ABC/Craig Sjodin
On Tuesday night’s season finale of “Bachelor in Paradise,” Brandon Jones and Serene Russell got engaged!
During the episode, Serene told Brandon, “Brandon, I have always yearned for a life-changing love, but I had never seen it or experienced it firsthand. But then I met you. I feel like we have two hearts cut from the same cloth and I have never felt more seen or understood in my entire life. In you, I have found my best friend, my missing puzzle piece and my soulmate. I love you so much and I’m never going to take that for granted.”
Before proposing to Serene, Brandon said, “Serene Brook Russell, I love you. I love you in every sense of the word. You are this ever-lasting spark that has hit me so hard and I have come to the beautiful realization that from the moment I saw you, my happily ever after could’ve never started until I started a life with you. I will love you until the end of the time. I will love you until my last breath… Serene Brook Russell, will you make me the happiest man to walk this earth? Will you marry me?”
Following the episode, the couple opened up on their future together.
The couple are hoping to marry next year. Russell told People magazine, “We are really excited for wedding planning. We’ve landed on 2024, and we’re starting to think what time of year we want to get married in, what kind of wedding we like, do we want it more in the day or at night? We’re starting to have these fun little conversations.”
For now though, they are just “really excited” to spend the holidays together.
Brandon is planning to fly to Oklahoma City for Thanksgiving.
He dished, “She’s going to show me her city, meet some of her friends, stuff like that.”
The pair have already moved in together and plan on celebrating Christmas at their San Diego home. He said, “I think Christmas time, we’re going to have our families come together and then just spend Christmas together here.”
Brandon and Serene are looking forward to being “public” about their relationship. She noted, “We haven’t gotten to walk down the street together yet. We still want to go on a date, to go hang out with our friends from ‘Paradise’ that we both share. It’s like, I want to show you what I like to get in the grocery store. There are just so many little things we haven’t gotten to do together yet.”
“Extra’s” Jenn Lahmers caught up with the happy couple, who revealed their must-haves for the big day!
Brandon stressed the importance of an “open bar,” while Serena noted that they definitely wanted their “family and friends.”