Arie Luyendyk Jr. left The Bachelor an engaged man after all.
The 36-year-old race car driver made his first debut as a couple with Lauren Burnham on Tuesday's The Bachelor: After the Final Rose, following his devastating breakup with fiancee Becca Kufrin on Monday night's finale. It was an emotional evening, but apparently, the perfect one for him to propose!
"I made some bad decisions, but I can't imagine a life without you. I'm ready to face this life with you and all that comes with it, good and bad. I love you so much, and I want to do this in front of everyone," Luyendyk said. "Lauren Elizabeth Burnham, will you marry me?"
Before the big moment, the pair sat down with Chris Harrison, Burnham beamed from ear-to-ear, revealing, "Arie and I have both been waiting for this moment a really long time."
The 25-year-old reality star explained that Luyendyk reached out to her via Instagram over New Year's, and while she "wasn't very excited" to hear from him at first, she decided to give him a second chance after hearing how he "had been having a difficult time since proposal day."
"I've never been more in love with him. We're very, very happy together," she gushed, as Luyendyk curiously insisted that the media backlash over his switcheroo "has made our love stronger."
"I think taking that risk was very difficult for me," he explained. "It's made our relationship better."
That's when Burnham decided to say more about Luyendyk than she said throughout the entire season, praising him for this "bravery and honesty" in the way that he handled ending his engagement to Kufrin -- who had just confronted him for not being honest with her sooner, and slammed him for his "lack of respect."
"The one thing that is present to me right now is just his bravery and his honesty. I think he did an amazing job with this whole thing, and he couldn't have gone about it in a more respectful way," Burnham said. "Absolutely [I trust him with my heart]. I wouldn't have given him a chance if I didn't."
"No love story is perfect, and I think for us, you know, I took that risk because it was worth it," Luyendyk said.
As for what's next for the couple, they're understandably fleeing the country "going on vacation."
"Going to get out of the country for a little bit, and then Lauren's going to move to Arizona," Luyendyk explained. "I'm happy. We're crazy about each other. We talk on the phone three hours a day when we're not together."
"I do hope this engagement lasts a long time," Harrison joked, before congratulating the couple.
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