“Family means everything to me…”

When Sunny Long joined the debut season of The Golden Bachelor, she had three goals: To find friendship, rediscover herself, and, of course, find love.

Now, as she walks away from the finale hand in hand with Bear, the CEO and mother of three is opening up about her journey to love.
Sunny and Bear The Golden Bachelor(Credit: Instagram)
Speaking with Mamamia, the winner of The Golden Bachelor revealed her life looked starkly different 12 months ago.

After her mother was diagnosed with dementia, Sunny’s 15-year relationship ended after she realised the pair had different family values.

“Family means everything to me, but we didn’t really align on that,” she told the publication. “Of course, he was my number one. But at the same time, I can’t give him my undivided attention all the time. That has been very hard for me. But my mum had been unwell for a long time.”

Initially, her mother lived with Sunny’s family in Australia for six months – an arrangement she admits her partner “struggled” with. But once she returned to South Korea, her dementia worsened, and after an urgent call from her brother, Sunny made the decision to travel to Korea to be by her mum’s side.

“I had to drop my business and then focus on my mum,” she explained. “That’s what I did. This was the catalyst for our relationship ending. And I don’t blame him, because I can understand that you want your partner next to you. But I was away and looking after my mum because she’s not going to be with me for a long time.”
Sunny and Bear(Credit: Instagram)
The candid interview also saw Sunny share details of a cancer scare she experienced in 2017 – a catalyst for her reprioritising her work-life balance.

“I didn’t have any work and life balance. I was focusing on generating financial stability for my grown-up kids, and also my retirement, because I don’t have anyone here, and I’m the only one that can look after myself,” she explained.

“I was treating it like a business deal. That was my turning point, so that’s why I gave them my resignation letter.”
Bear and Sunny on a romantic picnic date with champagne.(Credit: Nine Network)
Now, life looks different as she navigates her relationship with Bear following their time on the show.

“I’m just so glad we found each other,” she told Woman’s Day shortly after the finale.

“We’re in a very unique environment. We have huge feelings for each other, but now we’re going back to normal life, and we have lots of things to catch up on after the finale.”

“Both of us want to see our love grow organically, so we’re going to take it one step at a time.”