter Summer in March.
“I annoy Glenn so much, we’ll be sitting on the couch and I’ll go ‘Look what Summer’s doing!’”
Though she first popped up on our screens during Nick Cummins’ season of The Bachelor back in 2018, Alisha had another Bachelor in Paradise romance with Jules Bourne during the spin-off’s second season.
Things may not have worked out for her and Jules, but Alisha says they’re on good terms.
“We’re definitely amicable which is great progress from just after our season,” she says of her BIP ex.
“We’re not besties but I think that I’ve definitely made peace with the fact that when you navigate the world of dating and relationships sometimes things just don’t work and it’s very hard to get across what is going on in somebody else’s head and how they’re feeling.”
Alisha adds that there was more to what went down with her and Jules than was shown on-camera as well.
“It was painful at the time and it definitely wasn’t just in Paradise – obviously that’s the flaking that everyone saw – but I think I experienced something that’s quite a universal experience for women where it was this hot and cold relationship, this bread-crumbing.
“There were definitely times post Paradise when I thought we were working on our relationship and there were definitely moments that were super flaky.”
The BIP beauty recalls a time when she was really excited to attend a house party in Sydney with him but the lack of communication became their downfall.
“We lived quite far away from each other, about a two hour drive, and I had it so built up in my head that we were going to this party together. Then the day came around and the hours just keep pressing on and I’m getting no communication and I think that’s what so many women can relate to – just hours rolling on without any communication.”
Research by Head & Shoulders has found that 4.2 million Aussies have “flaked” on a date and Alisha has joined forces to expose the worst offenders.
“I think that it’s quite a good conversation to open up,” she says.
“It’s not necessarily about the other person so I think that makes it easier when we’re dating. You don’t have to give someone an absolute hall pass on cancelling on a date but it’s about reconstituting it in our mind that quite often it’s not a reflection of you as a person if you’re being flaked on.
“You don’t know what’s going on in their life and it could be for a myriad of reasons.”
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