The Bachelor Zac Franich makes his choice - the winner is ...

After weeks of drama, kisses, roses and intruders, the winner of Zac Franich's heart on The Bachelor NZ has been revealed as Viarni Bright.

Franich chose Bright, an account manager from Mount Maunganui, over Lily McManus, from Wellington, in a topsy-turvy final episode that felt like it could have gone either way.

"I feel like I've fallen for both Lily and Viarni," declared Franich at the beginning of the episode.

Zac Franich and Viarni Bright celebrate their win on The Bachelor NZ.

At the end of it, Franich presented Bright with a ring and told her she was a "confident, driven, kind, caring and beautiful girl ... that's the kind of girl I want to walk down the street with and hold your hand."

He also revealed he'd had feelings right from the start.

"From the first moment, I saw you I felt this little spark. By the end of the night, you'd stolen away my heart," he said.

A shocked Bright replied: "I can't even deal right now ... it's amazing."

Zac gives Lily the bad news.

In comparison, Franich told McManus, "right now I don't think I'm the right guy for you" and he believed dating her would be like trying to "cage a butterfly".

At the show's live screening in Auckland, Franich and Bright cosied up together and answered questions straight after the reveal.

Bright called it "the biggest relief in the world" and said keeping their relationship secret had been "really difficult".

Franich continued: "We are just looking forward to normal life walking down the road... holding hands and going to get a beer."

Bright was always the favourite to beat McManus, a 20-year-old free spirit and skateboarding fanatic whose kooky charm and off-kilter sense of humour captured Franich's attention.

But Bright seemed to have a connection with Franich right from the moment they met, and she was the first contestant to receive a white rose.

Viarni Bright receives the good news.

The Orewa surf lifesaver's decision came after a final episode that included both Bright and McManus being grilled by Franich's family, as well as one last date with each girl that included long, passionate kisses.

Franich admitted he'd developed strong feelings for both finalists and his decision had been hard.

"Am I surprised that I've fallen for two different women?" he asked. "Yes."

But, he warned, "we've been in a bubble".

This article was first published on NZ Herald and is republished here with permission.