Sunny Long has hit back at naysayers who have criticised the way she won the heart of the inaugural Australian Golden Bachelor, Barry ‘Bear’ Myrden.

The CEO, 58, and infrastructure engineer, 61, saw their love story played out on screens this year, before he finally picked her as his partner in the tense finale.

But now some have said Barry only chose Sunny because she spoke about sex too often, a claim Sunny said is a ‘double standard’, according to Yahoo Lifestyle.

Sunny said young people are often seen speaking candidly about sex on reality TV shows like Love Island without judgement.

‘We were on a show to find love, and as my feelings for him grew, I wanted to understand his feelings around intimacy,’ she went on to say.

‘That’s a normal part of the kind of relationship I want, and it’s a perfectly valid thing for a woman to care about.’

Sunny Long, 58, has hit back at naysayers who have criticised the way she won the heart of the inaugural Australian Golden Bachelor, Barry ‘Bear’ Myrden, 61

Sunny added there ‘is still a lot of s***-shaming out there’ toward women ‘who dare to speak up about their desires.

However, she said she ‘refuses to be ashamed of that’, adding: ‘I won’t apologise for being honest about who I am and what matters to me!’

Sunny and Bear went to extreme lengths to hide their romance from the moment filming wrapped seven months ago to the airing of the finale earlier this month.

Now, they have finally gone public with their relationship, revealing they had secret meet-ups for seven months which were tightly controlled by producers.

‘When the cameras stopped rolling, I just said, “Do not forget about me,”‘ Bear admitted to Daily Mail earlier this month.

The Northern Beaches-based reality TV star said he had to save Sunny’s number under a fake name in his phone in case anyone saw it.

‘I can actually put her name in my phone now because the secret name would pop up,’ he revealed.

Sunny admitted the months spent undercover were far tougher than viewers realise.

The CEO and infrastructure engineer saw their love story played out on screens this year, before he finally picked her as his partner in the tense finale

But now some have said Barry only chose Sunny because she spoke about sex too often, a claim Sunny said is a ‘double standard’, according to Yahoo Lifestyle

‘It was really hard. But he texted me and called me nearly every day. He is a really romantic guy,’ she said.

The couple described the strange double life they lived as they snuck around Sydney for producer-approved meet-ups.

They had to keep their bond alive through late-night phone calls, all while promos for the show kept viewers guessing the outcome.

‘We had a few visits, but they were few and far between,’ Bear said. ‘It is good to finally be able to have coffees together and breakfast.’