Former Bachelor in Paradise costars and couple Kevin Wendt and Astrid Loch are officially engaged.
Wendt and Loch found love during season 5 of Bachelor in Paradise in 2018, but ultimately chose not to leave the show together. However, shortly after filming ended, the couple reconciled and have been together ever since. Before Bachelor in Paradise, Loch had appeared on Nick Viall’s season of The Bachelor, whereas Wendt was the winner of the first season of The Bachelorette Canada in 2016 before being brought into the official Bachelor Nation family on The Bachelor: Winter Games in 2018. Wendt hails from Ontario, Canada, and Loch was from Tampa, Florida; however, Loch recently moved to Toronto to be with her fiancé.
On September 3, 2019, (via: People), Loch and Wendt both took to their Instagrams to announce their engagement, with beautiful photos featuring the CN Tower in the background to accompany the news. Loch thought she was going for a romantic, quiet sunset picnic on Toronto Island with her boyfriend, but Wendt had other plans, which included an engagement ring in his pocket and photographers hiding in the bushes around them. Wendt told people he restarted his playlist five times over to ensure that “Tequila” by Dan + Shay would play when he popped the question, as a nod to the beginning of their relationship on the beaches of Mexico. In Loch’s Instagram post, she wrote to Wendt, “you’ve taught me to love, learn and grow and I can’t believe you’ve chosen me to spend this crazy life with.” When Wendt shared the news, he told Loch, “you’ll never walk alone again. From here on out, we run together.” The couple has received an outpouring of support in the comments, especially from fellow Bachelor Nation friends and alumni.
In an Instagram story Wendt posted, he revealed that he wanted to propose on Toronto Island to show her how much he valued Loch moving to his city for him, and to show her that Toronto was her home, too. Rather than a Neil Lane diamond ring (the exclusive jeweler for all of The Bachelor franchise shows), Wendt proposed with a custom cushion cut diamond from Wendt’s Jewelery, which was started by his great-great-grandfather. Every member of Wendt’s family has proposed with a ring from their family shop for the past 135 years, so it holds a significant sentiment. Wendt also designed the ring himself and the couple hadn’t gone ring shopping prior to the engagement. Wendt wanted to genuinely surprise Loch, but said he simply paid a lot of attention to what she said about other women’s rings, or what she liked or didn’t like. Loch said “the ring definitely reflects both of our personalities.” Loch and Wendt also said in their interview with People that they want to take at least a year to plan their nuptials, and that it will “definitely not” be a televised wedding.
Their engagement comes just weeks after they were in attendance at the wedding of fellow Bachelor in Paradise alums Chris Randone and Krystal Neilsen, as well as The Bachelorette’s Rachel Lindsay and Bryan Abasolo’s wedding. This summer has also seen fan-favorite couple Jared Haibon & Ashley Iaconetti walk down the aisle, plus The Bachelorette’s JoJo Fletcher and Jordan Rodgers got re-engaged, and Bachelor in Paradise couple Raven Gates and Adam Gottschalk got engaged for the first time. It’s been a big summer for Bachelor Nation, seeming to prove that this journey to find love really is an effective way to find a soulmate, even if it takes you a couple different seasons or a few years to realize it.
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Source: People, Astrid Loch
