It all apparently got a lot more heated soon after this picture was taken.

The pair has opened up to Kyle and Jackie O about their first night of passion, with Richie perhaps going into a bit too much detail about his relief at having finally arrived at the big reveal.

“There was so much built up tension, it was three months of having the biggest blue balls in Australia. To get to the finale was great,” the 31-year-old said this morning.

He also revealed they had understandably wasted no time in getting down to business once filming was over in the final episode.

“There was a funny story. After the finale we got dropped back and the moment we got back [to our room] we just looked at each other ... the camera crew were trying to leave,” Richie said.

The rope access technician also opened up about the moment in an early episode where he realised he had fallen for the single mum.

“There was this moment, it was just unreal. We were in a private spot and we shared our second kiss,” he said.

“After she kissed me, I just looked away at the cameraman and said ‘holy sh*t’. I just thought ‘she’s got me here’. Obviously there’s more to it but [the kiss] was definitely a beautiful moment.”

The pair literally devoured each other.Source:Channel 10

His decision to dump fan favourite Nikki Gogan in favour of Alex caused widespread controversy last night, with even his good friend Sam Frost blasting him on her radio show this morning.

“OH MY GOD RICHIE, WHAT HAPPENED?” she shouted at him in front of his new girlfriend.

Her opinion mirrored the majority of online fans, who felt Richie had made the wrong call in letting bubbly blonde Nikki go.

Even the real estate agent herself was convinced she would receive the final rose and win Richie’s heart prior to the final ceremony.

“I feel it’s me. Every ounce of me says it’s me,” the 28-year-old assured herself, moments before hearing his decision.

Oh well — there’s always The Bachelorette.

Nikki Gogan had her heart broken in last night’s finale.Source:Channel 10