Fans saw Brandon Jones and Serene Russell get engaged on Tuesday night’s episode of the ABC reality show—and now they’ve talked to Parade.com about what their future holds.
“Welcome to our apartment,” Brandon told Parade in a Zoom interview from San Diego, where he and Serene have moved in together.
“It’s a place new to both of us,” Serene said of their current home.
When asked about when they’d marry, she said, “No wedding date yet, but we’re thinking 2024.”
They haven’t decided if they’ll have a traditional church wedding or something different.
“We haven’t put that kind of thought into it yet,” Serene laughed. “We haven’t talked about wedding size.”
Brandon added, “As long as we get married at the end of the day, that’s the important thing.”
But his beautiful fiancé admitted, “We are getting excited about all the little options and possibilities, but I think right now we’re ready to be publicly engaged!”
The two had been keeping their relationship status under wraps until the big Bachelor in Paradise finale engagement reveal.
As viewers saw on Tuesday night’s final episode/reunion show, Brandon got down on one knee and popped the question to Serene.
Then host Jesse Palmer told them he’d gotten ordained and he could marry them on the beach!
But they decided to wait for a proper wedding.
“We both realized after talking about it….the love is there but it wasn’t right for our friends and family to not be there. I’m the oldest girl and he’s the oldest guy (in our families) so it’s very important for our parents to be there and be involved,” Serene noted.
The pretty reality star said they spent 20 hours a day together in Paradise, getting to know each other intensively.
“You’re seeing the Serene that woke up at 8 a.m. but went to bed four hours ago. You’re seeing someone cranky who might have low blood sugar. You’re seeing someone hot and sweaty,” she told Parade. “We really did see each other in extreme circumstances that we would not see in the real world.”
Brandon said, “If I didn’t have Serene, I would have gone crazy,” on the steamy Mexico set.
Now, as an engaged couple living together, Serene said, they notice the little things like, “Oh, you load the dish washer differently than I do….We’re learning how to live together right now.”
Brandon added, “It’s been fun. A good time!”
The hunk said Serene “accepted me for me right off the bat. I can be kind of dorky and a weird kid. She laughs at my jokes and stuff!”
More seriously, Brandon noted, “We’re very similar and so different at the same time.”
Serene said they like the same movies and TV shows and they “geek out.”
“It’s something you can’t really explain but you just know,” Brandon said. “You realize this is something special.”
On BIP, he said, “It was instinct. I have to get to know (her).”
Indeed, fans saw that he and Serene were an instant match and stayed together throughout the show.
Despite the “Split Week” Paradise twist, the two were firm in not wanting to date others.
Well, almost!
“There’s a little part that didn’t (air) where I thought about going on a date but only because (Brandon) put me up to it,” Serene told Parade about a scene that hit the cutting room floor concerning football player Rodney Mathews.
“I was interested in Rodney and would have gone on a date with him at the time but Brandon had come to me and was like, ‘I want you to go on a date. I want to know you’re choosing me for me.’ And I was confused: ‘This is going well. We have the same values, we want the same things.’ ”
And no one ultimately came between Serene and Brandon.
“Our conversations were really long,” she said. “There was a lot that went into building the foundation for a good relationship. I think we both knew what we had was really special from early on.”
Serene, an elementary school teacher, wants to get a job in media, while Brandon, a former nurse recruiter, is now going to school to become a barber.
“It’s a passion of mine,” he told Parade, while Serene said, “Maybe I’ll let him cut my hair first.”
Recalling their time together before the Paradise finale aired, Brandon said, “We’ve done anything and everything you can inside.”
Now that fans know they’re engaged, Serene said, “We just want to go to dinner and movie.”
And they look forward to visiting a different beach together—near their San Diego home!
“We’ve met each other’s families,” Brandon disclosed, and they’re headed to Serene’s Oklahoma hometown to have Thanksgiving with her relatives.
“My mom loves his hugs,” Serene said.
Brandon said his mom told him, “You’ve found such a gem.”
However, the other final BIP couple, Victoria Fuller and Johnny DePhillipo, suffered a nasty breakup after getting engaged on the show. Johnny believed Victoria was cheating on him with The Bachelorette suitor Greg Grippo and showed his pain on the reunion show.
“We just want their happiness whether it’s with each other or without each other,” Brandon told Parade about Johnny and Victoria.
Serene added, “They both committed to each other and thought they were spending their lives together. Of course, there’s going to be some disappointment and sadness in the fact that didn’t work out. I think ultimately, where they’re both at now is good for them and being their friends, we just care about their well-being.”
