Now that the cat’s out of the bag, what are you looking forward to? WHITNEY: Being a normal couple! It
doesn’t have to be fancy. It will be nice not to have any more hard goodbyes. CHRIS: We’ve been in hiding! I want to not feel like anyone is in charge of what we do next. Chris, you had a very strong connection with your final three girls: Kaitlyn, Becca and Whitney. CHRIS: It’s not normal to fall in love
with three women. But I was there. I was honest with my feelings, and I was honest with them. I had the good fortune of having a tough decision. You said getting rid of Kaitlyn was like throwing darts. Were you really that conflicted about your decision? CHRIS: Maybe that was a poor choice
All About the Bling!
WITH THIS RING After saying goodbye to Becca Tilley, Soules got down on bended knee for Bischoff.
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March 23, 2015 PEOPLE
“Chris liked that it was strong, but he also wanted it to feel sweet and feminine,” says designer Neil Lane of the 4-carat ring (featuring an emerald-cut diamond surrounded by more than 100 smaller diamonds and two accenting baguettes). “He chose right. It really fits Whitney.” Bischoff agrees: “I love it! But the best part is that Chris picked it out himself.”
You seemed like you really wanted it to work with Becca, but she couldn’t give you what you needed. What happened? CHRIS: Becca had some challenges
with commitment. She’s not ready to fall in love, and she’s not ready to settle down. Clearly I had strong feelings for her, but I had to start looking at it from a logical perspective. The more we talked, I just saw that it would be a tough transition for her, especially to even consider living my lifestyle. Did Whitney seem more open to it? CHRIS: After she came to my home
(SOULES) SHIRT: JOE’S JEANS; PANTS: ORIGINAL PAPERBACKS; (BISCHOFF) CARDIGAN: WHITE & WARREN; TOP: LINE & DOT; PANTS: AZUL BY MOUSSY; (INSETS) FROM LEFT: NICOLE KOHL/ABC; COURTESY NEIL LANE
C
ritical fans, catty women, crowded dates: Falling in love on The Bachelor has always presented a unique set of relationship hurdles. But for Chris Soules and Whitney Bischoff, who got engaged last November at the end of his season of the hit ABC reality romance show, navigating the logistics of starting a life together may be their biggest challenge. Bischoff, 29, a Chicago-based fertility nurse, will have to uproot her life to move to the tiny town of Arlington, Iowa, where her fiancé, 33, has deep roots and owns and operates a profitable corn farm. But while other contestants balked at the idea of moving to a town of 429 people—even for “Prince Farming,” as he was anointed by the show—the bubbly blonde says she doesn’t see it as a sacrifice. “It’s always been important for me to stand on my own two feet,” she says. “But I would not have accepted the proposal if I wanted something different. I’m so in love.” The couple—who will spend the next several months in L.A. while Soules competes on Dancing with the Stars—sat down with PEOPLE to talk about their future.
of words or a bad analogy, but it was how I felt. [In my mind] I was dating one person at a time; that’s the way it was to the end. They were the only ones in my life when I was with them.
