Have these The Bachelor contestants fallen in love?

Two women who were rivals in a recent season of the Australian series of The Bachelor appear to have found love; not with the bachelor, but with each other.

Megan Marx and Tiffany Scanlon, both from Western Australia, met on the set of the reality show in July while competing against one another for the attention of bachelor Richie Strahan.

After the show ended in September it was clear that the two women had developed a close friendship, but it seems that this has now blossomed into full-blown romance.

While they haven’t come out as lesbian or bisexual per se they have referred to one another as “love” and “baby” and shared images on social media in which they are seen embracing, holding hands and travelling together.

In an Instagram post celebrating Scanlon’s 30th birthday this week, Marx wrote that from the first time that they met on the show, “it was like this instant calibration between souls, as if we had known each other once before”.

She went on to explain that, “Friendship ripened into something bolder, trust in a very strange situation was formed, and now every adventure we have rivals the other- and continues to make plans for itself”.

Marx concluded: “Happy Birthday Tiffany. I love you.”

Last month, Marx told OK! magazine: “I think that when it comes to attraction, for me, it’s usually a connection of minds and humour before anything else and I’m traditionally attracted to men but I don’t rule anything out …

“I would say Tiff’s in the same boat,” she added.

While The Bachelor franchise has remained strictly heterosexual in nature, a similar style gay dating show called Finding Prince Charming recently aired in the US. It was a success and has already been renewed for a second season.

I met Tiffany in a very strange situation. Well… we were kind of dating the same guy. And it was filmed and put on TV . From that first cocktail party, it was like this instant calibration between souls, as if we had known each other once before. Friendship ripened into something bolder, trust in a very strange situation was formed, and now every adventure we have rivals the other- and continues to make plans for itself. Yesterday I flew this beautiful woman to The Abrolhos islands for her 30th birthday! I have to admit that I felt so so proud to be with her, my favourite person, celebrating such a momentous occasion on the water- a mutual love of ours. She is so confident in the ocean and in every adventure, as if every new experience is a winning of the lottery somehow; a chance to grow and learn and develop. To Tiffany, experience wins over the worldly acquisition of ‘things’ every time- and I think this is why she is so open-minded, so accepting of others, so fun and so at ease with letting winds blow her towards a variety of opportunities. She’s helped me to disintegrate many of the ideals I’ve had that were harmful (about relationships, about career and ‘stability’) and for that I feel set free. Thank you for always asking questions (detective Tiff), for being curious about people, ideologies and the universe; for loving people with such a wholesome love that I don’t know if I would ever be able to emulate. It inspires me. Happy Birthday Tiffany. I love you.

A photo posted by Megan Marx (@megan.leto.marx) on Oct 23, 2016 at 4:13pm PDT