The Bachelor star clarifies relationship with influencer: ‘We’re not a gay couple’
The Bachelor South Africa’s Marc Buckner has commented on whether he’s in a gay relationship with a younger male fitness influencer. (Instagram/@marcbuckner and timohagen1)
The Bachelor South Africa's Marc Buckner has commented on whether he's in a gay relationship with a younger male fitness influencer. (Instagram/@marcbuckner and timohagen1)
The Bachelor South Africa star Marc Buckner has set the record straight about whether he’s in a gay relationship with a younger male fitness influencer.
Buckner, 43, a model and fitness influencer himself, appeared on the second season of The Bachelor SA in 2020. He left the show with Marisia van Wyk, with the pair then having an on-off relationship for a couple of years afterwards.
As ever with reality TV stars, there’s a hunger from fans for any crumbs as to Buckner’s personal life. And a series of social media posts over the last year or so with the 25-year-old German model and influencer Timo Hagen has got people wondering if the two are a couple.
The pair, who both live in Cape Town, have been seen in numerous shared posts on Instagram taking gym selfies, suiting up for events, watching rugby, and swapping shirts in elevators. While there’s nothing explicitly queer about that (non-toxic platonic friendships between men should be celebrated, of course!) with captions on posts including, “It wouldn’t be nothing without [Hagen],” you can understand why people might think there’s something more than friendship between the two.
And after a number of enquiries from followers, Buckner and Hagen have now addressed their relationship on the Wickedly Well with Natasha Viljoen.
Asked how the two met Buckner joked Hagen “tried to pick me up at the gym.” Hagen, joining in, said, “Yeah. I saw this guy and I thought, ‘Wow, I need to get in touch with him’.” Hagen then explained he had seen Buckner “all over” Cape Town on social media. He also indicated they had met about a year prior.
Later on Buckner directly commented on his relationship with Hagen. “To make it simple – we’re not a gay couple,” he said. “We’re just friends that have – as [Hagen] said – similar values. I enjoy training, he enjoys training, we’re both healthy, driven humans [that] motivate each other.”
The pair also discussed their shared posts reasoning it’s “more fun” working together. Buckner also detailed that his experience in content creation and modelling, where people didn’t support each other, contributed to his wanting to work so much with Hagen.
Buckner has previously told TFG Media that The Bachelor “destroyed the fantasy” of love for him and that he’s looking for “mutual love and it to not be about anything else.” He added that he’s focused more on his own personal growth saying, “I’m needing to be happy with myself, and that’s why I’m not ready to meet someone yet.”
Watch the full interview with Buckner and Hagen below.
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