She's the no-nonsense businesswoman with a heart of gold. And quickly, Sunny became one of the breakout stars of The Golden Bachelor.
On Sunday night's spectacular finale in South Africa, Bear chose Sunny as his winner, as he declared his feelings for her.
"I didn't know I'd be lucky enough to fall in love again," he said.
"When I think about the future… I can't imagine doing it without you and I feel so lucky to have found you. I love you."
The CEO was encouraged to do the show by her daughters, influencers Chloe and Penny, and went into the experience with an open mind.
In an exclusive chat with Mamamia earlier this month, Sunny listed three goals she had when she signed on to do The Golden Bachelor: to "find friendship and meet like-minded beautiful ladies", to "rediscover myself, some parts of myself I've forgotten", and of course, find love.
As for the third goal, Sunny said Bear was unlike any other men she'd dated in the past.
"[In the past], I found it quite hard to find the men that I feel attracted to because of their age. For women, we tend to look after ourselves, but men tend to be free to let go. So it was a bit difficult…. [but] I don't like younger men," she said. "I like to share some memories and conversations on all different topics."
Image: Nine.
On one episode, Sunny opened up on the heartbreak she felt at the end of her last long-term relationship, which happened while her mum was suffering with dementia.
"I was in a de facto relationship, and I was with him for 15 years, but the last two years we had underlying issues because we didn't have the same family values — that is my core value in life. Family means everything to me, but we didn't really align on that," she said.
"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."
Sunny's mum had been living with her in Australia for six months, which her partner had 'struggled' with, and then after her mother returned to South Korea, her dementia continued to worsen.
Sunny received an urgent phone call from her brother that their mum needed her care, so Sunny travelled to be with her mum in Korea.
Image: Nine.
When she returned to her partner, their relationship fell apart.
"I decided this time, I had to drop my business and then focus on my mum. 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 does not hold any ill will towards her ex-partner, who she spent over a decade with.
"I am glad he found happiness. He has a girlfriend, and I'm just happy for him. I just tried to look at the time we had — rather than sad memories — and he showed me a beautiful life."
Before her recent heartbreak, Sunny had a brush with cancer, an experience which signalled a turning point in her life.
"In April 2017, I was in Melbourne and it was 9am in the morning and then I got a phone call. I never expected I'm going to have breast cancer. I don't have any family history and I didn't have any symptoms. I always check when I have a shower, like any other lady, but there were no symptoms whatsoever. They found a three-centimetre suspicious cell growing in my left breast."
At the time, Sunny was a busy businesswoman and she had trouble realising just how serious her condition was, as she continued to prioritise work over her health.
Image: Nine.
"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. I was punching away on my laptop, even as I was lying down on the theatre table [in hospital] because I had to prepare data for my Chairman… and they know that I'm about to have the operation."
This brought added tension in her relationship, too.
"That was the conflict between myself and my ex-partner, because he doesn't understand my viewpoint. He thought it was health first, not work first. I even asked my doctors, am I dying now? Do I have some time? I was treating it like a business deal. That was my turning point, so that's why I gave them my resignation letter."
These days, Sunny is currently in the clear and will have another breast screen shortly. "I'm very lucky, and I am very happy," she added.
Sunny felt proud that some of her story was shared on The Golden Bachelor.
"I thought it was important to find the strength to share the truth of my story, because I wanted to reach out to every one of the ladies going through this kind of situation. I want to let them know that they're not alone. That helps out there, and they can still find happiness in life."
For Sunny, it's been a long, winding journey to The Golden Bachelor.
Image: Nine.
Born and raised in South Korea, she moved to Hong Kong after university and that's where she met her first husband. They returned to South Korea, where they raised three children.
"When you live in South Korea, you don't have to be filthy rich, but you can still have a very comfortable life, having a living nanny 24/7, and everything can be delivered. I was enjoying my life. However, my ex-husband, he's Australian, and he wanted to be back to Australia to look after his parents," she said.
"He gave me an ultimatum, saying 'You better come back to Australia now.' I dropped everything, and I packed everything in 1995 and I came to Australia for good. It was very difficult to leave everything behind, my family, my friends, my career and the lifestyle I had — everything."
Thankfully, Sunny eventually settled into life in Australia, going on to have a booming career in IT, even building her own software firm from the ground up.
Watch the ladies from The Golden Bachelor discuss their first impressions of Bear. Post continues after video.
Regarding her position on Golden Bachelor, Sunny admits that there isn't a lot of Asian representation on reality dating shows on Australian TV.
"I haven't watched TV very much, but recently I started to catch up on a lot of things. Whenever I watched something, it is dominated by Caucasian people or races — I felt that," she said.
"Even at the mansion, I felt very much like, gosh, it's very hard because I was not born here… and that's why I felt an instant connection with Hamidah. I felt comfortable right away with another Asian there."
When asked what she thinks of becoming a fan favourite, Sunny got emotional in our chat.
"I didn't even think about the camera. I was just staying true to myself. I try not to read a lot of feedback, but yesterday, I had lunch with my two daughters, and then they showed me some public feedback about me and I cried [sobs] because I feel like I'm not alone anymore. I have wonderful people supporting me," she said.
"I feel so grateful, and I am so thankful for the opportunity. I feel like, oh my goodness, this is the moment I feel like I made the right decision [to do the show]. I don't feel afraid of being a silly person or loud and annoying, because I know I'm not everyone's cup of tea, but I just wanted to share my story."
Feature image: Nine.
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